Bryan,

I am sure there is some truth to what you are saying in regards to the blend ratio. Fortunately for me the blending is done right at the particular station I am buying from with some fairly sofisticated flow control equipment so I would be very supprised if I got off-blends. The fuel is also in-line blended rather than splash blended so I am told that is about the best you can do when it comes to blending Biodiesel.

Seb.....

 

You can't tell if BD is clean by looking at your filter. The most likely contaminants, water, FFA, and glycerol will pass right on thru untill they begin to emulsify (form soap). The margine like substance you are talking about sounds like soap. When BD starts to cloud from cold it forms little crystals not a material like you describe.

That may work. It seems to work for the SVO crowd.

 

[QUOTE=Phydeaux88]You can't tell if BD is clean by looking at your filter. The most likely contaminants, water, FFA, and glycerol will pass right on thru untill they begin to emulsify (form soap). The margine like substance you are talking about sounds like soap.



Another way to decribe the material that plugs my filters other than "margerine" is "Vasoline". It seems just a thin coating saturated the filter paper and completely plugs the filter. I mean completely plugs it. Not a drop of fuel gets thru while the temperature is below 30F. Once things warm up they start to flow again. It is definetely not crystaline like you mentioned earlier. It is also not a emulsion.

Soap?????, maybe......

Whatever it is, it is plugging up my filter and plugging them up fast when the temperature drops below 30 F.


Seb....

 

Question for everyone . Isn't the standard fuel filter for the 93 diesel a 10 micron filter?? Also - Is the diesel fuel standard 10 micron??

 

Hey Hamberger, I found a link to something on another site that might be just the ticket for you. It is meant for heating WVO, but I don't see why it wouldn't work just as well for your bio-blend.

Maybe try hooking one of these up just ahead of your filter......
http://smallglowplugheater.blogspot.com/2005/12/small-glow-plug-heater.html

 

You say it isn't an emulsion but how do you know that? Emulsions take many forms.

An emulsion is formed when microscopic globules of one liquid are suspended in a second liquid. The two liquids must be immiscible (won't mix together)
Some should be familiar emulsions are: soap, mayonaise, butter, most salad dressings, the light sensitive portion of camera film, espresso coffee, and etc.
The point being,you cannot tell what is an emulsion by looking at it

Please understand I am not blaming your source of BD unless they are the folks that process the VO to make BD.
It is the processor that is not adequately cleansing the BD, the folks you buy it from have no way of knowing that.
Ask Fab how the plants he designs clean their product. He has worked out an excellent system, possibly a little more expensive but producing a superior result.

 

Try this simple test: Fill a 2 liter clear plastic bottle with a sample of the Biodiesel in question. Place in your freezer, let it freeze. Now let it thaw out undisturbed. If ANYTHING falls to the bottom of the bottle the sample is CONTAMINATED.......


ASTM Biodiesel will ALWAYS thaw out clear, with no sediment, no slime, nada...

 

Good to know . Thanks for the info Fabmandelux.

 

[QUOTE=fabmandelux]Try this simple test: Fill a 2 liter clear plastic bottle with a sample of the Biodiesel in question. Place in your freezer, let it freeze. Now let it thaw out undisturbed. If ANYTHING falls to the bottom of the bottle the sample is CONTAMINATED.......


I have done the freezer tests and there always is a small amout of residue at the bottom of the bottle (1/8" to 1/4"). You are probably right in that you would expect there to be no fall-out. I don't think ASTM 6751 actually does a precipitate test for fall-out following a freeze-up do they?.

I guess one possible explaination is that I got a batch of crappy Biodiesel and it ended up falling out in my tanks and I am still trying to get rid of all the solids that fell out, maybe that is why my filters are still plugging up several fill-ups later.

Crap...


Seb.....

 

[QUOTE=Hamberger]
I've got samples of biodiesel I made 3 years ago that have never had anything settle out. I've also got samples that have been frozen multiple times, and still show nothing on the bottom of the jars.............The ONE sample of commercial B-100 I received from Sequential Biofuels has a 1/4" layer of "jelly" on the bottom, but only after it was frozen!

ASTM 6751 has a spec for "sediment" but does not specify frozen or not.

I am interested to see if others that make there own bio here could try the same test, and see if they can duplicate my results. Any takers?

 

[QUOTE=fabmandelux]Thanks Fabman,

I think you hit the nail on the head, ASTM 6751 probably should be revised to include the "Freezer" test to check for sediments after the Biodiesel has been re-thawed.

It seems to me a very important test that really provides confirmation on fuel quality and will avoid the kind of filter plugging problems I have been experiencing.

I will test my next batch I buy to see if my problems were one time or not.


Seb......

 

This seems to be a recurring problem so lets say it again


ASTM 6751 probably should be revised to include the "Freezer" test to check for sediments after the Biodiesel has been re-thawed.

I hope the NBB and ASTM read this forum

 

Hamberger,

Are you familar with the 3/27 test used to check the completness of conversion to triglycerides to BD methyl esters? Briefly, you mix 3 ml of your BD with 27 mls of dry methanol in a glass container. The mixture should cloud briefly then clear. Any unconverted triglycerides will seperate from the bulk solvent and depending on the amount form bigger or smaller droplets. Anything more than a few very small droplets indicates incomplete conversion.
The white ppt that you observe could be the result of either unconverted glycerides or high cloud point methyl esters.
I myself have the same problem with BD that I make from Used Cooking Oil so I know that the cause is high cloud point methyl esters. I am in the process of installing a heated fuel pickup and a heating coil on the filter. Since I haven't completed this I am currently using straight petro diesel.
My sympathies, Good Luck.

 

[QUOTE=rickgthf]Hamberger,

Are you familar with the 3/27 test used to check the completness of conversion to triglycerides to BD methyl esters?


Thanks,

I knew long ago that I just would not have the time to make my own biodiesel so I have been buying from the one local commercial supplier. With our weather typically mild they have successfully applied higher and higher Biodiesel blends in the last few years and this year have gone from B20 to offering B40.

Unfortunately we have been experiencing several unusual weather scenario's where the temperatures have dipped well below seasonal norms this winter.

I could do the 3/27 test as you have pointed out, but am pretty sure the Biodiesel I am buying would fail this test, especially with the B40.

The supplier inline blends and as long as you keep above 30 F the B40 mix has been fine and I have run both my trucks on it all throughout the summer.

I will have to follow up with my technical contact for my Biodiesel supplier one of these days. For now I have cut back to a B5 blend until the weather starts to improve and keep changing filters that get plugged by any residue in my tanks.

Thanks for the information on the 3/27 test, sound simple enough, I should try it to confirm what I have already seen thru the Freezer test.


Seb......

 

Hamberger,
The 3/27 test wouldn't work with the blend in any event because the petro diesel components would completely interfere. Why not just go to straight petro diesel during the cold weather and then use B100 in the warm weather? You'll get the same economics.