I have made several batches of bio and always do a 5% prewash. Also a note is that i usually only do 20 gallons in my wash tank (55 gallon). This time I did 40 gallons. When I started washing (mist - mist/bubble - mist/bubble) the bio it turned very cloudy. The water seperates out fine at the bottom so I keep washing.

So do I have an emulsion?

Here are some pics from my iPhone. Heopfully they are good enough.

Looks fine. I often let mine get lighter in color than that with no problems.

The key to telling emulsion is viscosity- if it starts to thicken up, that is emulsion.

That's defintley fine. I often let mine get much whiter looking too while washing.

It looks fine to me - almost perfect for this stage.

I usually shake mine up pretty good after the last washwater returns clear and its ph is the same as that from my tap.

It develops a beer-head foam that quickly disperses. Then I dry the batch with heat and air circulation.

Thanks everyone. I'll proceed on as normal. Maybe it is just the size that has me confused.

To clear up your concern - just pull off a sampling quantatively equal to that which you're accustomed to viewing.

You can also run a quick-dry on the sample to get an idea of how your finished brew will look.

hello all,
newbie here, i have the 40 gal appleseed, stand pipe wash tank. I was wondering about how much water should be used in the washing stage? can the water be stored and reused for multiple batches. finaly do I just put it down the drain once its reached its full potential? thanks in advance

Starskie, you should use about 50% water to bio in the wash phase. You can use the water a few times, but I just throw it down the drain. I am going to start adding acid to my water and get the Ph to 7 before I dispose of it. I think other people here have better ideas of disposing of it.

As the group said, that looks fine. If you had an emulsion it would appear more white. An emulsion can almost be confused with the wash water but thicker.

quote:

Originally posted by dnstommy:
Thanks everyone. I'll proceed on as normal. Maybe it is just the size that has me confused.

Anyway to rig a "site tube" so you can see the entire volume.

I like to wash with salt water to avoid the orange juice BioD. The soaps are more of a precipitate.
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/919605551/m/4011024642