Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

[gwalker Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gwalker]

I now wake up in the middle of the night pondering the design of my reactor.

Last night's question was: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container at 55 deg C?

What type of plastic container will not create a puddle of goo on my shed floor?

George

[geewizztoo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close geewizztoo]

Re: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

Sounds like you've caught the BD bug, welcome aboard.

Most plastics commonly used for containers will comfortably handle 55-60C without melting or distorting. I'm talking about PE and HDPE. I know this is common sense but be careful how you heat the oil, if you're using a immersion heater suspended from the top, don't let it touch the sides. It's better to heat the oil in smaller metal buckets on a BBQ or camping stove & then pour it in the plastic barrel or drum. Make sure you check the temperature first.

I would only recommend the use of plastic containers as a stepping stone to better things, ie. steel reactors. I started out with an old 25L home brew beer barrel with a screw top, then a 60L blue plastic barrel with a snap on lid. Once you've perfected your technique you'll want to build a bigger reactor anyway.

Sleep well

[gwalker Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gwalker]

Re: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

...I would only recommend the use of plastic containers as a stepping stone to better things, ie. steel reactors. I started out with an old 25L home brew beer barrel with a screw top, then a 60L blue plastic barrel with a snap on lid. Once you've perfected your technique you'll want to build a bigger reactor anyway.

Thanks for the info which I will take on board.

Do you still have your 25L beer barrel with a screw top or the 60L blue plastic barrel with a snap on lid, and would you be interested in selling to a convert?

[Sauman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sauman]

Re: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

Yahoo,another convert!!!.
This new BD religion is a goer I say.
More the merrier,louder the party.
BD is here to stay.
Imagine all the people living with BD,
Blue sky ,clean air and no pollutions too.
Hey ,hey, my my BD is here to stay.
(We must put a hymn together sometime,like everytime a batch is done we sing this in the shed.)
Now the trick is to convert thy neighbour too. .

Weclome aboard.This is geniune bug that can't be debugged.Everyone who tried to debugg this bug changed their careers from pest/bug control to liposuction therapists. Pumping ot fat Arses...yuk.

Cheers
Sauman

[gwalker Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gwalker]

Re: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

Are containers like these from reflex suitable.

http://www.reflexequip.com.au/detail.aspx?Key=6724

Open Head Drum with large rubber sealed screw on lid (neck diameter 255mm).
Threaded outlet with bung provided to allow optional tap (click RELATED PRODUCTS).
Food grade polyethylene available in natural or black.

Capacity: 60 Litre
Diameter: 402mm
Height: 620mm

Will the rubber seal be a problem?

Can you add more taps to these type of drums to allow for a circulating pump, thermostat etc ?

...so much to learn...so little time!

Is there a better product you can suggest?

Are the Supercheap jerry cans labled 'diesel' suitable?

aaaaahhhhhh...I don't know 'nothin yet!!!

[mallcruiser Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mallcruiser]

Re: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

Welcome to your new hobby. It is a lot of fun.

The best advice that I can give you is to go to a drum recycler and get a 60L steel drum - they are hard to find these days so you may he to ring around a bit. Ideally you need one with a removable lid.

Failing that just go the whole hog and get a 200L drum with a removable lid. You can then braze any number of fittings to it.

I do my test batches in one litre cordial bottles at 50-60degC with no hassles.

Have fun - it is satisfying to be creative and solve problems like these! If you haven't found the infopop forum yet then google BD and infopop - many happy hours of reading there!

Cheers,

[geewizztoo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close geewizztoo]

Re: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

Those Reflex containers will do just fine, but you can buy the same thing for a few dollars at the Sunday markets (see post no.3 in this thread):

http://www.biofuelsforum.com/making_..._supplies.html

and this one:

http://www.biofuelsforum.com/sydney_...tic_drums.html


The rubber seal might swell, but you don't really want a gas tight seal on your reactor. You need to avoid building pressure inside the container, the lid is just to trap most of the vapour.

You can add taps & fittings to the plastic drums if you're careful, use large washers either side of threaded fitting to act as a flange and wet assemble with silicone sealant.


For storage, use the 25L plastic cubes like these:

http://www.biofuelsforum.com/sydney_...ontainers.html


Give the 'search' function a try, as most of this stuff has been discussed before.

[JimK Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close JimK]

Re: Will hot oil melt/distort a plastic container?

We have been using 220L blue polypropelyne drums for the past 6 months or so, started with clamp on lid , with purpose made heater element complete with a thermostat, dial regulated, fixed into the side of the drum, these have what they call a cool end. Use Hylomar gasket compound as well as a good quality marine silicone sealant. No leaks. No problems in heating well over 60 deg to dry out all moisture. We have since had conical bottoms heat welded onto the containers. Big improvement.