The Basics: Drip Injection Waste Oil Burners

Discussion in 'Burners and their construction' started by Tobho Mott, Aug 24, 2017.

  1. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    Most of us who are signed up here so far have seen all of this before via AlloyAvenue and BYMC; so this is just to have the basic info linked up here on this new site somewhere, and hopefully to benefit any new folks who may find their way to us here.

    Here are links to the plans for Lionel Oliver's popular and proven designs for drip injection type waste oil burners, suitable for use in the home foundry.

    Of course there are other really good burner designs and plans out there; my intent here is not to advocate this one type over any other, I just think that folks who have actually used those other types should be the ones to post "The Basics" about them.

    ...

    What?

    The Brute: http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/oilburners09.html

    The Hot Shot (the Brute's smaller but deceptively powerful little brother): http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/oilburners10.html
    (The Hot Shot page also mentions a similar 'Moya' burner, but the link there is broken. Here's a link that still works: http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showthread.php?2304)

    And here's where I began documenting a new build: a sized up Moya. Somehow they're saying that it's not just a Brute, but I don't know...

    http://forums.thehomefoundry.org/index.php?threads/larger-moya.780/page-3#post-17707

    <placeholder for a video link (coming soon) to my giant Moya burner build and test runs>

    It's very much worth spending some time exploring the whole BYMC site, for anyone who's into DiY metal casting and hasn't already done so.

    How?

    Here is Rasper's instructional video on how to light and operate these types of burners, specifically the Hot Shot, though the same steps and principles apply to both of Lio's designs. I haven't seen a better how-to for drip burners than this video anywhere.




    Pros 'n Cons?

    Waste oil is (hopefully) free, and it burns super hot!

    Unlike siphon nozzle burners which atomize the oil into a fine mist, drip burners require a preheated furnace to vaporize drips of oil that are carried in with the blower air. Normally, this preheating is accomplished by way of a separate propane line that is plumbed into the burner and only used on (cold) startup. This need to preheat is the major downside of drippers; the big advantage is their simplicity - easy to build from scratch with parts from ie. the plumbing aisle (I didn't even have to weld anything to make my Moya-like burner), and no mail-order atomizing nozzles or tiny orifices of any kind to get clogged up by a french fry crumb that somehow made it past your oil filter.

    Both types require a high volume blower (ie. shop vac, leaf blower, bouncy castle blower, etc.) to provide air for complete oil combustion, and some way to adjust the air flow. Atomizing burners also require compressed air (or in some cases a pump to push the oil through the nozzle) and may require less adjustment during use, while drippers can rely on just gravity to keep the drip going.

    Again, I'm not here to promote one type over another; the 'spray vs drip' debate has raged on elsewhere before on many occasions, with nothing contructive ever resulting from it that I ever saw.

    That's about it, I guess...


    Jeff
     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2019
  2. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Good job man. I'll do one on the Kwicky when I can get time away from YOUR DOGS!
     
  3. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    Good idea, glad you are keeping your priorities straight! :)

    Someone should cover the hago/Delevan nozzle sprayers and Glumpy-style dripper options too.

    Every charcoal furnace I see on youtube is being run super oxidizing; those guys are all gonna burn holes in their steel crucibles in no time and claim their crucibles dissolved in the molten aluminum, so I was thinking about un-burying my old Gingery book 1 furnace sometime soon (it'll be at least a couple weeks though) to see if it's still usable, and if my old hair dryer still runs, and if so, video a melt to show new folks (who else uses charcoal?) some stuff about how to keep them running near neutral. I guess that could go here, although technically there is no actual burner involved... Anyway, that way instead of ranting about it again and again, I can just post a link... :)

    Jeff
     
  4. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    I made a short video showing how my no-weld Hot Shot/Moya-like waste oil drip burner comes apart and goes together, where it likes to get clogged up, how I get its small 1" tube to center and sit snug in my big furnace tuyere, etc.

    Hope you enjoy, I had fun shooting the animations after the live action footage turned out to be half out of frame, not to mention boring AF... :D



    Jeff
     
    dennis and Red97 like this.
  5. When I bought a 4 post lift I also got an oil drain tank. It is 20 gallon so it uses air pressure to dump it. Perfect for feeding a drip oil burner. I've been using it but needed a level gauge to know when it was getting low or, more importantly, when it is full and can't take any more oil.

    It came with a regulator for the air supply and a relief valve. I knew the relief valve would have to be communicated with tank pressure to work so I pulled it, installed a street tee, put it on the branch and a tube to connect vinyl tubing for the sight glass on the run of the tee.

    IMG_3818.JPG

    Relief valve is laid over so the gauge can be changed. I used a double bevel tool to start a bulge on the copper tubing.

    On the bottom I wanted to drill and tap the elbow on it's side but I couldn't get it to unscrew so I installed a tee to hook the gauge on the left through a valve and feed the burner on the right.

    IMG_3820.JPG

    I don't know how long the vinyl tubing will last , at some point you won't be able to see the oil level any more.

    Here's the tank with gauge.

    IMG_3819.JPG

    I may make a guide to hold it straight but it is accurate just like it sets.
     
    joe yard likes this.
  6. Jason

    Jason Gold

    I did that on my fuel tanks. I used hard PVC piping and so far so good after 3 years.... That light weight vinyl I'm not so sure. where is our resident chemist?
     
    oldironfarmer likes this.
  7. PatJ

    PatJ Silver

    The vinyl works pretty well.
    It does get less flexible over the years, but I have not had any rupture, and I can still see through my vinyl level gauge on the side of my tank after several years, although not quite as well as when it was new.
    Probably a good idea to change the vinyl every so many years.

    Below is my fuel tank, which is an old 100 lb. propane tank.
    I filled it with water completely before I cut into it.
    The thin wall makes it difficult to get a leak-proof weld, but I finally got the fittings welded on fuel-tight.

    I can lay it down to transport it (if I want to take it to the gas station and buy diesel), or I can just fill it using 5 gallon containers, which is what I do these days.
    It would be better with an automotive fuel cap, but I did not think of that at the time.
    In normal operation the tank stands upright.

    I put a valve at the bottom of the tank in case the vinyl ever does break, the tank won't drain out.
    It works well. I run about 5 psi pressure on it, and have added a pressure relief valve, I think 15 psi release.

    Its hard to see, but there are hose clamps on the vinyl tubing.

    If I had to do over, I would turn the fill neck up 90 degrees so I could fill it while it is standing up.
    I may drain it, fill it with water, and change the neck on it, since I leave it in place all the time now and don't transport it.

    rIMG_3272.jpg


    rIMG_3273.jpg
     
  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Thin?? Ha! I'll show ya thin.......... These suckers are paper thin.
    I don't pressurize. Oil in the top gives me a little gravity push. Jet-A in the bottom.
    2 inch stand pipe in the bottom helps cut down on trash ending up in my hoses.

    20141220_190154.jpg
     
  9. I had never heard of clear PVC. Thanks!
     
  10. Jason

    Jason Gold

    It's not 100% clear. I think I bought it at lowes. It's ice maker tubing, just a little bigger.
     
  11. joe yard

    joe yard Silver

    They make a clear fuel line that is not to hard to find. Most automotive shops have it and all good lawn mower shops will. It will stiffen in years of gasoline use but I have been using it on a vacuum pump for break bleeding for years with no yellowing or loss of flex.
    Joe
     
  12. When I looked it up on the internet I saw 4" perfectly clear with fittings and all. One said perfect for sewer lines as you could see the blockage.:confused:

    Not too sure I want that.:eek:
     
  13. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    image.jpeg image.jpeg My sight tube is white/translucent. I'm not sure of the material just now but I'm sure it's rated for diesel. Black fluid shows up just fine. My tank is a simple setup but I've made a few minor changes since the pictures were taken like my fill port. It's on a tee along with the pressure relief valve. That hole is where the anode rod originally went. I fill it with a 30 gallon drum which I lift with a rope and pulley and connect to the tank with a 3/4" tube. I put about 5psi to the drum to push the oil through if there's a lot of it. Otherwise it takes forever to drain in by gravity.
    I've also changed the hose to the burner to a reinforced rubber hose rated for fuel. I run it through the wall of the barn out to the furnace and the plastic stuff was just too stiff.
    Basically I just run air into the hot side of the water tank and let it push the oil up the dip tube and out the cold side and through the filter. The dip tube is a couple inches off the bottom and the drain valve works perfectly for tapping off water.
    In the second picture you can see a small pipe on the far right that comes out of a tee at the top of the exit pipe (the one with the galvanized section). It has and an air fitting and a valve on it. When I'm going to use the burner, I first tap the settled water off, then I open the pressure relief valve and attach my compressor to this fitting. I open the valve just enough so the air goes down the dip tube and bubbles through the oil in the tank. I have a little bit of everything in there so I make sure it's mixed up pretty good.
     
    oldironfarmer likes this.
  14. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    now thats what i call an oil tank!! Have to remember that when I replace my water heater....
     
  15. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Could you picture Richard hoisting that sucker up his roof in Mexico? :eek: Full of oil it must weigh 500lbs.
     
  16. PatJ

    PatJ Silver

    That's a major fuel tank.
     
  17. Some of those Youtube "autopsy" videos of water heaters show a lot of crud inside the tanks from lime and other minerals forming deposits several inches thick, so an acid soak may be needed.
     
  18. Jason

    Jason Gold

    My favorite commercial. It's a UFH2O. "That's not good!"

     
  19. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    I looked around for a smaller tank as long as my better judgement would let me! I figured a smaller tank would take about the same footprint, so what the hell. This one wasn't very old so I didn't think the scale and sediment would be too bad. It wasn't. I took all of the fittings off and cleaned it out with a pressure washer. It cleaned up nice. The plumber I got it from said it was glass lined. I guess part of the controller took a crap and was took expensive to replace so the owner got a new tank.
    I have it about half full. That's enough for now.
    Yeah, I've done autopsies on these things before. I had one that was over half full of what looked like mussel shells. I was really surprised by that. After seeing what my hot water might be going through before it gets to the tap, I let it run cold before filling my glass!

    Pete
     
  20. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

    Yeah I saw that.lol. That's one of the things I think about when I'm deciding whether to heat it or not. All hail the pressure relief valve!
     

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