I will soon be making my first test batches of biodiesel. I'll be using the following recipe: http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/

Looks like a lot of work for no more than you gain from it?????

Its the beginning stages of learning to brew the stuff. Once I can do this quite simply, I will step it up with 4 2-liter system and agitator.

After that then I need to scope out waste vegetable oil sources and develop a good filtration system.

Eventually, a full fledged bio-diesel still will be put in place where I can make it in 50 gallon batches. Most bio-dieselers are making there own brew for about .60 cents a gallon. To me that is near free energy.

I've already read an article about a lady who collects used vegetable oil from surrounding restaraunts, filters it, and runs it in her deisel car.

She bought a changover system, wherein she warms the engine on deisel and then switches over to the veg oil. A deisel will run on about anything when it's up to temperature.

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Looks like a lot of work for no more than you gain from it?????

Isn't an individual's personal self sufficiency worth that kind of effort effort?

Folks, please keep in mind that Mr. Rudolf Diesel,(the original inventor of the "diesel engine", in 1892 and introduced at the 1903 world's fair), fully intended the deisel engine to run on peanut oil/vegatable oil due to it's ultra-high lubrication qualities. But when Mr. Diesel died shortly after the introduction at the world's fair,(a person would just have to wonder about inventors dying shortly after introducing a very compeditave product to he world), his partners sold the diesel engine pattens to the current oil companies who promptly began research on duplicating the peanut oil-fuel using fosil fuels,(using their product and 'bread & butter' so to speak). ( http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bldiesel.htm )

Sadly, the oil companies did achieve their goal of using fosil fuels to run the diesel engine. But the engine ran much less effecient and with much more 'noise' than using the intended "Bio-fuels" that Mr. Diesel had designed his engine to run on. This is one of the main reasons that the diesel engine was always only a second choice to the gasoline engine in the U.S. and adding to the fact that the major oil companies that America owned the patten rights to this engine. The diesel engine was only really used in quantities in Europe(until these latter days).

IMHO, seeking to use 'Bio-Diesel' fuels is paramont to any/all Americans that are seeking to break away from the 'corporate grips' that they hold over our economy and our lives. The only other viable alternative fuel source for engines would be alcohol,(Denatured Alcohol- 99.9% pure alcohol), conversions for gasoline burning engines.

Excellent work on moving back to the 'Bio-fuels' for your vehicle. Keep going! ...And keep in mind that you will not be alone in this search and that there will be quite a market for vegatable oils as a 'National Fuel Source' as this begins to actually catch on.

Michael

My point was that it seems like a lot of trouble when you can run an engine on filtered veg oil without going through this process.

I've read more than one article on it, and if I get my hands on a low $ diesel car, I plan to experiment with this technique. My problem right now is keeping enough money on hand to put food on the table; so, I'm nowhere near prepared.

As I said, once you get the engine up to temperature, it will run on the veg oil as well as other substances such as kerosene, but the prospect of collecting used veg oil for free from resteraunts and saving them the cost of disposal makes this sound like the way to go.

You do have to filter it, but you could build up a nice stock of this fuel over time. If you went this route, you'd want to keep enough diesel on hand, maybe both substances in underground tanks to work from.

I know the diesel will last quite a bit longer than gasoline especially when you use additives with it. I do not know the storagability of the veg oil though; maybe someone could enlighten me here.

Like I said, I've read some interesting info on going this route, but there may be someone here more knowledgeable on this subject; so, please chime in and tell me what you know about it.

Here's a guy running veg oil: http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/159605551/m/347104314

Reb...

Now I'm wanting to give this a try. Sounds like many benefits from making BioDiesel.

I need to find a diesel auto, or generator to run the stuff with though.

I know in Quebec during the summer, the transportation department is working with the police to stop diesel vehicles and check their "gas". If you are caught with veggie oil, you have a steep fine awaiting you as they consider that you are stealing from the government since you are not paying the taxes (read "theft") giving you "permission" to use the road and diesel...

Maybe similar laws (maybe???) exist in your AO. Check this out carefully!

Yes, I like this.
The old ford diesel pickups with duel tanks will do nicely.
It's worth the try once set up. But this is not an overnight operation.