Biodiesel (Eugene, Woodburn: transporting, insurance, home)

[CedarView]

Anyone making and/or storing biodiesel on their property? (Are there any laws pertaining to this?) If so, how are you heating your fuel tank in the winters to heat up the "gel"?

[freedom]

Originally Posted by CedarView

Anyone making and/or storing biodiesel on their property? (Are there any laws pertaining to this?) If so, how are you heating your fuel tank in the winters to heat up the "gel"?

I made biodiesel about 5 yrs ago, and stored the fuel in a shop. Ran 100% in the summer and about 20% all winter, without a heated tank. In a rural setting there aren't any laws against making it yourself. If you use the fuel on public roads and highways, you would need to get a fuel card that allows them to audit your fuel use in order to collect the fuel tax. If you sell it, weights and measures dept. checks the metering for accuracy. If you use it off road, or sell for offroad then the rules aren't as strict.

There is a site called Biodiesel.org where they have all kinds of answers and links.

If you have a heated tank with a smaller diesel tank, you can start your engine on standard diesel and then switch over to the other tank once the engine is warm. You can run straight vegetable oil with a heated fuel system and not have to transesterify the oil into biodiesel. There is a lot of information on the net, products, systems,etc..
Pacific biodiesel is a large producer out of ?Eugene? they are distributing to more station throughout Oregon every month.

best wishes,

freedom

[StealthRabbit]

After the BD fire in Woodburn last year, there is a bit of 'suspect' when home brewing, but... for your own usage it is not a problem (tho maybe for your insurance company). Use a sealed STEEL processor and try to do it in a building that is not connected to your shop or house, tho I've never known any of my many BD acquaintances to have a fire. Fortunately we (OR & WA) don't have CA style restrictions on transporting waste cooking oil like CA, yet... but we are pretty wimpy and tend to join CA on most issues.

here is another site, which you probably know of Biodiesel Appleseed Reactor Plans (http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/appleseedprocessor/ - broken link)

For the most part, and if you have a decent feedstock, no need to heat BD, but WVO or SVO YES (Waste or Straight Veggie oil) BD has a problem with 'Clouding', which is similar to gel. Tho it flows fine, it makes crystals which will plug your filter. If you are 'blending' (adding BD to Dino Diesel) heat it to at least 40F to get proper mixing qualities, otherwise BD will coagulate in the bottom of your tank. (storage OR vehicle tank)

For colder climes B20 is usually adequate. USA has very poor BD compared to Europe (Soy vs Canola)

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by CedarView

Anyone making and/or storing biodiesel on their property? (Are there any laws pertaining to this?) If so, how are you heating your fuel tank in the winters to heat up the "gel"?

Not me. I need a permit for that, not to mention the materials. Otherwise I would try it.

[green_mariner]

Biodiesel(and other green fuels) would be a plus for the American economy. You have to make it local so you can't outsource any of your labor. You can't ship it through the pipeline so it has to be made locally and trucked for a short distance. This would help alot of farm communities and poor rural areas. As for the areas that use alot of oil, unless those areas don't have alot of good farmland, they can make an adjustment.