WVO Filtering and Cleaning Overview

Cleaning and De-watering WVO – Pre-filtering

Remember the myth about being able to dump used oil directly into your tank? We have to pre-filter and de-water our WVO in order to burn the oil without destroying our vehicles. There are hundreds of ways people have come up with to pre-filter oil. While it can be quite confusing, it is nice to have options and that you can design a filtration process that meets your budget, lifestyle and abilities.

I wish there was a way to simplify pre-filtering. You almost need to become an expert on the subject to confidently filter your own oil.

I’ll give you some basic information to help get you started.

1. For most vehicles, the WVO needs to be cleaned down to 10 micron absolute.
2. All free and suspended water needs to be removed from the oil
3. Oil is lighter than water, so time and gravity will separate the oil and free water. Settling is key!
4. The warmer the oil, the faster it will settle and filter.

Some Advice:

1. Don’t let the cleaning of your oil scare you off from running WVO.
2. Learn about it, consider all of the factors and do the best that you can within your resources.
3. If you are concerned about ruining your engine, heed those concerns.
4. Take the precautions you feel are necessary.
5. The most important thing to know is that the oil must be de-watered and cleaned to an absolute micron level before it enters your engine either by the filtration setup on your vehicle or during pre-filtering.
6. Most sensible folk prefer to meticulously clean their oil prior to putting it into their vehicle to prevent gunk in the fuel lines and side-of-the-road breakdowns due to clogged filters.
7. The vehicles filter systems should be used as backup, or precautionary for the stuff that may have been missed or entered the oil after the pre-filtering.