Waste Vegetable Oil Fuels

Well I added some more samples to my super scientific winterization experiment. I was stoked to try some new concentrations in the current samples and to get some petrol diesel cuts in to the cold. In my reading and study on the boards and biodiesel pages it seemed that everyone was all a buzz about Power Service’s Arctic Express. I don’t think it is cold enough here in Salt Lake to warrant the regular sale of AX in the local truck stops. The biggest one I know if in the city said they had some, so I headed there Saturday, but I was correct in my initial thoughts. They don’t sell it to the public they just use it to treat their “blended” diesel. What? Yes, I saw the guy taking a hand truck of cases out to treat a tank of new diesel, but they didn’t or wouldn’t sell me any, so special order it’ll have to be. They told me Monday someone will place my order. Continue reading ‘Cold Weather Biodiesel 2′

A few weeks ago I finally broke down and bought some diesel. I had a sluggish moment that I thought might have been the filter clogging. It passed, but got me worried enough that I got some petrol diesel. Here is a graphic I stole off of the NOAA site. It shows the temperatures, in Fahrenheit, that I’ve been dealing with here in Salt Lake City. For those of you who don’t know, biodiesel will freeze at a much higher temperature than petrol diesel. Continue reading ‘Cold Weather Biodiesel: Additives and Anti-gelling Compounds’

I recently received a comment question on my blog to which I replied with some basic info about alcohol. I received a reply email with a question to which I did not know the answer. I did some research and decided to expand my reply a bit and make a blog post out of it. The question was basically, “Isn’t Shellac Thinner pure alcohol?”

From what I found, the answer is maybe!? A couple (1, 2) of paint chemical products websites list “Shellac Thinner” as Denatured Alcohol. So the answer depends on what they denatured the Ethanol with and if the Ethanol was 200 proof to start with. Is seems to me that by definition if the Ethanol (200 proof) is denatured with Methanol (200 proof) (or another alcohol) then yes it is “pure” alcohol. However, most of the looking I’ve done has led me to belive that the Ethanol in Denatured Alcohol is not 200 proof. For this reason I wouldn’t use it for biodiesel production. Continue reading ‘Wood Alcohol, Denatured, Ethanol, etc. and Making Biodiesel’

It has come to my attention that you can die, burn your house down, get hurt real bad, and other nefarious and awful things. I am also aware that some people blindly follow instructions without using common sense, and then sue. This blog details a “hacked”, non-standard use, out of code, possibly illegal, not mother approved, professional driver on a closed course, application. If you mess with this stuff and don’t understand it, bad things can happen. I will not be party to your death, maiming, arrest, etc.. So, if you can’t figure out that this whole process is dangerous, please don’t read this or come back. Otherwise, enjoy, be safe, and happy brewing.

By participating in this site, in any way shape, or form, you accept that I am in no way liable for your use or misuse of these ideas or the result thereof. Nor will any of those who have participated in this site be liable.

USE AT OWN RISK!

In combination with my Heated Mist Wash unit I have added an eletrically actuated sprinkler valve so that I can have my mist wash stop before it overflows the wash tank. For my automated shut off I have used a float switch that deactivates an outlet when a certain liquid level is reached. I don’t know what brand it is. I have long since thrown away the manual. The design is similar (looks exactly the same) to this one found in the www.plumbingsupply.com online catalog. Scroll down to see the “pump up” version that turns off the power when the float is up.

Now why am I writing this post? Well, I’m a bit worried about what biodiesel is doing to this float switch. By its design it sits in biodiesel all the time. I think that eventually it will disove and short out, not work when I think it will, or start a fire. Those are all bad if you were wondering. Continue reading ‘A Better Float Switch’