From: Scuba Steve (me_scubasteve@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Jan 03 2006 - 08:21:52 PST
Hi List
I am having trouble finding pure sodium hydroxide at
my local hardware store. I have found lye crystals
which contain sodium hydroxide but nothing gives me
the complete ingedients so I am not sure what I can or
can't use. Any help would be appreciatted.
Steve
--- Bjorn Brandstedt <super_deuce@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> The biggest hurdle to overcome is a source for used
> cooking oil. It took me
> about a year, but I finally found a local
> deli/restaurant that was willing
> to give me all their used fryer oil. They pay
> $200/year to have it hauled
> off and didn't care who got the oil.
> So, twice a week I bring a steel trash can to the
> deli and they fill it with
> hot, and I mean hot, oil. It's about 14 gallons each
> time and it is actally
> very clean (quality restaurant :-)) . The temp of
> the oil is about 280 deg F
> when I arrive home.
> The processing is best done at about 120 F, so I
> dilute the hot stuff with
> cold (from past deliveries) until the right temp
> results.
> On a table right by the door in the garage I have
> two 12 gallon clear
> plastic storage tubs, which I now fill with 30
> liters each of the 120 F oil.
> For each of the tubs I prepare 6 liters of methanol
> with 150 mg of lye (Red
> Devil drain cleaner is pure sodium hydroxide=lye). I
> stir the methanol and
> lye until the lye is completely dissolved (about 15
> minutes) in a 2-gallon
> glass jug (cookie jar, I guess).
> Next, I pour the methoxide into the warm oil and
> stir using a wooden spoon.
> There are three phases to this part, first a clear
> layer is formed on top,
> more stirring and the whole mixture becomes muddy
> brown and the final phase
> is a clear light brown liquid. The stirring takes
> 1/2 hour. The occasional
> french fry is pick out with the spoon, some end up
> in the glycerine.
>
> That's it, after a day or so (I let it sit until
> next oil pick-up), a 1 inch
> layer of glycerine accumulates on the bottom of the
> tub. The rest is
> biodiesel, a amber colored liquid, which has the
> viscosity of hot cooking
> oil. I filter it through a 5 micron filter sock
> before storing it in the
> empty containers I also get from the restaurant.
> These are the 5-gallon
> cardboard enclosed plastic jugs that the oil comes
> in.
>
> This biodiesel is "unwashed", which is to say that
> it contains a small
> residue of methanol and lye. I use it like this and
> per "From the fryer to
> the fuel tank" book, it's ok.
> For more info on this and the washing procedure,
> just google it, lots of
> hits.
> I use the deuce with the crane often just at low
> rpm, say 1,200 and it
> starts right up with very little smoke. It does
> smell like french fries or
> something like it. People get a kick out of it.
> I now have over 1,000 highway miles on a percentage
> of biodiesel varying
> from 10% to 95%(currently). I have 70 hours on the
> hour meter with bidiesel.
> Biodiesel is not good for ambients below 60 deg F,
> so I'll be switching over
> in a couple of months, I guess.
> Performance: Slightly fewer miles/gallon, 8.5 vs 9.5
> for petro diesel.
> Slightly cooler EGT and a little less turbo boost.
> (my compensator is not
> bypassed). The engine has a -1D turbo (non
> whistler).
>
> Cost: About $0.75/gallon.
> Time: About 2 hours (including pickup) for 18
> gallons of finished product.
> That usually twice a week.
>
> Let me know if you want a sample, we can work
> something out for say a gator
> aid bottle mailed USPS (no hazmat charge). That goes
> for the glycerine
> degreaser too.
>
>
> The methanol comes from a gocart fuel dealer(?) for
> $2.50/gallon. Red Devil
> from the local grocery store. Drano doesn't work,
> it's not pure.
>
> The glycerine mix at the bottom of the tub is a
> great degreaser. I tested it
> on the oily front axle of the deuce and after
> rinsing with water, the axle
> came out clean and free of oil. Got about 10 gallons
> of that stuff.
>
>
> Bjorn
> MVPA19212
> The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia
>
> PS. When steelsoldiers(dot)com gets back on line,
> check for more in the
> "Alternate fuel, biodiesel" section.
> BB
>
>
>
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