Biodiesel at home? (off topic)

I've seen several companies advertising home processing of Bio Diesel. The caveat that I see is that if it catches on, you will soon be paying McBurgers to take their waste oil due to demand. Some enterprising burger chain will probably install an on-site conversion facility so you can fill up while waiting for your burger & shake. Incidentally, I happened to get a tank of bio diesel on a trip to CO last year and I was amazed at the mileage I got. Bugs

Willy Nelson is on the biodiesel badwagon, owns a company that makes it. Allegedly it burns cleaner and keeps the inside of the motor and fuel system a lot cleaner. And the exhaust reportely smells like french fries (what if you get the oil from Long John Silvers?) Willy reported in the paper last Sunday that he pulled his Mercedes diesel into the garage late one night, hit the door closer and promptly fell asleep, engine running. Next morning he woke up and had gained 5 pounds.

It's an appealing idea, but I would do some more research first. The bio diesel that you make at home probably won't have a lot of the additives found in regular diesel, such as anti waxing. This can create a lot of expensive problems, especially if you live in a climate with large temperature changes.

Have you checked out the greasel site?

I do know that various alternate oils were used during the second world war in areas where there was a diesel shortage. One problems cited in old texts was that the oils broke down producing acidic compounds that attacked bearings and such. With modern materials and regular lube oil changes it might not be such a problem. Some diesels are more tolerant than others. Indirect injection engines using precombustion chambers have simpler and more robust injection systems. The two stage combustion allows for a wider range of centane numbers. Older Caterpillar diesels could use number two fuel oil regularly with no problems. I can remember this feature being advertised in the literature. I had a neighbour with a Toyota Landcruiser. He regularly bought furnace oil from people who were converting over to natural gas. I am sure as the price of diesel climbs the tax man will be watching the consumption of furnace oil. An acquaintance of mine uses french fry oil taken from restaurants. He has two fuel tanks on his International truck. He starts and shuts down on regular diesel fuel. An electric heating element warms up his vegetable oil before he switches over on the run. He claimed that it was saving him a pile of money. Randy

Check here,

I have made 2 - 4 gallon batches in the last 2 days. It probably isn't much cheaper than I could buy diesel, but it is a fun process. If you scale up the price comes way down.

It's very easy and reasonably simple.

Rod

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:

I have seen several articles and regular columns on the topic in "Home Power" magazine. a very good magazine.

Gene

I just watched a show on food network about fried foods. One potatochip company runs their vehicles on waste oil from their fryers. Karl

For home production, the infopop forum linked to above is the best choice.

You can also get a lot of info at

about biodiesel in general, vehicle concerns, etc. It's geared more toward people who buy BD instead of making it

k

Fzzzzzzzz, its $3.54/gal here in San Jose, CA.

we just got to benefit from the new tax cut. Now we can buy B99 for $2.75/gal. Last time I bought B100 for $3.40. B20 "Biowillie" available in Carl's Corner for $2.19/gal.

k

Diesel in California costs more than premium fuel, which is wrong, wrong, wrong, and I hear the truckers are angry about it.

I have seen references that suggest that it is mainly because CA is requiring a Biodiesel blend be sold in the state. Anyone know for sure ?

Anyhow, I am not *THAT* environmentally concious. The fuel from Qatar from its GTL plant should be cheaper and cleaner, so we'll see. I think its funny that my ugly truck is more on the environmental forefront than the vehicles my politically correct friends drive here in Caliberialnia.

No, but IIRC CA has to switch to low-sulfur diesel fuel (below 25 PPM) before the rest of the states do. That, and the overall lack of petroleum refining capacity in this country would explain it. We have to import refined products to fill the gap.

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My first vehicle was a Model T Ford that had two tanks. One small tank held gasoline and the big tank took kerosene. You started up on gasoline and warmed up the engine, then switched over to kerosene for driving. Gasoline was considered pretty expensive back then, 13 cents/gal. Kerosene was 6 cents. Anyone else reckymember those days? Bugs

Way before my time. I do have an old Delco light plant. A single cylinder engine directly coupled to a dc generator. It also starts on gas and runs on kerosene. I've tried it and it works. Kinda stinks and smokes on kerosene though.

Could that have been during World War II. Gasoline was rationed but "stove" oil and cleaning solvent wasn't.

I knew of one individual that converted his old car to run that way.

Bill K7NOM

Once upon a time, my father in law decided to mow our grass. Everything went well, then he ran out of fuel. With the engine still hot, he reached for a fuel container, poured the fuel in, and continued to mow the grass.

The next time, the lawnmower would not start at all. After investigating, it turned out that he poured kerosene into the tank, which worked fine with the hot engine.

I had to take the carb apart and wash all the pieces.

i

I am tired of paying through the nose for special fuel in California. First they come out with oxygenated fuel that contained MTBE, smelled like bug spray, and turned out the oxygenate was a greater pollutant that the old gas fumes were. This change also ate away at fuel seals in older cars costing thousands of motorists with older cars big bucks to fix. I know one guy had a car in his garage, it developed a small leak when he was away with the family camping and when the fumes built up to the water heater pilot light kaboom. The 2 car garage door blew over the house across the street and landed in the neighbors pool. And for all this grief, it had no net effect on air pollution as it reduced the fuel economy of the cars so they had to burn more gas.

Then they reformulated diesel and thousands of big rigs had to replace their o-rings in the fuel injection pumps. That is no small expense.

We also get to pay more road tax than other states, and get to pay a sales tax on top of the road tax. Often they are not even using the road tax to build and maintain the roads.

Don't get me started, I might tell you how I really feel.