| NEW Reactor! (built February 2008) |
| I said on my Appleseed reactor page, "There are many ways to build a biodiesel reactor." And I meant it. After using my Appleseed reactor for a year and a half, I became convinced there was a better way, a cleaner way, and more compact way to process biodiesel and solve several fundamental problems. I was right! |
| Problem 1: Flat bottom barrels don't drain completely! |
| There were two things missing from my process which was based on standard size (55 gallon) HDPE poly barrels which are flat on top and bottom. The first thing missing is a conical bottom on the barrels. A cone bottom is extremely important in biodiesel production and I'll tell you why. |
| If you look inside any used barrel sitting on a flat surface, most of the time you will see some kind of fluid remaining in the bottom of the barrel. Flat-bottom/flat-top barrels offers a fair way to drain the contents but inevitably there will be something left behind. This is a problem in biodiesel processing. Why? Because there are substances you need drain out of your processor, settling tanks and washing tanks in order to ensure clean, clear biodiesel. If you can't get everything out of your barrels, you're always dealing with some amount of funk from the last batch of biodiesel. |
| In my opinion the ideal biodiesel processing vessels should be extremely tall and extremely narrow, like a huge version of the pipette you used in high school chemistry class. This tall, narrow configuration would allow you to drain the funk from your tank and easily identify the instant funk stopped pouring out and biodiesel fuel started pouring out. You would end up with nearly 100% of your product, every batch, every time, with very little loss of actual biodiesel fuel. But such a tall skinny vessel is impractical. The best alternative I've been able to come up with is a cone bottom tank. The tank has parallel sides coming down and at some point the sides turn toward each other and form a cone narrowing down to a fitting which is perhaps 1" or 3/4" standard National Pipe Thread. That makes for a very small controllable outlet and, when combined with a ball valve, you can very nearly achieve the precision of the imaginary oversize pipette from the chemistry lab. |
| If you've priced HDPE cone tanks from McMaster/Carr, US Plastics or one of the other vendors, you may have experienced sticker shock over the cost of just one moderate size cone tank. I did! And this was very discouraging for me because my emphasis, when I started making biodiesel, was to SAVE money, not to SPEND money! So I sought an alternate method to resolve this issue. |
| There is a vendor who offers an alternative to flat bottom barrels. The site is Murphy's Machines and the vendor offers plans at a reasonable price which give detailed instructions how to make your own metal cones which can be welded to the bottom of a steel barrel. I bought his plans and they're very good. I needed metal barrels and some sheet metal to follow Murphy's plans. A funny thing happened while I was searching for supplies. |
| As I cruised the internet, I stumbled, quite by accident, onto a site that sells game feeders. That's right; game feeders. If you look at game feeders, you will find they are containers that hold a supply of food for the game and the food is released in controlled amounts through a cone at the bottom of the container. You can see where I'm going with this, can't you? Well, I don't know it to be true but I would be willing to bet a local biodieseler near this guy, came to him and said, "You know who could use those cones you make? Biodieselers!" And a new product was born. |
| The vendor I'm talking about is Boss Buck. You're welcome to check it out for yourself. He takes large disks of flat steel and spins them on a lathe. He has a cone form onto which he presses the spinning metal disk. The result is a perfectly smooth cone that can be welded to a metal barrel. These cones are BEAUTIFUL! I bought 4 of them and welded them to metal barrels making my own cone barrels. The best part: his cones cost me $40 each! [Note: $40 was the price when I bought mine. The current price may vary. Update: I just checked his price (10/27/2011) and his "Funnel, 55 Gallon" is selling for $19.99. Wow! What a bargain!] |
| Problem 2: HDPE poly barrels can melt with too much heat! |
| I took care of the first problem with flat-top/flat-bottom barrels as biodiesel vessels. What about the second problem? The second problem is heat. |
| Poly barrels will melt if you use too much heat in them. Oh, sure, you can use a fish tank heater but if you've tried that, it's like warming your house with a match. And in the winter time, the problem is worse. Metal barrels allow you to weld a bung into each barrel and heat the contents in a reasonable amount of time to a reasonable temperature and maintain that temperature reliably using a simple water heater thermostat available at your local hardware store. Simple, easy, and an elegant solution. The best of all worlds. |
| Problem 3: Single-height barrels take up too much floor space! |
| A third problem is solved by my new metal barrel design which is just a bonus but, in my case as with some people, could be very important. That problem is the lack of adequate space. With the cone-fitted barrels, there is space under the barrels where pumps and plumbing fit nicely. With a little planning, I was able to put all of my plumbing under the tanks, out of the way and safe while remaining convenient. Also, metal barrels can be welded together in a stack containing a tall, vertical column of product much like our imaginary tall skinny pipette! My new system takes up just over half the space of my old system while allowing me to process a bit over twice as much fuel per batch. It just keeps getting better and better! |
| So my new reactor is constructed from used metal barrels welded together and fitted with cones on the bottom. To find the barrels at the lowest possible price, I went to a local chemical distributor and asked them if they had any empty metal barrels they didn't want. They gave me 8 barrels on the spot! How easy is that? When my order of metal cones from Boss Buck arrived, I was ready to build a new reactor. I cut the ends out of one barrel and the bottom out of a second barrel. I welded the barrels together. Then I fitted the cone to the open end of the double-height barrel and welded it into place. I welded some angle stock to the sides of the barrel to create legs and I had my basic processing vessel! |
| The plumbing is almost the same as what you find on any Appleseed processor. The pump is at the lowest point under the reactor so no fluid is left behind. Ball valves are fitted such that the flow of fluids can be controlled as needed. It's all pretty much the same as the original Appleseed processor but with larger volume and a cone bottom. Not much changed as far as the method used to process the fuel. |
| Problem 4: Filtering used oil is expensive, time consuming, messy, and a pain! |
| I don't know about you but when it comes to filtering my used cooking oil, I don't like it! It's messy, time consuming, tedious work that costs money (filters are expensive) and is not very rewarding. And if you've ever had a sock filter fill up with crud and blow out, then you know what kind of a mess such an event can be. Let's face it: filtering our used cooking oil, though necessary, is a pain! Fortunately, there is a very nice alternate method to using filter socks and barrel pan screens. |
| I am not the first person to use a centrifuge but I can tell you this: I am a complete convert when it comes to filtering! I now use a wonderfully convenient and incredibly clean centrifuge! Spinning fluids in a centrifuge is old technology that has been around for a very long time and, it JUST PLAIN WORKS! The oil comes out so clean, that's all there is to your filtering needs. You run your oil through the centrifuge and that's it. No gimics, no special steps or things to add, just run your oil through the centrifuge and your oil is spotlessly clean. |
| Now for the negative: centrifuges cost money and, depending on which one you decide to buy, they can be quite spendy. I realize the fundamental idea behind making biodiesel is to SAVE money and buying a pricey piece of equipment is NOT ideal. But know this: when you buy a centrifuge, that's all there is to filtering from now on. So for me, it was worth the cost. I never have to buy any more sock filters, barrel pan filters, extra pumps or containers or anything like that ever again. I don't have to store all those extra filters somewhere. I don't have to dispose of the used filters anymore either. My centrifuge is the easiest tool I have found to clean used cooking oil and I highly recommend getting one. Get a good one and it should serve you extremely well for many years to come. |
| There are many centrifuges out there on the market. I like the WVO Designs model which was designed specifically for WVO/SVO/Biodiesel production oil filtering. This thing is a joy to use and so easy, I wonder why it took me so long to get it. Here's a little tip: if you look for WVO Designs on eBay.com, you might find a bit of a cost savings - I'm just saying. The WVO Designs people are wonderful to work with, they stick with you even if you are a very amateur electrician (like I am) and ask a lot of questions. Ian and Jason are patient and responsive and work with you until they get you going no matter what the issue might be. I cannot say enough good things about this company and the folks who run it. If you're teetering on the decision to buy one centrifuge or another, seriously consider WVO Designs centrifuges because of the people behind the products! They're professional and stand behind their products! |
| I'll have some photos as soon as I can take some and post them here... |
