Cooking oil can be filtered and used for fuel.
Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil. Some users buy new oil to use in their fuel, but others look for used cooking oil. Used cooking oil has its perks because it is free and would have been thrown away if it wasn't reused. However, it can't be used as is. The oil is dirty and contains food particles; it would be too hard a car's system. It needs to go through a filtration system so that it doesn't have any particles larger than 5 microns.
Instructions
1. Cut a hole in the lid of the barrel and fit the 5-micron filter inside. 5-micron filters are fine filters used to remove particles as small as 5 microns. A micron is one-millionth of a meter. They are used in water filters and oil filters and can be found at a home hardware store.
Secure the filter using glue or a sealant. The filter should hang down into the barrel when the lid is attached. It will look like a sock filter, or a sock hanging inside the barrel. This will be the final filter in your system. Attach the lid.
2. Line a funnel with at least two layers or cheesecloth and secure it using an elastic or by tying it on. This will be your second filter. Set it on top of the 5-micron filter.
3. Set a metal sieve on top of the other two filters. This is your first filter and will remove all the large particles. This is particularly important if your oil was used in the food industry since food gets left behind in the oil.
4. Heat the oil in a large pot on the stove or on a portable burner. You should heat it to around 95 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. This will make the oil more fluid, so it will flow quickly. The warmer it is, the faster it will flow, but you also need to be able to handle it without burning yourself. You can use a thermometer or check the viscosity of the oil as it heats to see if it is starting to look runny.
5. Pour the oil into the filters using a smaller pot or scoop. Do it in small batches of a few cuts at a time. You can hold the sieve up and let the oil run into the other filters but it will also work if you set them on top of each other. Continue pouring the oil into the filters until it has all run through. When you are finished, the oil in the barrel will be properly filtered.
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