Bio-diesel station!!

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dan2286

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Mar 25, 2008
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I had seen an episode of Trucks! on Spike TV where Stacey David was talking about this very process. It's a growing trend and is the better direction than ethanol IMHO.
 
andrewmp6 said:
Heres how to make it http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/biodiesel.html and http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago101.html you get used fryer oil form a restaurant free or cheap if its free you can make biodiesel for 60 cents a gallon.Heres that episode of trucks! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 4300286737

I saw that episode on trucks. I have heard of people not going through that process, just filtering it out and using.

What happens when it is done that way?
 
Well, there is a way to cheat. To avoid the titration, etc. you need to filter and settle it well, then cut it with either regular unleaded gas, or kerosene to make it run well through the lines. Like other diesels, it will gel in winter time, so it is not a great idea when it is cold. If I had a ready supply, I would be pimpin' a 1983 Mercedes Benz 300D about now. It's the best car for it as the injection system is more robust than newer diesels. It lacks any electronics and everything runs off a vacuum pump or some other mechanical means.

If you do your WVO to biodiesel conversion wrong, it will destroy your injection pump. This happens when there is too much methanol in the fuel. In fact, the BBC show Top Gear did just that when they tried to go endurance racing in a BMW Diesel 3 series on biodiesel, and killed the whole fuel injection system. You can also end up making a big batch of soap too, as lye and animal fat are the key ingredients in both soap and biodiesel. Don't kid yourself, it is a dangerous process! Lye will burn you, but it will kill your nerve cells at the same time so you are unaware of the bad chemical burn that is taking place. That's why I would probably just mix the filtered and settled oil with some kerosene instead of going through the process of making BD.
 
dan2286 said:
Take a look at this news story.http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox...n=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

This place is charging 2.50 a gallon for filtered vegtable oil. Is it worth it?

They were pretty smart coming up with that idea, I know there making tons of profit on that. Atleast the oil companies dont get any.

Heck yeah with the home kits they say its about .70 a gallon. Still you have to go through process of making it etc so I'd say that's a good price!
 
Ive worked on a few VW's that have had the "greasel" modification and it has damaged the injection system. Even with tank heaters and fuel switching it seems to leave residue inside the lines. Both that ive seen have destroyed the injection pumps, the most costly part of the system. I think the only advantage is that Chineese resturant smell that permeates the air.
 
hell yeah it's worth it if it's bio-fuel. diesel=$4.50/gal bio=$2.50 at 50mpg and a 15gal tank that's $30 savings on a tank that get you 650+miles. 12k mi/year=$500 savings over diesel, over $1000 over a gas engine.
yes WVO can cause problems if used incorrectly but bio-diesel IS NOT THE SAME!!! bio-d is processed and chemically altered WVO. it's like turning crude oil into gas or diesel. and WVO does't gel in the winter, it solidifies. i think it gels under 50*F. and you should use a good lubricity agent with it to protect the injection pump. with bio you may have to change the rubber fuel lines to silicone and it does gel earlier than diesel, most people run b50 in the winter along with lubriciry agent/anti-gel.
if they're selling WVO then just get it direct from the fast food joints.
 
I was referring to home brew bio-diesel. It can hurt stuff if it was not refined correctly. I am sure commercial BD is made right most of the time, but watching the methanol content if you do the refining yourself is crucial if you do not wish to spend a fortune on an injection pump. Plus, BD is super-detergent and can end up loosening old contaminants from the lines and tank, necessitating filter changes.
 
I am kinda not sure on how this place refines it. It says right in the article that if people wanted to do it there selves, it would take several minutes a week. From what I have seen for what it takes to do it the right way, it is a process that takes more than a couple minutes a week to prepare.

I think the way they prepare it is they filter it really good, and thats it. That is what I beleive causes damage to the components.
 
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