Making Biodiesel - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ROLLGUY · #16 06-20-2020, 01:29 PM

I finally got over to Dave's to pick up a barrel of Biodiesel. I did not have a clean barrel, so I bought one yesterday. I will bring it home, and from now on (or at least till the foreseeable future), I will be running B100 in all my Diesels. I have 80 gallons of new oil, so that will go in the processor for the next batch.

And yes Phillytwotank, I will take you up on your offer to test the bio. PM sent. Thanks, Rich

yuke · #17 07-03-2020, 03:40 PM

Sounds great Rich I too want to start making some Bio have been running WVO for about 12 yrs. From info. I gathered so far cost per gal. for chemicals would put you at about $1/gal. sometimes I wonder if just blending with rug would not be just as cheap and easier? Keep us updated with your progress.

ROLLGUY · #18 07-03-2020, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yuke

Sounds great Rich I too want to start making some Bio have been running WVO for about 12 yrs. From info. I gathered so far cost per gal. for chemicals would put you at about $1/gal. sometimes I wonder if just blending with rug would not be just as cheap and easier? Keep us updated with your progress.

I did the WVO/RUG blend for years, but now that I have access to a seemingly endless supply of B100, I will be running it from now on. I turned my brother onto some, as I know I can't use all that I will be making.

gottarollwithit · #19 07-03-2020, 11:04 PM

Having done the whole biodiesel thing, I eventually gave it up. For what it takes in time required to process/procure, it just wasn’t worth it. Where are you sourcing your methanol and sodium hydroxide? It’s definitely fun to play with lye, but dealing with sodium methoxide grows to be a PITA. Easier to just go to Costco and buy a bunch of Dino diesel. After all that, you really don’t save that much.

How do you know that the stuff you’re making is adequately washed? Have you ever taken a sample of the final product and tried washing out more glycerine? Excess glycerin and sodium methoxide, or residual washing water can cause damage to injectors, fuel tank, etc.

If I had to do it all over again, I’d have bought a beater w123, spend the least amount possible on repairs and run it on Dino diesel for the first few min, then roll over to using a VWO system that’s heated and filtered. That way you just change filters and dump diesel and VWO in. I assume this is what you initially did?

ROLLGUY · #20 07-03-2020, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gottarollwithit

............... Where are you sourcing your methanol and sodium hydroxide? ....................

How do you know that the stuff you’re making is adequately washed? Have you ever taken a sample of the final product and tried washing out more glycerine? Excess glycerin and sodium methoxide, or residual washing water can cause damage to injectors, fuel tank, etc.

If I had to do it all over again, I’d have bought a beater w123, spend the least amount possible on repairs and run it on Dino diesel for the first few min, then roll over to using a VWO system that’s heated and filtered. That way you just change filters and dump diesel and VWO in. I assume this is what you initially did?

I will be sending a sample to be tested soon. Phillytwotank offered to test it for me. We shall see. I get the oil for free (very good oil), Dave has a large solar array, so the electricity is free. All I really have to buy is the alcohol and KOH. Dave orders it, and the drum of alcohol gets delivered (local fuel supplier), and the KOH comes via UPS. Dave is teaching me how to run the machine, and a full drum from each batch is being given to me for free. I'd say it is worth the time and effort for me to spend a couple hours per batch for 55 gallons of free fuel.....Rich

gottarollwithit · #21 07-04-2020, 01:03 AM

Glad you think it’s a worthy use of your time. The om617 motor is damn near the best rig around to use home brew biodiesel. As it’s over engineered and uncomplicated, it makes it the most forgiving. No motor will eat crap fuel forever, but with all mechanical injection and engine management, it’s as good as it gets.
As a quickie rudimentary test, you can put some of your final product biodiesel in a container, add some water, then shake it up. Let it settle out, might take a day or so. You shouldn’t get any glycerin separating out. As I remember, evidence of a good washout was a clean, defineable biodiesel and water layer. Any white crap that sticks around will... well eventually crud up your injectors.

What are you doing for initial filtration?

ROLLGUY · #22 07-04-2020, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gottarollwithit

Glad you think it’s a worthy use of your time. The om617 motor is damn near the best rig around to use home brew biodiesel. As it’s over engineered and uncomplicated, it makes it the most forgiving. No motor will eat crap fuel forever, but with all mechanical injection and engine management, it’s as good as it gets.
As a quickie rudimentary test, you can put some of your final product biodiesel in a container, add some water, then shake it up. Let it settle out, might take a day or so. You shouldn’t get any glycerin separating out. As I remember, evidence of a good washout was a clean, defineable biodiesel and water layer. Any white crap that sticks around will... well eventually crud up your injectors.

What are you doing for initial filtration?

Yes, Dave told me about a miscibility test. Not sure exactly what that is. Dave has been making bio for as long as I have known him (15 years?), so I consider him an expert. He has never made a batch of "soap" since the start, so he has a good track record.

Phillytwotank · #23 07-04-2020, 06:55 AM

Miscibility test sounds like “27/3” test for conversion of oil to fuel.
Take 27ml of methanol and add 3ml of your finished fuel. You should see the finished fuel completely desolve in the methanol and disappear. Oil will not desolve in methanol so if there is any part of the 3ml that does not desolve and settles out, that is not fully converted. This would represent the mono, Di and Triglyceride values in the Astm specifications for bio diesel.

gottarollwithit · #24 07-04-2020, 06:56 AM

Certainly not trying to discourage you, merely here to broaden your horizons. Now, consider this, modern diesel fuel is filtered, refined, analyzed periodically, then probably has some detergents added. Point here is that anything you buy from a pump is going to need to be a pretty good quality juice because the mere aspect of servicing large truck engines cost far, far more than the total vehicle cost of most of the cars on the forum here. Hence, why your buddy runs his at B50.
Now, that said, with a home brew setup, you likely won’t output a product as clean as pump diesel. So, ya filter it more on your car or truck and call it a day. However, with regard to “making soap”, that’s not a very good measure. There is a lot of variability to the quality of ones biodiesel reacting, washing, and drying procedure. The reason the OM617 is popular is because it’s pretty forgiving when you feed it a few tanks of Bd that’s not quite right, yet not “soap”. There’s a reason the Duramax, Cummins, and Powerstroke guys don’t risk running B100 very often...