I would like to know more about it as well.

 

https://www.dieselbombers.com/vw-die...tml#post163964

Link back to other info...

Enjoy.

 

My '96 Dodge has been on a diet of WVO for 2-1/2 years now. I started making my own biodiesel at the beginning of the year and that's what's been going into the main tank to supplement the 2cd tank of WVO. I haven't converted the wife's '01 yet - most of her driving is shorter trips and biodiesel is working quite well for it.

I'd suggest doing some research and building an "appleseed" biodiesel setup. There's no reason to spend big bucks on a biodiesel system when you can easily put one together for a couple of hundred. My setup is very similar to the appleseed setup - I went for some cone tanks instead of the old water heater - but the functionality is the same. Biodiesel runs about $1.40/gallon to make yourself and our trucks seem to run well on it.

 

well well my ol Dieselburps friend.........welcome welcome

 

Thanks. I've been out here for a while, but haven't posted before. The old site seems to have taken a bit of a tumble by driving off a lot of the key players. I've been out on the Chevy sites lately as my Chevy repower project is coming close to operational. It's been funny to read about all of the folks with nice, shiny new Duramaxes that they cannot afford to drive (or sell)! It seems that the folks are parking their $50k trucks and buying old Hondas to drive. I find it cheaper to drive our 3/4 ton trucks than it is to drive our gas-powered motorcycles (Sorry Buckshot! ). I get more mp$ out of the trucks on homemade biodiesel! (15 mp$ out of the '01, roughly 11 mp$ out of the bikes). Switching to WVO ups that number substantially on the '96.

The Chevy project involves repowering a '91 Stepside, dropping a military surplus 6.2 in place of the old and tired 350 that was in it. I've picked up a turbo package to put in it eventually - or that may go into a future Jeep project instead. I've got another 6.2 sitting in the garage waiting... All of these projects will never see a drop of diesel in them - I'll have them running on biodiesel and WVO!

 

cool deal bud...........sounds like you have it all figgered out

I would like to get round on of these bio makers just to see what its all about

 

This site may help. It got me started. In particular, read through the titration description - that's what it is all about. I had not seen anyone else's biodiesel setup before building my own. Try making a few small batches in 2 liter bottles first - that's what really got me started. Use fresh, unused vegetable oil on our first try - it's pretty impressive what the yield will be. My used oil titrates pretty high - I'm using KOH instead of NaOH and my results have been very good.

The basics are that you have two mixing vessels. One for the methanol and lye and a second (bigger) to mix the resulting Methoxide and vegetable oil. One or more electric pumps need to be involved to do the mixing - you'll get sick (literally!) of standing over the methanol fumes trying to mix it up with a spoon.

The first mixing vessel needs to be one that you can get the methanol in without splashing. I use a towel over the opening to catch splashes as I pour the methanol in from a 5 gallon gas can - it's crude but effective. Always add lye to methanol, not methanol to lye. Add a little at a time to allow for it to dissolve. The mixture heats up quite a bit - my mixing container gets pretty hot to the touch.

The second mixing tank holds the large volume of WVO. I usually heat it up to ~ 130 *F and let it settle overnight to settle the water out. After it cools, I'll drain 5-7 gallons out from the bottom (cone shaped tanks are nice for that!) and send it back through my filtering process. That keeps the water out and the soap formation to a minimum.

Reheating the WVO back to 130 *F, I then start cycling the methanol through the pump and slowly add lye until it is all blended together. Then I flip a few of the valves that I have in place and the methanol/lye mixture gets pumped into the WVO tank. Another couple of valves get flipped and the pump intake pulls from the WVO tank instead of the methanol tank... I then let it mix for 2-3 hours. It then settles and cools overnight. The dark, thick glycerin is pulled from the bottom of the tank - and the light, sweet crude (biodiesel) is skimmed off the top, filtered to 0.5 microns, settled again - and put into the tank.

The process is simple and safe - as long as you are careful and pay attention. You can actually pick up the dry flakes of lye with your bare fingers if you want to. Moisture is what makes it caustic - dissolve it in a little water and it'll burn you. If you happen to touch a flake now and then, it won't kill you - but you do not want to inhale the dust or get even the tiniest piece in your eyes. Touch it and when you wash your hands, you'll feel a soapy texture - that's the natural oils from your skin being turned into soap by the lye... You probably don't want to make it a habit. Methanol is not so nice - it'll absorb through the skin and it's a strong toxin. It damages your nervous system - and the eyesight is one of the first things to go. Don't get it on you, don't breathe the fumes. It's easy to handle if you are careful. Don't allow any distractions and make the transfer of this liquid as foolproof as possible.

A lot of people think that biodiesel is non-toxic and safe - some even drink it to demonstrate this. That might be the case - but you'll want to make sure that ALL of the methanol is reacted or evaporated before you try this stunt. Personally, I'd skip it.

 

hmm, i wonder if i could be classified as moonshine if you drink it

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Thats some good info on the apple seed set up, i might build me one.

 

looks like some good stuff here. might have to work something out with the 3 of us that live by each other and start doing this for our trucks.

 

that apple seed setup looks simple enough. so simple ill probally use that same setup! thanks guys!!