Bio Diesel contraption

[poor]

I have had the opposite experience-my KFC oil titrates at about 7 or 8-not good oil for biofuel-but use it in my turbo burner to heat other oil!

 

[rrab1]

b-100

bpine, we use the procsessor from azure and me have made almost 500gal. so far, my dodge and the ford have run fine but I find that it is never as clear as #2 from the pump and to my untrained eye my b-100 is slightly thicker as it run down inside of the jar and feels thicker too. How does yours compare to #2 from the pump, Thanks Don

 

[BPINE]

Well my fuel is very clear but varies in color based on the WVO I start with. How are you washing and drying your fuel. Also what temp do you process your fuel at? Are you using Naoh or KOH? What is you base amount of Caustic and Methanol, what does your oil titrate at? Just a few questions to get an idea of what your fuel should look like.

 

[rrab1]

washing-yes, drying,never heard about that,120 degrees,hoah or koh? 8 gallons of methanol for 40 gallons of oil,636grams of lye or less, tritrate . 09 Thank's for the response Don

 

[BPINE]

Well it looks like everything is good other than you are not drying your fuel which is very important. For drying I have a poly 55 gal drum which I heat to about 90 degrees and bubble air through it for a day or so and the fuel will be crystal clear. Take a sample of your fuel and put it in a bucket and let it sit out in the sun for a couple of hours, I bet it will look clear.



What do you add to the methanol for caustic? Naoh is Sodium Hydroxide and KOH which I use is Potassium Hydroxide. KOH makes for a more liquid glycerin and the wash water after the first few gallons can be used on the lawn without killing it. Also much better for the environment.

 

[BFoster]

I have now been making my own homebrew for about a month, the oil i am using is from 3 asian restuarants(titrate at about 3. 5 g/L) I am runing my Jetta on 100% and will run the 91 dodge on 10% until I get the Fuel lines changed out to synthetic rubber. I can make up to 40 gallons per batch and I wash and dry it. The Jetta has lost about 3 mpg(47 down to 44), but fuel cost is $2/gallon less than D2($0. 88), and I have a slight loss of power(starting with 90, it hurts a little).

 

[WBusa]

Very cool contraption... congrats and have fun.



At the risk of being a party-pooper though, here's my $0. 02: I'm a huge fan of biodiesel, but I would never dream of feeding my much-loved '95 CTD as much as a single drop of 'home-brew'. The way I see it, home-brew 'quality control' is essentially zero, unless the home happens to be that of a trained chemical engineer who has a lot of time and money on his hands. I'm pretty confident that most home-brew from WVO will be heavily contaminated with god-only-knows-what (and certainly with water)... if one was to purchase such an alphabet soup from a filling station one would be justifiably up in arms about it and worried sick that it would ruin one's injectors, pump, cylinders, etc. over time... but somehow, when it's 'free', a lot of folks' quality expectations fly out the window. I personally don't get it.



Now don't get me wrong... I'll defend to the death your right to feed your Cummins fuel of thoroughly dubious quality if that's what you're into (provided you continue to pay the same road-use taxes I have to... ahem!). Please, though, do all of us who are attempting to popularize real (i. e. , commercial-quality) biodiesel a favor: if/when your Cummins curls up and dies on the stuff, and your mechanic tells you it looks like a fuel contamination problem, make sure everyone you tell your tale of woe to understands that you weren't burning biodiesel, but rather 'home-processed mixed wastes' (let's call it 'HPMW'). There's already enough confusion and misinformation out there about real biodiesel as it is.



'Scuse me while I slip into my flame-retardent undies... :-laf

 

[WadePatton]

Borrow a smelter's outfit.



Well, WB maybe you've never made your own beer or wine. That stuff is going into a omigosh--human being! Maybe you've never rolled your own ammunition. Mess up on quality control there and lose a deer, or a firefight, or blow up a gun with serious personal injury ramifications. Maybe you've not fried your own chicken. Cross contamination there can lead to a night in the bathroom or at the hospital.



What's a recall? That's where those in which you place so much trust not to foul things up---FOUL THINGS UP! Sometimes they cover your costs for the foul-up. Sometimes they can't---like the two burned up late-model (6. 0 I presume) Fords at the local junkyard. How much personal property and labor was destroyed by the engineering follies of FoMoCo there?



I'm a do-it-myselfer. If I mess it up, I'll get over it. But I find that I generally have much more time and effort to spend in quality control than mass-marketing companies AND I'm motivated by real and present repercussions, unlike the engineer or tech on the line who'll have hardly any backlash from his error.



But that's real fine that you recognize your limits of technical capability--or at least your comfort zone. Some of us don't feel so constrained.



Here, you can't buy ready-made bio. If you want it, you make it. And without the profit-margin factor, one can take his sweet time making and testing his product.



I'm not offended by the notion that some folks may wind up with an inferior product. There are always a few folks like that. But please do not assume that there is some magical process or testing procedure that makes all commercial bio a better fuel than can be made at home. That simply isn't so.



Steps down from box.

 

[KBennett]

If you are really concerned, you can have your results tested by a lab to ASTM standards.

 

[BPINE]

If you are really concerned, you can have your results tested by a lab to ASTM standards.

I was a bit concerned so I did exactly that and my fuel passed the ASTM spec with no problems. All that did was prove to me at least that the back yard testing procedures and brewing formula if followed correctly work.



IMO it is no different than all the other things we do to our truck that either void the warrantee, possibly make the truck unreliable or in most cases alter the emissions.

 

[WBusa]

maybe you've never made your own beer or wine [... ] Maybe you've not fried your own chicken.

WP, first, thanks for keeping it friendly. Second, I have to admit that I've never made beer or wine, nor fried chicken, using mixed mystery wastes handed to me out the back door of a store by some kid I don't know, nor employing a processing chemistry that I don't understand in detail.



Hey, diffr'nt strokes for diffr'nt folks. I salute your willingness to experiment - it's just not for me - and I admit to being concerned that bad experiences with WVO will rub off on the good reputation of gen-you-wine biodiesel. And then too, there is that pesky "are you paying your taxes same as me?" issue... .



Upon further reflection, what I would support, and enthusiastically, would be if some experienced homebrewers raised some capital, started a company, lined up supply contracts with lots of restaurants, hired a QC chemist, and started marketing ASTM-quality WVO-biodiesel with the taxes fully paid. Now that would be tres cool; mine would be the first Cummins in line at the pump. That said, being a businessman myself I realize what a lot this entails (and good luck finding a bank to give you a loan for such a cutting-edge effort). But it would be way cool... .

 

[WadePatton]

Willie did it.



I wouldn't have the patience to wade through the gov't regs and tax stuff involved in going commercial. That's way more complicated than the chemistry involved.

 

[WBusa]

Willie did it.

Umm, Willie didn't do what I'm suggesting. First off, he didn't start a company, he licensed his name and his face to one (a lot easier, and a darn sight more profitable). Second, BioWillie sells gen-you-wine extra-virgin biodiesel, not wvo-biodiesel.

 

[BPINE]

then too, there is that pesky "are you paying your taxes same as me?" issue... .

If that is all you are worried about Yes I am. But I do get a 400 gallon per quarter exemption from the feds. I don't make near that much anyway so I guess I will be OK.

 

[MCrossley]

I would run it...

I feel like anything else if you follow directions and everything is checked out I would run this stuff without any objection I apluad everyone making this stuff very friendly for the enviroment and many people that I know running this stuff have had no issues at all in fact many say their trucks seem to run smoother. Good Job Guys! Oo.

 

[RStorie]

here's what an appleseed processor looks like, got the ideas from several sites

getting ready to make some BIO next weekend, took about a two day's to complete the processor and the wash / drying tanks

new to the site

been reading the forum for several years

hope this fuels the forum

Bob

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Blair, since you have been running bio for over a year, have you ever pulled an injector to see how much deposits have built up on the tips? Also how about an update on fuel economy and engine performance/drivability?



Another question, do you mix diesel additives to make up for the lack of detergents in home brew, or do you think the natural cleaning effect of bio makes up for it?



I am trying to decide whether to continue burning filtered WVO mixed with diesel (sort of a DSE thing) or jump into the bio process so I can run a higher percentage of home brew.



BTW are you going to be around next weekend? There's a chance I may stop by next Sunday AM. I'll be driving south in the '98 with several 5-gallon buckets of prepped WVO in the back to burn on my trip to LA. Usually cut my fillups with 25-35% WVO.



Vaughn

 

[BPINE]

Hey Vaughn, I pulled an injector several months ago and it looked just like it always has running petro diesel. I am very happy with the results of running bio so far and have no reason to think things will change.



I run no additives at all and have had no problems with either truck Toyota or Dodge.



Next weekend I will be running a Motorcycle race at Metcalf Park in San Jose right off hwy 101. Stop by if you want to bs and maybe after the race we can go by the house so you can take a look at my setup.



IMO bio is the safest Alternative fuel to run but it looks like others on this site are having good luck with DSE.



I made a 2500 mile round trip on my homemade bio up to see Piers and had no problems at all. So far I am well over 20k between the two trucks and am not looking back. All that said it takes a bit of tinkering to make bio and if you are at all afraid of some work don't do it. I spend at least 5 hours a week for 2 40 gallon batches + pick up of oil.

 

[BPINE]

here's what an appleseed processor looks like, got the ideas from several sites

getting ready to make some BIO next weekend, took about a two day's to complete the processor and the wash / drying tanks

new to the site

been reading the forum for several years

hope this fuels the forum

Bob

Looks very nice Bob, one thing though scrap the tubing for the return line and hard pipe it. You can leave the site tube the way it is because while it is running it will be closed and can't cause any problems. Also don't use any plastic hose barbs they will fail in time. Don't ask how I know all this !!! LOL

 

[Cooker]

Blair, since you have been running bio for over a year, have you ever pulled an injector to see how much deposits have built up on the tips? Vaughn

Vaughn, aren't the deposits associated with running SVO/WVO? I didn't realize there was a deposit problem with bio?