Massive waste oil burner

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I was wondering if anyone had any experience building a huge waste oil burner I have a old oil tank that I want to make into a kettle but I need a massive heat source. What I wanted to do was build some sort of waste oil burner big enough to heat up 150 gallons of product in about two or three hours. I have seen some awesome designs using forced air and I have seen some other neat designs using a basic drip burner built with a automotive brake. So who's got some ideas or pictures that might help with this?
Reply:My business partner runs a bunch of waste oil burners at his farm. The majority are Clean Burn and one is a Kagi. Here in the shop I run a Clean Burn. I've been thinking about converting a Beckett burner to burn used oil for a foundry. I've had all commercial burners apart and basically you have a block heater and compressed air to atomize the oil. You'll also likely need a gear pump that can handle used oil. The pump that came with the Kagi has a cutter in it. The conversion looks fairly straight forward. You might look at one the kits offered here: http://www.ckburners.com/ Also check ebay for the burners. They can be had cheap. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/beckett-oil-burnerI prefer the pressure units especially for a kettle. Instant on and a lot more efficient. Drip units are not EPA approved anymore.
Reply:I was an HVAC guy in a former life. We used a lot of Beckett burners.
Reply:I have some pressure tanks on hand here... I was considering taking one of them and using compressed air to pressurize the oil to 10-40 lbs... my tanks are 20-50 gallons (the bigger one is the one I'm considering using) What is involved in building a beckett burner?
Reply:years ago, I built one of these...http://journeytoforever.org/books/ro...ers-heater.cgiI had the plans and read Roger's modifications and incorporated them.  I got to read it all before he started charging for them.  I may have the plans on a disc in my back ups somewhere.
Reply:Re: Massive waste oil burneryears ago, I built one of these...http://journeytoforever.org/books/ro...ers-heater.cgi  Very interesting, Scott, are you still using your burner?
Reply:No.  It was in use for roughly 10 years.  It was taken out of commission when the owner of the shop passed and the shop sold off piece mill.  I don't know who ended up with the heater or if it went to the scrap yard.  It took a while to tune it, but it was built out of scrap and the waste oil was free so what trouble the owner had he figured it was better than a payment.  He used a large barrel that he poured oil, hydraulic fluid, and any other petroleum product into that feed the heater.  He had between 6-8 log trucks along with all the heavy equipment that went with logging, i.e., skidders, loaders, dozers, shears, etc.
Reply:Check out Hago siphon nozzles.  They make different flow rate ones.  I've got a 0.75 GPH for my aluminum furnace:http://na.heating.danfoss.com/PCMPDF...3_VDDZE222.pdfHere's a thread from the casting forum:http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showth...-with-Pictures.These guys sell Hago stuff - just search by part number:http://www.patriot-supply.comLast edited by dbotos; 01-18-2014 at 09:49 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by dbotosCheck out Hago siphon nozzles.  They make different flow rate ones.  I've got a 0.75 GPH for my aluminum furnace:
Reply:That Danfoss nozzle seems pretty dang slick... What would be the best way to rig a pair of those up to heat a flat tank? Would it be like building a boiler with the combustion tubes welded under it then insulated with sand or something?
Reply:Those nozzles are used in torpedo construction heaters. If you could find a old one of those they would make a good source of parts. Usually it's the air pump that goes out on them.  My oil burner uses the same nozzles but is so complicated that I don't say much about it (it was a commercial burner that I've modified). The one thing I can say is if you can make your feed tank adjustable height wise you gain a lot more control.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireMy business partner runs a bunch of waste oil burners at his farm. The majority are Clean Burn and one is a Kagi. Here in the shop I run a Clean Burn. I've been thinking about converting a Beckett burner to burn used oil for a foundry. I've had all commercial burners apart and basically you have a block heater and compressed air to atomize the oil. You'll also likely need a gear pump that can handle used oil. The pump that came with the Kagi has a cutter in it. The conversion looks fairly straight forward. You might look at one the kits offered here: http://www.ckburners.com/ Also check ebay for the burners. They can be had cheap. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/beckett-oil-burnerI prefer the pressure units especially for a kettle. Instant on and a lot more efficient. Drip units are not EPA approved anymore.
Reply:very nice nozzles!
Reply:Originally Posted by black_doggyThat Danfoss nozzle seems pretty dang slick... What would be the best way to rig a pair of those up to heat a flat tank? Would it be like building a boiler with the combustion tubes welded under it then insulated with sand or something?
Reply:Another point is that if the flame touches metal then it tends to build up a carbon coating. Better for the flame to burn in air.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:What I was thinking is to weld the tubes underneath the tank kind of like fire tubes in a boiler.  I'm thinking of using four or six inch steel pipes that have a burner mounted in one side and exhaust out of the opposite side of the tank. Sent from my SCH-I415 using Tapatalk
Reply:Ah..Thought this thread was about Fords.  Sorry, I'll go away now.-AaronJet 17.5" Drill Press1942 South Bend 16x84 Lathe1980s Miller 320A / BP --- 2013 Power Mig 2562012 Jet 7x12 Horizontal BandsawVictor O/A Setup
Reply:No more responses? Sent from my SCH-I415 using Tapatalk
Reply:TaggedTO INVENT  YOU NEED A GOOD IMAGINATION  AND A  PILE OF JUNK'' - THOMAS EDISONMost Of The Time People Don't see The Quality of a Good Job Unitl they see a Bad Job !! -Scott Esplin
Reply:Originally Posted by rabidchimpAh..Thought this thread was about Fords.  Sorry, I'll go away now.-Aaron
Reply:Originally Posted by black_doggyNo more responses?
Reply:It's a basic oval 275 gallon oil tank Sent from my SCH-I415 using Tapatalk
Reply:Standing up like this?
Reply:Yes an oil tank like that but laid on its side.  As I said before I think that if I make fire tubes like a boiler under it it might be right. I'm not totally sure how to get it set up correctly besides welding the tubes underneath and laying it on a bed of sand for insulation. Another possible though would be to siphon off some heat for a small amount of under floor heating and possibly heating hot water heater. Sent from my SCH-I415 using Tapatalk
Reply:Here is a link to a good thread on a waste oil heater.http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/b...ing-stove.htmlOkay, so something more like this:What's going to be inside the tank and how hot does it need to get?  I think the trick will be getting the heat spread out evenly over the bottom of the tank.  Heat conduction should be pretty good since those tanks are pretty thin (somewhere on the order of 0.080 to 0.100").  But, need to be careful with how hot you get the bottom of the tank so it doesn't start sagging and so it doesn't scorch or burn off whatever coating is on there (might need to use some high temp paint or other special coating).
Reply:It's going to get animal feed cooked in it up to a full rolling boil. Another possibility would be to build a furnace outside and run super hot water or steam under it :what: I'm not totally sure what the best way would be to build this besides using a bed of sand for insulation and support for the bottom. The only two things I know for sure is that I want to burn the tank to remove any contaminants and use a waste oil burner. Sent from my SCH-I415 using Tapatalk
Reply:I would stay away from steam (at least pressurized - think back to turn-of-the-century boiler explosions).  At work, we heat our compression molds with oil and go well above the boiling point of water.  It's fancy oil that they like to call "heat transfer fluid":http://www.heat-transfer-fluid.com/heat-transfer-fluid/Expensive crap, but you might be able to do something home-brew with cheaper oil.  We have to hold the heaters at 215 *F for a while to make sure any moisture boils off before closing the vent valve.  Once that's done, you can take it up to the final set point.  We're using digitally-controlled 36 kW electric heaters.  Part of the challenge with the oil burner might be regulating it to get a certain steady output temperature...What kind of critters you feedin'?Last edited by dbotos; 01-28-2014 at 11:10 PM.
Reply:Hogs... Thermal transfer oil seems really really expensive. With the steam heating I wasn't thinking pressuring it. As I said I'm not sure how to heat something like that up. Sent from my SCH-I415 using Tapatalk
Reply:You could make a huge double-boiler.  Maybe use a big stainless sink or open-top tank for the bottom vessel that holds the water.
Reply:Doing a double boiler would probably work but how would I monitor the water level and heat it? It never fails I come up with a good idea but I can't figure out how to get it to work.  :banghead:Sent from my SCH-I415 using Tapatalk
Reply:You can make a rotary float level indicator:It consists of a float, float arm, pivot shaft (going through a bushing or bearing on the side of the tank), and a pointer (just imagine water up to the float - I didn't draw the water in there).  The pointer doesn't necessarily have to be right in line with the float arm - it can be offset by some angle one way or the other.  Start with an empty tank and make your empty mark on the tank where the pointer is pointing.  Fill the tank in whatever increments you see fit and mark accordingly.  The elbow on the left side of the tank is for adding water.As for heating the water, this picture shows a pretty good waste oil burner setup:http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showth...ures./page2#13The furnace is essentially a metal shell lined with refractory.  Air and oil mist are introduced at the bottom through a tangential tuyere.  The copper lines are feeding oil and compressed air to the siphon nozzle, which is sitting in the big pipe that provides extra air from a blower (can also use the exhaust port of a shop vac).  The Harbor Freight router speed control is a good device for regulating the blower or shop vac so it's not too strong ( http://www.harborfreight.com/router-...rol-43060.html ).  Just locate the furnace under the double-boiler setup and it will belch nice hot exhaust onto the bottom of the water tank.  You may even be able to make some sort of shallow conical spreader/deflector to go in between the furnace and water tank.Last edited by dbotos; 01-30-2014 at 10:31 PM.