Hi all, I've been doing a bit of ringing around. I've got some sources and prices in the Sunshine Coast area that some of you Brisbane/Sunshine Coast folk might interested in. Also its interresting to compare what people are paying for stuff

Chemical Suppliers

Dunckers
125 Howard St Nambour QLD 4560
ph: (07) 5441 3390

Sodium Hydroxide - 25Kg – $61.27 which is $2.45/Kg

Potassium Hydroxide - 25Kg – $79.90

Methonol

Reliance(BP)
Nambour Depot Bli Bli Rd (cnr Cooney Rd) 4560
(07) 5441 7856

20L – $39.55 - A little under $2.00 a litre.

Also there is a Methonol supplier in Brisbane call
Performance Wholesale
6 Cronulla Court
Slacks Creek Qld
(07) 3808 1986

Superformance in the Redlands can order Methonol but wont stock it. Dunno their number.

There is also a petrol station heading out toward Willowbank raceway which stocks it.



Thats all for now.

Joe

Joe, I rang Dunkers to ask if the potassium hydroxide was greater than 84% but they were unable to tell me until maybe next Wednesday when the sales rep is back.
They also have the 200ltr plastic drums for $30 with a standard screw type bung about 60mm wide on top. These will be very usefull for washing and settling etc.
Good find Joe!!

Peter

Hi Joe,

Well done in sourcing the Methanol. This has been my biggest holdup, leaving me in the Petro diesel arena. Now I hope to go the sensible way with Bio! I read somewhere that the Caustic Soda, Lye etc has the tendency to absorb moisture when opened to the atmosphere. I wonder if this would be fruitfull for those of us who would be modest users, having to store 25kg for some legnth of time. Would it lose its potency, does it have a usefull life after opening. I could have been mistaken ,all I remember when reading about it, was that for my use I would be better buying smaller quantities to get over this problem. Do you know if this info is accurate or am I mistaken.

Thanks for sharing this info with us, well done!

Rgds,

All the good Oil

Dillyman

Hi Dillyman, Joe and I shared a 25kg bag of KOH (potassium hydroxide)on the weekend. It is 94% pure so it is good stuff. We both wore gloves and I used my measuring beaker just as a scoop to transfer the flake to a steel storage drum with a resealable lid. Even then I still got some on my arm and it startred to burn me pretty quickly. Once completed we sat the beaker on the driveaway, washed ourselves and chatted. After about 15 minutes Joe noticed that the flake that had been stuck to the beaker had turned into a thick fluid just by absorbing moisture from the air. So yes it seems that it absorbs very quickly and it will be important to keep moisture away. I read somewhere that you can tell if the KOh has absorbed some moisture, or carbonated, because it will go white and form clumps. Apparently it is still useable but the strength has been reduced. I would rather not use it like that. A half bag was quit a bit and filled a 20ltr steel drum to about two thirds full. I have considered bagging the flake into those zip lock bags at a premeasured amount so all I need to do is open a single serve bag as needed. I am not actually making bio yet as I am still getting the gear together.
Hervey Bay is a nice place. Should be lots of take away food places for used cooking oil for you to choose from.
Regards
Peter

Hi Peda,

Thanks for the information about the decanting of the 25 Klg bag. It is certainly pretty potent stuff from the sound of it. In sharing this practical experience with us, you cannot have better indicators than someones practical experience using materials that lots of us have not yet experienced. You have certainly helped me, it will help all of us to be more aware of the need for safe handling practices, especially with stuff that potent. To have only 2/3 of a 20Lt drum is a lot of air space. Especially as you would have to open it many times. To decant in smaller amounts would I agree be more aggreeable. The Zip bags you mentioned for smaller storage. I have used the A4 size zip bags for some time for finished art work. I have also used them and many other sizes for various purposes. I should point out that many uses have not proved as great as I thought ie, I used them to seal refilled PC printer cartidges in. I used a Surgical Syringe and an intramuscular needle( nasty things the medico's stick us with) to suck out the air. I must say that very few of them have worked well enough, also they tend to rip, tear and become unsealed when least expected.(If you want to open them they often resist)
I would not like to trust them. I used them for a similar thing for my Part A & B of my hydroponics chem. Not very good in the long term.
I have decided that my batches will be a 44 Gall drum batch, so I would like to store in more like a batch amount. I feel sure someone in the forum has some knowledge about suitable safe storage container experience, if so please share. The more safety issues we can deal with the happier will be our experiences. Peda's and Joe's practical experience has gone a long way for me to respect the materials I shall be handling, I'm sure other people feel the same. Thanks Guy's!
Yes Peda, Hervey bay has a few asian eating places and take aways. The asians only usually use around 20lts a month, The bigger hotels with counter meals and Al a Carte' Restaruants could be a better source.
I wonder if anyone in this region would like to put their hand up to sharing a 25 Kg bag, I am sure we could arrange something. To decide on the possible useage amount and how much to purchase. I wonder if the forum administrater could keep a record of possible sharers in the Bris area. I would be happy to travel to the sinshine coast for this purpose.? Just a thought.

Thanks again Guys for sharing.

Rgds

Dillyman

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Site Admin
Sydney Biodiesel Users' Group and Australian Biofuel Users


......................................................
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A suggestion for keeping KOH moisture free, how about airtight coffee jars?

The way I read Terry's article and the Quote from Senator Helen Coonan, all biodiesels have better Cetane ratings than petro-diesel (Cetane of 45), but Soy has 46.2 and Canola (Rapeseed) has 51. Am I getting that right, or have I not understood it?

Gunner,Yep, thats a good idea, i like a cup of coffee too so I will stop throwing away those jars.

Re the cetane values, depends where you look.
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiese...d2.html#cetane
This link has a table that shows the cetane of rapeseed ester at 54.4 and soybean at 46.2.
A previous table shows the world standards and Australia's standard is for a cetane greater than 51.

Peter