How many biodiesel users are there in Tas.

[Mr Ute]

Alga,

I am interested in how you ran your SD33T on veg oil. I am still having a problem with my SD33 with wvo delivery to the IP, although my pre heater & filter heater are working well. Maybe we should start a new thread under the SVO to discuss further.

[Alga]

Sorry Mr ute, I meant Bio diesel, not SVO. I tried it on SVO but it clogged up my filters. Bio, works well, with no trouble. That may be because I had to put a new fuel line in after using SVO as it put a lot of gunk in the lines.

I also had to change my filters 3 times because of all the gunk, but since the last time they are now always clean. I had a lot of smoke at times as it cleaned out the petro junk. I can't get enough uvo, as they take it for stock feed, so I have to blend petro some times. I doesn't run as well on the mixture which is about 50-50.

I am really new at this and have made some monumental mistakes. One is a 2.5 datsun diesel, that I experimented with. Now I'm rebuilding the fuel system, after learning that without a pre heater, SVO don't work well. I have a 671GM 2 stroke in my boat. (260hp) and she just loves bio, no hunting, smoother, uses less. The huge fiter system that regularily needed to be cleaned when using petro around the sea, now has fiters that are always clean. I have noticed that water vapour buildup doesn't come with red brown gunk anymore, just clean water in the filters. Using BIo blends means I don't have to use sulphur substitutes anymore.

I just wish I had the money to set it up properly. This year we hope to build our own processor and press, we have over a tonne of various seed from our property that we hope to use for oil, that was collected by hand. I'm designing a tractor based stripper for that and have found that eucalypt seed has more oil whilst they are green. Its a pity they won't let us grow cannabis seed, as it produces lots of oil and masses of seeds, I can only imagine what people would think as you drove along with that smell coming from your exhaust, probably hialrious. Wild radish seems to be the next best, although we are checking out lots of weeds as they apear to be prolific seed producers as do a lot of asian consumable greens.

[glenos]

Hi,
I just found your forum and joined. I have been interested in BD for about 2.5 yrs since I bought a diesel 4wd, but the cost of a rebuild if I stuff my engine has always stopped me.

The good news for you guys is:

• I am an industrial chemist, with a little organic chem knowledge, I worked in the steel industry.
• I have an oil press (expeller), located in Hobart, I bought it to press Apricot kernels.
• I have used the expeller to press some canola seed I was given and have the oil sitting around, about 90L. i I might try to sell it first.
• I know a bloke who is also playing around, on the big scale, with wvo and canola oil based BD. Johnsons oil recyclers

[howeller73]

Hi, I am looking into making my own biodiesel too mate but need to find out where I can get some of the chemicals etc and have to really start looking into making the equipment to do it. Have a couple of friends keen too and would be happy to exchange ideas and info.

Mark

[reg]

Hi guys,
The most important thing you need to find is a good supply of decent used veggie oil, there are heaps of people collecting the stuff from the restaurants etc.
Go find these first, it is amazing how little the fish shops actually use each week, they tell you 40 50 litres and it is really only 20 25ltrs.
If you can get the oil good on ya go for it, if not forget it, the oil recyclers have there drums almost everywhere i go to and the restaurants tend to mix with animal fat and some use straight animal fat which makes life hard in this climate.
I am not trying to put you off but i spent a lot of money setting up and to tell you the truth i do not know if it is worth the hassle.
I have a spare processor sitting here. Cost me $600 to have made up has a conical base and tap and is on a very nice stand.
Apart from the doom and gloom there are a few chemical suppliers in the northern suburbs Yellow pages.
The only place i found you can get methanol is at the bp oil refinery in 200 ltr drums as the 20 ltr drums are way too expensive.
Be wary where yo get your oil as in my first week i found 800 litres of used cooking oil at the local tip, that is where it should of stayed it was crap.
Now i have to dispose of the majority of it.

[Jake]

You can get it for $200 - $300 a tonne in the Riverina so I am told.

Any contact details of suppliers at that price? So far I've contacted Riverland (only supply megatonnes) and Cootamundra Oilseeds (~$1.10/L).

[Alga]

Jake. That price was for 20000lt last year and would require it being picked up at a rail head or the factory. So that would require transport as well as getting it across the strait, the only way that could be done is if a group formed, then split the oil. There may be someone in the state that would be prepared to grow a crop and then it could be crushed and processed. So a co-op would need to be started and go from there. I know of Johnson's, but don't know what, price, or what quantities they have available. I'm getting 200lt of ethanol and plan to use some of it in my v6 Camry. A friend on the sth coast of NSW does that and he uses 20% in his fuels without problems, so it could justify getting 200lt

Reg I would be interested in your spare processor, as this year I intend to grow a crop of oilseed and am investigating wild radish which, even though a weed they say produces up to 48% oil and grows easily. So I may put in a couple of acres and see what I get out of it. Canola they tell me doesn't really grow that well here. Your right, its getting harder to find waste oil as they pick it up quickly, even where I am they come down and clean the joint out to use it for stock feed, just wonder what it does for the meat along with all the other chemicals and hormones they use.

Glenos, got your email, and replied, and would be really interested to see your press and chat about it. I still think its the way to go, even with the trouble as with the ever increasing price of fuel and the monopoly down here held by coles and woolworths, they will simple keep raising prices as they are doing now, until we can't afford it unless we get a huge income.

[Stang]

alga,

i've been keen to get tinkering with making some biofuels for some time now. am a petroleum engineer so maybe its in the blood.

a co-op of somesort sounds like a plan.....especially costwise for setting up. i too have had bugger all luck sourcing wvo in the hobart area. must admit i was a bit shocked (excited) when i found out so many of us were looking!

on that, i'm pretty sure johnson's sells his wvo for ~80c/L which makes it pricey once you add in methanol and caustic......i suppose if thats what the dairies pay then thats that.

am especially interested in the wild radish thats a bloody good idea, i've only really been thinking of wvo options until now - think i'll put some queries out to a few mates on any other plants with high oil contents that suit our climate......

[glenos]

Canola will grow in Tassie, quite well from accounts, we get a higher oil content then mainland due to longer growing season, have a look at www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au

Next time I see Peter Johnson, I will quiz him about his WVO.

glenos

[Alga]

Stang, sounds fine any time anyone wants to meet up and have chat, I'm on the tasman so would be happy to come to hobart. I have just checked the oil prices at riverina and they are $350+ for oil per tonne. I am checking to see if I can find a transport company that will bring it over and if so would be happy if others wanted to be involved to make it easier. I'd love to have 20000lt, but where do you store it. I'm checking water tanks for this purpose as I beleive that 5000gal galvanised are only $1500 each

Glenos, I am leaning towards wild radish as its so easy to grow and you don't need a lot of preparation, just chuck in the seed and bingo up it comes. So they say and it grows well in our sandy soil

http://www.riverland.com.au/default....8&ArticleID=53

For anyone interested in checking it out, this is the price page at riverland.