Do you make your own biodiesel?

[PA hayseed]

Originally Posted by shinnlinger

Ductape,


YOu can burn it in your oil furnace to, so a community/ neighbor biodiesel machine could be slick IF you can get a ready supply of the waste oil, and honestly I dont know if that is a guaranteed thing.

It also doesn't have as much power as dino diesel or get as good a mileage.

You can burn it in your furnace, if your furnace will use it. Biofuel burns much cleaner, and some senors cannot detect the flame from biofuel burning. If it is a mix of biofuel and regualr HHO i don't think there would be an issue. I believe I posted this information on this site previously, but cannot be sure. the industry wants people to mix due to the sensor issue. They don't tell you you could burn it straight if your sensors are updated.

[MossRoad]

Have any of you looked into burning straight cooking oil without converting it to biodiesel?

[SPYDERLK]

Originally Posted by MossRoad

Have any of you looked into burning straight cooking oil without converting it to biodiesel?

Prices on cooking oil have skyrocketed.

[MossRoad]

I'm talking about used cooking oil. Check out this website.

http://www.greasecar.com/

[Mahana79]

I have made my own biodiesel for the last 2 1/2 years. i use an "appleseed" processor and "bubble wash" until it is clean (usually about 3 times). i use Utah Biodiesel Supply - Biodiesel Homebrewing Supplies, Equipment, Processors and Information for alot of resources and supplies. I get the Methanol from a local VP racing fuels dist. There are some really nice automated acid-base reactors out there like the bioPro. If I can stay on top of things i spend about 30-60 minutes a night and that will net me ~30 gal of fuel a day. Like others have said, getting the Waste oil was the hardest part. It took me almost 6 months to get a steady supply. Your best shot is the local mom and pop places where you can get in good with the owners. There is alot of red tape with the chain types. i run it year round but Im in west TX. i use Power Service int eh white bottle to treat for anti-gell. It works. My untreated fuel will gell at ~ 50 degrees. with a single dose of PS white bottle it lowers it to about 30 with a double dose it will take it down to around 20. in the winter I will double dose Plus a bit more as for Power and mileage You may or may not see any differance. it all depends on what article you read. the most common one says that B100 contain 8% fewer BTU's/GAL than the average #2 Diesel which inturn would indicate that you would get less power and economy out of it right?? well the key word in there is Average. I dug and found that the #2 at the pump can vary in energy content up to 15%!!!!!!!!! so you can take it for what it is worth but i personally saw no significant impact on power or economy. even if you saw a 7% decline in economy If you get 15MPG towing then you would now get 13.95 MPG. It cost me ~$1-$1.15 per gallon to make not counting time or electricity. i run it in my kubota, Jetta, and duramax. 147 hrs on the Kubota, ~40K miles on the duramax on bioD and about 80K on the Jetta on BioD

[SPYDERLK]

Originally Posted by MossRoad

I'm talking about used cooking oil. Check out this website.

Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems

Earlier in the thread it was mentioned that some restaurants sell their used cooking oil to a recycler of some sort. I was unable to get your site to open but my feeling from looking at others is that they are euphoric from looking at 'free' energy in their individual cases, without factoring in the trouble to make it safely usable in an engine or the limited extent that it will be available. Once enuf people start using the waste stream the supply will dry up, all going to the big concerns that will pay something for it and can afford to set up efficient purification and turn it into a viable part of the energy solution. The free ride some small niche groups are seeing just isnt free in my book. If there was only enuf to go around.....
larry

[MossRoad]

Originally Posted by SPYDERLK

Once enuf people start using the waste stream the supply will dry up, all going to the big concerns that will pay something for it and can afford to set up efficient purification and turn it into a viable part of the energy solution. The free ride some small niche groups are seeing just isnt free in my book. If there was only enuf to go around.....
larry

There is a company here that is trying to get started making biodiesel. They will be contracting with chain restaurants to collect waste grease, then turn it into bio-diesel to sell to another chain of fuel distributors.

The neat thing about the greasecar setup is that you do not have to make fuel. You just strain the grease and pour it into a second tank in your trunk, bed, etc... There is a heat exchanger in the second tank that warms the veggy oil. Once it is up to temp, the computer kicks the valve and your vehicle switches from diesel to veggy oil. When you shut down, the computer purges the veggy oil from the line and shuts you down on diesel fuel. Some folks have installed a small tank for diesel and converted the original fuel tank to veggy oil. The fuel line from the veggy tank to the valve body also has a heated line so the veggy oil doesn't cool down on the way to the engine.

The main drawback of this type of system is that it will not work for short commutes, as the veggy oil will never get up to temp whereas biodiesel can be treated to run at low temps.

Both technologies are pretty neat.

[Arc Angel]

I have been running home-made bio for over three years. We use it year round, blended in the winter with dino to get the gel point down and get the power service to be more effective. My fuel is canola based mostly and starts to cloud ant about 28. I use sodium hydroxide and get it at a local fuel wholesaler. It is the stuff used in hot tanks at auto shops. Radiator shops use lots and are a place to look. Going to the potasium type this spring to get a useable by product(fertilizer) and limit the dump runs. I have more wvo than I can use at the moment and my son has ordered a press set up so we may use more virgin oil in tha future. Am going to try algea this year too as we have a lake that has about 4 acres in the shallows that get a lot of pond scum and would llike to find a use for it. I spend most of my time in the shop and the only time consuming part is if I put a lot on the floor. Takes a while to get 50 gallons off the floor.

One bit of advice: Get someone to walk you through the first couple of batches as it is one of those more art than science. You need to watch the wash carefuly and can't rush or it will get on the floor. Also don't listen the the internet guru who hasn't made any. I did for a while and got lots of advice from the armchair special type who didn't know diddley, but gave lots of advice none of which was even close to the kind of knowledge a little shop time will give you.
Mark

[Kendrick]

SVO [Straight Vegie oil] Setups require heating for 2 specific reasons.

1] Veg oil has a much higher viscosity then diesel has. the original diesels made by rudolph diesel were made for peanut oil since then the dino products with lower viscosity have taken hold and made engin specs lean toward their needs. heating the oil to 160 allows the viscosity to be acceptible to most engines.
2] veg oil does not burn fully if it is not heated to the 160 mark and will start gunking the engine up.

you Can run off of straight cold oil, you CAN also smash you finger with a hammer, but do you really want to?

switching from dino diesel to bio after a year or more of dino use will require several fuel filters for the first fiew mo of use. all setiments in/on the tank will be freed and sent down the fuel line plugging the filter. bio has a higher deergant ability and knocks all the crud free of the tank. once it has cleared out you wont have to worry about fuel filters any more often then when you used dino.

power service iirc sais it treets 100 dino per bottle or 30? gal b100. you need that if it gets cold you will have a good chance of gelling. I havent had time to study b100 in the cold due to having several certs due by the end of this month. 1 left to go :/ I may be able to get bio tests going next month though. you MUST wash bio to get good quality it is part of the atsm fuel standards for a reason. washing is also required if you ever plan to sell the bio. it also matters which oil you use and whether it is a solid or liquid. it make a difference between how easy or hard it is to treat. some of the professonal "Kits" out there are also not made of appropriate materaials to last.

we are currently at the break eaven point for is bio cheeper then dino assuming wvo [waste vegie oil] is free from a commercial stand point.

Im sure I have missed several things to :/ ruddy aweful monday

[Flatheadyoungin]

My buddy has a company that pumps thousands of gallons of veggie oil per month. He has gone back and forth about a bio setup for the last couple of years. The problem he keeps running in to when looking at the commerical processors, is that they keep telling him his oil supply is, not sure of the term here, too dirty. The plant he pumps it from is a pork rhind plant. I guess they use the oil for quite a while and because it has animal fat in it, it's harder to process?

This oil supply is pretty secure. He has been pumping it- and others- for years. Being that he is looking to supply his fleet of diesel equipment, he has been a little hesitant to buy a large system only to find that his oil supply isn't what it needs to be.

However, I'm a DIYer and willing to spend a little $$ just to see if it will work on a smaller scale to make my on processor- and to prove to him that it can be done.

We have the oil supply but can it be cleaned enough? Just like most of you, we've heard everything from it can't be done to just wash it more and add more chemicals.

I guess it would be worth a try. Any advice?