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Dec 5, 2007
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Go Green! Homemade Diesel -
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Make Your Own Biodiesel!
This video shows how easy it is using items available at nearly any supermarket, and
details some facts about biodiesel fuel you may not have known!
PREPARE THE METHANOL/LYE MIXTURE IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA
(preferably outside)! FOLLOW ALL PRECAUTIONS LISTED ON THE HEET/ LYE
CONTAINERS!
Ingredients: 1 cup (250 ml) Heet brand Fuel Line Additive (Methanol), 1/2 Tsp (4 grams)
Lye drain cleaner, 4 cups (1 litre) vegetable oil, protective eyewear, rubber gloves, dry
glass jar with airtight lid, Dry 2 litre pop bottle, funnel.
Step 1: Mix the methanol and lye in the glass bottle. Swirl and/or stir/shake until all lye is
dissolved.
Step 2: Heat Veggie oil to approximately 60 C or 140 F.
Step 3: Use funnel to add oil to 2 litre pop bottle. Add Methanol/lye (methoxide) mixture
with funnel. Cap the bottle and shake vigorously for 20-40 seconds.
Step 4: Watch over the next 20 mins as Glycerin layer forms at bottom of pop bottle.
The upper layer (lighter colored) will be cloudy. Over the next 1-2 days, the upper layer
will become crystal clear. Congrats! You've just made Bio-Diesel!
Make Your Own Biodiesel! by babblin5 (/member/babblin5/)
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shynex (/member/shynex/)
where the video ???
Pyrophoric (/member/Pyrophoric/)
Shaking vigorously for a few seconds won't produce much of a yield. You must
let the solution stir for about an hour using a stir plate. The settling process also
takes about an hour.
05Cummins (/member/05Cummins/)
Can any of you tell me what the shelf life of Bio diesel is?
captainpyro1 (/member/captainpyro1/)
you might want to mention that different oils have different pH's and different pH's will
gererate different amounts of fuel/glycerin, also if you do decide to use waste oil,
WVO, then you need to titrate it, doing a 1 liter batch compined with about 2 mL's of
phenolphthalein and adding successive drops of a 1 molar sulferic acid solution. this
is just a general overview, but you might consider it. other than that very informative
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) captainpyro1
Exactly. Another option is to
simply use 1 TSP lye, which works
with about 99% of used oil,
although you have to do some
washing of the end product to get
rid of any excess NaOH. You can
also titrate using a bit of the oil
thinned with isopropyl alchohol,
and then a known percentage of
NaOH suspended in water and
use the Phenol for pH change,
then calculate from that. But this
video was primarily used as an
introductory piece. =)
05Cummins (/member/05Cummins/) babblin5
What is the shelf life of the BD once
it has been washed?
ani4meg (/member/ani4meg/)
can anybody suggest and send me the project on my email-
iamabadboy.anirudh@gmail.com project on information and communication
technology school level project and green energy
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hill (/member/hill/)
so, i read all of the comments but i still need to know if this method of making
biodiesel requires me to wash the biodiesel ?? of can the "upper layer" be used right
away without being washed after it turns "crystal clear" ??
thanx
Mr. Rig It (/member/Mr.+Rig+It/)
It is my understanding that Mr. Diesel did not create the diesel engine to run on
biodiesel but to run on coal dust. Coal dust was a nuisance at the coal mines
and no one had a use for the dust itself so there were piles and piles of it. So Mr.
Diesel came up with his engine to use this untapped resource. However, I am
not saying you are wrong I am just saying this is what I have learned. have you
heard this also?
Matt D655 (/member/Matt+D655/) Mr. Rig It
NO he created it originally to run
on peanut oil so that is basically
biofuel
Bryan Smith (/member/Bryan+Smith/) Matt D655
Yep...Peanut oil is correct!
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) Mr. Rig It
In 1892 Rudy built the Carnot
Heat Engine, which is the engine
that burned coal dust. In 1897 he
built his first prototype Diesel
engine (which almost exploded
as he was demonstrating it,
which just goes to show that our
Instructable disasters go a
LONG way back ;) Ross
Mr. Rig It (/member/Mr.+Rig+It/) babblin5
ahh.. good info, that does sound
familiar now. Thanks for the info
and yes our disaters do go a long
way back.
lilykoart (/member/lilykoart/)
great video! i wonder why biofuel isn't used more??? any future instructions on how to
titrate the fuel out and actually use it? can i put this fuel in my 2004 toyota highlander?
thanks for sharing and looking forward for more of your instructables!
wenpherd (/member/wenpherd/)
can you use make veggie oil out of corn and wud it work?
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fafa boy (/member/fafa+boy/)
nice
mr.space (/member/mr.space/)
I know this sounds stupid, but could you use methelated spirits?
supremedragonx (/member/supremedragonx/)
i think video won't show player
ajparag (/member/ajparag/)
thank u for posting such a wonderful project.... I want to know what is the
concentration of methanol... example:10%...20%...50%... i m going to purchase
it from lab and they need to know the concentration
anoniemouse (/member/anoniemouse/)
I plan to do some lower temp metal melting. I saw a used-oil fired blast furnace. It
appears that new motor oil will not fire up, B U T, Used, filtered motor oil works great.
So you need to use used oil only, even for biofuels. Anybody have an explanation why
this so?
Matt D655 (/member/Matt+D655/)
i know at least 30 different facts of diesel and gasoline for an example if you
throw a match on a puddle of Kero or Diesel it wont work and put it out...if you
throw a different match on gas...DAMN it will work
Matt D655 (/member/Matt+D655/)
Fact alcohol is bad for diesel engines dont use alcohol in there.
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) Matt D655
Ummm... you do understand that
you actually aren't putting ANY
alcohol in your engine, right? It
merely serves as a catalyst for
creating biodiesel, and is the
standard chemical used in home
to commercial BD production...
Matt D655 (/member/Matt+D655/) babblin5
ya i guess ur right
nature223 (/member/nature223/)
you also need the correct fuel mapping and the correct hoses....or it'll run ok,then
freak out..and blow lines
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This is wonderful, but indulge a novice if you would. I don't have a diesel vehicle so
where else could I use it?
budgenator (/member/budgenator/) ia2ca1984
I've heard that it work very well for
getting grease stains out of clothing.
I've also heard that you can add some
biodiesel to normal gasoline and
anticipate doing some experiments
with one of my small 2 cycle engines
first.
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) ia2ca1984
Hmmm... I'm not sure that it really
has any other uses besides that. I
may be wrong.
msw100 (/member/msw100/) babblin5
It will work in an oil fired boiler
Spencerr (/member/Spencerr/)
could this be used for a 2 stroke engine?
RAD_ED (/member/RAD_ED/)
You for got to mention that Biodiesel can eat threw normal rubber hoses other wise
great instructable.
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) RAD_ED
You are correct, which is why I
mentioned that they run on newer
diesel engines without
modification. After 1993 (I think it
was the year) sulphur was
discontinued as an additive in
petro-diesel for lubrication due to
acid rain problems. Cars
manufactured after that year were
made with different fuel lines
because the new additive
degraded rubber fuel lines as
well. Thank you for the comment!
=)
jimmysanders (/member/jimmysanders/) babblin5
So after 1993 is a good year to get?
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) jimmysanders
Generally anything AFTER 1993.
Remember, cars come out the
year before their actual "date".
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I Made it! Add Images Post
Also, BD clubs are springing up all
over the place, city-wise,
especially as gas prices continue
to go up...
daedalus15 (/member/daedalus15/)
biodiesel IS easy to make but not quite this easy.There are a few more steps and the
lye can't be just off the shelf drain cleaner it has to be at least 85% pure(drain cleaner
is about 50%) if you want to make good BD. A realy good place for more info
journeytoforever.org.
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) daedalus15
Red Devil drain cleaner is 100%
lye (sodium hydroxide).
babblin5 (/member/babblin5/) (author) babblin5
It's also fat-free and has Omega 3's
in it, plus that yogurt culture that
regulates your digestive system... ;)
Alathald (/member/Alathald/)
Love the concept but you really need to break your video up into individual steps,
esp for the folks still using dial up...
tippmannphreak (/member/tippmannphreak/) Alathald
i think that applies to no one anymore.
lol.
Alathald (/member/Alathald/) tippmannphreak
Unfortunately, it applies to me
and a lot of people I know...Just a
repressed genius living in the
backwoods of Ohio, you know
how it goes ;-) Oh well, I'll
hopefully make it to somewhere
more...civilized next fall, I'm off to
college after all. Besides, it's
always nice to have something to
print out so you don't have to
watch the video over and over.
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