Just processed my first batch, 35 gallons of oil that titrated at 12 (koh) in my appleseed. I used 4 gallons of methanol with 200 ml of acid. I heated to 140 deg, turned off heater, added methanol/acid mix and continued to mix for 12 hours.

After 12 hours, titration went down to 7. I turned it off and let it sit overnight.

Here's my two questions. After settling 12 hours, should I drain off 2 gallons and then process normally ?

Also, when I process normally, Is it safe to turn back on the hot water heater to heat the oil back up ? The 4 gallons of methanol/acid mixture is in there and I normally NEVER turn back on the hot water heater after methanol is introduced.

Sorry for the newbie questions, I just want to make sure I do this right.

Thanks

with a titration of 12, draining might not work. this is because the methanol/acid mix might be on top instead the bottom.

12-3=9*0.2 = 1.8mls per liter or 238ml for your batch. it sounds like you didn't use enough acid.

if you want to continue with the base stage, yes you want to reheat the mix. make sure the vent is open and the pump(s) are running. I assume that your vent is built in such a way that any methanol vapor will condense and returns back to the water heater. and also vents to the outside instead of the room where you are.

if you want to add more acid, add the difference ( 38mls) to 500mls of methanol and add to the mix.

did you the same carboy for the methanol/acid mix that you use for base reactions?

-dkenny

dkenny,

Yes, my vent goes outside. I mixed methanol with acid in a 15-gal HPDE container, then poured it into a 5-gal carboy so I could feed it into the appleseed. Is it OK to reuse this carboy for my base reaction mix ?

It sounds like draining is just for really high titrating oil ? Since I got down to 7, I will just go ahead with normal processing. Next time I will use the correct amount of acid.

Thanks

its ok for the base but you'll need slightly more base. and residual acid will neutralize the base. it hard to determine the exact amount so just make sure the BD passes the 27/3 test.

I use separate 15 gallon drums for acid/base processing.

-dkenny