Three Dead Flies - My Biodiesel Notes

	Making Biodiesel
	Reactor
	Carts
	Tanks
	Biodiesel Benefits
	My Biodiesel Notes •

Notes

I created this page to chronicle the things that have come up since switching to biodiesel. These will likely be little things that I notice as I go along or juicy tidbits of information that may help someone avoid a problem I experienced. I hope you find it helpful.

11/2006
02/2007
05/2007
06/2007
07/2007
07/2007

08/2007
09/2007
10/2007
11/2007
03/2008

11/2006	I read a lot about making biodiesel on the internet. I ran onto a site that was talking about some stuff called Magnesol. They said it was THE solution to the removal of debris, water, glycerol, etc. from processed oil.
	I tried using Magnesol one time and it failed so badly, I bagged up the rest of the Magnesol I had left and put it on the shelf.
	Although it might be a good commercial solution, it was a HUGE pain for me! The Magnesol settled to the bottom of my washing tank leaving a white layer of crud that was difficult to wash out. It clogged several of my expensive filters -- even though I ran the whole batch through a new 50-micron sock filter and then a 1-micron sock filter.
	It might be a great solution for someone but for me, it just didn't work out. Washing my fuel with water works perfectly and I can easily keep up with my demand so I'm sticking to water washing.

02/2007	If you've read this site, you already know I set up my biodiesel processing operation in a spare horse stall in my barn. Because it is a stall, it was not weather proof when I first started. The wind could blow through the cracks in the walls, it was drafty and cold and there was no way to prevent it, the weather, from readily coming in. During the winter months, I had a lot of trouble processing biodiesel due to the cold -- and it only got down to 17 degrees one time in January 2007. Much harsher winters are common in the midwest and northern states so I'm not complaining, I'm just saying it was difficult when compared to spring and summer months here (Seattle, WA area).
	To make the processing easier, I covered the ceiling and walls of my horse stall with 1/2" foil-faced hard foam insulation. I found two used double-paned vinyl windows on Craig's List (online: www.craigslist.org) and installed them on walls opposite each other for good cross ventilation when I need it. I found a used metal insulated commercial door and framed that in for access. I taped all the joints between the insulation.
	The last thing I added was a used oil-filled radiant heater (again, from Craig's List online) for $5. It gives off a soft, even heat that isn't harsh and, once it gets the room up to temperature, it easily holds it there; nice a warm! Now I can process my biodiesel any month of the year. Sealing out the weather was one of the best things I have done for my biodiesel operation.

05/2007	For the last year (since July 2006) I have been making biodiesel as I've needed it. When I need another tank-full, I go out to my biodiesel room and a cook up a batch. I generally make 40-gallon batches (150 liters) and that will either fill up my pickup's dual tanks or it will fill one of my pickup's dual tanks and the rest will fill up my Mercedes. The tractor sips fuel so slowly, I rarely have to fill it up.
	After using biodiesel for almost a year, my usage has leveled off and I have accumulated more raw oil (un-processed bio-fuel) than I need. So I have just acquired three additional white poly barrels in which I intend to store surplus biodiesel--165 gallons worth. It is my plan to have surplus fuel ready to go when the winter months come again and processing biodiesel is more difficult. The surplus should carry me though the cold months when I would rather not brew biodiesel.
	So I am now processing oil as I get it, putting the finished biodiesel into the storage tanks, and seeing if I can get over 100 gallons ahead of my needs. I'll see how it goes.

06/2007	I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out a way to keep my biodiesel room cleaner. The drips and spills have made a real mess out of the floor. I have used kitty litter and saw dust to soak up the spills but the concrete floor still soaks up a lot of oil and it gets sticky. I use a floor scraper to dig the soaked kitty litter and saw dust off the floor but that's a pain. I use old pans to catch drips from the outlet pipes from my barrels and that helps a lot but I have been searching for a better way to keep the room clean.
	I have found that keeping pans under the drip sources is one of the best things I can do to prevent oil from reaching the floor. I know that seems obvious but the real point is to have ENOUGH pans to catch drips and spills from wherever they occur rather than moving them from this drip to that drip and back again.
	I bought a couple of funnels to help my accuracy when transferring fuel from one place to another. Again, this may seem simple but a good funnel is a very handy device in this business.
	I made some hooks out of 3/16" steel rod from which to hang my hoses and tubes and keep them out of the kitty litter. It's nice having everything up off the floor so I can sweep and keep the floor clean.

07/2007

My kids have seen the benefit of biodiesel and are now acquiring Mercedes Benz diesel vehicles (they have just purchased a 1984 300SD and a 1985 300SD, both in fantastic shape, both coincidentally the same exact color: dark red). To care for this increased consumption thereunto, I have just secured a second restaurant's cooking oil. I think this should keep us all in the fuel we need. We shall see if I need yet another...

07/2007	Back in October 2006 my son-in-law, Solomon, and I built a canister filter that uses a sock (bag) filter from McMaster/Carr. It's basically a piece of 4" ABS pipe with some fittings connected to it for plumbing the oil in and out. We tried it a few times but didn't really get the kind of results we wanted and shelved the project.
	Well, this is the third week of July 2007 and I added this big canister filter to my reactor. I had a couple of unrelated plumbing leaks on the reactor and wanted to fix those anyway so I took this opportunity to do the whole job. The biggest challenge was fashioning a bypass system on the canister filter that would allow me to control the amount of pressure exerted on the sock filter inside the canister. The first couple of tries resulted in exploded sock filters (too much pressure). But with some additional plumbing (valves for control), I was able to control the pressure and still achieve the filtering results I was looking for.
	Since I was in the mood to do some plumbing, I decided to create a still through which I could recover some of my Methanol after the reaction was completed. I fashioned a coil of 1/4" soft copper that would fit inside a piece of 2" PVC pipe acting as the water-filled cooling jacket (condenser) for the copper coil. The contraption functions as a condenser and allows me to boil off the unused Methanol and condense it into a bottle for re-use in future batches of biodiesel.
	These two additions (the filter and the still) to my reactor are quite nice because they help me achieve a better product quicker and easier than before while saving me money at the same time.

08/2007	I had some time so I cleaned up the equipment from the floor of my biodiesel processing room and power-washed the floor. It was so crusted with old coagulated oil, dirt, and kitty litter and saw dust. Man! It was in horrible shape. When I finished, I broomed the excess water to the floor drain.
	It's August and therefore it is very sunny and nice out. I opened the windows and the door and it wasn't but a couple of hours and the floor was dry. Wow, what a difference! It looks great! It's not without stain but it is nice and clean and I don't cringe when I have to kneel down now.
	When I decided to try power washing the floor, I thought I might be making a big mistake. I thought I might make such a watery mess, I would surely regret it. But I was wrong! I absolutely LOVE it! In fact, I intend to do this same procedure at least once each year from now on just to keep the floor nice and clean.

09/2007	This month, I thought I would try something that I read about on one of the forums (or, more properly, fora which is the plural form of the word forum). What a mistake!
	I read online that I could forego the washing procedure and simply allow the fuel to settle for a week or so and pull the pure fuel off the top. I'm not disputing that this may be true. However, if you try this idea, I highly recommend doing this in a conical tank (a tank with a cone bottom on it). Why? Well, I'll tell you why. You really need to get that funk and pancake batter out of the bottom of the tank, away from your good fuel and a conical tank will do that job with ease. Here's what happened to me.
	With all the skill and stealth that I possess, I went to pump this pure stuff off the top of the settled fuel and I unknowingly allowed the draw tube to telescope down into the funk at the bottom of the tank. I didn't hear it slide down and I didn't realize it had happened. I flipped the pump on and pumped about a gallon and a half of pure funk into my son-in-law's fuel tank! Oh, my goodness! I couldn't even believe it!
	This little mistake that took about 10 seconds to perform took about 30 hours to remedy. We ended up buying a used tank from a junk yard and replacing the contaminated one. This was the most time-effective and financially feasible remedy.
	While we were at it, he replaced the fuel sender, screen filter, and all hoses. It's going to be fine but what a mistake! I'll never go without washing again -- until something really great comes along to replace that process.

10/2007	One of my biggest problems is separating all the funk, mud, pancake batter, goo from the bottles of oil I collect from the restaurants. I can let these sit for about a week or so and I find they always separate and there is always some quantity of good oil floating on top. But getting that good oil OUT of the bottles is next to impossible. When I start pouring the good oil out, the funk comes up from the bottom and goes right into my good oil reservoir.
	The only way I can think of to allow good separation of the bad from the good is to create a good conical tank.
	This month, I intend to make my own conical tanks (probably 2) from used metal barrels (or drums). I found a guy online who has plans (drawings) for welding two barrels together end-to-end and adding a cone and plumbing to one end making a large conical tank. This looks like a great way to put all my funky oil through a good separation process and get the good separated from the bad.
	If I am able to make this happen, I will post images of the arrangement on this site and give descriptions of the plumbing as needed. I am becoming more convinced that conical tanks definitely have their role in home biodiesel processing.

11/2007

I have been looking for a diesel generator so I can try going off the grid and become completely independent. I searched the web for a couple of weeks diligently looking for something that was inexpensive both to purchase and to run but that would be reliable. This, as it turns out, is a very difficult thing to find... until you discover the Listeroid diesel engines!

During my search, I found a guy who makes steel cones that are made specifically for us biodiesel home brewers. You get these cones and you weld them to a steel barrel and make perfect conical tanks! And they're only $40 each! I bought four of these cones and I am going to make my own conical tanks from them and enjoy the versatility of cone tanks without the horrific price tag! Awesome! Thank you, Boss Buck!

03/2008	This month, we put our brand new system into operation! We're so excited because of all the improvements over our old system.
	We can now process 95 gallons per batch--instead of 40 gallons as before.
	All of our tanks are metal barrels with cone bottoms so we can drain off water, debris, and glycerin with precision--instead of leaving about an inch of ick in the bottom of the flat-bottom barrels as before.
	Since all of our vessels are now metal barrels, we can apply heat with water heater elements thus decreasing processing time, increasing clean separation of funk from oil, water from oil, fuel from glycerin, and decreasing drying time.
	We have hard-plumbed all of our vessels together so there are no hoses to attach and detach from unions where leaks inevitably occur and where drip pans are required. The room stays clean and the oil stays contained throughout the process.
	Each tank has its own pump to move around its contents. This allows for independent use and separate operations to occur and eliminates the need to share a pump between vessels.
	The barrels are standing up on welded metal legs leaving the area beneath the barrels open for plumbing, leaving the floor beneath the vessels clear for cleaning, and keeping obstructions located behind the barrel legs instead of protruding into the room. This leaves more space for other things--like your shins!
	We wired all heating elements and all pumps to a set of switches which are conveniently mounted to each vessel. This gives us complete, independent control over each heating element and each pump with the flip of a switch. No more plugging in and out of electrical cords!
	All heating elements have their own thermostats. This allows us to regulate the amount of heat we apply to each vessel and reduces electrical usage. It also allows us to leave the operation unattended--rather than standing around monitoring the thermometer to make sure you don't overheat the tank contents.
	Methanol is now $5.00/gallon and that's the best price I can find locally.
	We are now employing the new method of "pre-processing" our oil using captured glycerol from a previously processed batch. This is a new technique about which I read on the InfoPop forum. You start by collecting glycerol from a processed batch. Then, you heat up your next batch of oil. When it's warmed up, you add the old glycerol from the previous batch and let it circulate for one hour. Then you stop the pump and let it settle for one hour. Drain off the glycerin and your oil is now partially processed! It uses the captured Methanol and chemical from your old, waste glycerol to pre-process your next batch rather than let it go to waste!!! It's awesome! Try it! You'll be amazed.
	Lastly, we are pre-filtering everything! We think this is having the most dramatic effect on our oil. We use sock filters from McMaster/Carr and we've only used 50-micron socks so far. But I've just ordered some 100-micron, 50-micron, and 25-micron socks to do some more experimentation. We have a by-pass valve to relieve the pressure on the sock when it gets clogged up. This is important. In our experiments, we found that the pressure can easily build up to the point where the sock will blow out. This isn't pretty! So take the time and extra expense to add a by-pass valve to your filtering system and avoid the headaches.
	This has been a very busy month or six weeks. But the investment in time and the effort to get it right is now paying off. We're very happy with the results and it only seems to be getting better and better as we test and experiment with improvements to the system.

| | | | | |
| | | | | | |