No. It would need modification to work efficiently, also I have no idea about the safety. I’m not using heptane and have not fully looked into this.
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I need suggestions for centrifuges I can use that can handle ethanol denatured with heptane. Ive heard that washing machine pumps will be damaged by heptane. Is there truth to this?
I have used a small Panda Portable Spin Dryer that spins at 3200 rpms and it works greaaatt. I don’t think I need 3200 rpms though. Downside to this is the size.
I have also bought a Hobart Salad Spinner (20 Gallon) but it only spins at 406rpm and I feel it is too slow. I only get 90% solvent revovery whereas the Panda Spinner gets me >98% solvent recovery.
I need something around 1100-1500 rpms that can hold around 20 gallons and won’t fail when ethanol filled trim is topped off.
Alternatively, does anyone here know how to change out a motor on the hobart spinner for something faster? What issues will I run into when attempting to do this? Its a $2500 machine so Id prefer not to damage it beyond repair.
I am having a huge bottleneck with this centrifuge. I have 7000lb of material to run and I can’t imagine having to use a tiny spin dryer for all of it.
Thank you in advance for any input you may have.
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Changing the motor out on the Hobart might be an option, best way to find out is to try (or at least open the thing up). I think the biggest issue you’ll run into will be that it’s not designed to handle the load once you get it spinning faster. The last thing you want is it coming apart at 1000rpm.
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I found out that it is a geared motor and so I will be trying to alter the ratio of the gears. I figured that the plastic basket it came with cannot handle 1000rpms and so I will pronably opt for a stainless steel basket bolted on.
Cheers to not dying. Wish me luck!
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no, Delta did not get their design from Bock. Bock started making centrifuges for the laundry industry around 1905 (based on vintage ads seen on ebay).
When they went bankrupt in a liability suit, northstar picked up their design.
there are no new ideas…
How is this compared to a used Bock? This seems like a tank… Wouldn’t mind getting my hands on this if it can truly handle the load it says it can.
don’t know. would probably depend on which Bock. basic design hasn’t changed in 100 years.
At a glance, the 30" diameter basket at 1200rpm is going to be better g’s than the Panda.
if you put a tape measure across the Panda I’ll do the math 
Edit: wrong!
14"@3200 rpm is more than 3x the g’s of 30"@1200 rpm
which is 3x the 16"@900rpm I achieved yesterday…
Are you using diameter or radius when doing the rfc equation? I am getting 691 rpm for a 30" basket diameter (the one linked above) to achieve the same G’s as the panda. So 1200 rpms would be overkill.
radius. however it was supposed to be in mm not cm.
so I’m out by a decimal point above.
I’m getting 2200 RPM at 30in diameter to match the Panda.
Edit: apparently I pulled two versions of the same formula. the one above needs radius in mm. the one I posted in Delta Separations CUP - #5 by cyclopath uses radius in cm. just to keep you on your toes
actual radius on CUP 15 is about 13.75in. CUP 2.0 hits 1800rpm. Need actual radius on Panda.
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9.5 inches diameter on the panda. I just measured it.
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See Delta Separations CUP - #22 by cyclopath for comparison of g-force now that I’ve gotten my maths straight and have solid rotor diameters.
even at 9.5in, the Panda has the CUP 2.0 beat 2:1
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at a guess, the major difference would be price. I believe Northstar is using Bocks designs. You can get the Bocks in explosion proof versions (removing carbon tet?) if you look hard. Not sure if Northstar offers an Atex rated upgrade.
buying new also means you don’t have to deal with whatever the PO was running through it…
There are also a number of other vendors, but Bock was at it for so long I assume they pretty much figured it out
How are you liking the Panda? Are you using bags inside or just putting the material in straight? How are adding/removing the material?
Im tempted to setup an array of Panda spinners but I have yet to find a bag that comes out as easy as it went in.
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So, i was using a 5 gal 45 micron bubble bag with a pound of kief in it, spun and wrapped tight. I put that into a 5 gal 25 micron bag, spun and wrapped and into the panda. I have ran 12 pounds successfully. I have now got 5 gal 220 micron wash bags from bubblebagdude.co. They fit into the panda pretty well. I’m gonna try and fill them up with trim and test run tomorrow to determine batch size.
That being said, the washing machine i got should spin at 200g with a 22 inch basket. So I’m gonna have more info on that too.
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Aight, I’ve done done initial testing.
I started by putting a little less than a pound in the 220 wash bag. Poured 2.5 gal over and let it sit for 10, then into the panda. Got back pretty much 2.5 gal. Bag went in and out without problems.
Filled 3 x 220 wash bags full. Roughly 1250 g in each. Needed 10 gal to submerge the 3 bags. Sat for 10 min, then each bag went into 25/45 micron bubble bag and into the washing machine. Spin cycle is 12 min, only hits 800 rpm the very last minute. Pumped 9.4 gal back into jugs. I then pulled out the first bag and shoved it in the panda. It fit surprisingly well. Ran without issues, but only got less than a cup of etho out. The problem came after, trying to get the bag out. It took 5-10 min. So next bag was divided into 2 wash bags and into the panda, no use of any 25 or 45 bag. This worked smoothly, still only got a cup or less out. Bags now came out easy.
So, in the end the material still kept a bit more than 0.5 gal with 4 kg trim. This was just my first test and i understand this isn’t much data, but this is what i got for now. Started with 10, got 9.4 back. Material is still damp coming out of the panda if excessive amounts of water leaf/garbage is in there. Most of the etho was reclaimed by 22 inch 800 rpm spin cycle in washing machine, 12 minutes long.
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Im getting about 9.8/10 gallons running the panda. I’ve given up in the hobart. It leaves about a gallon behind in 6lb of material. I’m using the 10 gallon 220 micron bubble bags to extract in. I do 5 gallons of etoh to 6lb of material and do 3-4 soaks depending on material. This leaves me with a 5gal bucket of solution that has 18-24lb of material ran through out.
The diameter of the panda is 9.5 inches but the opening on the top is avout 7.75 inches. It makes pulling bags out more difficult. I opted for 2 long cylindrical bags that fill the panda’s full diamater. After spinning, the material inside the bags decreased in volume and can be taken out easily.
Im planning on setting up a rack of Pandas and have them drain onto a gutter that leads to a 5gal bucket. Each Panda spins on a 5min cycle and can hold 4lb of material. This means I can do 100lb a day with just 2 of them.
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The gutter seems a tad bit elaborate. I just set out a 5 gal bucket in front of each one. Its a pain with how little volume you can put in a bag and get it in and out of the panda’s opening. One of my guys likes to throw the material straight in and shopvac it out. 
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I was doing that for a little while but filtering out the material was a hassle. Using 2 small bags has worked out really well for me. Removal doesnt take any longer than insertion now.
The gutter may be elaborate but I prefer systematic approaches. This way, no one can mess up!
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Yeah, i think some etho must be stuck in the washing machine. I was surprised how little came out of the panda after. Don’t know where the .4 went.
Btw, do you grind yours to get 4 lbs in there? I didn’t grind mine.