I'm thinking about starting to make some bio-diesel. A couple questions for the pro's:

Power - I'd like to run it in some of our ag equipment - should I expect any loss of power over "conventional" diesel?

Home heating oil - right now my pickup is still a gas job, so one application I'd want to use the fuel for near-term is to heat my home. I'm assuming that I can use bio-diesel (made from WVO) in my oil furnace? Any changes required to the furnace (nozzle size, air mix, filters, etc.)

Taxes - If this works out, my next truck may very well be a diesel - do folks typically pay up for the road taxes for home-brew bio-diesel?

TIA for the help...

 

Answer to 1 while BD has a slightly lower BTU rating it is an oxygenated fuel providing a more efficient burn. Power loss should be minimal.

Answer to 2 Unless your home heating system has rubber components you can simply substitute BD. If there are rubber seals, hoses, etc change them to vitron.

Answer to 3 Presently NO Shhhhhh do not broadcast that you are making BD and certainly do not sell it.

 

I can't comment on biodiesel, but I know with my two WVO systems, I can tell no difference in power when they switch over. We actually joke with people who have never ridden in our vehichles to hold on when it switches over. They are like - when's it going to happen?

 

Go for it Jim! I've been growing my own oil seeds and making biodiesel for my 6,000 acre wheat ranch for almost 5 years, and I'll never go back to dinodiesel, EVER!! I use it in both my D-6D, and my AG-6. All the wheel tractors, my 2 irrigation pumps, my standby genset, and all my diesel pickups and semi's. I used to use it in my shop for heat, but now I burn the glycerol by-product for shop heat! I also use it in my home for heat. If you are interested in home heating, check out this Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altfuelfurnace/I'm a member there also, and there is a wealth of knowledge there on using alt fuels for home heating.


Welcome to the "Wonderfull World of Biodiesel" Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

 

Thanks for the welcome and the info!

One thing I'm glad to hear you mention that I haven't seen addressed in the reading I've done so far is what to do with the byproducts - good to hear that has uses as well!

Got a lot of work to do to get going, but I'll around with more questions, I'm sure....

 

One of the things I've been working on the last few years is uses for the by-products. So far I've made heating pellets, cattle feed supplements, dust control spray, weed killer, and fertilizer just from the glycerol!

The seed-cake from the press is 40 percent protein, and the cattle just love it..........

 

You might be my new hero. How did you figure all this out?

 

Lot's and lot's of hard work, and a desire to take my ranch "off-grid" as much as possible.

We now make all our own fuel, and within the next 18 months we should have 2 800kw wind generators supplying all our electrical needs, plus we'll send the oversupply back into the grid to generate more income for the ranch.

 

I like it a lot. This is something I am really interested in, so it sounds like I better roll up my sleeves and get to work. Keep up the good work. I don't think I am headed you way anytime soon but I would like to see the operation.