Hi there, my name is John. I have been interested in bio since '06. Haven't buried off into it yet. But now I have the place to do it and a supply of oil. I can get oil from a friend of mine that does power washing for restaurants. He has plenty of customers that are more than willing to give him oil.

My consumption. Right now I average 15 to 20 gallons per day. That is on an average day. However, I do have days that I can run through a complete tank of fuel, 27 - 30 gallons.

My equipment:
'05 Duramax
'93 F250 IDI
'06 Bobcat trackho
'98 Bobcat skid steer
'10 Kubota ZD326S
4bt donor for my '66 F100 Shortbed.

Now, I am not really comfy running this in my Dmax just yet. But the '93 would be a prime candidate for bio. I have learned I need Viton return lines. Is there anything else I need to consider for the F250 besides viton return lines?

My location. Lake house on 2.5 acres, 30 miles from my home in town. I do have plenty of plastic tanks. 40 gallon plastic drums I can get free all day long from a carwash supplier.

So now with that information what do I need to consider? Pumps? Heating source? Too many questions for sure. But I am sure you can guide me along. I hope this is a good start.

Thanks,

John

 

Welcome to the Bio forum John! If you have a good source for WVO you are on your way.

Some things to consider first. How are you going to transport your WVO from the sources? Do you have a local source for Methanol and Koh, or NaOH? Are you going to water wash, or dry wash? If your going to water wash where will you dispose of your wash water? Are you going with an "appleseed" style or open style of processor?

Storing your WVO in plastic is fine, but DO NOT use plastic tanks for your processor!

Your processor and all piping should be steel not plastic.

I'm sure you'll have a lot more questions, so ask away!

 

Pretty sure you won't have to change anything on any of your vehicles to run bio other then your 66 f-100. Depending on how old the fuel lines are you may have to change them. What year is the 4bt you put in it? I think anything after 1993 has bio compatible fuel system. You will plug onboard filters for a while( 1 or 2) cause bio is a very good cleaner & will clean all the crap out of your fuel systems from D2.

I was going to suggest you consider converting your vehicle & running SVO until I see how many you have. In your case bio probably does make more sense.

If your worried about the Dmax then do that last. But there should be no reason you can't run bio in it. Just make sure you process it well. Your Dmax injectors & IP is pricey.

 

Thanks, and yes that is why I am going to run bio in my other equipment. I want to get comfortable and consistent. I have been trying to find the best processor plans. No idea where to begin. Appleseed seems the easiest but the two stage method I have read on seems much more stable and consistent. I do not know anything about "dry washing". One of the questions I have is in regards to the waste from production. What do you guys do with this? Is this stuff a bio-hazard?

I really do want as much info as I can get from you guys. I don't quite understand titration. I do understand the the fatty acids are a necessity in bio. Hence WMO is probably not a good idea. I have a friend that own 7 semis and services hundreds more per month. He has more WMO than he knows what to do with. So much to learn....I am also trying to research journeytoforever website as well. That site has TONS of info on it. Too much to digest and take in.

Thanks a bunch!

 

Yes, JTF has a lot of information on it, but use caution as there is a lot of outdated information and some innacuracies as well. For what ever reason, the site has not kept up with advancements.(i.e. Catalyst base amounts have not been updated, resulting in underreacted biodiesel)

Besides this sub forum, here is another great place to get started: How to Make Biodiesel at Home

 

Here's a web site for Biodiesel or SVO information. If your going to buy a ready made setup your going to pay bigtime. Read and invest in some reading material like "from the fryer to the fuel tank" to learn as much as you can about Bio vs SVO. Most of the people that run SVO start out making Biodiesel including myself. As for not using plastic barrels to mix biodiesel in, I did that with no problems. The link "FORMS" below has the right address for the discussion of Biodiesel & Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) as fuels. Enjoy!

Forums

 

How difficult was it for your friend to get oil and powerwashing? I was thinking of trying to offer washing fryers in exchange for a fee and some of their WVO.