Darwin Award nominee, except he didn't die. Methanol + sparking drill =
high chance for death!
Luther
Archer wrote:
A Northamptonshire man destroyed his garage and badly injured himself
at the weekend while attempting to make biodiesel from used cooking
oil. A devastating explosion levelled the makeshift reprocessing plant
on Saturday afternoon, when sparks from an electric drill being used
to mix ingredients ignited explosive vapours.
Firemen hastened to deal with the smoking wreckage, in Middleton
Cheney, and the unnamed thrifty motorist was airlifted to hospital
with 20 per cent burns.
Firefighters would like to urge members of the public to take extreme
caution if undertaking such chemical mixtures in their own homes,
said a statement from the Oxfordshire fire brigade, quoted by the BBC.
The injured biodiesel fancier reportedly made motor fuel from used
cooking oil obtained from his local Chinese takeaway. Such oil can
often be used in diesel vehicles without preparation, but this will
typically knacker the engine in short order. It is normal to treat the
oil with alcohol and other ingredients before use, and this process
was apparently underway when the mishap occurred.
The explosion would most probably have been caused initially by
alcohol fumes building up in the garage, a process likely enhanced by
the hot weather this weekend. Open-air - or at least better-ventilated
- biodiesel manufacture might have been wiser.
Home biofuel making is legal and tax-free to the amount of 2,500
litres per annum. With so much of the pump price of fuel being duty,
such an effort is becoming more and more worthwhile to motorists as
fuel costs soar. Quite apart from the risk of a devastating garage or
garden-shed explosion, however - and the chance of then being mistaken
for a terrorist - care is needed to avoid engine damage.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/28/takeaway_biodiesel_fireball_horror/
--
Luther KB5QHUAlma, Ark
'87 300SDL (281,xxx mi)
'85 Ford F250 6.9 diesel (x59,xxx mi) BioBeast
'82 300CD (183 kmi)
'82 300D (74 kmi) getting donor engine-sold
'85 300D (280,176) parts car sans engine The Accordion
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