batmaster,
I understand why you had problems. My first batch I got overly aggressive and tried to bubble wash the BioDiesel right away and had the same results. I now mist wash two times before I introduce bubbles, I am using a small air compressor, and a hose with pinholes shaped in a circle, for my bubble wash, and let it run for about six hours. I will let it settle for about six hours, drain the water out, and then use a regular garden hose to refill the wash tank and then start the bubble process again. I do this until the water is clear, and I usually save my last two or three batches of water to use them on the next batch of BioDiesel, after the mist steps. I use the aquarium pump and the same bubble curtain after I have drained the last of the wash water and only have BioDiesel in my tank, I usually run the aquarium pump about 6-8 hour until the BioDiesel is clear. Keep at it, you will find a process that you like based off of all the different method on this forum. As far as a quality test, every now and then I will add water to a small amount of BioDiesel an shake it vigorously to see if I see any soap bubbles. So far all of my batches worked well in my car. Looking forward to any photos of you progress, keep us posted.

Douglas Fishel,
Welcome to the forum. Your best advise and information can be found by using the [Find] option, and making notes of others successes. It my seem a little overwhelming at first, but there are many people on this forum that have developed creative ways to produce BioDiesel, all you have to do is find one that works for you. It is always good to be successful at the beginning, but you will find that a lot of improvements and development came from the unsuccessful attempts. If you do your homework, develop a plan, you will have a high probability of succeeding on your first batch. You should try to make a few "Dr Pepper" batches before you attempt a large batch (~35 gals.). Keep use posted of your progress, we are all here for you.

Did South Central Pa. Shut down

Ed,
It is good to see you on this thread. I have been holding off in hope that I will be able to post a photo of my "New" 55 Gal. Poly drum cone bottom tank. I am hoping to get thing posted by the end of this weekend, so keep a look out. I am not sure if the others have been making other post on this forum, I know I have not had a lot of time to even look on the forum to keep updated on the latest news. Having an active high school senior, and college sophomore keep my weekend very busy. Type to you soon.

I try to look every day, I am up and running, now that it is cooler and the crops are in I am not using as much bio. I have received great assistance from this forum. Thanks to all. DGF

Hey South Central Pa.
Finally I was able to get a few photos of the cone bottom tank that I made. I am using this 55 gal. poly drum cone bottom tank to separate, wash, and dry my BioDiesel. This has made processing so much easier, and it take up less room.

Photos:
55 gal. Poly drum cone bottom tank.


Close up of the bottom with drain pipe and valve.


View from top of tank, you can see the epoxy that filled the void from the bulkhead fitting.

Hello,
I'm new to this. Just started makeing bio a few mnths ago. I had some trouble but have been talking to lots of people who helped me out. Mr Bill. Thank you for the info about methanol. I will be traveling to york to buy my next barrel. Its about a three hour drive but it is cheaper than paying $300 from my local distributer.

mp28k9
Glad to have been able to help. We hope you will keep us posted on your progress, as you can imagine, a lot of people end up making the same mistakes but this forum has a wealth of information that will help anyone who is willing to invest the time to search for the answers. Interesting screen name, were you or are you in the PANG? Good luck with your future batches, its good to know we have a few more in our ranks.

Hi folks,

I've been makin BD for almost a year and have been on these forums the whole time. I didn't realize there was a 'Connections' forum until today. I'm near Lansdale in SE PA. I've been driving to Newport PA to get my methanol at a racing place..... Smith's if I remember right.

Anyway, feel free to contact me anytime. PM me or send me an email: edallison at catholicexchange dot com.

Best Regards,

Mr. Bill,
Can you tell us about the technique you used to form that cone bottom? Every time I start washing i dream about a $300 cone tank which would make life so much easier. but it cuts against the grain to spend so much on the process when i am having fun saving money on fuel. I have several candidates for the "coning" so let us know.

I am right between lancaster and chester counties.

thanks,
Roy

Roy,
Good to hear from you, I understand exactly how you fell about spending all of that money for such a simple thing. The tank was created from a poly drum, I heated the bottom until it was soft enough to distort. I did this by hanging the drum upside with an eyebolt in the center of the bottom. I used an electric paint remover (looked like an electric stove element) to heat the bottom and sloooowly pulled the center up as the plastic became soft. Once the bottom was deep enough I put a make shift bulkhead fitting in the bottom and used epoxy to fill the void from the bulkhead fitting. I have used the tank a few time and it works great, I would be interested if anyone else have tried this as a alternative to a more expensive cone bottom tank. This is the only tank I use for separation, washing, and drying, it has save a lot of space. I would be interested in seeing photos of your system, and/or things you have done to help you during your process. Keep us posted.

Mr. Bill,
Thanks for the response. I did a little testing and i think your process will work for me. I think i will employ my 70k btu salamander to get the poly soft.

I was not happy with my wash process so i built this little wash stand making settling tanks out of 5 gal water bottles. After a few mist washes in my 55 gal wash tank, I drain off about 4 gallons into another water bottle, add 1/2 gal of water and shake the bottle vigorously for 15 or 20 seconds. I pour the mix into the bottles on the stand and the water drops out quickly along with a little layer of soap. When the BD is ready for some bubble drying I do it right there in the settling bottles. It isnt large scale because i can only do about 8 gallons at a time but it beats the long slow process i was doing with the big wash barrel. No question cone bottoms are a big advantage to the wash/drying process.

Roy

IMG_1528.jpg (827 KB, 25 downloads)

Roy,
I agree, the salamander will defiantly heat the poly drum easily, you might even get a smoother cone shape because of the heat being applied on a larger surface. Your approach to washing your biodiesel was very creative. I noticed a small square tote in the background, I have never seen one this small, can you tell me more about it? I hope we get a break in the weather soon, I just filled my car today and I only have 20 gals. of biodiesel left for future fill ups. This should last me through Feb. and into March, but it might be stretching it.

Mr. Bill,

That tote is labeled 655 L which is about 173 gallons. I think that is about half the size of most IBC's you see around. I got it from a guy in Gap, Pa. who used to sell vast numbers of poly barrels and containers in all different styles. He has sold his main business and no longer has the barrel thing happening, but last I spoke to him he said he is looking for a place to start back up again. I was lucky enough to get a good selection from him before he quit.

Are you running 50/50 in your benz now? Last week I had to buy diesel for the 1st time since last March. I guess i am spoiled 'cause i was none too pleased. <g>

Roy,
Thanks for the IBC information. Yes, I am running approx. 40% petro diesel with my biodiesel to insure a lower gel point. I haven't had any problems with this mixture to date. I will start using 100% biodiesel around the end of April, or as soon as the overnight temps stay above 50 degrees. Good news is the price on diesel is coming down, I paid $2.39/gal. on Saturday, only bought 8 gals. to top of the tank of biodiesel. Keep us posted on your cone bottom poly barrel project and include photos if you can.

Coming at you from York Springs! I'm a teacher building an appleseed processor as a class project. It's about 95% complete, w/the usual H2O heater/1" pump,etc. and 60 gal cone bottom wash tank. I have the processing steps down, but there seems to be many different opinions on washing. Anyone have any experience with recycling wash water-from the bottom of tank/pumping back up to the top for reuse on final rinses? Also, will a 300 watt submersible aquaruim heater produce enough heat for drying? On all the models I've seen, the thermostats don't go above 90 deg. F. I'm trying to keep this thing as self-contained and portable as possible. Thanks in advance for the help.

quote:

Originally posted by sotba:
Coming at you from York Springs! I'm a teacher building an appleseed processor as a class project.

Bubble drying at room temperature is an option if you're not outside.

What type of school are you with? I'm going to be in your neighborhood the end of next week and would be happy to stop in if the weather minds it's manners.

I have some experience in small commercial production and would like to see what you guys are up to.

Regards,

Bob in Berthoud

Thanks to Bob for paying me a visit and giving me some great ideas. Hey Mr. Bill (or anyone else) I see in your picture of your processor that the pump is mounted above the bottom of your water heater. I read on biodieselcommunity.org that the pump should be mounted above the level of the glycerrine accumulation or the pump will clog when glycerine settles to the bottom. True or false? Can I just drain the pump before everything jells? I'll be doing my final assembly in the next week or 2 and would like to get it right the first time. Thanks to all in advance for your advice to a beginner!

Steve

Steve,
True, my original design intent was to mount the pump high enough so that glycerin would not clog the pump during the settling step. I have only used the processor one time as a settling tank, since then I have been using a separate tank during the settling step. Although doing it in the processor will help to save space, I chose to combine the settling, wash, and dry steps into one tank. If you are going to use the processor for the settling step, you are correct, as stated above "just drain the pump before everything jells". Sound like you are well on your way, keep in mind that you are likely to modify your equipment as you become more familiar with making BioDiesel. Keep us posted with your progress; it might be your posting that will help the next newcomer to the wonderful world of BioDiesel.

Steve,

I use a 55 gal steel drum as my processor AND settling tank. I have my pump mounted below the bottom of the processor. I have it setup so that I can turn a couple valves and draw either directly off the bottom of the drum, or off a standpipe which sticks 8" up into the drum. The glycerol settles below the top of the standpipe, and I run the pump for a few seconds drawing off the standpipe to clean out the plumbing. I do this several times the day I react a batch. After settling overnight, I do it a couple more times to clean out any glycerol that may still be there, or has settled into the standpipe. Then I draw off the standpipe and pump over to the wash tank.
Works like a charm.

Thanks for the help! I'm hoping our appleseed processor and wash tank will be all together in a week or two and look forward to posting a picture! My other question pertains to pretreatment. My understanding is the WVO should have the water removed prior to processing, true? If so, I'd like to hear your ideas on how it's done- can you use the processor to warm the oil, then let the watter settle, drain and then process?