Made my second batch of bio/freedom diesel this weekend.

[onstottc]

I'm a cheapskate, so when I heard that you can convert waste vegatable oil into fuel for a diesel, I was interested.

I started out by making a batch from a few gallons of rancid oil I had in my kitchen. I used red devil lye and methanol from a few bottles of Heet to make my first gallon. Basically the process stripes the glycerine off of the oil molecule and replaces it with a methanol molecule.



Since then, I've been getting used oil from a resturant that makes potato chips. I started collecting the oil before I had all of my apparatus together for making larger batches. With 70 gallons of oil waiting, it was time to try making a 10 gallon batch.



This time I used an electric barbecue heater to heat the oil, a 25. 00 pump from harbor frieght for mixing, and a 15 gallon stainless steel paint bucket for a container.



I added 10 gallons of oil to the large container. In a separate contaner I measured out 2 gallons of methanol. Then I carefully added 250 grams of lye to the methanol. I used a drill and a paint stirrer to carefully mix the methanol and lye together.



In the large container, I made sure the oil was fairly warm but not too warm. Then I started the pump to circulate the oil. With the oil circulating, I carefully poured in the methanol/lye mixture.



After about an hour circulating, I stopped the pump and watched as the glycerine settled to the bottom the container over the next few hours.



The next step with to pull the product off of the glycerine and wash it with water and an aquarium bubbler to help remove some of the water soluble nasties. .

 

[Headshot zod]

freedom diesel... ... ... . I love it

Oo.

 

[onstottc]

Bio is too hippy-dippy... I'm into this because I'm cheap, interested in the sciences, and don't like buying oil from people who use the money to fly planes into me.

 

[Murle]

What did it cost you to make 10 gal. of this fuel????? Please include the time it took you to collect the vegetable oil and the amount of time and propane it takes to cook it. Thanks in advance

 

[DKayser]

The next step with to pull the product off of the glycerine and wash it with water and an aquarium bubbler to help remove some of the water soluble nasties. .

This is where you lose me. Can you clarify what you mean? Are you mixing the freedom fuel W/water, & then seperating them? TIA, DK.

 

[onstottc]

I get a call from the resturant once a month to come and collect the oil. The usually give me 6 5 gallon plastic containers in cardboard boxes. It takes me about 15 minutes to collect the oil. And they are on my route home from work.



I do not use propane to heat the oil. An electric element heats it up in less than an hour. I purchase the methanol at a local fuel dealer for 2. 75/gallon. Lye is purchased at the grocery store for $2. 00 in 800 gram quantities.



For this ten gallon batch, my cost per gallon is probably around . 50. I've got about 50 dollars tied up in equipment which I am not counting into the costs.



Adding up the time cost is more difficult. I spent a lot of time reading and locating pieces for my processor. It took about two hours to mix up yesterdays batch-- I spent an hour of that time watching tv. It will take less time once I refine my system.

 

[Murle]

So about . 50 less labor... . Hummm add labor and it comes to about 3 bucks a gal. You have to figure the cost of the equipment and the wear and tear of it. That is just business. Don't forget the electricty it takes to run the pump

 

[onstottc]

This is where you lose me. Can you clarify what you mean? Are you mixing the freedom fuel W/water, & then seperating them? TIA, DK.

The water is added to wash the soaps out of the product. It will sit at the bottom of the container with the product on top. When you put and aquarium bubbler in the water is sends water droplets up through the product where it scours out the soaps and sinks back down to the layer of water on the bottom of the container.



After changing the water a few times, you decant the finished product off of the water.

 

[RManwell]

How does it run in your pickup?

 

[Headshot zod]

There are couple of ways to bubble or wash your brew. The Idaho method like he used or the misting method with a mister.

 

[onstottc]

So about . 50 less labor... . Hummm add labor and it comes to about 3 bucks a gal. You have to figure the cost of the equipment and the wear and tear of it. That is just business. Don't forget the electricty it takes to run the pump

True, but I'm not running this as a business-- just something interesting to do in some spare time. If I charged my hourly rate for everything, I'd hire someone to go to the bathroom for me.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I thought about giving biodiesel a try but then convinced myself it was too involved and laborious for the number of gallons you'd end up with. Plus it's easy to screw it up and end up with a bucket of yellow mush.



I'm too lazy or don't have the time so I just filter my WVO, mix about 5-10% gasoline with which will prevent it from being too viscous without compromising lubricity, and then add 5-10 gallons of it per tankful to save about $10 - $20 per fillup.



Vaughn

 

[KBennett]

I'm too lazy or don't have the time so I just filter my WVO, mix about 5-10% gasoline with which will prevent it from being too viscous without compromising lubricity, and then add 5-10 gallons of it per tankful to save about $10 - $20 per fillup.

How does it work for you Vaughn? Do you see a performance difference? Did you run it in the '03? If I get the '95 I am definitely going to give it a try.

 

[Headshot zod]

Never heard of mixing wvo with gas. .

 

[Rhinohd]

Kind of reminds me of when I used to brew beer! It's not cheaper but it was fun to enjoy the fruits of your labor! Beside that sounds like a great garage story to tell! Rock On!

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

KBennet I did it in both the '03 and '96. Didn't do it much in the '03 though. No ill effects although the best way to tell if any harm would be done is do it for a long time then pull the injectors and inspect them.



It definitely changed the exhaust smell and it made less smoke. No effect on power or mileage.



I would only do it in warm weather, winter is a definite NO NO.



I'm going to be running a lot in the '96, that's for sure, and since I'll likely be changing injectors from time to time I can find out if it's causing deposits.



One thing I did on my '01 Ram was burn my used motor oil. Over 50k miles I burned 12-14 gallons of oil and when I pulled the injectors they were nice and clean, nothing more than a fine layer of soot on the tips.



I ALWAYS use fuel additive which I believe plays a role in keeping injectors clean, no matter what you run (within reason).

 

[KBennett]

Vaughn, thanks for the response.

You have peaked my curiosity. What is WVO? Is this just filtered vegetable oil? Where did you get the idea for adding the gasoline?

Have you run it in the mower?

 

[Headshot zod]

WVO is "waste vegetable oil"



SVO is "straight vegetable oil"

 

[banzaitoyota]

Great: Now all you Junior Backyard chemists need to do some more research:

http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/m2028.htm

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/SO/sodium_methoxide.html

http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/m/me/methoxide.html



more:



Sodium Methoxide

CAS No. : 124-41-4

Molecular formula: CH3NaO

Molecular weight: 54. 02



Methoxide - Sodium Methoxide - Sodium Methylate - is an organic salt, in pure form a white powder. Sodium methoxide in methanol is a liquid that kills human nerve cells before any pain can be felt. In biodiesel production, "methoxide" is a product of mixing methanol and sodium hydroxide, yielding a solution of sodium methoxide in methanol, and a significant amount of heat. Sodium Methoxide in methanol is a liquid that kills nerve cells before you can feel the pain. Rinse with water and seek medical attention immediately.



Sodium methoxide mainly used as condensing agent, catalyzer with strong basicity and analytical reagent. It is widely used in medicine, pesticide intermediates, edible fat.

 

[jcarey]

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so I just filter my WVO, mix about 5-10% gasoline

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Don't you mean diesel?