Hi guy's, great to see renewed interest in bio from around the country. I was smitten by the bug some five years ago and have done a mountain of research and kilo's of hours on the net and various forums. Pressure of work ambiguity and riding on the crest of the Celtic Tiger meant I never actually got to the production stage with my plans but thats now all going to change. Have been very impressed with imakebiodiesel.com's site and of his contributions to this forum, also copper12. They seem to bounce well off each other. As John is having one of his tutorials on Sat. 14th. Nov. I am planning on making the long trip down to Lismore but from what I have seen so far here it will be a trip well worthwhile. Looking forward to seeing the setup down there. As I am travelling from Longford down through Tullamore and Portlaoise if there is anyone else interested in sharing they are welcome to ride with me.

Saturday’s on the 15th don’t want you going the day before
I will most likely be there myself like you said it’s well worth the visit
Seeing someone making bio diesel is worth a thousand words
as for the biscuts

Hi copper12, ye slight mistake with date. What I meant to say was that I'm travelling down on Fri. 14th. as its at least a four hour journey for me from where I live in Granard. Looking forward to show and to meeting fellow bio enthusiast's. I'm bringing a few bits and bobs, titration stuff mostly. I'm a bit rusty on the do's and dont's. Will rain water do or does it have to be distilled. Interested in looking at methanol recovery system. Can you post some info on how it works, and maybe a few pics or lead me to a link where I can get some more info. Thanks.

Hello Crazyhorse, I remember your posts from the early days of this forum, welcome back. I can recommend a good b and b locally. It was featured on Rte last week about its environmentally friendly accomodation. To book phone Peter OConnor on 086 601 7176.
The issue of inferior biscuits is being addressed as a matter of urgency. A focus group has been utilized and a top flight consultancy has been engaged. They will present their report to the board before the end of the week and a decision will be made. The question is, custard creams or jammie dodgers?

Thanks for the additional info John, I've booked in with Peter. I like to make these arrangements in good time and not leave all to the last minute. Will you be able to supply me with a small amount of koh until I locate my own supplier, also have you a way of testing the purity of isoproponol. I have some but its at least three years old and I'm not sure of its origin or what its shelf life is. Equally I purchased a 45 gallon drum of methanol about three years ago and have used very little. How good is it now after all this time.

Hello crazyhorse, I remember you from the early days of this forum. Welcome back.
If you want to stay in a b and b I can recommend one locally. Ring Peter OConnor on 086 6017176 for prices and bookings.
I would like to assure everyone that the issue of the inferior biscuits is being taken very seriously. The services of a confectionery consultant have been retained, focus groups have been consulted and as a result we are confident that we are in a position to offer a state of the art selection of biscuits at my next demonstration. the only questions remains is... custard creams or jammy dodgers?

My first post seemed to disappear into nowhere so I posted the same message twice. I can test your methanol for purity if you bring me a sample. If it has absorbed an excessive amount of water I can remove it for you using molecular sieve. If it has been kept sealed it should be alright. I can do the same for isopropyl. Ive just collected a bag of KOH so no problem about a bit to get you started.
My recovery still will probably be operating at the weekend but not for methanol recovery. My first experimental batch of bioethanol should be ready for distilling on Saturday. It is made using waste bread from a local supermarket and whey from a cheese maker. Its early days but it all looks very positive so far.
See you on Saturday.

Thanks again. The ethanol experiment sounds interesting so good luck with it. For me I'll stick with the bio for now until I can master the process with your help of course.Being a plumber/welder fabricating a processor from steel or copper is not a problem. At present I have a 45 gallon drum ready to go also a 30 gallon indirect cylinder turned upside down with a central heating indirect coil connected to my heating system. I also intend to take out a coil from another cylinder and insert it into another 45 gallon drum which I can then use as my wash/drying tank. I'm also trying to source 2" 3 kw. immersion as the bung in a 45 gallon drum is only 2" unlike standard immersion which is 2.25". Also insulated wrap for drum. If I'm stuck I can always use 100mm rockwool and cover it with roll of cling film and tape unless someone else has a better idea which obviously I'd be delighted to hear about.

Try Richard Hedin at www.hedin.co.uk for a 2" immersion heater. Alternately you can get a 2.25" backnut flange for about 16 euro which will enable you to fit a standard 2.25" heater. it means drilling the bottom of the tank but if fitted properly with boss white it should be leak proof. For insulation I use two layers of closed cell camping mat covered with 2 or 3 layers of bubble wrap. The rock wool/ cling film is fine as long as it never gets wet.

Hi,thinking of using bio in my reillo burner,since my tank is outside I will use a mix of bio and kero.Anyone with experience of this ,what mix?any adjustments to burner?
regards vino

The Riello 40 works well with bio. Turn the pump pressure up to 150psi and fit a 0.6 / 80 degree nozzle. Disable the automatic air damper by blanking off the outlet from the pump. Set the burner for diesel or gas oil and it should run fine.
However within a month or so the rubber components will start to perish and the burner will begin to malfunction. The best solution to this is Riello's biodiesel kit available by special order from Warmflow engineering in Lisburn. The kit comprises a replacement pump with viton seals and 0 rings, a replacement flexible hose and in line filter, cost 180 GBP.
The fitting instructions come in Italian only but I have a translation if you need it.
I add 10% kero in winter to over come viscosity problems but my tank is in the garage close to the boiler. Maybe 25% to be safe if the location of the tank is exposed. Another possibility is a heated tank, The 250 w element from a heated towel rail screws straight into the outlet valve fitting of most tanks and with a thermostat and some insulation would be more economical than buying kerosene.

Thanks imakebiodiesel,will get in touch with warmflow about the bio kit.Why do you have to disable the automatic air damper?
vino

The automatic damper is actuated by a rubber diaphram which dissolves in biodiesel. Its a special moulding which is probably not worth Riello making in viton. The dampers often give trouble so you are better off without it. Other than that the Riello 40 is bulletproof and a good choice for biodiesel use.

HELLO AGAIN IMAKEBIODIESEL, once again I have found you to be a mine of useful info. Actually I can get the 2" immersion locally but they are very expensive at around €110, mind you they are s/s. Radionics do one especially for oil but again its very expensive. However I may opt for it for my own processor but if I was making up one for some one else I would go for a cheaper version. You are quite right about the Rielo 40 burner, they are very dependable and rarely give trouble. I am a Blueflame and Oftec qualified burner technician and can bring my analyzer with me on Sat to do an efficiency test on your burner, also a smoke test with the smoke pump. I would have thought that it would not be that difficult to source viton seals for the oil pump. I'll google it with the flexible hose and see what I can come up with. Let you know if I have any luck. Where do you get the closed cell camping mat. Thanks again, looking forward to Saturday.

crazyhorse if you could post the part numbers of the seals for the oil pump then I could source them locally
vino

Vino Ive sent you a copy of the translated instruction sheet which has all of the part numbers. it was too big to post here but should be in your email inbox now.

From all the post's it appears that more and more people are favouring koh over naoh. This is all good and well but the price difference is almost 300% with naoh at €1.30 as against koh at anything from €2 to €3 per kilo depending who your supplier is. Does anyone out there have a decent price on the koh as clearly those in the know are constantly singing it's praises over it's more troublesome cousin. Secondly are people out there using Graham Laming's venturi. It seems such a simple device. Can't wait to get down to Lismore this Saturday to see John's set up, must remember to bring my favourite bikkie's just in case.

I bought 25 kilos of KOH from Central Chemical supplies in County Down last week at 35GBP. Their depot in Clontarf is usually about the same price. It is more expensive but still represents only a small proportion of the total cost of making biodiesel. Methanol is 90% of the total cost. Its worth it for convenience alone but also for the fact that the byproduct is a useful fertilizer instead of a useless nuisance.
I use the venturi in my 300 litre processor, its very good and really easy to make.

When I am filling my car with biodiesel I pump it through 3 10"filters,a 50,20 and 5 micron.Yesterday when I went to pump bio one of the plastic filter housings split just below the threaded section.Looks as if the plastic was affected by the bio.Anyone else have trouble with filter housings?
vino

Ive been using those clear plastic 10" filters for years and have had no trouble at all. They are not affected by any chemical I know of. How long have you been using it and what pressure do you pump the bio at? Did the attachment arrive with the email I sent you?