http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/919605551/m/578608061/p/1


Note he started out building it differently than we now do- he was taking a 2" by 3/4" bushing, and trying several of them at the hardware store, to find one that was threaded extra deep so that he could stick a pipe nipple all the way through that instead of using the shallow threads on most metal drums (not all, most) to make the threaded penetration. He was using JB Weld to make this seal.

I think the current version that's in the Tutorial is the bastard stepchild of mr. Parks and El jefe De Biosmell, who discovered how to thread the standpipe the easier, non-JB Weld sort of way.

Mr Parks had sold to Mr Biosmell a certain plastic processor which had burned TWICE while in Mr Parks's possession (Mr Biosmell knew this, and paid $100 for it. It was originally marketed for $800 which was right outrageous). Mr Biosmell almost burned his house down when the same processor burned a third time. Then another owner of the same maker's plastic processor almost burned her house down at around the same time. the Berkekely Biodiesel Coop had one of those at the same time and it leaked so bad from it's noncompatible plastic-metal-plastic joints, that we took it out of service to ensure we woudln't have a similar, um, 'problem'.

So that was when the impetus to build metal cheap processors and to find non-plastic settling tanks really took off.


Biosmell also had the double-90degree-elbow sort of trap inside the tank. I decided they weren't all that useful, but Biosmell swears by them. I think we go about the draining process a little bit differently.

There's a photo of one of those at the second page of the above link, after all the discussion of what is a butt or a gill of something or a buttload of something.

Mark