Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Great success....

Based on my previous post, I was wrong.  What seemed to be happening with the burner was that it simply was not getting enough oxygen to burn completely.  The nozzle that I am using is designed to convert a standard fuel oil furnace to a waste oil furnace.  Because the waste oil has a higher viscosity than that of fuel oil (off road diesel), the nozzle relies on compressed air, about 5-10psi, to siphon the oil to the tip.  In my initial design, I was relying on the compressed air to add enough oxygen to facilitate a complete burn.  I simply added a blower to supply additional oxygen.

I still had some small issues as I believe the blower doesn't move enough air.  I had to run the nozzle at 20psi.  Anything higher, it would start to blow itself out. 

I am also embarrassed with the crudeness of this setup.  Remember, it's a prototype...so give me a break.  I've begun working on a much more permanent burner.

It's running on a mixture of 25% waste motor oil and 75% kerosene.  I was concerned that the oil would flow sufficiently and I would be fitting that in conjunction with the previous burner issues.  My plan is to eventually run on 100% used motor oil.  Still, it will probably require to be started on kerosene or another easier lighting fuel.

From the time I started the furnace until I poured the half full crucible, it was 1 hour.