Waste Oil Heater Forum - Your definitive source for burning waste oil for heat.

Not sure why I picked this one but it seemed good at the time.  There could have been a bit more detail. 
  I'm still trying to determine how to process the waste oil [step by step, parts, devices, filters, etc] before final use. http://www.ehow.com/how_4776601_build-waste-oil-burner.html

Doug,
   I have no idea what different "burns" are.  You can see I'm a total novice.  Thanks for linking that furnace video.  It gave some good food for thought.  I didn't follow what that other guy was doing with the old wood stove and the big blower.  It looks so foreign to what I will probably set up.

Hey, Guys
   I'm new to steam but my mining partner is an old hand at it.  He's been steaming gravel for 3 decades [we're both 67].
He has used "hotsy" coils for many years and is currently using one system I built for him...simple burner burning diesel fed through a high pressure pump.  It is fairly low pressure steam, about 60 lb, I believe.  He doesn't seem to burn an enormous quantity of fuel.  I'll be feeding steam to at least 4 "steam points"...long steel tubes [5/16 id] that are driven into the frozen gravel and allowed to do their thawing for around 10 hours.  I can get more information from him as we get set up there in Alaska.
   I need to know about filtering the waste oil.  Do I need to heat the supply tank?  Will  a high pressure washer pump work in a syphon system...I have one if I need it.  thanks again

Hello, everyone,
   Strictly speaking I'm not in Alaska yet but will be there in two weeks and won't be returning to Colorado till early October.  Along with my wife, we will be mining gold on our claims near Fairbanks.  I've joined the forum since I am acquiring all the parts and devices to build a waste oil burner and will need help in getting it assembled and running properly.  The reason for building it is to economically heat water to make steam which we will use to thaw permafrost gravel which contains the gold we mine.  I have been using some instructions obtained from an online source and though that has been very helpful, there isn't much detail as to how all the various parts are properly assembled.  I have a good bit of mechanical knowhow but stuff like PID controllers are a challenge.  I'm still receiving parts in the mail, most importantly the Beckett burner itself so I'll need to wait before I start asking much advice.  Something I do need to find out soon is what do I need to do to the raw waste oil we collect [there's an abundant supply of used motor, and transmission oil in Fairbanks to be had for the taking] to have it ready to enter into the burner system.
   I did build a preheater using an aluminum block and then drilling an elaborate passageway throughout the block before it ends up at the nozzle.  I am using a 400 watt cartridge heater which is going to have to be regulated as it gets the block way too hot.  I have a PID controller that I am slowly coming to understand how to use...but still could use advice when it's time to wire it up.
   I'm looking forward to reading lots of posts here to get myself up to speed on this subject.