What type of heater to remove methanol from oil?

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We have 5 engines with this in it, Moroso #710-23991, this p/n comes with the aluminum bung, there is a version with the steel bung just look in Jegs, they have them.

We tried the Moroso stick on pads and I couldn't get them to last. We went to this water heater style several years ago.

Maybe there is a better way, but we like it and a few of our competitors have now copied us too.

 

I've used a "crock pot" and a Temp gauge immersed in the oil. I get it about 170 and let it stay until no more bubbles. It is one of the old style with the ceramic pot in a metal can.
To tell you how old ...we got it for a wedding gift in 1970!!!!!
When it is hot it will flow through a screen filter better into a CLEAN jug or back into the engine.

 

Been using an open flame turkey fryer since 2007 , never had a problem. Just do it outside of your shop or in really well ventilated area. Meth fumes are lighter than air and will travel upward away from flame. ... But just to be safe..... Outside is best.

 

What's the consensus on temp? I was thinking 180* - 200* until clarity returns.

Also, with regards to heaters in the pan or tank to evaporate methanol .. Does anyone here hook a vacuum to their burndown tubes between rounds? I was thinking of rigging something up w/ a clear catch can just to see but I don't want to be wasting my time if others have done it without result ... I watched Bubba Stanton's crew do it on his Pro-Mod is why I asked.

 

We use one too.

I have it on all the time whilst between rounds , and absolutely before we fire the motor for the first time on a weekend.
It helps so much . The oil tank is too hot to touch.

 

I have one of those radiator type heaters in my dry sump tank. immediately after running car it can be plugged in with cap off.
A word of caution though. once I did not do it right away and oil worked its way back to pan except for a little in the bottom 1/4 of tank. of course alcohol went to the top and was in direct contact with heater and bang! we have ignition.
There was a column of heat like in star trek when they would get beamed up. Luck would have it cold fire was within distance. put it right out with no damage.

 

Buy a cheap new vacuum cleaner and blow through one valve cover and let it push Air across the motor and vent out of the other valve cover. This way no methanol fumes come in contact with the electric motor inside of the vacuum cleaner. The filter will catch any outside air and filter of debris before it blows through motor. At approximately 180 to 200°F The methanol in the oil will start to boil and evaporate . As long as you keep the temperature less than 250° Once the methanol has evaporated the oil will just sit there with no signs of boiling and will be free of methanol. I do this a maximum of three times before I throw the old away and start fresh. I also run two moroso water heater type elements in my pan to pre heat the oil on cool days. I doubt they would get it hot enough to boil off the fumes, and I would not want the fumes floating around in my engine anyway.

 

Here is the best of the best
digital control temp and time

http://www.walmart.com/ip/15042665?...71462112&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=73625910649&veh=sem

while it is still hot i pump it thru a 2 micron absolute diesel bypass filter stand we built

 

Oil Heater

Double element elect. & large pot. 1500 watts is enough.
Single burner will work, put in center of pot.
With double burner straddle both burners.
set of to the side away from wifes or girl- friends, will give good high.

Used for years.

Dan Parker

 

149 degrees

http://www.vrac.iastate.edu/ethos/files/ethos2005/pdf/stokes_paper.pdf

 

I use an air bed blower with a lawn mower filter. Works great. It does get old listening to it though.

 

Well, I screwed up and scorched my first batch. I put about 4 gallons in a turkey fryer using the propane bottle. I got it up to about 150-155 and it stayed there for 30-40 minutes. I checked the temp several times and watched the vapor drift away. I figured that was good so I went in the house. I came back out about 1 1/2 latter and even though it was 100' from the house I could immediately smell burnt oil when i opened the door!!! Smelled worse than nasty rear end gear oil. I checked the temp and it was 325* !!

What the +&#@!!*? I have no idea what happened.

Anyway, I think I'll try an electric burner w/ the next batch.

So, On to another question.... kinda long... and sorry for the newby stuff but I cant get info if I don't ask.


The oil that I tried to get the methanol out of was VR1 40W. It sat in a clear 5 gallon bucket for over a week and never really changed color or composition. I wanted to run the car a little after the mishap but I only had 6 qts of VR1 left so I thought I might try some Rotella 15W-40 because I have about 20 gallons of it in the shop. (I've always, only used VR1 dino in race motors) Anyway, I thought I would try a little experiment so I mixed some VR1 w/ alky in a clear bottle and did the same w/ the Rotella. I shook them both up pretty hard and within 30 minutes there was complete separation with the alky on top...... The drained oil from the car had never separated though? What gives? I had run about 3 gallons of M5 though it previously to warm up. Did that prevent the complete separation? I can think of a couple of pros and cons. 1) If it completely mixes there will always be some viscosity of oil on the parts. but may be harder to clean up. 2) If it completely separates it may be easier to burn off through the puke tubes while in the motor. and it should be easier to heat and clean up after being drained. However, if it separates then there is always the thought of getting a big wash down through the valve train w/ no oil.


I know this has been beat to death and that I'm making it harder than it needs to be and the perfect solution to my "worries" is probably just budget for $100 worth of oil for every outing. I do plan on putting a slide valve in the hat to help build heat and maybe a heating element in the pan to pre-heat the oil.

Comments? Thought?

Thanks

 

Well damn..... I didn't think I'd have to tell you to closely monitor the oil while on an open flame. Lol. It works fine you just have to keep an eye on it. Lucky you didn't set some shit on fire. I only do 15 qt's at a time to speed it up and keep it well below the top of the 30 qt pot.

 

Hahaha! Yea, you would think anybody could do it. I had a car fire a few years ago and when my wife saw what i was doing she threw a fit. I lit the fire, watched it. Left and fed some calves. Came back and checked it again, worked on arranging a new tool box, checked it again then went in the house when it looked like it was stable. Man, it got away quick. Ill try again with another batch, but if I have to babysit it ill probaly just pour it in the used oil drum and put new in.

 

Naw..... No need to babysit it. What I do is , after a race I unload car and drop oil ( 15 qts). Heat it to appox 200 to 220 deg ( my street corvette runs an oil temp of around 230 deg on longer trips) . While it cooks off the meth I adjust the valves and look at the rod bearings. Slap the pan back on it and while the oil is still hot and fluid I pour it into two 2 gal pails. Then pour the hot oil back into the valve covers. A lot quicker than when it's cold, then I'm ready for next race. I do this a max if three times. My turkey fryer is marked for 1/2 full and since it's a 30 qt fryer if it shows less than 15 Qts I add one. Easy piesy !!

 

While the oil is boiling it's also aerating the oil so temp stays fairly stable. Once the alcohol is gone it stops boiling (no aeration going on) so temp goes up pretty fast and can get away from you pretty easy. Ask me why I know this

I use Red Line Racing Synthetic and got it to 320 degrees (see above) once. Was concerned about it so called Red Line Tech engineer and asked if it was hurt. He said it was not and would work normal. asked if I should add anything to beef up the oil package. He said it was not needed, the package was fully in tact. But added, some like to make there own cocktail, but the oil itself was good to go.

Blessings.................Ron C

 

OK this is how I do it and it works great and won't get too hot if left over night. Use a large coffee pot, the type used at large gatherings. They have a spout at the bottom to drain into your containers and will regulate the temperature with the thermostat. If the oil is real polluted put in less oil to start out with. I have had it turn into a volcano. The coffee pots can be found at thrift stores cheap.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've been reading about oil till I'm sick of it ,.... bobistheoilguy just goes on for days.

Since I'm out at the shop I've decided to reload w/ Brad Penn.

Final question for those who use Brad Penn for blown alky ... Do you use Semi synthetic or mineral? Only downside w/ synthetic is detergents that "may" foam at high rpm