| Carts |
| When I first started building my biodiesel operation, I looked at numerous setups to see which would best fit my situation. I saw photographs of reactors and barrels (tanks) sitting on old milk cartons, concrete blocks and some guy's back porch. Others were arranged on beautifully built support shelves, fixed in place, and elevated on structurally sound platforms. After careful consideration of all the various support systems I saw being used out there, I figure the best supporting structures (in my opinion) are short, well-built wooden carts with sturdy caster wheels for mobility--and I'll tell you why. |
| Elevation and Mobility |
| I think it's a very good idea to mount the reactor both elevated and, although not actually required, onto a 4-wheeled steer-able cart. The reason for having your reactor elevated seems evident enough: draining the reactor is required and having it elevated makes draining easy. The mobility of a 4-wheeled cart is nice when you want to clean up around your biodiesel processing area or if you want to re-arrange the components. Most carts I have seen have been built with 2x4 construction lumber. They can easily be nailed together and simply need to be structurally strong enough to handle the load. By that I mean be sure the vertical pieces of lumber support the horizontal pieces of lumber. Reason: if you rely on the sheer strength of nails to hold up a water heater full of oil, you may be unpleasantly surprised. I've made a simple sketch of the design I use to create my wooden carts and they have been both durable and reliable. |
| Castors |
| Castors are tough. I haven't found a good place to get inexpensive reliable castors. I did find an old hospital gurney which has ball bearing 9" swiveling wheels on it and a machined chassis. It holds TWO full barrels of fuel and rolls around with ease. I don't know where to get another one or I'd tell you but these things do happen and you should keep your eyes open and quickly grab the opportunities that come your way. One thing I have noticed is that rubberized castors do tend to deteriorate after rolling around in biodiesel for a while. Steel castors are a good solution if you can find them. I live near a Boeing plant and they sell lots of surplus stuff to the public. I go to their surplus sales regularly and I find oil and fuel resistant castors for a very reasonable price. They usually have mounting holes in them and are always far better quality than anything I could afford to buy on the open market. Again: canvass your area for sources and talk to as many people as you can about your needs. You'd be surprised what people know and where they can steer you to find the things you want. |
| I have built and used carts with both 2-wheel steering and 4-wheel steering and I prefer the 4-wheel steering arrangement FAR MORE than the 2-wheel steering versions. 4-wheel steering allows you to spin the tank in place. It also allows you to maneuver your tank around obstacles on the floor more nimbly than the 2-wheel steering carts. If you have multiple tanks in your biodiesel operation as I do, 4-wheel steering makes all the difference in easing the job of moving your tanks around. If you are worried about your carts rolling around on a sloping floor, a folded piece of cardboard makes a great wheel block and cures the problem cheaply and easily. |
This is a drawing of my cart design. I like it because it has strong platforms, both for the castors and the barrel or reactor. The strength comes from placing the vertical boards BETWEEN the upper and lower platform boards. Structurally, this configuration can hold a lot of weight! Also, do not buy flimsy castors or castors that have wheels that will collapse. It's worth the extra money to have high quality equipment when working with your fuel. Remember: you're likely to be hooked on making biodiesel soon enough and when you are, you'll have to go out and get high quality castors then anyway. So save yourself the aggravation and do it the first time around!
The gray circle represents the footprint of the barrel or reactor sitting on top of the cart. |
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