bobdea Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 would be great, from my understanding all you need is water and some flat land in a warm climate could be great for african countries or anyplace in a arid climate that is close to the ocean for large scale use going to grain really just does not make sence but hopefully this will work out well along with a few other methods and we will be alright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted March 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 is it the same as drying ethanol?as in useing a molecular seive? Washing is done by bubble washing or misting. 3-4 washes are required to clean the excess methanol, soap, etc. Drying is just letting the fuel sit for a few days for the water to settle out and produce clear fuel with no water. I couldn't wait for my fuel to be ready, so I bought a tank of commerical biodiesel. Smells good and the engine sounds quieter. Cold weather sucks for trying to speed up the process, Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tdinardo Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 OK...Im stockpiling info now. When I do finally own land and a house, I think Im going to look into pulling this off.another way to escape the clutches of THE MAN :) The Man will still get his share. You owe road tax on the stuff you brew after something like 400 gallons (I forget the exact number). Most of the BD supply sites reference the tax ramifications. I think if you were brewing from first source materials, you'd run the risk of pissing The Man off. I've been looking into doing this after I get my new digs set up - i'm getting tired of the $80-90 fill-up bill for my dually. I'm planning to avoid the waste oil method since the risk of producing bad batches is too high for my tastes, and then you have to deal with HazMat issues for disposal. Not worth the trouble when you can work with fresh oil and never have that issue and still be out the door for a bit more than $1 per gallon in quantity. My $.02.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted March 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Virgin oil is one way to go. You will still have glycerin to deal with. I think most people go with waste oil because it is free vs. buying virgin oil. Another option is a straight veggie oil system without the biodiesel hassles. Price of virgin oil is only slightly less than regular diesel fuel. Lots of my time and effort running around to collect the oil and bring home and filter, etc. This is my first 3 months of experience, so everything is getting easier with time. At first I was hand pouring the 15 gallon drum over my knee into my 5 gallon totes, now I use a rotary pump (100 times easier). I've got so much waste oil saved up (150 gallons), that I'm selling it to other people that run on straight veggie oil. Lots to learn, Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Got interested in this when I read that Henry Ford and George Washington Carver worked on a project for bio fuels in the thirties. Have a friend up here with a suburban running grease. INteresting thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted March 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 This morning, I checked my 1st batch clarity after the second wash and it is looking excellent , I finally got all of the creamy white stuff out of it. Tonight, I'll drain off this 2nd wash water and bubblewash it two more times this weekend. I'll try to post some pics this weekend, Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maciek Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 If you use diesel with modern fuel injector then you need to realize that proper mixture is needed to lubricate injectors and get proper injection. This is almost the same as with leaded and unleaded gasoline fuel (although in the case valve sockets had to be hardened for "harder" combustion given by non lubricaing unleaded gas). Also if you want to play with deposits in your combustion chambers then go ahead. That home made fuel will not help diesel engine to run next 200k miles before main overhaul. Until I do not know what tolerance of engine is I would not cook oil myself if I wanted engine to last... Also diesel fuel injectors are not that inexpensive parts I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 but B20 is very very good for your diesel engine's injectors. Some of the scuttlebut from truckers online is that B100 is awesome for their engines. historicly TDI's run great on homegrown BIO BTW YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 If you use diesel with modern fuel injector then you need to realize that proper mixture is needed to lubricate injectors and get proper injection. This is almost the same as with leaded and unleaded gasoline fuel (although in the case valve sockets had to be hardened for "harder" combustion given by non lubricaing unleaded gas). Also if you want to play with deposits in your combustion chambers then go ahead. That home made fuel will not help diesel engine to run next 200k miles before main overhaul. Until I do not know what tolerance of engine is I would not cook oil myself if I wanted engine to last... Also diesel fuel injectors are not that inexpensive parts I guess. hogwash The home made variety is better than the current low sulphur low emissions diesel on the market. they have removed the lubricants because they cause emissions. Just like they removed lead from gasoline. the biodiesel being discussed has natural lubricant properties and has proven itself in the past to in fact increase the life of the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted March 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 FYI: Home brewed biodiesel is better than commerical biodiesel and also commerial dino-diesel...if you can produce a quality product that has been made correctly, properly filtered and dried. Today is day 2 after my final bubble wash on Sunday: my fuel clarity is looking very good, so by this weekend I can filter it through my 10 micron fuel filter, then pour into my fuel tank. Looking forward burning my bio-homebrew this weekend, Hugh p.s. Injectors for my 91 F-250 are $26 each. My injectors and injection pump are both original at 150K miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 B100 is known to be hard on fuel lines and tanks (acidic), how much I'm not sure of yet, but in a few years we will all know! Properly done biodiesel mixes will not harm injectors, they will in fact be better for injectors. Sulfer does not provide lubrication, there is something about it though that holds lubricity in the fuel, and taking it out takes out the ability of the fuel to hold that property. Hugh, your injectors are cheap, don't buy a Powerstroke, those injectors new, which is the only way to buy them, are over $300.00 each! Injector deposits like Maciek is talking about usually is from polluted fuel so filter well, and use good base stock. If you need a fuel additive for lubricity in standard diesel, I highly recommend Stanadyne diesel additive, it's the one I know works. Oh, and if anyone here needs help diagnosing a Powerstroke, pm me and I'll see what I can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted March 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hey Jon, Thanks for the insight. A friend was trying to talk me into buying their 2002 Powerstroke, too much money and complicated mechanics, but it is a cool big sled to stomp around town in... www.thedieselstop.com is one of my favorite websites for all Ford diesel trucks. I gotta get some pics up soon, pic 1: me builiding my Appleseed processor pic 2: my 91' F-250 7.3L diesel, 5 speed manual Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 Keep us up to date as you go, I'm interested in this. I've got an old '82 Audi 4000 diesel car that I took last week to splitfest in Utah. 2000 mile round trip. Powerstroke diesels require a scan tool to do any in-depth diag work. Autoenginuity software (pro version $900+your laptop) is the best laptop based unit I have seen. The factory scan tool is better but who has $2500 + dollars? I like simple! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 B100 is known to be hard on fuel lines and tanks (acidic), how much I'm not sure of yet, but in a few years we will all know! This isn't so much of an issue with newer cars that have Viton fuel lines. If you run BioD in a older diesel with rubber fuel lines, it is recommended you swap them for Viton. Rubber lines have been known to degrade after just a couple tanks of BioD. But I've run 15k miles on the stuff without a single issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted March 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 Update: I'm starting to wonder if my bio would ever clear up, so I decided to test the pH of my final wash water. Sure enough, wash water 8.2, my tap water 7.4 There is still more KOH to wash out. The washing is finished when both pH numbers are the same Still washing, Hugh How about another pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted March 29, 2006 Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 that sucks. Does a problem like that happen often? also, love the shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted March 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2006 No, my process is slow because I'm a newbie and this is my first attempt. My son and I went to the "This Is Skateboarding" screening a while back and he won that free shirt. Too bad for him that it was size Large, he gave it to me. Check out these other skate shirts. I have the red Monk and white Sims Hosoi. --Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 any updates on this project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted June 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2006 Sorry carvers, I haven't visited BOL in a few weeks... My homebrew biodiesel is rocking for sure. My truck is running a 50/50 blend of dino and bio with improved smell and a quiet engine. Truck update: my 1991 F-250 is a great truck and also pretty easy to work on since it has plenty of room to work around the engine and everything is mechanical instead of computer controlled. Last week, I put brand new battery cables in (heavy duty for sure), because my 15 year old cables were toasted (cracked, split, corroded). My truck uses two big batteries with 875 CCA's each. Anyway, new cables, then new batteries (thanks Ford for the 3 year free replacement on my 2 year old batteries). I took my truck out for a victory lap and the voltage gauge was at 18 volts , it should be around 14 volts, so drove it home and figured out that the voltage regulator was toast, $40 for that...now its all good Now that the weather is warm and the rain has stopped, making biodiesel is so much easier than when I did it this winter. In fact, it is so much easier, why bother with winter brewing at all? just make it during the dry/warm part of the year and store it for winter use. Anybody else have a Ford diesel? If so, check out www.thedieselstop.com --Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted June 24, 2006 Report Share Posted June 24, 2006 Hey Tom, I have two emails for you and they are both bouncing? Just wanted to let you know you are a winner in the "World's Fastest Indian" DVD Contest. Mark of winterstick.org one the Logo contest and his has been mailed. Please send your shipping address so I can get your's on the way. Sorry for butting into this thread. Just trying to reach Tom to give him the good news. Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted June 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 I filtered 12 gallons tonight and poured it in...smells great, runs great, less $$. Without counting my time, fuel costs about $1.25 a gallon. As soon as I empty this current batch, I'll brew up another... --Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted June 26, 2006 Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 you guys see the "addicted to oil" segment on the discovery channel the other night? it was pretty interesting. The plug in hybrid giving alver 100mpg. Well if you have a solar powered house, that car is a dream come true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P06781 Posted June 26, 2006 Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 any updates on this project? Yes Eric , lets get moving on our own bio-diesel project, it cant be that hard. Hugh did you buy a parts kit or assemble all the stuff yourself for the processor and wash tank? We are debating which way to go (parts kit or book+DIY). Our vw tdis get a little better mileage than your Pick-up , usaully 38-45 mpg, so each batch will last quite a bit longer. Check out http://forums.tdiclub.com/ Thinking about this kit http://www.b100supply.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=1&CFID=368897&CFTOKEN=93025749 Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted June 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2006 Check out http://www.localb100.com/book.html Girl Mark's book is a great place to start. I wish that she would publish a new book as things are constantly changing. I bought a complete kit (without electric water heater) and it had lots of "made in China" parts. I setup a 40 gallon heater, I would suggest at least a 50 gallon or even an 80 gallon, check www.craigslist.org in your area (gas water heaters do not work for this). I usually go out of my way to buy better than China made stuff. There are only a couple of parts that aren't easy to find at the local hardware store and you can buy those online. Another good site is http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com, I hang out regularly at www.thedieselstop.com and lurk on http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/index.php and http://www.biodieselcommunity.org http://www.nbb.org and one of the best http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=cfrm&s=447609751 Email me at Dalton_5@sbcglobal.net anytime for additional info or help getting you started. I would get the book and setup a DIY Appleseed. $299 for that kit someone is making money...and it isn't us --Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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