A friend of mine used to make his own from local fryer oil he collected. Been thinking of doing it too. Anyone know any pro's or con's?

 

There's a whole forum dedicated to biodiesel on this site. It's good if you make it right. You'll have to change some fuel lines cause bio eats rubber. Other than that you'll have to replace the fuel filters a few times after you run bio for the first time. BTW, don't breathe the methoxide. It's TOXIC.

 

I've been trying to put together a list of materials required to see if a kit is best or if piecing one together will save some bucks...

Also trying to decide between the 'appleseed' type system or the more industrial poly cone containers...

See benifits to both... appleseed with the hot water heater is designed for heating and already insulated... easy to plumb etc...
poly type looks better imo and you can see the separation more easily..

i don't know what I want to do... No matter what I do it looks like an easy grand to get set up... Costs for brewing your own range from .50-$1 a gallon depending on the quality of oil you start with... At that cost it would take about a year to pay the system off... Decisions...

 

You should be able to build a appleseed processor for way less than a grand.Seems that the guys who build these ,the cost runs about $350.My processor is a steel 5 gallon pail with a water heater element.I have made over 2000 gallons.Sure wish I had more room to build a bigger processor.But the little processor works fine...

 

I must not know the super secret handshake to get in there. I do not see it.

 

Are you guys using the room temp veg oil? A buddy of mine did this where he got used oil, filtered it, added an additive and fuel, and used it in his truck.

 

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...play.php?f=110

 

Well I was talking about a larger appleseed unit that still washes and dries and has a separate tank for mixing the lye and methonal... If I do it I want to do it right and make the best possible quality at least 25gal at a time... so for the appleseed at least a 50gal hot water heater is needed.

 

it's a sub folder in the 'general discussion' folder

 

I've thought about that setup. So do you just use one of those in-tank heaters? Or like a strap heater? Do you just pour the methoxide in when you're ready to mix?

This is something I've been contemplating for a long time. In the end I feel like it's just worth buying #2 even if it is more expensive. However, the idea sparks up again in my mind everytime I read about it. One thing I'm concerned about though is the methoxide. I don't want to be near that stuff...

 

Man, using a five gallon bucket must get old quick. I make 60 to 80 gallons a week and that takes a lot of time, can't imagine doing it 5 gallons at a time.

 

What processor do you use?? Any advice for someone wanting to start?

 

I used a 50 gallon hot water heater for the tank, and two 50 gallon plastic tanks for the washing tanks. Tank was free (put a new one in the house for $200, cleaned the old one out for this use), barrels cost me a case of beer, water pump, fittings, hose, bubblers, spray nozzles, wood, gauge, valves etc maybe $200 to $250? I'll have to see if I can find some pics...

I made it over a year ago, haven't wired up the water pump or heater yet. Didn't have a source for the oil at the time. Yesterday I picked up 150 gallons of WVO to get started when I find the time...