What with the rising price of veg oil in Tesco, typicaly 95p per litre, I am thinking of having a go at cleaning old used cooking oil from the chippy's.
Now the problem is that the last time I was going to have a go at this, I toddled off to the local takeaway and got my hands on a 5 gallon drum of used oil (he was only too pleased to get rid of it)
When I looked into using it, the stuff was like liquid lard and not very liquidy at that.
Can anybody point me to a decent easy to read web site that tell you in plain language what to do with this stuff to make it runny again?
I have plenty of room to sort out a bench with a cauldren on it and plenty of time on my hands to start the brew and whats even better I can get hold of plenty of the used cooking oil.
Just a thought but maybe when the stuff has been used and turned into lard, it possibly aint no good for fuel??
Any help would be humbly recieved.
Regards
Slim.
Rising price of veg oil, now thinking of using used.........
Moderator: RichardW
-
myglaren
- Forum Admin Team
- Posts: 25450
- Joined: 02 Mar 2008, 13:30
- Location: Washington
- My Cars: Mazda 6
Ooops.
Previously:
2009 Honda Civic :(
C5, C5, Xantia, BX, GS, Visa.
R4, R11TXE, R14, R30TX - x 4917
There are forums dedicated to converting WVO to Biodiesel and the pitfalls but this should get you started - or scare you off 
Ed to add:
Bugger, forgot the link.
I blame the demon drink
Ed to add:
Bugger, forgot the link.
I blame the demon drink
Be careful,
I looked int this a long time ago.
I'm a reasonably good chemist as my degree involves a fair amount of it.
You could easily kill yourself if you don't do things properly.
You will be converting methanol into methoxide as part of the process, the vapor is deadly and undetectable.
Theres also the possibility of scorching your eyebrows and blowing up half your garden, although this is very unlikely.
You can make your own equipment from an old washing machine, as I would, but I would suggest buying it from a reputable supplier for peace of mind unless you are 100% competent in an engineering sense..
Cost will be over a grand if you go down that route, which makes you wonder if it's worth it, especially as everyone who used veg oil is now thinking this and waste oil may become scarce/expensive
I looked int this a long time ago.
I'm a reasonably good chemist as my degree involves a fair amount of it.
You could easily kill yourself if you don't do things properly.
You will be converting methanol into methoxide as part of the process, the vapor is deadly and undetectable.
Theres also the possibility of scorching your eyebrows and blowing up half your garden, although this is very unlikely.
You can make your own equipment from an old washing machine, as I would, but I would suggest buying it from a reputable supplier for peace of mind unless you are 100% competent in an engineering sense..
Cost will be over a grand if you go down that route, which makes you wonder if it's worth it, especially as everyone who used veg oil is now thinking this and waste oil may become scarce/expensive
Slim, with oil in that state your best bet would be to convert to biodiesel rather than trying to run it straight.
Good website is this one http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/
Cheers and good luck
Good website is this one http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/
Cheers and good luck
Yep, everything I said was regarding conversion to biofuel.
Theres to much fatty acid in waste oil to put through an engine.
The fatty thickness you are finding in your oil is exactly that.
Part of the process of making bio diesel will extract it as glycerol which you may be able to sell to a soap company.
Read up on the risks though, they are not to be taken lightly.
Theres to much fatty acid in waste oil to put through an engine.
The fatty thickness you are finding in your oil is exactly that.
Part of the process of making bio diesel will extract it as glycerol which you may be able to sell to a soap company.
Read up on the risks though, they are not to be taken lightly.