I've gotten to this point by trial and error, but this seems to work good for Me. FABMANDELUX

 

It's a know fact that if you have been using #2 for years a sludge builds up in the bottom of the tank. Doesn't bother anything. but you add the bio it cleans your system thus giving you a plugged filter. But once you get past this cleanout - it is great.

 

fabmandelux,thanks for your reply.Yes it is on line AP Wire 12/30/05 Some saw biodiesel problems comming.The more I read in this thread the more I think it was sludge in the fuel tanks. Thanks again Larry

 

It is true that alcohol dries & cracks rubber. However, during the transestrifcation process of biodiesel, if performed correctly or done commercially, the methoxide (methanol & lye) is used up. Methoxide is a catalyst in the process used to precipatate out the free fatty acids in the the form of glycerol. A complete reaction will have no residual methanol in the biodiesel. Unreacted methoxide forms a soap compound with the glycerol. This is one of the reasons that a titration is a good idea, especially with an "unkown" oil.

Washing & drying are good ideas as they will remove any residual water / methanol.

Ford will deny a warrenty repair if they find alcohol in the fuel system of the newer trucks. The high pressure injectors will form high pressure steam if water is allowed to come into them, and alcohol is hydroscopic, bonding water molecules to it easily. High pressure steam is one of the most corosive things known to man and will tear an injjector apart in short order.

 

That much is certain.

 

question, and i can be wrong.. but the water should seperate and the water infuel lite should come on right ? also water at a vacuum boils...and makes steam sooner, water under pressure would not turn to steam , unless much higher temp than 212 deg (sea level boiling point), so the fuel going into your injectors is not that hot.. if it was i could run straight veg oil with out converting it.(150+ needed for that)
so please check my thinking...thanks
chad

 

But alcohol pulls the water into suspension & by the water seperator. It stays in suspension until it hits the atmosphere at the tip of the injector where it flashes into steam, at pressure. That why its a bad idea to use alcohol based fuel treatments, and why you want to dry your veggie before using. Another problem of water in fuel is algeal growth, which will colg filters.

 

another question, if i build a tank that can handle a vacuum.. if i put my washed fuel into it, and pull a vacuum (like they do when they dry you ac system after repairs) will the vacuum pump pull out the water , out of the oil ???
i can run a small vacuum pump pretty cheap..cheaper that heating it ??

 

I think you'd be better off charging the tank w/ dry nitrogen, like they do with optical instruments. Purge it till you get the air out, and pressurize to about 1.5 to 2 psig (2 psi over atmosphere).

Ahhh, hmmm, I just reread your post - you're thinking that the vacuum might "boil off" the water? Only problem I see is that the water will settle at the bottom. How are you going to pull the vacuum w/out getting oil in the pump?

Heating the oil allows the water to vaporize off the top.

 

ok, just a little back ground..I do this for a living with nuclear fuel...that being said , I have never tried to boil off water that is below oil...so that is what I was thinking...if the vacuum pump suction is at the top ,above the oil/water it will only pull of water vapors...but will the lower pressure pull the water through the oil layer ???? I don't know but if it does , you can buy a small vac pump from harbor freight cheap. and use's very little electricity

 

It really should work, I've been extracting methanol from my glycerol with a "heat" still. Last month I built a vacuum still that holds 70 gal. I now extract at 60 deg/ 29" of vacuum. I keep my shop at 65-68 deg, so I no longer have to heat the still to 250 deg. The process is a lot faster too, the old still would process approx 16 gal/ 8 hrs. The new "vacuum still" will produce 70 gal in 8 hrs with NO heat input. I think it would "pull" the water out of any oil. FABMANDELUX

 

ok please explain how it works... you vacuum pump pulls off the methanol or leaves it ?

 

Methanol vaporizes at 148*F at sea level, at 29" of vacuum it will vaporize at 60*F. As the methanol vaporizes it expands creating heat, You pull the vapor of the top and pull it through the condenser where it turns to a liquid. FABMANDELUX.

 

so the vaper goes through the vac pump, then to the condenser?

 

No,the flow is from the still through the condenser then through a "wet tank" then the vac pump. Nothing goes through the vacuum pump. The wet tank is simply a 5 gal glass jug, it has 2 lines into the top, 1 line is hooked to the condenser,and goes to within an inch of the bottom. The other line is within an inch from the top, and is connected to the vacuum source. I am not at the shop this week as I have 3 speeches to give, Next week I will try to post pic's of the still. FABMANDELUX