Re: Western Sydney Users

Hi Phil,
Thank you for your help. I appreciate your assistance very much. Take care.

Re: Western Sydney Users

hi,
i haven't yet bought anything to make biodiesel, but i want to start and im looking around to see exactly what i need to make the process fast and effective with minimal work, finding the used oil and cleaning the oil is the most time wasting of all,

question i have to ask are:

i have a few fish & chip shops that i will be getting my used oil from, they put there used oil in a 55gal drums. How will i go about pumping out the used oil and filtering it ready to use in my automated processor, whcih pumps the filtered cleaned used oil from the drum into its mixer?

so what pump do i need to do the job,

what filter would u recommend while pumping out the used oil from the drums eg: a 200 micron filter, to filter out the bigger debris out while pumping into my storage tank in my 4wd or ute?

thankyou for your help!

Re: Western Sydney Users

I supply my oil sources with a few 60 litre drums. These are relatively easy to handle (around 50kg when full) and put into a trailer All you need to do if you are making biodiesel from the oil, is to strain out the chips and dim sims. Filtering is not necessary. You will need to check for water in the oil, especially if the oil is stored outdoors or in the weather.Use a coarse mesh on your pump suction hose, to exclude the larger particles. When transferring to your drying tank/processor, use some flywire formed into a funnel shape to catch the smaller lumps.After your biodiesel is processed, washed and dried (if that is what you do), please ensure that it is filtered to ~5 micron before / while refuelling the vehicle.

Re: Western Sydney Users

Well this is really cool. Just stumbled across this group and forums, been working through starting to brew my own but have always had trouble finding cheap enough methanol To close to the race car scene which is WAY expensive.

Been using B50 now since the Local to work Ingleburn Volume Plus gets a shipment of it in for their diesel. They say it is B50 and made from palm oil but they can't give me any more info than that at this point.

I must I don't live in the western sydney suburbs but hey I am only 50-60Km south so not to bad I spose if I was to want BIG supplys

I know of the station at Marrickville but the hours that I get away from work I can't make it there to fill up which is a bit of a problem. I also heard on the grapevine that he was not going to be keeping B100 over winter? Would that be correct or is it just mith? There are pour point suppresors that are made for biodiesel which will take them down to -5 or -10 so I can't see why that would be a problem for Sydney or even most of australia.

I will keep an eye out and might even ask some advice in the near furture, I can do biodiesel from new Oil as I have done in test batch's but never done WVO so I might need some advice and pointers

Thanks Guys.

Re: Western Sydney Users

Perfect Im in the liverpool area too and would love to speak and meet as this is all new to me!help johnno

Re: Western Sydney Users

Welcome to the wonderful world of biodiesel Johnno,
I've sent you a PM so check your inbox. Will do what I can to help.
Cheers

Re: Western Sydney Users

G'day Robert,
I am in Macquarie Fields (South West Sydney) and have used a bit of SVO in my Landrover Defender. It loves it, but I am wondering about the long term effects, so I want to get into making Biodiesel. I have plenty of time on my hands at the moment and am very keen to meet someone who would be willing to show me how it is done. This seems like a likely kind of place. I look forward to your reply.
Dave

Re: Western Sydney Users

Kellyville new member and want to get involved somewhere. Bob

Re: Western Sydney Users - test engine?

Hi,

I've just read From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank, and am very interested in making biodiesel. I don't yet have a diesel vehicle (too bad there's pretty much only diesel utes or SUVs in Australia), but want to make some test batches.

From the Fryer says to test the biodiesel in an rc engine, but I wan't aware that RCs ran off of diesel. I know the engines are glow engines, and that the fuel has nitro in it, but are they diesel?

If not, what else can I test the fuel in?

Thanks,

Justin

Re: Western Sydney Users - test engine?

Jason
FTFTTFT has a lot of poorly researched information which is either misleading, wrong or downright bloody dangerous in it.
Model aircraft diesels will not run on biodiesel, IIRC they run on ether with some castor oil as a lubricant. They do not have injectors or injector pumps and cannot be used to test biodiesel.

There are many diesel cars, small commercial and 4wd vehicles in Oz which are candidates for biodiesel usage.
Mercedes 220D, 240D and 300D cars and wagons are reasonably plentiful. VW Golf diesels are still around as are Gemini diesels. The other official imports are Peugeot and Citroen and the "grey"(unofficial) imports from Toyota, Nissan and Mazda are reasonably plentiful.

There are a number of tests you can perform on biodiesel:
1. Reprocess test. Checks for completeness of transesterification. Poorly converted biodiesel will have oil in it and the reprocessing causes the byproduct to drop out. Even 100% vegetable oil can be used to fuel diesel engines (with a fuel heating system), so a small % of unconverted oil in the biodiesel is not a problem.

2. Melting Point. I suggest that people test the biodiesel to the coldest winter temperatures for the locations in which they expect to use the vehicle. If below 0°C, use the freezer and wind the thermostat down to get your winter temperature (freezer is normally -5°C) if above 0°C, use the fridge (normally +5°C). If the biodiesel solidifies, the fuel is not suited to that temperature and a blend may be necessary in winter. If it is cloudy, it may be allowed to settle and the liquid oil used as fuel at that temperature. The settled (solidified) biodiesel will melt for use in warmer months.

3. Clarity. Look through the biodiesel in a jar. It should be crystal clear, even if it has colour. Cloudy biodiesel may indicate water or that the biodiesel has a high cloud point (refer test 2) Water in biodiesel can be removed by evaporation, after draining any liquid oil from the bottom of the container.

DO NOT MAKE BIODIESEL IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE. Make it outdoors.
Food processors and blenders will rapidly degrade and will leak. Their motors are a major source of sparks which can ignite the methanol fumes.
Do not leave oil heating unattended, there are people who have burned down their homes because of this.

Use care, take precautions, be safe.
Spot the Hazards, Make the Changes.


.

Re: Western Sydney Users

On the topic of using Biodiesel, I keep reading from people how their vehicle "loves" the new fuel.

I understand the enthusiasm implied in such expression but we are talking about a machine and fuel aren't we? So the only considerations are assurance of constant quality, supply, power and short and long term effects on the machine in question. Everything else is irrelevant.
In a country that has a total absence of quality and quantity inspections on petrol stations any source of fuel from dubious and variable quality is a potential problem. If anyone has to change injectors, let alone fuel pump, the advantages of biodiesel will be offset for the next 50 years for that particular car. A visit to your local diesel injection specialist will be an eye opener, and a look at his invoices to motorists and even bigger stimulant for caution.
Of course the feeling of pioneering a change is a consideration yet it does not fit in the simple equation fuel+engine=power+emissions

I suggest that with all the enthusiasm for biofuel, we still must be critical and demanding when it comes to quality assurance be it for the biodiesel provided and for the diesel used in the mix.

The fact that someone is feeding a clapped out diesel engine SVO, or even a mixture of old engine oil and kero, does not mean that those with consideration for their motor that when looked after should go for a million kilometers, are missing out on something.

I wonder if someone has included in the biofuels equation, the cost enegry, down time, emissions etc, from producing parts and other fringe problems associated with the unregulated sources of biofuels and their causes of brakedown.

Re: Western Sydney Users

G'day All,
Just tried to message geewizztoo but the box is full.
I am also new to biodiesel and also near Holsworthy. (Macquarie Fields)
Have been using straight vege oil in my rough 93 Landrover defender for about 6 months and want to get into Biodiesel so I can run it in my Wife's future car. Please contact me if you wouldn't mind showing me the set up and process. (This is my second message on a forum... can I give my mobile number or email address on these forums?)
Dave

Re: Western Sydney Users

Hi Everybody

I went to post and wrote heaps then i accidentaly deleted it all so now i have to type it all again , so if you get it twice sorry.

Anyway i'm just a new memeber but i gotta say i'm very interested in bio diesel. I don't know if its ok to make it where i am (girlfriends house) but i can help and i can get my hands on big 44 gallon oil drums that used to have olive oil in them. I can also get my hands on the big blue plastic drums as well. I don't have an oil source yet but that won't be too hard i hope (you know greeks and fish and chip shops). Anyway I'm mega interested in this as i have had to curtail my lifestyle heaps with the diesel prices as it seems all good fishing and hunting areas are a bit away. not to mention all i have read about how good it is for your engine.

Anyway I would love to help somebody make it one day to see what is actually involved. I know i can do it but man i'm a bit concerned for first go and hey i still gotta know what i'm talking about to have any hope of convincing my girlfriend in using the backyard as a refinery

Re: Western Sydney Users

Hi y'all, I'm in West Pennant Hills, just joined the forum. I haven't made or used any BD yet (that I'm aware of), still getting all the bits and pieces together, but I'd love to meet up with anyone who's brewing successfully at home for a demo. I've recently bought a Land Rover Defender with the Tdi200 engine to replace My 2.8lt Hilux dual cab which is currently for sale (how about a classifides section Rob?). I'm keen on Bio fuels as a sustainable fuel sorce for the future and to cut the fuel bill to work each day, it's an 80km round trip. Thanks for the forum, I've already got heaps of invaluable info from it, can't wait to hear from you.
Graeme.

Re: Western Sydney Users

A classifieds section is indeed something I've considered and I will add it one day (probably in a few months) as I am planning a major overhaul of the forum. In the mean tim, we'll just try to plan some of the events that we need to get happening in Sydney (I'm just a bit time poor at the moment sorry, but I can assure you that there will be things happening soon )