DIY oil mist filter, made a little challenge

Hello everyone!

So I start a thread about a DIY oil mist filter and really appreciate any helpful answers! Everyone giving answers wich can be found in the filter I will build gets a appropiate reward like chemicals, glassware or large vintage ground glass bottle(s)

I got my hands on an fancy Edwards RV3 two stage rotary vane vacuum pump and before I can use it in the lab I have to resolve the oil mist problem. I dont like a thin oil film in the lab and my lungs!
I checked the prices of a Edwards Oil MIST Filter EMF10 and they are way above 200 bucks. It has the advantage to filter 99.999% of the oil aswell as returning it to the pump(with an additional piece of hardware? Photo of the gas outlet added, there´s a small hole), minimizing the need to replace the oil but on the other hand it´s quite expensive (equal to 20l+ of oil).

Checking the Edwards shop I found replacement elements for the filter to be made of fiberglass or PP and had the idea of a DIY solution.
The outlet of my pump is DN25KF so it is easy to mount something on it or to vary the build for any other pump, adapter to DN40KF is also in stock and I won´t need it.

The main criterias for a DIY unit are:
I. All materials used need to be totally inert to the used oil (Edwards Ultragrade 19 in my case, I did not find a SDS or any information on the actual oil).
II. No contamination of the oil in any way to not influence the lifespan of the pump [solids and chemical (I.)].
III. Satisfactory efficiency, it should be able to filter at least 99.9% and return all oil wich is not trapped in the filter.
IV. Price and difficulty. It should use cheap OTC material and not exceed the time equal of buying a original one.
V. Max allowed outlet pressure is 0.2 bar for my pump according to the Edwards RV3 datasheet

I add my thoughts I have had till now, maybe they are of interest or just stupid.
First I had the idea to use a stainless steel pipe, bend in a spiral filled with stainless filings lika a column to catch the oil droplets and allow it to flow back through the spiral. I quickly discarded the idea because of the difficulty of bending a one inch diameter ss tube in a spiral (I have access to a bending machine of a relative but most others don´t), the amount of the oil wich is held back, the the size and the biggest issure of the quite high risk of physical contamination due to the the shavings vibrating on the running pump -> they act as little saws on the edges producing small metal particles wich have to be filtered of again ... unpractical!
So I went online and quickly found this short video on youtube. The way the oil is returned can be optimized and depends on the pump but the general filter seems legit. At least it brought some new ideas:
Using standart kitchen hood like oil filter material (better alternatives may be OTC aswell) arranged like a flat V in the filter in multiple layers. The question here is efficiency and if the oil flows back by gravity when the filter layer(s) are saturated.
For other pump types the filters just have to be arranged to collect the oil and use a system similar to the one shown in the video.

There were much more stupid ideas in my head but I´ll keep them there to not blame me too much.

Do you have any idea how to build one or have you done it already?
Can´t wait to read your ideas! Btw I didn´t spent much time online searching

DrScrabs





Of course I wrote it false on the image. It´s the first prize?



[Edited on 29-4-2019 by DrScrabs]

[Edited on 29-4-2019 by DrScrabs]

@Sulaiman
The general concept is good. But if one has to use a filter anyway, maybe that´s the way to go at all.
Regarding the trap: I didn´t thought about this option yet, good point.
The noise IMHO is not a point of concern, sound surpressing systems for gasses have been well researched in the past, unfortunately for a sad use. There are plenty of different geometries for pulsating gass impulses (did I got that one right? I mean like gun scilencers, not that much difference I think). Maybe It´s possible to combine booth, the trap and the scilencer in one device!
Max allowed outlet pressure is 0.2 bar I forgot, sorry, I edited into my original post @V.

@RedDwarf
I have never heard of it, never had anyting to do with compressing air exccept of using it
Thanks, I will have a look on it. Your link does not work for me the way it is ment to btw, local internet differences haha

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