You are overthinking it. Restaurants want to focus on serving food, not yank people's chains around. If this is a genuine restaurant, then talk to him about how you will be picking up the oil. If it's a cop, BFD, just walk away. You can't get arrested or fined for talking to someone on CL about the possibility of obtaining a trash product for free. If it's a restaurant owner, you can work out a contract with your restaurant if you want, but frankly, almost all states have exemptions for low-level producers of biofuel.

As for money, if the restaurants are complete dicks, they will try to charge you for it. I say F that. You can always find places that will give it to you for free. If they say something like, "We have a company offering $1000/year for this oil," you should reply with something like, "I can offer you consistent and timely disposal of your oil, something that a renderer can't guarantee. Also, that $83/month they are offering is pennies in the scheme of things to the restaurant, and you only get that money if that rendering company deems your waste oil 'OK,' which means you have to change your oil more frequently. At $30+ per cube of new oil from Costco, that $83/month they are offering will be nearly gone if you have to buy two more cubes of oil per month to cover the 'required' supply for the renderers to pick it up."

I just had a friend go thru this exact scenario when his supplier of 5 YEARS ditched him for a $1000/year contract. After a few months of dicking around with the renderer's plan, they are losing money on the deal. Should have stuck with the greaser who picked it up for free for them for years.

Regardless, just find a restaurant who will give it for free. they are out there. ALso, 60-gallons per week is a lot of oil to process. You might want to find a smaller supplier. How many miles do you plan to drive per week?

 

i've already lost a few because i threw out $1/ gal. check out craigslist chicago, any day there are 4 guys offering cash for oil, i called one he was willing to pay $1.75/ gal. i say f that, i'm not gonna make fuel for $10 savings.

hopefully this restaurant wants good reliable service. thats how i make my money. i don't do anything special, i just show up on time and get it done.

as for consumption; i burn about 20 gal a week. so this is way more than i need, but i'm starting to work with another guy, and i've asked a few people if they would buy it from me. there are many modified diesels in my neighborhood. most of them like to blow smoke, so i know they are getting bad mileage. and cutting their fuel bill in half is always appealing. maybe i can make some money here. time will tell.

again on 60 gal a week, what do ya'll do with the leftover glycerin? who might be able to use it, can i burn it, waste heater or something?

 

I never sell my extra oil. I think you'd get into some tax troubles if you tried selling it. I donate it to fellow travelers when they pass thru LA.

I don't process BioD so I don't have much for leftover byproducts. And since i have a totally heated system, i can process PHO. So i have some residual goop from the bottom of the barrel, and after letting that settle, I "re-donate" it to a restaurant barrel with which I have a relationship and they understand what I'm "re-donating."

 

Maybe instead of selling, you could work out a "partnership" to divide up the oil. But that is dicey. most greasers are flaky and cheap, and don't help much. Just look up the Co-ops in Bend Oregon and others, they are always griping about how people are part of the coop but only periodically provide crappy oil to be processed, never help pay for filters and electricity, and never help process the oil. Your time and money is valuable for processing, so make sure your "partner(s)" are going to help their fair share.

 

well as of right now i'm the outsider coming in. it was a partnership and 1 guy went and bought a gasser, he was the scientist of the 2, the one left really just has a garage, and a processor. but is shaky on how to use it. i have offered beer and brats if the scientist will come show me the ropes of his creation. i'm sure i'll be modifying it to my liking before too long.

as for selling it, i'm trying to keep it kinda tight. not advertising on cl or anything like that. more like people i would consider bringing into the co-op, but thats my way of keeping them out, if that makes cents. i've been burned a few times from friends saying they will do *******. and it never happens. sounds like a logistical nightmare trying to keep more than 2 guys helping in their respective roles. even the guy i'm hoping to work with is shaky on starting again, at 50 mpg in his jetta i don't blame him, i blame the girlfriend.

i may be putting the cart before the horse, i have to get the oil first. if i do, and he backs out ill be in a bit of a panic to get running. 60 gal a week will stack up quick.

sorry for the rambling, there is just so much to take in with bio. i was planning on doing a svo system in my truck. but it seems bio will be cheaper to get running with less consequences when the wife or friends borrow the truck.

 

just remember, BioD has risks. you hear all the time about BioD homemade systems catching fire and exploding. But hey, whatever works for you. I'm super partial to WVO and it's a simple system to maintain once you have finished the initial investment.

Now that's what i'm talking about! I'm a transplant in LA from Wisconsin. Don't get any good bratwursts down here.

 

its amazing what a 6 pack can get you!

how is the cheese out there, i can't even get good cheese by chicago! maybe being on vacation time makes everything better.

i want to thank you for keeping me humble working with fuels, i understand there are inherent risks in fuels. i've even toyed with ethanol production but high octane clear liquids over a turkey fryer did not sound appealing. and there is soooo much waste to deal with. the glycerin is more difficult because of toxicity. but i drive at least 50 miles a day. i would have to have a massive stockpile of rotting fruit, a continuous automated still, and a herd of pigs or something which probably would not eat the used fruit anyway. that's not happening on my 1/4 acre lot with neighbors. in contrast bio diesel is workable with my scrap find water heater and time at 50 gal a batch. 50 gal would last a couple weeks.

i appreciate what you're saying about the wvo heated system being easier once completed and running. that was my original attraction. and less waste and less chemicals. honestly i'm still on the fence. but as of now i can't get 2 days off work where i use my truck. and if something happens to it. all i have to do is find a new diesel engine vehicle, not find a diesel vehicle and rebuild the fuel system. but i need to **** or get off the pot at this point. i have 2 h2o heaters, controls, contactors, drums, all ready to go. i wanted to be able to say, "i can bring a drum in the morning for your convenience." granted it was free, except the drums. so i can scrap it and still make money, but it seems stupid to make $30 once over $75 every fill up.

ok the story from last night, kinda funny. the dude emailing me did not work there anymore. 4 months didn't work there. the current manager was cool about the whole thing and after a very short convo. offered to let me take whatever was out there. i felt i had to tell him "no, i can't. it technically belongs to the rendering company now. but if they are charging you, or your not happy with there service for any reason, here is my card. and thanks for your time." we shook hands and i left chuckling.