bump - such a useful thread it needs to be up the top :-)

bump - maybe someone could stickify it.

Graham you mention using bendable heating elements from rswww.com, I've got 3 of these elements and would welcom advice on connecting them to my 205 ltr oil drum I want to use to dry the waste oil before turning it into Bio biesel. where to connect the live and neutral wires ETC.

Thanks

Hi cygnet,

If you're not experienced with electrical installations, I recommend you don't use these elements as they do need to be installed and tested properly before use.

They are electrical components only, not complete working entities.

You need to fabricate your own junction box, and ensure it will give enough protection in use.

You also need to use a 'megger' to check insulation quality, and an earth impedance tester to confirm your installation is safely earthed.

And you need to include some means of protecting your installation against over-heating, with a thermostat or thermal cutout switch.

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but from your question, I suspect you may not have done this kind of work before.

Do yourself a favour and enlist the help of a local electrician or other qualified person, who can carry out the work for you to an adequate standard.

Sorry if that's not the answer you wanted, mate, but I can't offer the depth of advice you'd need to do the whole job safely from scratch.

Hope you understand,

Graham

Fantastic design: just what I've been looking for.I can't wait to get building.
Question though. Would it be posibble to avoid preheating the wvo & to pump it into the reactor cold where it could be heated by the immersion heater, & then open the valve to allow the methoxide in when its up to temperature?
Is washing really necessary? There seem to be differing opinions on this!

Hi Barry,

So long as your oil is fluid enough to be pumped, you won't need to pre-heat. Mine is usually like lard at room temperature.

If your oil is clean and dry - carry on - heat it, add methoxide.

If your oil is dirty and wet, add around 5 litres more oil than you'd need for the reaction.

Heat it to 60C, then let it sit in the tank for a few hours, to allow water and bits to settle. Gently drain off the 5 litres surplus, which will contain most of the water & crud.

Then react the remaining oil.

As to washing, this post may be of interest, as it explores an alternative way to rid your freshly made biodiesel of soap, methanol and particulates. Still in development, as we want to recover the methanol rather than release it to the air.

I do recommend you clear these materials from your fuel before use, either thru water washing or the dry-washing method in the link, unless you're burning it in a very forgiving engine or burner.

Good luck!

Hi Barry,

The oil that you use could be different and may impact on how solid it is.....I understand that hydrated oil is often quite solid at room temperature and hence would need a pre-heater.....although, after it has been up to180 degrees got knows how many times....it should be fine!

My plan is to get a 'good' source of oil so that i dont need to pre-heat at all.

As to washing - i have heard of people using unwashed product....but they tend to use old cars. As Graham says, some may be more tolerant than others. If the car is too old.....you may have problems with the fuel pipes.
It is 'another long stage' to the process - but its down to you if you want to risk it or not.

Regards
Matt

quote:

Originally posted by BarryJ:
Fantastic design: just what I've been looking for.I can't wait to get building.
Question though. Would it be posibble to avoid preheating the wvo & to pump it into the reactor cold where it could be heated by the immersion heater, & then open the valve to allow the methoxide in when its up to temperature?
Is washing really necessary? There seem to be differing opinions on this!

Hi Barry

I would agree with Graham and Matt insofar as a seperate pre-heating tank not be a necessity. However, I built mine into the design (ok I copied Graham!) from the off. Having done so, I wouldn't be without it even though my oil is pretty good quality (...well there was this one batch... but that's another story) and still liquid at fairly low temps. I have concocted a filter out of a frypan spatterguard (£1.49 from Morrisons) and a couple of plastic buckets which I hook on the rim of the pre-heat tank. I pour my oil through this to get rid of the dead rats and fag-ends and then it sits in the tank 'til I'm ready to brew. The tank is rigged standpipe fashion so after pre-heating and a brief settling period, I'm pretty sure of pumping fairly clean dry oil via the standpipe into the reactor. Periodically, you drain the water and crud from the pre-heat tank drain tap.

Nick

bump for Bribel-UK

Iza bumpin here too boss

Graham
got to say I love the layout and design of processor, I am in the throws of doing something similar I will post up when done.
have read this post a few times over the last couple of years and decided got to go for it.
One Question how do you mix your methoxide in
and what and how dow you attached to your system?
thanks in advance
Luke

Look in Graham's sig and click on "mugshot". There you'll see a small ball valve to the left of the pump in the horizontal section of pipe leading from the tank... The plastic pipe leading from the valve is the meth line.

I have mine somewhat further from the pump -which I may change as accepted wisdom in 'the nearer the pump the better'.

I adapted the cap of my meth carboy to take a hose barb.

BTW, if you use a non-return valve in the meth line, be sure to use one rated for oil as methanol does horrible things to the rubber valve in the units intended for domestic water use.

Cheers

Nick

Nick
thanks for that I understand how it feeds in but was not sure how it was mixed prior to introducing to the oil line.
so you premix the meth and caustic before joining up to the system in a plastic carboy and then join the modified lid to the system?

Yes. I have a second cap, plain, without the hose barb that I use when mixing the methoxide. The modified cap stays attached to the meth line and I just swap them over after mixing the methoxide.

Personally, I use NaOH from Wilco's - a bit expensive but it comes in batch-sized bottles (500g) and is granulated, rather than the usual pearls, making it much easier to dissolve.

Guru Graham came up with an idea which may help speed up the process if you do use the pearls. This consisted of chucking in a large ball bearing or two and manipulating them with a powerful magnet from outside the carboy.... a bit like a laboratory magnetic stirrer if you will. I think there is even a nifty animation somewhere.....

Nick

Hi Luke & Nick

The meth feed is here.

The mash-em-up ball bearing thingy is here.

Good luck, hope it works out well for you.

Hi Graham

How about an index page of all those interesting bio pages on your London Electronics site?

Cheers

Nick

Thats exactly what I wanted to know and the images are great
thank you very much
I can now hopefully progress further with my processor
thanks again
Luke

Hi Nick & Luke

I'll put together an index over the next few days. I've been meaning to do it for ages, thanks for the nudge.

Nudge

Nudge nudge