Anyone looked into this Biodiesel making machine???

kjfishman · **Posted:** Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:55 pm

http://www.dogwoodenergy.com/biompu.html

Flying J · **Posted:** Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:16 pm

Looks good to me. I have 2 diesel vehicles and that thing would pay for itself in no-time. But I can't find the list of ingredients.

midwest · **Joined:** Tue Apr 25, 2006 12:03 am **Posts:** 173

More info. would be nice. I'm sure you need to do more than dump table scraps and yard waste in the top.

RFCRD · **Posted:** Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:27 pm

Flying J wrote:

Looks good to me. I have 2 diesel vehicles and that thing would pay for itself in no-time. But I can't find the list of ingredients.

Oil, Methyl Alcohol, Potassium hydroxide (Lye) and heat. It's a pretty box but there are much more cost efficient processors available. Try a google search "biodiesel" or "appleseed." Tons of info out on the web on how this is made.

Flying J · **Posted:** Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:15 am

Um, no go. Suggested to my wife that it would be a good idea to brew my own fuel in the garage. She Who Must Be Obeyed didn't think so.

Seriously, isn't Methyl Alcohol hard to get these days?

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:57 am

You will need a bit more than just that to start...probably a solar box to cook out water using natural heat...the Methanol can be purchased at any racing shop but it is only economical to buy in 55 gallons drums...you have to figure out what to do with the waste (glycerine, contaminated water, ect)...if you do it right you can reuse the water, recover a big part of the methanol and find a buyer for the "soap". You should be able to build a unit for under $500.00 (appleseed type processor). You have to be able to secure a good source of WVO (waste vegetable oil) and make sure to test the acid/base levels ect before using the WVO. It is a little labor intensive...but...once you get down the steps, it works great.

BiodieselJeep.com · **Posted:** Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:18 pm

Methyl isn't that expensive and most ingredients can be bought in bulk through suppliers...BUT....making good BioD, good enough for a new, expensive car, is hard work requiring a lot of experience. HOWEVER, it IS a rewarding hobbie! And you'll save some money.. don't let falling dino-diesel prices fool you....after the election watch them bump back up!

If you also heat your house/hot water with oil, the early batches can be used in your furnace with greater confindence than in your beautiful CRD. Once you get good (and I suggest getting REALLY good) then think about moving it into your car. Confidence in a processing machine should not replace prudent testing. All the big manufacturers continually test their products...and they have very expensive processors.

I've been fiddling with this stuff for years, and now I only use commerically made Biodiesel (ASTM tested) in my CRD. One bad batch, one missed check-test, and you can mess up a nice car. But then again, I'm lazy. Plus I work more on the furnace side of things. Furnaces are easier to clean, easy to repair, hard to destroy, and cheap to replace.

dgeist · **Posted:** Wed Oct 25, 2006 10:21 am

So, based on the cutaway, you can make the same thing with:

Some HDPE tanks: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=20726&product%5Fid=3863
An HDPE wash tank: http://www.utahbiodiesel.org/events/200501biodieselparty/tankplans.htm
The overview and design: http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/appleseedprocessor/
Some misc parts: http://www.b100supply.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=6
a nice dispensing system: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200312385_200312385
And some assorted brass, PVC, and black-pipe fittings from Home-Depot or Lowes (or someplace cheaper).

Dan

chrismc · **Posted:** Wed Oct 25, 2006 10:22 am

I sure wouldn't buy or use that thing... I find it difficult to believe that you could process, settle, wash, and dry a 20g batch of fuel in 24 hours. Settling takes time, as does washing and drying. Also ASTM-spec isn't everything, but its a good starting point. To the best of my knowledge, ASTM BioD standards only test for full conversion and for free fatty acids. One common source of contamination is water from a poorly dried batch. Water will destroy the injection system on a common-rail engine.

The best bet is to build an Appleseed, and learn good quality testing procedures. Make lots of batches and refine your process until you get consistently high-quality fuel.

Anyone looked into this Biodiesel making machine???

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