Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

[SouthcoastAus Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close SouthcoastAus]

I've been able to source used cottonseed oil from the local swimming pool fryer, it is Formula 40 if and I was wondering if anyone has used this stuff. It is in a gel state at 25'c, I've had it sitting in a barrel for 3 weeks to settle out water, I now plan to heat it and filter it through a 25 micron bag and then a 5 micron bag, but before I do I was just wanting any info from anyone else who has used this oil before., thanks

[Robert Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Robert]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

Some of the biodiesel making folk have recently discussed this oil too. I did a quick search in the forums and found the thread posted here. They are talking about using cottonseed to make biodiesel with, not to run as SVO, but there are a few answers in there from other SVO users that may still be relevant to you.

[Mr Ute Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mr Ute]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

I've been using Cottonseed oil with out major problems. The only problem I've had is to do with pumping the stuff to the IP, my operating air temps at the moment are between 0 & 12'C .In the process of re designing my IP supply system. I think Tony from WA has been using it in the past, see if he knows of any issues.
Cheers.

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

The problem with most of the oils, is that after use, they can be as little as 40-50% original oil and the rest is hydrogenated palm oil or tallow.
This is because the pre-fried foods which these places re-fry, are pre-fried in the hydrogenated oils or tallow. During the re-frying, the oils from the pre-frying mix with the liquid oils in the fryer. After a stack of food has been re-fried, the % of original oil is way down.

It is the high melting point oils from the pre-fried foods which is causing the high MP od the oil you have. The liquid oils can easily be separated though. I 'cold filter' my oils to remove the high melting point oils, which are solid at these temperatures (<10°C at this time of year). I end up with oil which I can use in my unheated veggie tank. During summer, the % of solid oil in the oi lI collect is lower, due the the higher ambient temperature.

[SouthcoastAus Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close SouthcoastAus]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

Thanks Tony for you info, what I'll do is cold filter through bags as you suggest and see how it goes. Then I'll hot filter and see how it looks at the other end, Cottonseed is the only oil I've been able to source here, I've tried the local fish'n'chips but they are all using animal fat, there are barrels of the stuff out back there shops solidified. They're passing it on to recyclers who are paying $50 per 44 gallon drum. One owner was keeping what little vegoil he used for me, "only on customer requests did he fry in this,", it took him over three weeks to collect 15-20 litres. Didn't seem I was going to get a decent supply. Seems like tallow is taking over, probably cheaper for their businesses, where as I thought there'd be vege oil all over the place, it's not as easy to come by. Thanks for you info I'll see how it goes...

[Captain Echidna Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captain Echidna]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

I use a tshirt (with neck and sleves sewn up) in a drum, with a hole draining into another drum to seperate the tallows from the liquid. (it can be slow)
When things got worse than 50/50 solids/ liquids I lined up a few cafes and collect from them. (about 40L/ week) and not from the fish and chip shop.
My thoughts would be, get a heated line/ filter/ and tank, then your oil "liquidity" may be less of a problem.

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

The answer to your dilema is to ensure that your fuel system can handle the high melting point oils by heating the veggie system at all points from the fuel tank to the injector pump.
A heated fuel pickup and heated tank, heated fuel line to the engine bay, heated fuel filter and an efficient heat exchanger, with the return line looped to before the fuel pump will maximise your running on the high MP oils. It may take 5 minutes to melt the fuel path, but once it can flow, you can use it as fuel.
Tony

[GreasyPalms Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close GreasyPalms]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

"They're passing it on to recyclers who are paying $50 per 44 gallon drum."

this seems high or is this becoming the norm

[Jacka Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jacka]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

Greasypalms that appears to be the norm around my area of the Southern Highlands just south west of sydney.

Although around here they are paying around $40 per 44 drum of oil.

It is getting very hard to find WVO that is not being payed for suitable straight as either SVO use or Bio production.

[Chris Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chris]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

Greasypalms that appears to be the norm around my area of the Southern Highlands just south west of sydney.

Although around here they are paying around $40 per 44 drum of oil.

It is getting very hard to find WVO that is not being payed for suitable straight as either SVO use or Bio production.

Well fellows at $40-50 you are doing well
Here in Melbourne is pushing $80 to 90 so start providing some money to the shop owners
You also want to consider that they are running a buisiness so be one of their customers that spends a bit of money there as well
The waste oil collector wont
It goes a long way in to assuring you position in the who is going to get it
Cheers
Chris

[bruceT Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bruceT]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

I have been extremely lucky to find a source of cottonseed oil. The owner of the shop only cooks in cottonseed oil and nothing else. He doesn't have a greastrap, so pumps the oil back into the 20litre drums he gets it in. What's more, his pump has a filter on it, so it contains practically no foreign bits at all! I just have to turn up and load the drums into my car, and he doesn't want the containers back! I reckon I'm extremely lucky to have the cleanest collection and fitrering system possible He is producing around 50-60 litres of used oil a week which is pretty close to what I need, so it's perfect.

Like Tony, I'm cold filtering my oil through 10micron bags using only a gravity system. The bags have a ring that exactly fits a home brew drum. I line the filter bags with pool skim-filter liners. Theses cheap liners catch most of the high melting point oils and extends the life of the filter bags.

I'm about to show him a little sign I'm working on to put on the back window of my 300D, just to help drum up a bit of business for him and to show my appreciation. Yes we do buy his chips and spring rolls. They are the best we've ever tasted, and even better, we know what he's cooked them in!

[bruceT Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bruceT]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

This w/e I picked up four 20litre drums of used cottonseed oil, but was dismayed to find they all contained a high proportion of high melting point oils. From one of the drums I only managed to cold-filter about 5 litres of liquid oil, the rest is goop. Previous drums collected have contained about 15 litres of liquid oil, so I'm not sure why this is the case.

Anyway, I heated all the goop to 40degC (heating using an oil-burning brass pressure stove!) and filtered it anyway. I figure over the next few months with the temps warming up, most of it will probably melt and become useable again. I don't have a fully heated system in my '76 Mercedes 300D nor a heated tank, so my oil needs to be liquid at ambient temps. Having been running on UCO for only 2 months, I don't have experience with summer running, so don't know how much of it will melt and become useable.

[Sunnysideup Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sunnysideup]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

Hi Bruce,

Definitely keep the oil.

In the mean time this might motivate you to build a heated fuel intake in your tank.

It isn't too difficult or too expensive. All coolant controlled.

heated tank intake, hose on hose exchanger, maybe also do a heated hose rap of your main filter.

Then you can utilse this great source of energy in the form of, as you eloquently put it, goop.

All the best Bruce.

Regards,

Jason

[otherside532 Member Find all posts View Profile Close otherside532]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

Greetings from New Zealand. I am new here and was just reading about the cottonseed oil thingy. We are still very fortunate here, it would seem, in that the chippies etc are still PAYING to get their waste oil removed. I got almost 1000 litres (he uses sunflower oil) over time from a local chip shop in 20 litre drums and he was paying NZ$2.00 to take each 20 litre drum to "the dump!" I obtained a 20 litre drum of cottonseed oil this weekend from another chip shop just to try it out.

[Captain Echidna Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captain Echidna]

Re: Has anyone been using cottonseed oil?

Otherside, be prepeared for some abuse from australians in areas where they pay for oil. Dont worry too much, they will probably not do what they threaten, and anyway you cant take that type of tourture equpment on a plane.

Seriously, you may have better luck filtering oil from cafes, it is close to the "virgin" end of the scale, where fish and chip shop oil is nearer, well lets call it "the other end".

Often cottonseed oil gets tallows in it from pre fried food, so winds up a mix of tallows and cottonseed (or whatever they started with). The "canola" I got from a fish and chip shop is still solid. Some oil I get the same brand from 2 sources one is clear, the other is not.