sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
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Post by sheltie on Nov 8, 2012 13:27:08 GMT -5
Yesterday for the second time in less than a month, I decided to empty the slab saw and filter the oil. Once again, the oil being filtered is dark colored. This time I don't care because I've read enough to know that I've done what's necessary to filter the oil. However, I STILL don't understand how some of you filter the oil and it comes out essentially the same color as when you added it. I put two large brown bags inside a five gallon pail that has many small holes drilled in the bottom and that pail rest on an ordinary fove gallon pail. Inside the two brown bags, I have four additional small lunch bags (two inside each other). So the oil is mostly being filtered through four brown bags. What am I doing differently from those of you whose oil is filtered clear? ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) ?
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riverbendlapidary
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by riverbendlapidary on Nov 8, 2012 17:22:38 GMT -5
if you have been cutting red jasper, tiger eye, malachite or other stones that "bleed", your oil will probaby change color forever. it won't hurt anything. all you need to do is put a milk crate in your saw, place h.e.b. paper bag in crate and pour in the oil and sludge and let gravity and time do the rest.
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Post by deb193redux on Nov 8, 2012 18:02:17 GMT -5
have gotten clear in the past, but since I have been cutting more rhyoite, the last filter or two left a clear dingy yellow color after filtering. It looks clear in a dark bucket, but it looks yellowish in a white bucket.
Maybe you got some dye effect that can't be filtered.
What was the most messy rock you cut?
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Post by phil on Nov 8, 2012 23:22:12 GMT -5
Could be 2 things. You've been cutting material that has dyed your oil (I've only seen it once) or you have poor quality paper bags. I use 2 heavy grocery bags and just this week did my 3rd saw in 3 weeks, and all the filtered oil is clear. Phil
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Post by Rockoonz on Nov 10, 2012 14:45:13 GMT -5
What kind of saw are we talking about? A saw with a relatively low volume of oil could concievably heat the oil enough to make it darker colored, I would think. The company I work for runs a lot of hydraulic presses, with the ones that tend to run hotter the oil comes out a lot darker, even with a high level of filtration.
Lee
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
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Post by sheltie on Nov 10, 2012 17:05:19 GMT -5
I do a lot of agate (with and without moss) and jasper, rhyolite, some quartz and wonderstone.
JR - I don't understand your comment about putting a crate inside the saw and bags in the crate. I got a hunk of plume from you and it REALLY turned everything dirty (but it sure is a pretty slab).
I have a new Highland Park 16" slab saw. The messiest rock is probably that plume agate I mentioned above, although most anything with moss in it is pretty messy.
Phil - It's getting pretty bad when I have to worry about the quality of brown bags! ;D I use plain brown grocery and lunch bags to filter the oil. I was wondering if maybe I'm using too many bags to filter (four in all).
I'm not worried about the color, just wondering what I'm doing differently from those of you who filter clear.
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Post by deb193redux on Nov 10, 2012 17:30:28 GMT -5
the question is if you have tinted but clean or foggy with opaque particulate. is it tint or particles?
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Post by phil on Nov 12, 2012 0:29:04 GMT -5
Cool. We only use 2 of the large paper grocery bags. Using 4 might be why it's taking so long?
I think what he meant with the crate comment was to set a crate in side your saw upside down, set the bags on top and allow the filtered oil to simply drain right back into the saw.
later! Phil
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unclem
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Me
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Post by unclem on Nov 12, 2012 9:01:59 GMT -5
I think I will try that crate trick. I have several 5 gal buckets sitting and most of the heavy material settles out. But I always loose some oil when it comes down to the last of the bucket. I seen a thread on making a vacuum pump out of a bicycle pump. Sounds easy enuf. And then I could use the crate for salvaging remaining oil from the sludge. Thanks for the ideas.
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
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Post by sheltie on Nov 12, 2012 9:13:00 GMT -5
the question is if you have tinted but clean or foggy with opaque particulate. is it tint or particles? It's tint, no particulates. That's why I'm not particularly concerned. I just am trying to understand why others get clear and I don't.
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
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Post by sheltie on Nov 12, 2012 9:17:46 GMT -5
Cool. We only use 2 of the large paper grocery bags. Using 4 might be why it's taking so long? I think what he meant with the crate comment was to set a crate in side your saw upside down, set the bags on top and allow the filtered oil to simply drain right back into the saw. later! Phil There is no conceivable way for me to put a crate inside my saw. I have two rails for the vise that go the entire north/south distance of the container and they sit approximately 6-8" from the bottom of it. Unless you mean to put the crate in there on top of the rails when the saw isn't in use and just filter it for a couple weeks or so. Unfortunately, that would shut down the use of the saw for that period of time. I keep an extra five gallons on hand at all times to replenish the oil when I'm changing it out.
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Post by deb193redux on Nov 12, 2012 9:31:33 GMT -5
Your oil has somehow been dyed or burnt and will never turn clear from filtering.
IF you can easily see through the oil, except that it is tinted, the filtering worked.
The question is: What tinted the oil?
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Post by phil on Nov 12, 2012 10:28:09 GMT -5
There is no conceivable way for me to put a crate inside my saw. I have two rails for the vise that go the entire north/south distance of the container and they sit approximately 6-8" from the bottom of it. Unless you mean to put the crate in there on top of the rails when the saw isn't in use and just filter it for a couple weeks or so. Unfortunately, that would shut down the use of the saw for that period of time. I keep an extra five gallons on hand at all times to replenish the oil when I'm changing it out. That's why I use the buckets with raised mesh "floor" and simply swap oil come cleaning time. Zero down time and usually I can get enough filtered overnight to reduce the $$ outlay on fresh oil. The rest I let drain till I need it.
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herb
spending too much on rocks
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Post by herb on Nov 13, 2012 12:12:56 GMT -5
For those wanting to recover as much oil as possible, I don't think I've seen mentioned here before: Take the left over sludge after filtering and put it in a container (or several) and add water. Stir it up (or shake it) occasionally to break up the hard chunks into a slurry. You'd be surprised how much oil floats up to the top.
The easiest way to remove the oil without getting any of the water is to freeze the container and then just pour off the oil. For those who live where winters actually get cold, now is the perfect time to let mother nature do the freezing for you, otherwise you'll have to figure out how to stick the container in your freezer without the S.O. knowing about it!
I am in the middle of trying this using one of those giant plastic pretzel containers. I used a pretzel container thinking I could simply shake it rather than having to stir it, but the lid is not water tight, so next time I will just just a 5 gallon pail and stir it periodically. So far there is a good inch of oil that has floated to the top. Just waiting for a good freeze to pour it off.
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snuffy
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Post by snuffy on Nov 13, 2012 12:42:07 GMT -5
That is a good tip herb.I place all my sludge bags in a 30 gallon heavy duty plastic trash barrel,filled half full of water.Have even just dumped the thick sludge in it.Oil will float to the top.Dont know what I'll do with the mess thats left in it,been doing that a couple years.
snuffy
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herb
spending too much on rocks
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Post by herb on Nov 13, 2012 14:30:53 GMT -5
Just to save someone the grief in case you don't think about it: When you go to freeze the container, make sure you leave enough room in it so as the water expands as it freezes the container doesn't overflow or burst! That could be quite a mess!
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riverbendlapidary
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by riverbendlapidary on Nov 17, 2012 23:55:16 GMT -5
yes the freeze method works. try adding hot water to begin with, this will release more oil from the sludge. also, make sure you use an old ratty outdoor freezer. if the wife sees a bucket of sludge in the kitchen freezer, lawyer bills and counseling are sure to swiftly follow...
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