I thought you said they worked with any orgainc vaopr with a boiling point above 70 degrees C. Methanol is 78 right? Did you mean BELOW 70? What do you do to protect yourself? I have not got a sophisticated biodiesel reactor. I will just be mixing the stuff in a metal cooking pot that will NOT be used for food again then washing it in a big plastic barrel. I will probably try the ethanol or the 95 percent eth with a little bit of meth. I will be working outdoors in an open area though. What is your advice? I always appreciate advice from experienced persons. Anything can be made to seem easy on paper. THX.

quote:

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Originally posted by jdkline:
I thought you said they worked with any orgainc vaopr with a boiling point above 70 degrees C.

No, I never mentioned any temp. I came across the information on the net and did a bit of further research which seemed to suggest that cartridge respirators worked for between a few seconds to a few minutes with methanol, and that is my knowledge base.

Methanol is 78 right?

Methanol boils around 65deg c, ethanol boils around 78.5deg c.

Did you mean BELOW 70? What do you do to protect yourself?

I work outside and try to stay upwind of the vapors. I mix in a semi-sealed container and hold my breath a lot. I try not to splash too much on me and always make sure I am wearing my glasses which is not hardto do as I am blind without them.

I have not got a sophisticated biodiesel reactor. I will just be mixing the stuff in a metal cooking pot that will NOT be used for food again then washing it in a big plastic barrel.

If you are using a pot, find a lid to put on it and run your mixer through a tiny hole in the lid

I will probably try the ethanol or the 95 percent eth with a little bit of meth. I will be working outdoors in an open area though. What is your advice? I always appreciate advice from experienced persons. Anything can be made to seem easy on paper.

My advice is try methanol first. When used sensibly, it is no more dangerous than many chemicals used in your everyday life. As has been pointed out before, methanol is used as the fuel for fondu sets and model planes run on. Common sence not paranoia is all that is needed to safely use methanol.

Making biodiesel is as easy as it is made out to be, especially if you start with the world famous Dr Pepper Technique (Pat Pend)
THX.

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Tilly SBC/IBA

[This message was edited by Tilly on 05 May 2003 at 04:33 AM.]

jdkline,

Also, make sure the old pot you intend to use is NOT aluminum. Methoxide quickly attacks aluminum.
Blessings. Joe

Thanks for the warning. I would have assumed that aluminum was good. Is cast iron okay? Stainless steel? So you all don't use any mask when working with methanol? And you have not been poisoned? From reading the MSDS and listening to discussion on the web I'd think what Tilly described would result in disaster. Thanks,

1.Get a six foot piece of cheap plastic tube.
2.Put one end upwind/out the window if indoors/in a window if outdoors.
3.Insert other end in your mouth.
4.Breathe in.
5.Clamp tube between teeth.
6.Disengage lips from tube.
7.Breathe out.
8.Engage lips on tube.
9.Goto 4

Tilly Patent attorney div

No patents...I believe in free knowledge. Even with something as complicated as this.
Consider the eight years of R&D my contribution to the BD community.

"author" Ken Provost, here -- I don't
come around these parts too much, but
my ears were burning! The original
suggestion that huge amounts of alkali
were needed probably came from the UIdaho
paper "Optimization of a Batch Type some-
thing, something" also avail on the Journey
to Forever site. My own experiments have
confirmed it, but in a way that's certainly
too intuitive to put in a paper :-) Others
should be more rigorous and publish their
results.

I do know that ethanol is a weaker acid
than methanol, and probably would end up
with a much lower fraction of alkoxide
in the mix (already a very low fraction with
methanol) if you didn't kick up the alkali
concentration. -Kï