G'day
Just finished making this mixer and thought you may be interseted in a couple of pictures.
It is able to mix 200L of methenol each batch.
Best regards
Westwinds

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That is bloody Awsome Dave!

You certainly don't waste any time getting things done either.
I was impressed with Wayne's " Rocket" but you have outdone yourself in your engineering on this one! I have never seen anything like that and you have certainly set a standard with it for the rest of the world to follow some good old fashioned, Aussie bush engineering!

Fantastically well done mate. Absolutely Brilliant!

Can I be your agent For "Westwinds Meth Mixers" ?
I think there is a world market for them!

Yeah, ditto what Dave said - that's a brilliant job.
What is the approx RPM when the motor's turning?

PS I'm hoping to commission the "rocket" this weekend, I'll take some pics and post them later.

What a beautiful piece of engineering! Is that the same container you brought along to the picnic that time, that the cops thought was a beer keg?

That would also work well to mix the methoxide/WVO, which would eliminate the risk of sparks from a drill stirrer or spillage from a pump mixer. Although I suppose it would not be possible to have a vent open while the whole thing is spinning around (unless you had it on an angle).

__________________
Sean

Hi Sean, I think you're missing the purpose of this device. This is a pressure vessel which allows Westwinds to mix a full 205L drum of methanol with x kg's of KOH prior to pumping into his 1400L volume reactor. (1000L of WVO + 205L of methanol).

This is a different tank to the one he brought to the picnic, that one was a baby at only 70 or 80L. This one is a serious bit of kit, made from two halves of 250L hot water tanks (the domed halves). Clearly this is going to generate a lot of heat and pressure when you mix those quantities. So that's why he's taken a lot of care to design it the way he has. Inside the drum he's welded stainless steel paddles, like a cement mixer, to keep the KOH agitating.

The 1" central axle shaft goes right through the drum and is supported internally by radial steel spokes welded at the centre.

Didn't mean to steal your limelight Westwinds, I just thought it needed a little more explanation.

Cheers, Wayne

Uggghhh!!

Real Men Don't measure anything when they make Bio!
They chuck in a bag of KOH, A drum of Meth and Mix it all up Just like that.
Dave Didn't want to have to make his tank from water heaters. He found the perfect thing for what he wanted when he was Visiting Canberra. It had a few leaks that he could have welded up and surprisingly it was even made in Japan. Unfortunately the war memorial people said their Midget submarine Had " Historical Value" and wouldn't part with it.
He had to do the next best thing so he came up with the idea of the water heaters and mounted them on a frame that used to be the Chassis of a coal carrying railway car and attached a motor and pulleys to do all the hard Yakka for him!!
Ugggh!!

Not contented with just a meth Mixer bigger than most peoples reactors, a real man, like Dave, then feeds the meth mix into a reactor he measured up from a water reservoir that fed a small town.... and took 50Kg of Stainless steel welding wire to stitch it all together and 350 Rabbit pelts to insulate it against the -50C cold it get's down to where he is!!
And that's a heatwave compared to where our mate Dennis Lives!

Would a Real man like Dave wait about 3 days for his oil to heat up in his 2 story high reactor using a piddly little electric water heater element 'bfore he could make his Bio??
Not on ya life mate!
He does it properly, like a real man, with real fairdinkum fire, using a flame thrower he made himself ( Of Course!!) specially for the job, in a heat exchanger he built that looks like the Trojan horse...... only its made of real BHP steel and could hold more Soldiers, ANZACS no less... and their .303 SMLE rifles! Uggghhh!

This heater is so powerful, When the gandkiddies come to visit, he uses an 8" irrigation pump to send water through it and he Heats up the Top dam to a cosy 50oC in under an hour so the kiddies can have a hot bath after playing with the Black Snakes and wrestling Kangaroos all day.

Electricity don't grow on trees in the country ya know and if ya don't get stuck into the days work and get it done quick smart, you'll be up all night till 8pm finishing it when you should have had ya dinner and been in bed hours ago when it got dark!

Man on the land has hungry Diesel trucks and Chamberlain tractors to feed and 1000L of Bio don't go too far. When ya live 40Km from the nearest Shop and have to drive 200Km just to get 20L of oil, there are only so many 4am starts in a week and ya can't waste them by making Bio every day in a piddly little 200L water heater!

If there were more real men like Dave that could make all their own stuff and weld like he can and know how to fabricate stuff themselves, the country wouldn't be in the Bloody mess it's in now!

Your a fairdinkum shining example and role model to all Aussie Blokes Dave!

Gday,Thanks David,Wayne and Sean for your kind words.Wayne you definatley did not steal any limelight.The mixer operates at 36 rpm.I am waiting on KOH so i can make a batch and will post what pressure builds up and temperatures when KOH is mixed with 200 litres of methanol.regards Westwinds

I actually did get the purpose of the mixer, but I thought the basic idea could be used for mixing methoxide with WVO without the use of pumps or stirrers.

Is there any reason it needs to be pressurised? I know when mixing methanol and KOH you get an exothermic reaction but why not just have a vent on it?

__________________
Sean

Brillant Westwinds.
You are an inspiration to us all.
What pressure and temperature do you end up with after the mixing is completed?
I only make small quantities and release the pressure when mixing it in a HDPE drum.

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Gday,I am waiting on KOH to use in the mixer and will post the air pressure that builds up from the reaction.Sean provided the mixer can physicaly handle the temperature and pressure i dont see why i need to vent it.I am guessing that the air pressure will be no more than 15 psi.Also by not venting the mixer it eliminates the chance of fumes being ignited by static electricity or any other source of ignition.regards Westwinds