Re: [Biofuel] Artisanal Cars
Keith Addison wrote: I think you'd like the Jeeps you see here in Japan, replicas of 50s or 60s US Army Jeeps, made by Mitsubishi with a 2.8L (I think) Mitsubishi turbodiesel. A friend bought one recently, he loves it. Mitsubishi stopped making them in 1998. Some pictures here: http://www.film.queensu.ca/cj3B/World/JapanHideo.html Aw, man! Tease me some more why don'tcha! ;) As late as '98... at at least as early as '92 (though probably older). The timer's counting down to twenty five years old. Of course, they'd be scrapped long before then, wouldn't they, what with Japan's inspection and safety regulation structures. Poo. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Artisanal Cars
Keith Addison wrote: New Toyota Landcruiser replica in FJ-40/43/45 models http://www.icon4x4.com/ FJ-40s were simple and doable. Pity about this: 5.3L Fuel Injected V8 LS Series (350 Horsepower) Neat. Reading through their brochure, there is also an optional 2.8L International turbodiesel as one of the optional engines. Be nice to own one of those with that diesel. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Guns and Dope Party
Chris Burck wrote: wow, brilliantly sinister. it starts with equal rights for ostriches. sounds innocent enough. but think it through and it becomes clear what they're really after is the right to marry their firearms. Would this not create a literal meaning for the expression Son of a gun? ;) -Kurt Sorry, couldn't help myself! ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Ethanol 85
For the most part I have been using straight E85. Single stage, base, sodium hydroxide since I'm still using up stock. If I have time, I'll try to move and do some KOH catalyzed. All my oil is from home use or a frequently changed burger stand, titrates 5 every time, typically around 1-2. Total failure tends to result if the E85 isn't fresh. If it's been sitting a week, I cut it approximately 50/50 with methanol and it does decently well, but unless I miss a batch it doesn't tend to sit. -Kurt Keith Addison wrote: Hi Kurt I live within ten miles of four different E85 pumps, for most of them it's just right there on one of the islands with the gas pump. It's a separate nozzle, like diesel, but it isn't attended. If I'm the one filling the car up, I splash-mix to about an E40 blend by putting the E85 in first, then topping off with gasoline. I've had some good success making ethyl esters using E85, too. It's dry, and if you compensate for the gasoline volume it works nicely. I'd wondered about that, but you don't get E85 here. Letting it sit in the sun in a black container tends to drive off most of the residual gas vapors post-wash. With the cost of E85 per gallon comparable to the local cost of methanol, I just use the E85. Only E85, or do you use a proportion of methanol too, as Ken Provost suggests? http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol_link.html#ethylester Do you use low-FFA oil? Thanks! Best Keith Once I have the recovery still working properly, I'll put the recovered alcohol/gasoline mix in one of the cars rather than cycling it back into the process. -Kurt Chris Burck wrote: i suspect this has more to do with wanting to avoid any chance of legal action from people who try to get intoxicated with it: you never told me this was poisonous, so give me 35 million dollars. ckearly this is lunacy. but there's so many urban legends out there about punitive damage awards, corporate policies as you describe are no surprise. of course, who's to say they're not just using potential liability as cover for limiting our choices. On 8/22/08, Joe Street [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi All; It has been a while but I am not idle. I hope everyone is keeping well. I have been working on converting a 2 stroke to run on ethanol. Engine work is well underway. I wanted to get some ethanol to start testing what lubricants I can use as a substitute for the commercial 2 stroke lubes meant for gasoline. I am hoping esters are the answer obvioisly. I don't have any anhydrous ethanol so I found out that one of the only two stations that sell E85 is about 1/2 hr away so I drove out with a jerry can, only to find that they WILL NOT SELL any E85 unless you pull up with a flex fuel vehicle and they will only fill the tank and no extra cans. The kid at the pump jerks his thumb over his shoulder and tells me he can only pump it if the guy in the building says so. I walk up to the building with its big red banner above the door with proud letters that read ONTARIO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY COUNCIL I asked the manager how I was supposed to get fuel to do my research and he said he could not help me. I asked if it was a company policy or a law and he told me (wrongly) that it was the law. I have since discovered that it is just the company policy but there is nowhere else to buy. I can produce my own anhydrous ethanol but I thought I'd save the hastle and give some of my dollars to help promote the alt fuel business. I guess the bond between car manufacturers and fuel producers is nowhere stronger than in the alternative fuels area eh? I'm going to vomit nowplease excuse me. Joe ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Ethanol 85
I live within ten miles of four different E85 pumps, for most of them it's just right there on one of the islands with the gas pump. It's a separate nozzle, like diesel, but it isn't attended. If I'm the one filling the car up, I splash-mix to about an E40 blend by putting the E85 in first, then topping off with gasoline. I've had some good success making ethyl esters using E85, too. It's dry, and if you compensate for the gasoline volume it works nicely. Letting it sit in the sun in a black container tends to drive off most of the residual gas vapors post-wash. With the cost of E85 per gallon comparable to the local cost of methanol, I just use the E85. Once I have the recovery still working properly, I'll put the recovered alcohol/gasoline mix in one of the cars rather than cycling it back into the process. -Kurt Chris Burck wrote: i suspect this has more to do with wanting to avoid any chance of legal action from people who try to get intoxicated with it: you never told me this was poisonous, so give me 35 million dollars. ckearly this is lunacy. but there's so many urban legends out there about punitive damage awards, corporate policies as you describe are no surprise. of course, who's to say they're not just using potential liability as cover for limiting our choices. On 8/22/08, Joe Street [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi All; It has been a while but I am not idle. I hope everyone is keeping well. I have been working on converting a 2 stroke to run on ethanol. Engine work is well underway. I wanted to get some ethanol to start testing what lubricants I can use as a substitute for the commercial 2 stroke lubes meant for gasoline. I am hoping esters are the answer obvioisly. I don't have any anhydrous ethanol so I found out that one of the only two stations that sell E85 is about 1/2 hr away so I drove out with a jerry can, only to find that they WILL NOT SELL any E85 unless you pull up with a flex fuel vehicle and they will only fill the tank and no extra cans. The kid at the pump jerks his thumb over his shoulder and tells me he can only pump it if the guy in the building says so. I walk up to the building with its big red banner above the door with proud letters that read ONTARIO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY COUNCIL I asked the manager how I was supposed to get fuel to do my research and he said he could not help me. I asked if it was a company policy or a law and he told me (wrongly) that it was the law. I have since discovered that it is just the company policy but there is nowhere else to buy. I can produce my own anhydrous ethanol but I thought I'd save the hastle and give some of my dollars to help promote the alt fuel business. I guess the bond between car manufacturers and fuel producers is nowhere stronger than in the alternative fuels area eh? I'm going to vomit nowplease excuse me. Joe ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] India's gift to green drive: Bicycle @ 40kmph
Okay, one, I can already accomplish 40km/hr cycling on flat ground. It's really not that hard. Up hills is a bit more difficult, and 40 -miles- per hour is much more difficult, but 40 km/hr is relatively easy for someone in good shape. For two, you can't double the torque for free. You, the cyclist, must still generate the power needed to maintain that speed. The power needed to move at 20km/hr is roughly half that needed to move at 40km/hr. A little less than half if you take friction and aerodynamics into account. If you are incapable of generating the power needed to move at 40km/hr, you are incapable of generating the power needed to move at 40km/hr. If it's only a matter of not being able to pedal fast enough, go to the next taller gear until the pedaling speed is slow enough for you to do it. -Kurt MH wrote: This I'd like to read more about. Can someone help me? -Hoagy --- India's gift to green drive: Bicycle @ 40kmph 2 Aug, 2008, 2045 hrs IST,Moinak Mitra, ET Bureau http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Indias_gift_to_green_drive_Bicycle__40kmph/articleshow/3319246.cms NEW DELHI: India could soon take pride for reinventing the wheel and leading the global green movement! An innovation by a senior administrator at IIT-Kharagpur is helping him ride the humble bicycle at 40 km an hour and pedalling past motor vehicles on busy roads without much effort. And you could be next — cycle manufacturers are planning to launch these hot wheels commercially, very soon. Manoj Mondal is the inventor of the crank pedal—he successfully tweaked the pedal of a bicycle to an extent that it generates almost double the torque (force multiplied by the distance from the centre) than in normal circumstances . In other words, the speed of the bicycle increases from, say, 20 km/hr to 40 km/hr. His feat has already made him the toast of incubators , the green lobby and a host of companies which are coming forward to adapt Mondal’s technology commercially. While the invention ushers in revolutionary intra-city commute, it cocks a snook at the fuel brigade as the inventor apprehends auto majors may just gang up to disembark his plans. “I want to first launch the product in the ladies’ and sports bicycle categories since speed is critical here,” says Mondal, who has initiated talks with cycle brands like Atlas, TI Cycles and Hero. There’s more. “Tweaking the pedal to generate more torque can create 700 watts of electricity per unit,” says Mondal. Now that’s enough to light up 10 neons. Next, he’s working on a prototype where pedalling on a stationary cycle has the potential to dig a bore deep enough to make a drain, and construction major Escorts seems to have shown interest in the new technology, says Mondal. Besides, Mondal’s invention is slated to benefit rickshaw-pullers as the Centre for Rural Development has shown keenness to convert 10,000 rickshaws into the crank pedal mode this year. Though power companies haven’t lined up yet, bicycle makers seem to have grasped the next wave. “I’m awaiting the final prototype (from Mondal) and then intend to take it to the dealers en route the market,” says R K Kapur, chief general manager of technology at Atlas Cycles. Vasant Devaji of TI Cycles claims that a meeting with Mondal is scheduled next month to take the project forward. For the time being , the marketing muscle is being provided by the Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme that was launched in March last year jointly by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and the IC2 Institute of the University of Texas. This year, Mondal’s crank pedal won the silver at the Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme. “We are helping Mondal to tie up with the Hero Group and are also in touch with the Ministry of Rural Development to roll out his invention,” says Nirankar Saxena, additional director at Ficci. “As stewardship of the environment takes on an ever-increasing importance for the global community, we have seen great promise for such inventions to increase energy efficiency, save precious resources, and reduce pollution,” says Ray O. Johnson , CTO of Lockheed Martin. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages):
Re: [Biofuel] YOUR EFFORT CAN BRING THE OIL PRICE DOWN
Keith Addison wrote: The best option for most people is to get off the oil habit so that the price becomes irrelevant to them in direct purchasing. Hear hear Darryl. Seventeen mile commute by bike and bus, five days a week for the past four weeks. I'm working on it! -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Vaporized gasoline engines workasproventotheworldbyShell Oil Company in 1973
Mike Pelly wrote: The other thing that happens is that the vaporous gasoline has a much easier time mixing with the in coming air in the intake manifold. Far better than liquid gasoline sprayed in at ambient temperatures. If you look at modern gasoline fueled cars, most of them have fuel coolers in the return lines. Fuel is not injected into an engine at ambient temperatures, having been heated by residence time under the hood and close proximity to the head. Fuel injection timing and duration are altered by the measured temperature of the fuel, and efforts are made to keep the fluid from boiling. On the subject of injection, it's far easier to get deeper penetration of fuel into the airstream when you are injecting a liquid than a vapor. Vapor injection would have to be of a higher pressure to prevent a localized over-enriching near the point of injection and a fuel-lean condition in the airstream near the opposite wall of the duct. Higher pressures require more power to be generated. The other thing is that gasoline in a vaporous state will be more prone to knocking than gasoline in a liquid state. Compression ratio would need to be low, since there would be no liquid fuel to absorb the heat of compression and maintain a steady temperature below the autoignition temperature of gasoline within the chamber. Older engines were low compression to begin with, in some cases as low as 7:1, which would not pose this problem but limit the power and efficiency that can be extracted from the engine. Higher compression ratios lead to increased power -and- efficiency. --- If we use a 100kW (mechanical) engine (about 130HP), that means that it is also giving out 100kW of heat to the exhaust, and 100kW to the cooling water. Would that not mean it is now a 300kW?3 times 100? - No, because we label power outputs by what we can measure as mechanical work. A 100kW engine is able to give you 100kW of mechanical work. A 20% efficient 100kW engine puts out the exact same amount of mechanical work as a 40% efficient 100kW engine. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: [corp-focus] Reclaiming Economic Freedom
Keith Addison wrote: doesn't it? For the minority who wield (weild? Sometimes I HATE this language!) ... :-) What's the problem Robert? Just follow the rules: i before e excepting after c. Simple. So please rein in all this unseemly language-hatred. It's weird that you can't spell wield. Um, not sure there's such a word as heisted, sorry about that. All best Keith/Kieth Or in the sound of an a such as neighbor or weigh, hmm? ;) English, I actually love it. -Kurt Keith Addison wrote: Every year, the Heritage Foundation, in conjunction with the Wall Street Journal, dutifully churns out its annual Index of Economic Freedom, a ratings guide to countries' relative corporate hospitality. Anything that comes out of the Heritage Foundation makes good fireplace fodder . . . For the last several years, the report has been subtitled The Link Between Economic Opportunity and Prosperity, and a central thesis of the report is that removing controls on corporations will create economic wealth. Sigh . . . Adam Smith all over again . . . When apples are compared to apples -- that is, when countries of similar economic development are compared -- this claim is revealed to be nonsensical, as various studies from the Center for Economic and Policy Research and many others have shown. But more important than the asserted connection between removing corporate restraints and prosperity is the report's definitional maneuver. It claims economic freedom -- and all of the justifiably positive connotations with freedom -- as part of the corporate agenda. It equates economic freedom with corporate superiority to popular control. I guess that all depends on WHOSE economic freedom we're counting, doesn't it? For the minority who wield (weild? Sometimes I HATE this language!) power and wish to exert control, for those who wish to expand into new markets for the sake of gaining even greater wealth, then yes, it's freedom. I liken this type of freedom to the freedom of slave owners, who were free to own slaves. The slaves, of course, didn't see things that way. The Index of Economic Freedom is not the only tool to spread this propaganda, but it is among the most influential. The idea has seeped deep into the culture. It's become a kind of orthodoxy against which any dissent is silenced by ridicule--even among people who don't really benefit from the imposition of unfettered markets on the world economy. What's even more ridiculous about it, however, is that this orthodoxy of free markets is a myth. Do any truly FREE markets in the world? Does not the illegal drug trade have rules it must follow? Are not markets ALWAYS rigged to serve certain interests groups? The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which was supposed to be the major Bush administration anti-global poverty innovation (but has in fact failed to distribute more than a tiny fraction of funds allocated to it) by statute selects recipient countries in large part based on measures of their economic freedom. The MCC actually relies on the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom for determining a component (countries' trade openness) of the MCC's economic freedom rating. Does anyone else see a dichotomy here? Members of Congress have introduced dozens of bills and resolutions referencing economic freedom over the last decade. One small example: Senator Barack Obama, along with Senators Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, in 2007 introduced the Global Poverty Act of 2007. (A version in the House of Representatives, introduced by Adam Smith, D-Washington, has 84 co-sponsors.) The bill would require the President to develop a strategy to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reducing the number of people in the world living in extreme poverty by one half. Although the bill is mainly aspirational -- operationally, it doesn't require anything than development of a strategy -- it embraces a noble goal, and the world would be a better place if the legislation became law. But it is noteworthy that a finding of the bill is that Economic growth and poverty reduction are more successful in countries that invest in the people, rule justly, and promote economic freedom. But it's a bit disingenuous of us to promote freedom when we deny the basic right of people for self-determination, or prevent those people from obtaining the benefits of their own resources. Witness what's happened in South Africa as an example. Why couldn't the ANC make good on its promise to distribute land? If we, the wealthy and powerful, impose structural barriers that prevent economic benefits from reaching the majority of people, how can we call the rule just, even if it IS democratic?
Re: [Biofuel] We need these cars
Kirk McLoren wrote: The ZENN (zero emissions no noise) car. Video, 10 min http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M88k6Ipp3c I respectfully beg to differ. We need -fewer- cars, rather than more or equivalent numbers of quiet cars. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] 747 on biofuel
Just out of curiosity... what really makes the LIM any different from a two-stroke diesel? They too are blower scavenged, port exhausted closed crankcase engines... -Kurt Joe Street wrote: Damn it all to hell. My friend just bought a Moyes Dragonfly http://www.liteflite.com.au/ and I had a half baked notion to put a LIM cycle engine http://www.limtechnology.com/Pages/concept.htm on it and make the claim to be the first to go flying on biodiesel! Well I'm glad the wheels are in motion even if I can't be first. :-) Joe Dawie Coetzee wrote: They can keep their 747's, but I'm thinking what can be done with a time-expired Allison 250-series... -D - Original Message From: Bruno M. [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Tuesday, 2 October, 2007 4:27:03 PM Subject: [Biofuel] 747 on biofuel FYI: ~~ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7017694.stm Biofuel trial flight set for 747 By Richard BlackEnvironment correspondent, BBC News website Air New Zealand says it plans to mount the first test flight of a commercial airliner partially powered by biofuel. The 747 flight, scheduled for 2008 or 2009, will not carry passengers The 747 flight is one part of a deal signed by the airline, engine producer Rolls-Royce and aircraft manufacturer Boeing to research greener flying. One of the four engines will run on a mixture of kerosene and a biofuel, and is set for late 2008 or early 2009. But Virgin Atlantic is planning to beat Air New Zealand to the punch by having its own biofuel flight early next year. Air New Zealand's chief executive Rob Fyfe said that advances in technology had made biofuels a viable possibility for use in aviation sooner than anticipated. The New Zealand government recently declared the objective of becoming carbon neutral, and climate change and energy minister David Parker said the national airline's initiative would help achieve that goal. I'm delighted that Air New Zealand has taken the lead by signing up for the first commercial trial of a biofuelled... aircraft, he said. The partnership gave no details of the type of biofuel to be used, but said that the test flight will not carry passengers. ... more, see link ... === -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/attachments/20071002/d22a41e1/attachment.html ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Mass-Produced Electric Cars
No, no compost anymore, sadly. We had a decent bin going at our last house six years ago, but we never had the time or need to get one started here. Maybe that's a project for this year. -Kurt Who is off to work for 13 hours, ferrying people about between cities and later keeping drunks off the road. Keith Addison wrote: Dawie Coetzee wrote: The bulk of one's effort should be oriented to developing a living environment in which driving is unnecessary, and walking supported by public transport is the obvious way to get from A to B. Given that, the entirely subsidiary project of designing cars and fuels concerns not so much cleaner cars and cleaner fuels, but types of vehicle and fuel best suited to manufacture for a very-low-demand scenario. I love it when people promote public transportation like this. Of course, I may be biased, being a driver for a no-fare public transportation service, but still... I'll take all the advertisement I can get! -Kurt :-) A man for our times - you'll go straight to heaven Kurt. Um, you don't also happen to make compost, do you? You get to go to heaven for that too. If you do I suppose you'll just have to go to heaven twice. Best Keith ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Mass-Produced Electric Cars
Dawie Coetzee wrote: The bulk of one's effort should be oriented to developing a living environment in which driving is unnecessary, and walking supported by public transport is the obvious way to get from A to B. Given that, the entirely subsidiary project of designing cars and fuels concerns not so much cleaner cars and cleaner fuels, but types of vehicle and fuel best suited to manufacture for a very-low-demand scenario. I love it when people promote public transportation like this. Of course, I may be biased, being a driver for a no-fare public transportation service, but still... I'll take all the advertisement I can get! -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] She's Dead, Jim
I'm with Paul here. GM 6.2 diesels are pretty common beasts in the diesel market, so parts are easy to find, available, yadda yadda... heck, you can probably get a fresh rebuilt 6.2 engine for the truck for what you'd be looking at in your price range for a truck. Or maybe even a 6.5, just make sure you don't get the one with the rudimentary computer... -Kurt Paul S Cantrell wrote: Daryl, I say fix it. If you are willing to pay the amount to fix it to get another truck just like it...why not fix the one you have? You already HAVE it and you already know its quirks. Availability of diesel vehicles is below demand. Unless there is more that is wrong with it? On 2/1/07, [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]* [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I was riding in the passenger seat as my son was driving my 1990 Chev Cheyenne on Tuesday morning. It has the GM 6.2 litre diesel engine. It was a cold day (-22 C), but the truck started easily (block heater had been used). We were about 4 km out when I heard a new top end racket as he accelerated out of a curve. The check gauges light came on, and the oil pressure was reading zero. I had him pull over and shut down, hoping we were quick enough to avoid damage. Yesterday, I got the preliminary report from the mechanic. The oil pump failed, so the engine was not being lubricated. It is not seized (the engine never got up to temperature on the trip), but there are a lot of ugly noises, even at idle. I trust this shop, and have for years. They figure a bottom-end rebuild is in order, but question the value of proceeding on an 18-year-old truck. The rebuild estimate is approximately what I paid for the truck a year and a half ago. Ironically, this occurred while I was on my way to a funeral. (I made it, but I was late. The tow truck driver dropped us off at the church on the way to the garage. We're on a first name basis. My son thinks that's funny.) I have been running B20 for the past year. I don't think that has anything to do with the oil pump going. Just posting this as a warning to others that this is something to watch out for in the GM engines of this vintage. The truck doesn't get a lot of use, as a rule, but I figure it paid for itself in the time I had it. It carried and pulled a lot in the times it was used. I have started looking for a replacement, but there isn't much to choose from in the low end of the market in terms of diesels. There are some large cube vans available at the top end of my price range (up to Cdn$4500), but they would present an issue in terms of parking. I need something that can pull up to 3500 pounds (Class 2), and carry ugly cargo (compost, scrap metal, used construction material). Pretty doesn't matter - in fact ugly has proven advantageous in terms or reducing requests to borrow the last vehicle. Robust and reliable does matter, as others drive the vehicle more often than I do. I'm thinking either pickup truck or full-size van. Any other thoughts? It took me more than a year to find a diesel the last time, and I don't have the luxury of that much time now. Suggestions? -- Darryl McMahon It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will? ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org mailto:Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ -- Thanks, PC He's the kind of a guy who lights up a room just by flicking a switch An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. - Niels Bohr (1885 - 1962) ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages):
Re: [Biofuel] another do it yourself project
Very cool indeed. Might have to look into a few of those for the house; we don't get much wind down in the hole, but the roof of the house would be perfect to lift them up into the winds... -Kurt fujee01 wrote: http://www.mdpub.com/Wind_Turbine/index.html Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail QA http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/index;_ylc=X3oDMTFvbGNhMGE3BF9TAzM5NjU0NTEwOARfcwMzOTY1NDUxMDMEc2VjA21haWxfdGFnbGluZQRzbGsDbWFpbF90YWcx?link=asksid=396546091 for great tips from Yahoo! Answers http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/index;_ylc=X3oDMTFvbGNhMGE3BF9TAzM5NjU0NTEwOARfcwMzOTY1NDUxMDMEc2VjA21haWxfdGFnbGluZQRzbGsDbWFpbF90YWcx?link=asksid=396546091 users. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Back to the topic...New BD stuff
For what it's worth, methanol will strip aluminum oxide right off a surface. Methoxide does so even more quickly, under steady exposure. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Splenda Explodes Internally, Says Chemist
I personally don't like any of the Artificial sweeteners out there. If you want something sweet, you put sugar in it. If normal table sugar doesn't dissolve well, you go to finely ground confectioner's sugar. This goes for coffee, tea, cookies, cakes, candy; anything that needs sweetening gets real sugar put in it. Maybe there are, maybe there aren't hidden death-agents in the Artificial stuff; all I know is they have all shown to leave a nasty aftertaste that requires consuming incredibly strong-tasting foods to get rid of. I do, however, still drink sodas; everyone needs a vice, after all. I just don't drink any of the diet or low calorie sodas, as they tend to run heavy on the artificials and I'm active enough to burn off calories from the real thing. -Kurt Logan Vilas wrote: Not trying to be too much of a smartass, but 300 million Americans, 187 million annually =623 thousand per an American annually That's a little off somewhere. Logan Vilas -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of D. Mindock Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 11:34 PM To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Subject: [Biofuel] Splenda Explodes Internally, Says Chemist Splenda Explodes Internally, Says Chemist By Shane Ellison, M.Sc. Copyright 2006C _www.healthmyths.net http://www.healthmyths.net/ http://www.healthmyths.net/ _ NewsWithViews.com 1-11-7 If there were a contest for the best example of total disregard for human life, the victor would be McNeil Nutritionals---makers of Splenda^(TM). Manufacturers of Vioxx^(TM) and Lipitor^(TM) would tie for a very distant second. McNeil Nutritionals is the undisputed drug-pushing champion for disguising their drug Splenda as a sweetener. Regardless of its drug qualities and potential for side effects, McNeil is dead set on putting it on every kitchen table in America. Apparently, Vioxx and Lipitor makers can't stoop so low as to deceptively masquerade their drug as a candy of sort. There is no question that their products are drugs and by definition come with negative side effects. Rather than sell directly to the consumer, these losers have to go through the painful process of using doctors to prescribe their dangerous goods. A keen student in corporate drug dealing, McNeil learned from aspartame and saccharine pushers that if a drug tastes sweet, then let the masses eat it in their cake. First though, you have to create a facade of natural health. They did this using a cute trade name that kind of sounds like splendid and packaged it in pretty colors. Hypnotized, the masses were duped instantly. As unquestionably as a dog humps your leg, millions of diabetics (and non-diabetics) blindly eat sucralose under the trade name Splenda in place of real sugar (sucrose). Splenda was strategically released on April fool's day in 1998. This day is reserved worldwide for hoaxes and practical jokes on friends and family, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. McNeil certainly succeeded. The splendid Splenda hoax is costing gullible Americans $187 million annually*^1 *. While many people wonder about the safety of Splenda, they rarely question it. Despite its many unknowns and inherent dangers, Splenda demand has grown faster than its supply. No longer do I have to question my faith in fellow Man. He is not a total idiot, just a gullible one. McNeil jokesters are laughing all the way to the bank. Splenda is not as harmless as McNeil wants you to believe. A mixture of sucralose, maltodextrine, and dextrose (a detrimental simple sugar), each of the not-so-splendid Splenda ingredients has downfalls. Aside from the fact that it really isn't sugar and calorie free, here is one big reason to avoid the deceitful mix . . . think April fool's day: Splenda contains a potential poison---the drug sucralose. This chemical is 600 times sweeter than sugar. To make sucralose, chlorine is used. Chlorine has a split personality. It can be harmless or it can be life threatening. In combo with sodium, chlorine forms a harmless ionic bond to yield table salt. Sucralose makers often highlight this worthless fact to defend its safety. Apparently, they missed the second day of Chemistry 101---the day they teach covalent bonds. When used with carbon, the chlorine atom in sucralose forms a covalent bond. The end result is the historically deadly organochlorine or simply: a Really-Nasty Form of Chlorine (RNFOC). Unlike ionic bonds, covalently bound chlorines are a big no-no for the human body. They yield insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides---not something you want in the lunch box of your precious child. It's therefore no surprise that the originators of sucralose, chemists Hough and Phadnis, were attempting to design new insecticides when they discovered it! It wasn't until the young Phadnis accidentally tasted his new insecticide that he
Re: [Biofuel] Tyson and Chicken fat as Biodiesel
Jason Katie wrote: BD a dollar more than DD? what a crock. if we can do it in our collective garage for less than a dollar a gallon why cant they do it in a huge super-specialized facility for even less? man, these corporate types are dumber than i thought...and i figured they were they were incompetent to begin with. They have a lot more fingers in their pies than you do, with government regulations, paying for collection time and labor and feedstock, Research and Development costs that must be recouped, government regulations, safety inspections, administrative overhead... did I mention the government regulations they have to meet? With oil production subsidized like it is, I'm not surprised that it costs more to produce BD than DD. But I imagine that if you stripped all the subsidies off of both of them, petrodiesel would come out more expensive than the bio. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Radiation Ovens, the Proven Dangers of Microwaves
robert and benita rabello wrote: When is spring coming around? All of this discussion is SO depressing . . . I need to start growing things again! I agree! Especially since this spring will see me producing biodiesel for the F250 workhorse in full swing... -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Making Methanol
It's possible, using the same process as rendering methanol from natural gas, but as I recall some of their catalysts are pretty nasty. Takes a good bit of steam, too, at least during certain portions of the process. -Kurt Thomas Kelly wrote: It appears to be difficult to make methanol from wood. Is it possible/reasonable to make methanol from methane gas? Methane gas generated from manure would make the methanol produced from it renewable and carbon neutral. Tom ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] FW: Why You Might Not Want The Flu Shot
I, on the other hand from most of you, will be getting the flu vaccination despite being in excellent health and maintaining it through lifestyle choices. My primary reason for this is the fact that I'm a transit bus driver: during any given day I will come in contact with hundreds, potentially thousands of people. Any one of them could make me sick, or I could make any one of them sick. Passengers for my bus come from all demographics, rich, poor, healthy, weak, black white hispanic whatever. I'm no fan of vaccinations, or even most medicines, but I at least look beyond myself and my own preferences to help protect others. -Kurt JAMES PHELPS wrote: Tom, I agree and feel like you, but my 87 year old mom is probably in better health than us both! She chooses not to get the shot. That said I still agree with you about those at risk and leading a risky style - in example a certain person I work with is at high risk of Pnumonia, smokes, overweight and on and on - the washcloths may not be a good choice. Thats what the modern health care is all about - its to keep gluttons alive and well so they can consume and continue on. It is that way because wealthy gluttons will payfor it. Doctors have just fallen into the reactive side of the business as the mechanics of survival. The root causes for our demise go much deeper than society will acknowlege. If we had spent half the money we spend on health care on prevention type scientific studies not influenced by corporation we surely would have better sound data to live by. I think there is a good chance that Exercise is 1st by a long long lead then diet 2 and environment 3 (close tie with 2) in determining health. I also think the level of and types of exercise is far more extensive than most people would exert for health. Just my intuition and no data to support it. Jim From: Thomas Kelly [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: Re: [Biofuel] FW: Why You Might Not Want The Flu Shot Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:28:35 -0500 Marylynn, OK You know the flu to be what it is. You survived the real deal. You know that it can kill. The problem is not fever alone, but respiratory involvement and complications from dehydration. Elderly, especially smokers, asthmatics, people with emphysema or a history of pneumonia, and those with compromised immune systems (including malnourished) are especially at risk. I'm not sure that I'd like to be armed with just some cool wash cloths if my 84 year old mother came down with the real deal. I will not get a flu shot. I am not at risk. I dread the thought of another ordeal with the flu, but I think my lifestyle promotes a healthy immune system. I am free to choose what's right for me and I'm going with my immune system. . no objection from my doctor. My point is that there is a large segment of the population (worldwide) that is at risk . meaning that if they get the flu, i.e. the real deal ... as you and I have gotten, they could very well die. I do not criticize those who opt for a flu shot (if available), nor do I criticize their doctors for recommending it to them. My concern with flu shots and I suppose vaccinations, is that they should not be replacements for healthy lifestyles. (What many people need is food. and water.) Take responsibility for your health. Eat good food. Drink good water. Exercise. Sleep. Laugh. Sing songs/dance even when the radio isn't on. Find joy in the simple mundane tasks. Don't take on the weight of responsibility by limiting other people's choices. Please feel free to disagree with me and to follow whatever course of action (or inaction) you think is in your best interest. My best wishes to all for health and happiness Tom - Original Message - From: Marylynn Schmidt [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 12:51 PM Subject: Re: [Biofuel] FW: Why You Might Not Want The Flu Shot Hi Tom .. I've also had the flu .. the real deal and after driving to my parents home to take care of the youngest because both my parents were functioning, but down with it and then to my oldest sister to do the same thing with her 2 small children because she was also sick, I woke up several days later in my own apartment to find my brother sitting beside my bed .. .. I have no memory on how I got home or when my brother came. .. a bad flu and yes, for some reason my (our) immune system had failed some of us. It is the one and only time in my life that I have been that sick. Today I would take other precautions if I knew a bad flu was out there and getting real close .. there's quite a selection to chose from .. sea salt,
Re: [Biofuel] Closed-Mindedness (Was Hypnosis as Anesthesia Was Testimonials as Evidence)
My apologies then, Joe, Bob. I picked the most prominent/recent opposition posts. I also wrote that original at ~3AM my time, if memory serves me. Joe Street wrote: Hi Kurt; Pardon my snipping style but. Kurt Nolte wrote: snip On the other side we have his opponents, among them Joe Street, Terry Dyck, Mike Dupree and D. Mindock, to name a few off the top of my head. These people seem to be, to the best of my knowledge, claiming that herbs (The topic at hand) are the /only/ things that are truly efficacious as medicinal compounds, and that pharmaceuticals produced by synthetic processes just don't hack it. Actually I don't believe I ever said that! I am opposing Bob to some degree but that doesn't mean I said what you are attributing to me, or I guess more correctly that you should be lumping me in with what you are saying about the others. I am very scientifically inclined, I run a university lab for pete's sake as well but I am also a sceptic of the idea that science is the be all and end all or that it has all the answers. I still have great respect for science and believe that one day it may encompass things that it currently can't explain. All I am suggesting to Bob is that even though science cannot explain something at the present time, that does not mean it must necessarily be rejected. I think this is the only point on which Bob and I are in dissagreement. I also wouldn't say it is fair to be calling Bob closed minded. Stubborn yes but narrow or closed minded, no. Joe ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Closed-Mindedness (Was Hypnosis as Anesthesia Was Testimonials as Evidence)
Marylynn Schmidt wrote: Wow .. sorry folks, I started deleting those testimonies posts because no one will ever convince a closed mind and I personally never much cared for spitting into the wind. Sorry folks, but this one hit my radar pretty hard, and I felt compelled to speak like I so rarely do. The closed mind statement runs both ways, and hits almost every ideology out there, from die-hard religious fundamentalists to mystics to politicians and weed-smoking hippies. I have been following the Testimonials track with some level of interest; while I consider myself a man of science, things that we can't yet explain intrigue me too. And, I'm sorry to say, I've seen intense close-mindedness on both sides. On the one side we have Bob Allen, who seems in my mind to be making a perfectly reasonable claim: he just wants to see some numbers, some real evidence to convince him that herbs are only efficacious as herbs, and not as their constituent compounds. On the other side we have his opponents, among them Joe Street, Terry Dyck, Mike Dupree and D. Mindock, to name a few off the top of my head. These people seem to be, to the best of my knowledge, claiming that herbs (The topic at hand) are the /only/ things that are truly efficacious as medicinal compounds, and that pharmaceuticals produced by synthetic processes just don't hack it. Both sides are very strong in their position, and to be honest I don't see either one of them opening up to the other's position. Do any of you who are not involved? I see it too often in the real world too; people sling close minded around to describe anyone who doesn't believe the same thing they do. If you aren't this denomination but you're that one, you're close minded. If you aren't for the totally open distribution of presently illegal drugs, you're closed-minded, or if you're unwilling to consider on the flip side of the coin that some of those drugs are legitimately dangerous, you're close-minded but also a stoner/hippy/whatever the label of the day is. I'm terrible at making points, but I guess I'll try to just out with it. I fear that the term close minded individual is coming to mean nothing more than someone who disagrees with me about something. I guess that makes sense. Peace, -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] A Plan to Save the Country [USA]
You know, D... one of the few things you've posted that I've read all the way through and not had any kind of problem with at all. But then I'm pro-education, pro-freedom, and pro-independence, too. Peace, -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Have You Hugged Your Hummer Today?
robert and benita rabello wrote: What a load of crap! Nowhere NEAR the EPA fuel economy estimates? My hybrid runs within spitting distance of its fuel economy estimates, even at highway speeds with the air conditioner on. And since when has a Hummer lasted 300 000 miles? (Transported in a C 5 to Iraq and back, maybe . . .) I think in either case, I'll just stick with the diesel. Simple, cheap, economical, and when needed... powerful. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] EV is not dead
Despite being a pro-biodiesel man, I cheer quite loudly when I hear about EVs gaining strength or legitimacy. For two reasons: 1) they reduce emissions, noise pollution, get us away from gasoline/diesel/petroleum altogether, and 2) It means more used cooking oil I don't have to worry about having to fight for. ;p Peace, love and electric vehicles! -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Digester question
Hmmm, long time little type. I'm becoming a lurker. Anyway, yes, questions. Questions are good. I've crawled through the archives for a little while, don't think I found anything on this, so bear with me and direct as needed. I've been looking into the possibilities of installing an anaerobic digester on our property. Reduce how much trash we generate and as an added bonus I could probably power one of our shorter commutes on the gas produced. I was looking into getting something of a consistent feed for it, since we tend to produce digestible waste somewhat erratically, and it hit me while I was working (Fast food) just how much /garbage/ a fast-food restaurant generates. Most of it is actually fairly (I say fairly to play it safe) digestible material: food scraps, prep waste, paper and the like. But what about things like those wax-covered cups, or wax paper? I'm not sure how easily the waxes used in the treatment of such, but I know those cups don't last too awfully long even with just water in them. Could it just be a matter of increasing their hold time in the digester, to get a more complete breakdown, or would it be better to do something else with them? I'd love to do something about reducing this ugly, ugly /waste/ I unfortunately contribute to every day, but at the moment it's mostly theoretical. 'preciation in advance for all your help, stuff like this is why I keep sticking around. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] breakthrough - store CH4 at 500psi instead of 3600
Interesting indeed, but what I don't see is how densely the gas is thereafter stored. As in, for a say 10-gallon gas tank sized bundle of these briquettes, how much gasoline equivalent natural gas is being stored? A gallon per gallon equivalent? Two? Three? How much does the whole assemblage, tank plus briquettes plus gas, weigh compared to a tank of gas or ethanol? For that matter, how's the gas extracted if the carbon pores soak methane up like a sponge? These are the questions whose answers interest me most. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] shedding fat for oil
Mike Weaver wrote: I'm 6'1 and my 2003 Golf is ok. I have a friend who's 6'3 and he seems ok in the passenger seat...Germans are often pretty big people. Size and fit is one of the reasons I bought the VW. I don't fit into Miatas, tho'. I test drove a Golf before I bought the Lancer (which became my mother's car when the SUV was totaled; best wreck to ever happen since nobody was hurt and it took two SUVs off the roads); I didn't fit worth crap in that driver's seat. *Shrugs.* Different people different habits? -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] shedding fat for oil
Dylan wrote: Another advantage to this agenda is that americans would be able to drive more fuel efficient cars. Let's face it, the size of cars in the united states has increased with the size of people. Many americans can't fit into the more fuel efficient cars that are popular in other nations. So the savings would be double edged: lighter people and smaller more fuel efficient cars. Voila! (that's not even mentioning the money saved on healthcare for diseases related to obesity) My contention with this is that I have this problem, and it's not obesity that causes it. I cannot fit into a new Golf, an Insight, or anything of similar size, and it's certainly not because the seat's not wide enough (Usually I have plenty room to spare, actually). It's my legs. They're far too long to fit into most of these ultracompact or even compact cars, which are the highest efficiency ones. I usually end up with my knees where they hinder my ability to turn the steering wheel, which is uncomfortable to say the least and dangerous to say more. I'm not alone in this, either; half of my coworkers are of a similar height and run into similar problems. (We're all at least two inches over six feet tall, and mostly leg to a man). Thus, actually, legroom was a huge factor when I went looking for a replacement car. The car I drive now gets terrible mileage by most elite standards (A mere 28mpg combined), but it is after all only a year younger than I (it's twenty) and weighs in at 3000 pounds. It's also a station wagon, and it's long wheelbase gives me plenty of legroom for comfort and safety. So beware, please, sweeping statements like that; they aren't always true. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] was..was..smart car coming to US in 2008
Mike Weaver wrote: As I keep telling people, all 4WD does is get youy moving. You'd be amazed at the number of people that think it allows you to drive faster in the snow due to better all weather handling. These are the same morons that put high octane gas in their Civics for more power... Hey, you can get more power out of a Civic if you put high octane gas in it! ... You just have to follow that with putting a turbo on it, crank the boost pressure way up, and pray you don't blow a piston out the bottom end! ;p -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Tanks for storing Biodiesel
Jason Katie wrote: brake fluid will eat ANYTHING if you let it. so will bologna mystery meat. leave a slab of the bologna on a car hood in the sun for 45 minutes and you have a perfectly lunchmeat shaped hole in your paint. Mmmm, preservatives! Imagine what those do to your digestive system. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Worldwide oil consumption seen soaring
Jason Katie wrote: acually the supercap battery that fits a 9V package is all about space efficiency, if you wanted to, you could build a multifarad capacitor out of tinfoil and plastic wrap in a 5 gallon bucket for a similar effect with lower cost, just WAAAY too big for a 9V package, and heavy-heavy. (i spent all too much time in the electronics lab in college...) Tell me more I have way, way too many 5-gallon buckets hanging around since I saved them from being thrown away, and the car has a #$*-ton of space in the back... ;) Be kinda cool to have the first diesel-electric hybrid Syncro. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Worldwide oil consumption seen soaring
Jason Katie wrote: its pretty simple theory, take two dielectric layers (i.e. extremely thin plastic) and layer them between two foil layers like so- --- being plasticwrap/thin wax paper/other being foil -- /// -- /// and stagger pin/tape one end of each to a paper towel roll, dowel rod or other non conductor. make a connection to each layer of foil and roll the layers into a tight spool. it will take a lot of foil and dielectric but when it just fits inside the bucket it should measure in the full farad ranges (a pair of cofee cans in oil measures about 0.125F So the foil and dielectric layers move in spirals expanding outward, or there are independent rings of foil, dielectric, foil, dielectric, and so forth, and you tie all the foil layers together? Sorry, I'm a visual person, so I'm trying to imagine this while waiting for work uniforms to finish going through the laundry. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Class Warfare: The Minimum Wage Goes Down
Keith Addison wrote: The GOP just shafted the working people of America. By rejecting an attempt to raise the minimum wage, the Republican-controlled Senate showed that it is far more interested in lining the pockets of its campaign contributors than - as Paul Krugman wrote in a New York Times op-ed on Monday - arriving at a new New Deal and working to rebuild our middle class. The 52-46 vote was eight short of the 60 needed for approval. (The measure drew the support of eight Republicans --four of these are up for reelection in the fall.) Why does this not surprise me? Sen. Edward Kennedy's amendment would have raised the wage from the current $5.15 an hour to $7.25 - the first raise in a decade. The minimum wage, as economist Gwendolyn Mink, makes clear, is supposed to guarantee an income floor to keep full-time wage-earners out of poverty. But today, the federal minimum wage guarantees abject poverty for workers... nearly $6,000 per year below the federal poverty line for a family of three. I'm all for a minimum wage increase, but do we really think if companies are forced to pay their workers more that they'll just suck up the extra cost and not raise prices? I have a feeling prices would have skyrocketed if this had gone through. It would have put my present wage at under minimum. Even the not-exactly-populist Wall Street Journal points out, While the minimum wage has remained frozen, lawmakers' salaries have risen with annual cost-of-living increases keyed to what is given federal employees. And last week's vote in the House Appropriations Committee followed a floor vote days before in which the House cleared the way for members to get another increase valued at thousands of dollars annually. So, while Congress will soon make close to $170,000 a year, hardworking full-time minimum wage workers make just $10,700 annually. Hmmm, 11k here, and trying to pay for schooling, bills and food with it. Doesn't work out too well, unfortunately. -k ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] OT: Hybrid Camry
robert and benita rabello wrote: Joe Street wrote: I used to do a lot of engine braking and air resistance braking. By that I mean when I see a light turn red in the distance I don't continue to throttle along at constant speed like many drivers do and then brake in the last 200 m at the light. I take the foot off and let the car coast. I do the same thing, Joe. Hakan once wrote about driving on ice as if you have a baby in your lap and your foot on an egg, which I think pretty well describes conservative driving under ANY conditions. (Ok, he might have written a woman in your lap, but under those circumstances I couldn't focus on driving!) I do something similar, but I don't engine brake. I put the car in neutral (5spd) and let the weight of the car and the AW drivetrain slow me down. The car weighs nearly 3k pounds, and it usually only takes a couple of soft taps on the brake to slow from 40~ish to nothing at lights. I do the same thing going down hills, too. Shifter bushings are cheap, and they're really all I'm wearing out by doing this. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Run for your livees!!
I can only hope that book has better grammar than his advertisement for it does. Hmmm... maybe I should get it. I mean, I need a source of starter for our fireplace, and seventy nine pages would last through quite a number of fire startings... ;) I'm sure, environmentally conscious and environmentalist as he is, he's using 100% recycled paper to print on. Yeah right. That is funny, Mike. Peace out -KurtOn 12/25/05, Mike Weaver [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Too good not to share, or, is this why people think we are crackpots?http://cgi.ebay.com/BioDiesel-Made-Easy-Manual-Book-Make-your-own-from-home_W0QQitemZ4599779724QQcategoryZ378QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Or, look up item 4599779724 on ebay.Too funnyHappy Holidays,Mike___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] More about Bhopal
I've read some disgusting things before. I've seen some even more disgusting things. Helped clean them up, too. And I have rarely had a problem with my stomach churning nearly as much as it is now. That... apalling atrocity and the unforgiveable practices since then are just, just... Unforgiveable? Inexcusable? Atrocious and hellish? Damn English language is failing me at the moment. No word for how utterly disgusted reading that makes me. Makes me glad I don't use pesticides or heavy cleaners already. And leaves me wondering how long it's going to go on. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] US Guvmint to tax alternate fuel vehicles?
On 12/2/05, Mike Weaver [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: All kidding aside, do the members of this list think the idea of anadvocacy group to defend BD has merit, and more importantlywould anyone pay to be a member? I'd pay. If only to stick it to the man who's trying to pull the strings of the world, IE corporations. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] clarification plz, ethanol
I recently ran my non-FFV (Certified) Mitsubishi Lancer on E85 for a few weeks. I got about the same mpg rating on E85 as I do on regular 87 Octane gasoline; about 33 miles per gallon combined C/H mileage, down from my usual 34-36 mpg. I think in my case, however, this reduction was mostly due to the fact that my engine ran at a higher idle almost constantly, up to 1k RPM instead of the usual 700~RPM. Since my Service Engine light was also on the whole time (Gotta love nebulous alarms), it was probably a sensor issue telling me that I was running a little lean and the computer compensating by increasing the fuel flow. There was no reduction in power that I could tell, nor did I have any issues starting the car. The exhaust smelled nicer and I didn't have that annoying gasoline smell driving away from the station, but those have little bearing on the issue. I think bottom line is that there isn't a significant decrease in fuel economy, if there is a decrease at all, at least in my experience. An FFV shouldn't have the same problems I had with the sensors, so it's entirely possible you won't see any changes at all. A lot will also have to do with your driving style, too. I drive cautiously and don't peg the tach very often; my darling Lancer may have the pep to do a fair 0-60 clock time, but I certainly don't want to use that for anything more than I absolutely have to! And where are you, anyway? E85 around here is on average 10 cents cheaper than standard gasoline. I'm going to guess somewhere non-american since you used Petrol instead of gasoline, but the useage of gallons as your measurement says otherwise. Current price on E85 at the nearest pump (About fifteen miles from my house. It's a special trip) is ~$1.87/gallon, while 87 Octane Gasoline is about $1.95/gallon. Hope this helps! Peace -KurtOn 11/29/05, Evergreen Solutions [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, I recently found out that a local fuel wholesaler has begun selling E85 to consumers in our small town, and I'm also happy to report that my car is an FFV and capable of running it. However, I *believe* that I read somewhere that ethanol will get you *less* far per gallon than traditional petrol. On the ethanol site it talks all about 105 octane, etc, but I can't seem to find a good answer. I'm hoping someone will tell me that mpg goes up instead of down, but I'm not holding my breath. Reason? I don't make a lot of money, and this wholesaler is selling his E85 (which is advertized as being partially from waste products) for $2.799 per gallon, while regular petrol is back down to about $2.159. Directly, I can't afford to go less far for more money. And also, if anyone else out there has a local E85 seller, what are their prices in comparison to dino? Thanks in advance! ___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] New question on oil seed crops and ley farming
On 11/28/05, Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snippitysnip.Not all vegetarians avoid meat because of animal rights issues.Why do they avoid it then?BestKeith I can't really say much about the main topic of the discussion, but I can offer an alternative reason for vegetarianism. My grandmother on my mother's side was a vegetarian for over forty years, stemming initially from having to feed five kids on her own in Post-War America, when meat was more expensive. She'd buy it, and cook it, but her kids got it first. She got out of the habit of eating meat, and just never went back until two years before she died. Mom asked why she'd stayed vegetarian for so long, and she just said It wasn't bothering me, so I just didn't think about it. Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] truckers choose hydrogen power
This site is setting of nine thousand kinds of alarm bells in my head. Read their challenge. Open to anyone who wants to take a chance. You decide to purchase the complete Hydrogen-Boost system with installation, at individual component prices and we will guarantee a 50% increase in gas mileage as follows: First we do a pre-installation mileage test of your vehicle on a 40-50 mile road course, preferably with you driving. Then we compare the test results with the EPA published mileage for your vehicle. Taking the worse of the two as a baseline mileage, we will install the Hydrogen-Boost system and perform a witnessed post-installation mileage test over the same course or on a city course of similar length. If after making the proper adjustments, we cannot achieve a 50% increase in mileage over the baseline mileage figures, the Hydrogen-Boost system is yours free of charge. However if we achieve over 50% increase in mileage you agree to pay double the regular prices. My own emphasis added, there. They artificially lower the standard that they have to meet to produce the necessary results, therefore making it easier for them to meet them. Not to be overly proud, but I think they would have a hard time making a fifty percent increase over my driving mileage. Just my driving style alone increases my highway mileage almost 66%; I'd love to see them try and make a 50% increase over 54 mpg. If it's making improvements on a purely mechanical level, then would it not show the same mechanical increases whether you have a moderate driver or a sedate driver? Don't really have time to keep picking it apart, but it sounds awfully shady to me. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] truckers choose hydrogen power
On 11/22/05, Joe Street [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Surely this can be verified on a dynamometer at all combinations of power, rpm, air temp or what have you. I even saw a pic of a dyno on the web page. Isn't there any data? Not that I could see. No charts, tables, or even references to actual dyno benchmarks. And I think that picture of the white car on the chassis dyno is a stock photograph; I've seen one very, very similar to it before. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] truckers choose hydrogen power
On 11/22/05, Mike Weaver [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm glad I'm not the only one who hears bells in his head. Sometimes I hear whistles instead. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Success! I think..
I never thought of that. Nice trick! On 11/17/05, Appal Energy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Kurt,Take a sport cap off of a 1 liter water bottle and put it on top of a 2liter PET bottle (soda bottle). Invert bottle. Slice off the bottom.Fill bottle with contents of your one liter reaction. Nest inverted bottle into an appropriate sized jar, quart sized or better. Let settle.After settling, lift PET bottle and gently open the sport cap to allowthe glycerin cocktail to drain.This is essentially a poor man's separatory funnel. Todd Swearingen True, but since I only did a single liter test batch I only can safely pull off about .8L using my present methods. Would a retest of half a liter work? Or should I see how much more I can skim off the top of the bottom layer? -Kurt On 11/16/05, *Joe Street* [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sounds good Kurt but you need to take a liter of your hooch and treat it as virgin oil and see if any reaction happens with methoxide. Joe Kurt Nolte wrote: Right, so, I think I may be successful here! Have a batch that I mixed up a few days ago, using a modified for local materials version of the Test Batch processor on the site. Good clean separation of the two layers when I let it settle in a translucent HDPE container. (I have a dozen of them now... I love working in the restaurant industry!). Took 20mL of the top layer, 20mL of room temperature water, stuck them in a 50mL vial, and proceeded to shake the crap out of it. Shook it up like that for a good 7-10 minutes, enough that I was positively certain everything was really mingling about and getting social in there. Set it up on top of the desk shelf over the computer, and set the timer for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and thirty minutes. Ten minutes passed, and there was visible separation. Cloudy water on the bottom, a kinda thickish white layer in the middle, and amber-yellow non-hazy liquid at the top. Fifteen, and the layer in the middle was quite almost gone. After thirty, it's only barely thicker than paper thin. However, there is a band of hazy amber-yellow liquid on top of it; it's thin too. Is this normal? So, have I done it, or do I still need to tweak? Peace -Kurt___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] I am Not A Christian-was This isn't the real America, by JC
Yarr!On 11/17/05, Fred Finch [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mike, Were you wearing your pirate suit while making that proclamation? fredOn 11/17/05, Mike Weaver [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: God is a Flying Spaghetti Monster and them that don't repent shall fryin ever-lasting torment.With a little olive oil and garlic I might add. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Success! I think..
True, but since I only did a single liter test batch I only can safely pull off about .8L using my present methods. Would a retest of half a liter work? Or should I see how much more I can skim off the top of the bottom layer? -KurtOn 11/16/05, Joe Street [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sounds good Kurt but you need to take a liter of your hooch and treat it as virgin oil and see if any reaction happens with methoxide. Joe Kurt Nolte wrote: Right, so, I think I may be successful here! Have a batch that I mixed up a few days ago, using a modified for local materials version of the Test Batch processor on the site. Good clean separation of the two layers when I let it settle in a translucent HDPE container. (I have a dozen of them now... I love working in the restaurant industry!). Took 20mL of the top layer, 20mL of room temperature water, stuck them in a 50mL vial, and proceeded to shake the crap out of it. Shook it up like that for a good 7-10 minutes, enough that I was positively certain everything was really mingling about and getting social in there. Set it up on top of the desk shelf over the computer, and set the timer for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and thirty minutes. Ten minutes passed, and there was visible separation. Cloudy water on the bottom, a kinda thickish white layer in the middle, and amber-yellow non-hazy liquid at the top. Fifteen, and the layer in the middle was quite almost gone. After thirty, it's only barely thicker than paper thin. However, there is a band of hazy amber-yellow liquid on top of it; it's thin too. Is this normal? So, have I done it, or do I still need to tweak? Peace -Kurt ___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever:http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Success! I think..
To check for process completion. Reprocessing, basically; if any more glycerine falls out, the process needs to be refined still. I've been re-reading up. ;p -KurtOn 11/16/05, Darryl West [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sorry just have a question, Joe when you say treat it as virgin oil, do you mean for Kurt to do the whole process again? If so why would that be? From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Kurt Nolte Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 6:02 AM To: Biofuel@sustainablelists.org Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Success! I think.. True, but since I only did a single liter test batch I only can safely pull off about .8L using my present methods. Would a retest of half a liter work? Or should I see how much more I can skim off the top of the bottom layer? -Kurt On 11/16/05, Joe Street [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sounds good Kurt but you need to take a liter of your hooch and treat it as virgin oil and see if any reaction happens with methoxide. Joe Kurt Nolte wrote: Right, so, I think I may be successful here! Have a batch that I mixed up a few days ago, using a modified for local materials version of the Test Batch processor on the site. Good clean separation of the two layers when I let it settle in a translucent HDPE container. (I have a dozen of them now... I love working in the restaurant industry!). Took 20mL of the top layer, 20mL of room temperature water, stuck them in a 50mL vial, and proceeded to shake the crap out of it. Shook it up like that for a good 7-10 minutes, enough that I was positively certain everything was really mingling about and getting social in there. Set it up on top of the desk shelf over the computer, and set the timer for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and thirty minutes. Ten minutes passed, and there was visible separation. Cloudy water on the bottom, a kinda thickish white layer in the middle, and amber-yellow non-hazy liquid at the top. Fifteen, and the layer in the middle was quite almost gone. After thirty, it's only barely thicker than paper thin. However, there is a band of hazy amber-yellow liquid on top of it; it's thin too. Is this normal? So, have I done it, or do I still need to tweak? Peace -Kurt ___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Success! I think..
Right, so, I think I may be successful here! Have a batch that I mixed up a few days ago, using a modified for local materials version of the Test Batch processor on the site. Good clean separation of the two layers when I let it settle in a translucent HDPE container. (I have a dozen of them now... I love working in the restaurant industry!). Took 20mL of the top layer, 20mL of room temperature water, stuck them in a 50mL vial, and proceeded to shake the crap out of it. Shook it up like that for a good 7-10 minutes, enough that I was positively certain everything was really mingling about and getting social in there. Set it up on top of the desk shelf over the computer, and set the timer for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and thirty minutes. Ten minutes passed, and there was visible separation. Cloudy water on the bottom, a kinda thickish white layer in the middle, and amber-yellow non-hazy liquid at the top. Fifteen, and the layer in the middle was quite almost gone. After thirty, it's only barely thicker than paper thin. However, there is a band of hazy amber-yellow liquid on top of it; it's thin too. Is this normal? So, have I done it, or do I still need to tweak? Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] 2 articles -- hybrid vehicles - energy efficient computer
On 11/15/05, Chip Mefford [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
-Like many technological improvemenets. I wonder about theactual environmental savings of replacing old vehicles withnew, as opposed to, say, moving to alternative fuel sources,with a closer carbon cycle.
What if you moved to a new vehicle designed to run best on alternative fuels?
On the one hand, these new vehicles, with their absbrake systems, airbags, and such are pretty nice
compared to having a nasty accident in an oldpickup. But, what is the /real/ envionmental costof manufacture?An old, second or more hand, vehicle is alreadypaid for in the resource extraction sense. Paid
for with a credit card ;) but paid for. Demandfor new vehicles on the other hand is resourcedebt not yet expended.
Those features are nice, but they come at the expense of having to
worry about increased maintenance, higher maintenance bills, less
ability to do basic service yourself; in other words, they end up being
more expensive, from what I've seen. More and more resource debts you
keep incurring.
However... in my experience, at least, a lot of modern cars have a lot
of features I /don't/ want, and very few of the ones I do. I like
things like airbags for both the passenger and the driver, and ABS is
an awesome invention, but do I really need dual climate control or
color-coded door handles? Keyless entry? Remote starting?
Nope.
If it were possible, I'd just get myself a nice, solid, already paid
for classic and refit it. Put a better engineered {but not
computerized} engine in it. A more efficient transmission. Add an ABS
and two airbags and you're good to go.
You now have a vehicle that is pretty well paid for (Already is
environmentally if you get the transmission and engine used), safe,
effective, and in general very useful. You can do most if not all the
repair work on your own if you are so inclined, without having to be
both a mechanics whiz and a computer genius.
But that's just me. I believe firmly in the value of retrofitting.
Peace
-Kurt
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Re: [Biofuel] 20 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA
stands is shaky on many grounds. Both in voter turnout percentages and in the actual process. But I don't personally believe we need to keep beating the horse of the past. I mean, we can't change it, no matter how much we wave our hands and wish it were so. Instead we need to actually learn from our mistakes, rouse up that beast known as the American Public (Currently sleeping, I think; I mean, the only thing it's been making noise about lately is gas prices.), and make some changes in both policy and oversight in time for the next election. I mean, what else can we do? Impeach Bush? Then you'd have weak-heart Cheney in office, who apparently most of those who are not staunch Republicans still have screaming problems about. I'm none too fond of him myself, especially since that whole Halliburton contracts thing. But what can you do with him then? Impeach him too? Try and replace him with Kerry? Even if you could do such a thing and disrupt the whole line of succession for Presidency, it wouldn't do much good at all. Even if Kerry were the greatest administrator in the world (A claim I would wholeheartedly laugh at. He's a politician after all), walking into a situation like what past and present trends have brought us to would be akin to walking into the heart of a nuclear furnace and trying to calm the fission reaction down to near absolute zero. It wouldn't do much good, and it would only kill (metaphorically or physically) whoever was involved in the attempt. It took us as a nation and a people a very long time to build up the habits and trends we currently hold and espouse; it didn't happen overnight. Especially with the voting system: I seem to recall hearing numerous stories about how ballot boxes used to be stuffed or outright bought by various candidates or affiliates in the past. We apparently didn't care much then, except for a show of resistance, and all the latter did was make the deviousness more, well, devious. Rigging setups just got more and more sneaky, and I imagine they remained a fairly common occurence throughout electoral history. They just happened to get caught once again. So... what do we do? Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Very liberating
batch of bioD (Though I am constantly eliminating variables and I think I'm getting closer; tracking down an incomplete reaction now I think.), I did just recently put E85 in my car. I literally stumbled across the station that carries it in my area, while coming back from errands; I pulled in to top off my tank while gas was still cheap, and the pump I pulled up to just happened to have an E85 pump on it too. So, feeling the responsibility to take the cleaner choice and knowing my car could probably handle it, I topped off with an Ethanol blend. Liberating feeling, knowing I was putting something right in my tank for once. I'm currently running at about an E30 blend in my tank (I calculated the percentage when I got home, and spent some time bouncing around on the back of my car to mix it all up. Got some really funny looks, but I was having fun so it didn't matter.), and haven't noticed anything bad yet. Granted I've gone all of fifty miles, but still it's heartening. I drive an '05 Mitsubishi Lancer ES, regular sedan with a 2.0L I4 and a 5spd manual. Anyone know if this car is E85 certified, or has Flex Fuel Vehicle status? I'd love to patronize that station regularly and help support the more widespread use of E85, but I don't want to tear up my car engine either. I called the Dealership, but they weren't certain, and said they'd get back to me on it when they found out. That was three days ago. So, anyone here know? Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] processor design
-KurtOn 10/31/05, john owens [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Would there be any one with experience building processors willing to look at a CADdrawing ofmy processorand help meimprove it? ___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Starting at Square One
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are two potential causes for bad emulsions on wash testing, right? Incomplete Reaction and Excessive Caustic, right? Well, operating under those assumptions, I've been working back through and pulling different angles and variables to test. I'm using utterly virgin corn oil of a quality brand. I am using very dry, non-deliquesced sodium hydroxide, flake. I've been using a GE glass jar blender, and HEET brand methanol. Going through after one bad batch, I tore apart the blender... and found a ring of sodium hydroxide at the bottom, in between the jar side and the mixer pillar. Not good, this means it didn't mix into the methanol. Since I've been using the recommended 3.5g/L NaOH for my virgin oil, I'm thinking this must be the culprit: an incomplete reaction caused by the underpresence of sodium hydroxide in my supposed solution of methoxide. So I went back to my original method of mixing up methoxide, measuring it out into a mason jar and agitating it by hand for a good fifteen minutes (Really wears the elbows out, shaking a glass jar of liquid around rapidly) then letting it sit all overnight. Well, there isn't anything settled on the bottom, but I can see visible little specks suspended in the liquid. The solution is cloudy, and has almost an oil lense ripple effect(distortion in waves/globs?) if you shine a light through it without shaking it or only lightly shaking it. Is this solution adequately mixed? Having only worked with NaOH with water solutions previously, I'm not sure how this is supposed to look. Do I need to do something to make it dissolve better? Thanks for the help, -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Starting at Square One
The crying shame is that he has plans to, if he doesn't sell it, Put a Chevy 350 in it and make it run again. Idiot. It was a beautiful car besides the engine and mildew on the seats. Oh well. Peace -KurtOn 10/30/05, Buck Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: iff u examiane the seller satament, u can see thattt he is advertiisiangan autoo that he exapects not t be able to run,,, if he found outdiffeanernt, then it is plalinly worth more,,, you are dealin with a man who is plainly dishonest to his fouandation, no statemeant can be taken atface valuee froam this kind of person.. no action to sell is beneath hisssdigniaty,, he will sell what is nottt his, will tell aany sstoyry, best nooot ot conduct any transactoin with this kind of person,,, usually one wayor anaoahter , u will alwaysssbe sorry,, buck ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Jatropha Curcas
for a silver bullet plant or the widespread introduction of one that is deemed better might choke out natural flora. Introduction of Jatropha looks like it would have a rather high potential for doing just that, since it grows in such a variety of soil conditions. I just have to look outside when I'm driving down the road to see an example of something similar: huge, huge tracts of nothing but the horrid kudzu vine. Imported into this area for the railroad system, it took hold rather well and thrived. It's also now threatening to choke off local vegetation, and even swallow homes; could Jatropha one day do this? Just my caution and pessimism. Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Separating Glycerine/FFA
you can use the glycerine for other... shall we say nefarious purposes? (Such as powering a turbine generator, or similiar combustive measures to reuse your waste to feed the process... No I'm not stupid enough to try and go the nitroglycerin route, though I fear for a coworker of mine who has taken an interest in the process.)If you can do this, and Mr. Sharp's question about brine washing comes up positive, you could use the salt from this process to make your brine for washing... and then finally waste it through sewage or whatnot when it's finally been ultimately exhausted, instead of getting rid of potentially valuable products and also having to purchase salt for your brine. Just a thought. Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] If this isn't aggression...
First, you assume we're the winning side, and I'm sure there are thosethat will and can make a very good case we have NOT given the country back to its inhabitants. That government is a flimsy sham and wecontinue to occupy that country. Well, we're still in the country, we haven't retreated yet, the government we went over there to depose is no longer in as strong a position as it was, and we got the bad guy we were deposing. Objectives accomplished, that constitutes a win in my book. What is going on now is a whole different war, more in the nature of a rebellion against the new government and it's as yet still developing infrastructure. The American Government was a flimsy thing when she was first born too, it takes time. And are you saying we should pull out now? That, sir, would be the most irresponsible thing we could possibly do, bring all our troops home. We'd be leaving a mess we created behind, without even trying to clean it up. More people would die than are currently dying now, and the eventual government to emerge would be whomever could employ the most brutality to silence all competition. At least with our troops there we provide some vague semblence of security and the glimmer of peaceable government formation. The current Iraqi government is only a Flimsy Sham because of basic human greed; everyone wants a piece of the action in the new government. Everyone wants preferential treatment, to hell with those other groups. If they could actually sit down, work out their differences after checking the greed at the door, our men and women could be home by Christmas. But it's not going to happen, especially given that at least two of the opposing groups are in opposition on religious grounds. Religious groups, especially religious sects within the same overall denomination, rarely if ever agree on anything. But we put them in this situation, we have a responsibility to see them through to the end. I'm pretty sure they can't do worse than Saddam Hussein's dictatorial regime did. Or if they do, hey, it's time to try again from square one. Second, define expanding borders - how about expanding the borders ofour military base placements around the middle east, how about expanding control of or interest in the borders of world oil supplies.We want military control over the world for our corporate backers - apretty expansive 'border' if you ask me. Attacking and destroying a country that is not a threat to you IS thevery essence of a war of aggression. ...and we're guilty as all f**k! EVERY American needs to understandthat this is OUR war ultimately and we should own that, and stop thewar before it destroys everything this country holds dear and creates even more death and havoc. Just as a question put forth in a hypothetical situation: The UN decides to give the green light for a war to take out a regime that is openly committing human rights violations upon its own citizens. It is making no aggressive acts toward other nations, not threatening them at all, but they have made it clear that economic sanctions and other actions will only increase their atrocities. Is this a war of aggression? It's not a threat to any other country, so technically any country responding and participating in the sanctioned invasion and deposition would be committing, apparently, an international crime. Yet to stand there and do nothing, or to do something that will knowingly increase the atrocities, would be far worse in my opinion. Stop the war how? By pulling out? See above, concerning our responsibility. You may not agree with the reasons for the war in the first place, but I don't believe you can deny that we should take responsibility for cleaning up our own messes. Which means seeing this thing through to the end. Take control away from the politicians, give it to military commanders on the field who know what they need, and start issuing them what it takes. This includes Body Armor, upgraded HumVee armor kits, supplies, more troops (Yes, More, it's hard to cover an area the size of Virginia effectively with only two hundred troops, rooting out terrorist cells), send in more aid packages to help rebuild and salvage the more outlying and damaged cities and infrastructures, and yes start getting off our high pedestal and asking countries with more peace keeping experience to come help us train a new military and police force in Iraq. I hear very good things about Canadian Peacekeepers. I'm not saying that the war was right. I'm saying it's in the past, we need to get out of the past and in the present before we blunder our way into another mess. Pointing fingers and placing blame and performing acts of political evangelization does not save lives, neither does dwelling on the past. Action and responsibility in the here and now and forethought and deliberate caution in the future saves lives. Peace, may it come quickly -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list
Re: [Biofuel] Separating Glycerine/FFA
How about shall we not say nefarious purposes. Ehh, it was a failed attempt at being humorous. I use that one all the time at work. Sometimes it works, sometimes it falls on its face. The salt will precipitate during the FFA recovery.And glycerol is not going to be worth anything more as a fuel source than is sugar. It's an alcohol that's as thick and as sweet as honey init's pure state. If you've seen sugar burn then you're already familiarwith what glycerol would burn like. Ahh. Gotcha. You'd have better luck getting the glycerol cocktail to burn, as it hasa higher energy value due to the methanol and FFAs in the soap. As for producing NaCl from any process? The intent should be to steerprocesses away from creating waste products, not creating more. The washprocess doesn't need to be a brine to work. The caustic should be potassium whenever possible and the waste salt from FFA recovery shouldbe something that has and end use, such as potassium phosphate, makingthe process an almoste entirely closed loop.Glycerol disposal (that's after methanol, caustic and useable FFAs are recovered) can either be by sale or simply dissolved in the treated washwater and dispersed as gray water irrigation.Again, the purpose should be to reduce the waste stream, not add to it. Seeing now the negative response in the other e-mail chain, I understand that. I was just trying to think of some way to use more of your waste products if this route were to be taken. Not deliberately generate more of them, y'know? If salt was to be a byproduct then it would seem logical to try and come up with some manner of use for the salt, but seeing as how it won't be necessary then I guess it truly would be a waste product after all. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Portents of the upcoming Big One
of pure aggression, considering Saddam Hussein was already on the UN's bad list and was already being actively targeted by economic sanctions and other punitive measures. Plus, wars of aggression don't usually result in the winning side voluntarily and immediately giving the country back over to its inhabitants; usually you fight an aggressive war to expand your own borders. If anything it might be ruled an inappropriate military action, but not a pure war of aggression. Just my two cents, anyway. Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Starting at Square One
I have a 1991 Suburban with a 6.2 liter diesel.The Suburban is large,luxurious and has all possible options.I only have around $4,000.00invested in it.Why not look for something like this? Primarily because I don't want to drive a large vehicle. The 300TD is about as big a vehicle as I would really want to drive on a regular basis. Also, like Mr. Weaver said as well, they are hard to find, especially apparently in my area. Either they just aren't common enough, or the people who have them don't want to give them up. However. Instead of going through all that work, at least at the moment, I'll probably just bite my bullets, get the cheaper sedan automatic that I found, and drive it until I can either find something better or have less of a tight budget of time and money to build my true beauty. Having said this, here is what I'm looking at: 1975 (According to the owner, I'll be checking on it when I go out this afternoon) diesel sedan, automatic, I5. According to the seller, all it needs is a master cylinder. Checked local auto parts places, found it will cost me $45-$70 to get a rebuilt one, which seems pretty decent to me. Asking price is $450, but I have talked to him before and figured from his references he'd be willing to go down another hundred. I will be checking it to see if it cranks, sounds reasonably smooth and in good shape, and just in general overall condition. Take a couple pictures, ask a bunch of questions, and then come back to you guys to see what you all think. If it's good, I'll go back Monday, work out final prices, and own myself a diesel Mercedes. If it's bad, well there are several other options for if it's bad. Peace. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Also starting out
well. Maybe not for BD, but for the gasoline cars we have around here in any case. And I plan on permitting myself properly with all the appropriate authorities; I'm on pretty good terms with local law enforcement here, I'd rather not jeopardize that. ;) -KurtOn 10/29/05, Ken Dunn [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 10/29/05, Ken Provost [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Many US citizens would not think twice about skipping the permit, if they had some reason to believe they wouldn'tget caught. I have to say that here as of late, you are correct aboutthat...unfortunately.Overall, it does us no benefit, though.Firstly, we promote ourselves to be THE example and if we mean it, weshould - no reason to hide our greatness.Second, if getting the proper permits to be upstanding citizens of the Earth is that muchtrouble, we should stand up for the right things.Take care,Ken___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever:http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Starting at Square One
So it's back to local resources, which seem for the most part to be primarily diesel trucks of the heavy variety. Ick. However. Does anyone here know if I can fit a Mercedes diesel engine under a Volvo body? I can get a Mercedes parts car, I believe with the I4 diesel from the early Eighties, and I can also get a Volvo body style and transmission preference. Has anyone else on the list ever done a conversion from gas to diesel across brands? I'm fairly mechanically competent, I'm just trying to decide if it would be worth it in the end or if I should instead go with trying to fix up one of the cheaper ones and just deal with driving something not quite to my liking. If nothing else it would be a challenge, which can be good or bad. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Starting at Square One
Might be easier to just put the volvo diesel in it.From what Iunderstand, the volvo 2.4 liter diesel was just a 6 cylinder versionof the 1.6 used in all the VW stuff, made by VW/Audi so alot of partsare interchangeable. That's the other thing. I can find a Mercedes diesel around here, but so far the Volvo Diesels I've seen are sold by the time I get to them. And there aren't that many of them. I'd gladly do that if I could find one, be much simpler. Though perhaps I should look for the 1.6L VW diesel? New option. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Still looking for a cheap TEFC motor
Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled - TEFC.If you follow link on my originalpost, the pump displayed has a motor attached to looks generally like a TEFC motor.I don't know that it is though. Ah. I figured it was something Fan-Cooled but I figured TE stood for something technical and electrical in nature. So I kept trying to come up with a term that would fit. I have fan cooled, but none have enclosed windings and all of them do occasionally spark. One of them sparks constantly, so I won't be using that one. Not when turning it on and testing it produced a plume of sparks a good three feet long at first. Nope, no sir. It's a 1hp motor though, so I pity losing it. Would have made a good pumper. Best of luck to ya in your searches. Peace -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Still looking for a cheap TEFC motor
is, but... I do have an assortment of various old tool and appliance motors here at the house that I could probably come up with a way to part with. Would one of those work? -KurtOn 10/25/05, Ken Dunn [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I was looking back through to archives tonight to see if I could maybestumble across a source for cheap TEFC motors and I found one of themany references to the clear water pumps available through HarborFreight and Northern Tool and such.Upon checking out Harbor Freight, I noticed that they are selling a 1 inch clear water pump for$29.99USD.Here is the link:http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=1479 Looking at the image provided, I might assume that the motor matchedup to the pump is a TEFC motor.I wonder if someone could providesome assistance.Is it in fact a TEFC motor?What sort of HP are we talking about?Could I disassemble the pump and use the motor todrive my planned stir biodiesel process?___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Starting at Square One
From the picture the engine looks the same, but could be the same design and smaller displacement I suppose.The non-workingtemperature guage is concerning, because overheating a diesel with analuminum head and cast iron block usually means putting a new headgasket in it -- as least in the VW diesels.But that's pretty easy to add a new temperature guage.Zeke Yeah, if I do end up getting it, I have a whole suite of gauges and meters that are going in it. Head temp, Oil temp, Voltmeter, Ammeter (Iffy about putting this one in, unnecessary work.), stuff of that nature; I've been scrounging up meters for a while now. If it doesn't have a tach I'll see what I can do to pick a tasteful one up, instead of those gaudy racer style tachos. Still flirting with the idea, guess I should my act together and make a decision, eh? -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Multi Fuel Engines
The theory on them is alluring. Modifying the compression/expansion cycle to - for example - expand the combustion gases quickly and thereby reduce pollution seems like a great potential. Another would be to halt the piston at/just beyond top dead center and let combustion finish. Those both have some pretty serious issues when it comes to actual implementation. Another that's intriguing is the ability to have the expansion stroke longer than the intake stroke for more efficiency. You are so very right it's alluring, but not even touching stroke lengths and related phases of the cycle, but just to reduce the sheer number of /moving parts/ in the engine itself is a big draw for me. Simpler tends to translate to more durable, and with fewer moving parts there should be less work lost to friction, less to need lubrication (Which could lead to a less complicated lubrication system, also a plus), and so on. I think the reason they never caught on is complexity, which translates into cost. It's easier to make a matching block and head when all the cylinders line up, and the valve gear required in a barrel engine is just awful. And the manifolding. the list goes on. You end up with an engine that's small in theory but has stuff sticking out all over. Well, from what I've read, the OP engine design doesn't have valves; At least none that I could see in the layout drawings. Seemed simpler to me, more in common with the two-stroke (Clark?) cycle than the Otto cycle. So your valve timing would be taken care of by your piston timing.. which is in turn controlled by your drive cams. The injector could be a DI-style sensor-fired high pressure injector; like I said, this one in particular seemed to lend itself well to a diesel process. With compression coming from both ends, it should be possible to ramp up the compression ratios even higher than normal, and the solid one-piece cams secured in the same direction as the piston force should be able to take the load much better than a perpendicularly secured crankshaft. What I see in my mind is almost a cylinder of tubes (The cylinders), with smaller tubes carring the intake air running in the front and smaller tubes for the exhaust running out the back end. (This would have to be changed for a turbocharged engine). Another wild idea; what if you put this barrel engine (The OP one) in place of the combustion chamber on a gas turbine? Exhaust flow turns a power turbine, which runs up a common shaft to turn a compressor to ramp up air pressure going into the cylinders. Might work, and make it easier to run it on a turbocharger without ducting and manifolding the airflows all over the place. The only place where that one runs into problems is when you try to figure out how to get the driveshaft power out through the turbine shaft. :p Which is where my poor tired brain breaks down. Peace out. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Starting at Square One
Right, so.
Having been informed with better knowledge.
Having armed myself with better equipment, a better mindset, and more free time with less stress.
I'm starting back over at square one, folks. :p
My initial batches, the ones made with the 2g increment
scale and the original volumetric method I improvised, are utterly worthless as fuel. They're sitting in a five gallon
bucket off to one side, full of sodium hydroxide and who knows what
else.
This leaves me with a 500mL test batch that I made via a slightly refined version of my volumetric
method, and a 2L test batch that I made using the scale and the
standard measured out 3.5g/L oil. Both were made with virgin, unused
cooking oil from the store, and both were measured out on the dryest
day I could find in a plastic bag.
The volumetric batch shake-tested fine (With room temp water, ~70F on
the day I did it). I say fine, as it didn't emulse, but it did go from
a beautiful clear yellow-amber color to a hazy yellowish. Washing 300mL
of it has produced hazy wash water and hazy yellow product. Heating it
clears it up almost instantly (Only have to raise it to around 80F or
so, not much), but as soon as it cools it hazes again just as quickly.
The other batch I just finished mixing yesterday, in a two-gallon
bucket with a paint mixer. I had problems dissolving all of the
hydroxide in the methanol, so I let it go for a full 28 hours before
adding it in, to make certain none of the NaOH settled back out. It was
a little hazy, but nothing settled so I figured it was good.
It's currently settling in a five gallon bucket (Work goes through them
at a rate of about 5-8 buckets a week, we get pickles shipped to us in
them. Anyone in the area need lots of buckets? We have a whole pile of
them out behind our store, city trash won't take them), I plan on
drawing some out and shake-testing it later tonight. I'm hoping,
fingers crossed and all that, that it won't turn out badly.
Volumetric batch:
500mL Virgin cooking oil
100mL Methanol (HEET fuel dryer, methanol type)
1.75g NaOH (Red Devil lye)
The lye came out to be .833 mL of lye, taking eight of my little
scoops. It's tedious, I'm telling you. I'll probably lay that
experimentation aside until I go to larger, less accuracy needed
batches where it will make easier measuring to weight. Then it's
experimentation time again, just because it interests me. Mixed it up
in a quart-size mason jar using a hot-water bath to keep it to
temperature.
Scaled batch:
2000 mL virgin cooking oil
400mL Methanol (Same as above)
7g NaOH (Same)
Mixed up in a 2~ish gallon bucket (We also generate these at work,
though only one every few weeks or so) with a paint mixer run through
the lid by a corded drill, then the whole mess decanted into a spare
five gallon bucket for settling.
So, yeah. Starting over starts now. Any suggestions or commentary on these two would be muchly appreciated.
Also, does anyone on the list have any experience at all with the Isuzu
I-mark diesel car? I'm somewhat kinda/sorta flirting with the idea of
bidding on the one currently up for sale in NC on E-bay, if I can
convince my parents to help finance the venture {It's a wonderful
thing, still being able to get loans through the parents. More flexible
payback schedules, for one thing. ;)} and we go and check it out first.
Just wondering if anyone on the list has had good/bad experiences with
it. The shifter looks a little funky from the pictures, almost like it
shifts perpendicular to the floor.
Peace out.
-Kurt
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Re: [Biofuel] Multi Fuel Engines
From what I understand, a rotary engine is actually a step /down/ in thermal efficiency; maybe it's just the materials used, but I seem to hear something about how they may have more power density, but their thermal efficiency suffers too much to really make them widespread.It's not the materials used, it's that there is so much surface area per unit of volume.All the extra surface area absorbs heat, which iswasted out the cooling system, and quenches the flame which increasespollutants.Rotaries (wankels, at least) are well suited for aircraft use in some ways - they're light, powerful, smooth, and reliable.Their failuremode tends to be losing power gradually, as opposed to piston enginesthat fail catestrophically when they seize up or break a piston orswallow a valve or the timing belt breaks. Unless you have something like an airplane, however, they're usually toothirsty to take seriously. Ahh, I see now. I knew they had some major disadvantage going against them, but couldn't remember what. Just out of curiousity, what's the hangup with cam-shafted engines? You put them in the same class as sliding vane engines (seal problems I can understand, those would have to wear out faster than more traditional arrangements), but I'm not really seeing a seal problem with the cam-cranked engines. Is there just something I'm missing? -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] oil price gouging poll
On 10/16/05, Zeke Yewdall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Where in the basic definitions of capitalism does price gouging evenexist?This seems like people are putting a moral demand on companiesnot to profit as much as the market will bear. Sounds sort ofsocialist to me... I personally think that capitalism is a lousy system of economicsbecause it discourages human compassion if properly practiced.Itjust happens that most other systems tried have turned out even worsein practice, so a somewhat regulated system of capitalism seems to be the least worst option at this point. Americans are demanding regulation on companies because a vast majority of us are too lazy to actually get off our butts and do something ourselves. We don't want to make the sacrifices that would have to be made in order for us to exercise our half of the consumer/producer and supply/demand balances. Capitalism, technically, is at the mercy of the consumer. We as an American People could very, very easily force car companies to produce nothing but super-efficient, inexpensive cars, but doing so would force a lower standard of living and severely cripple the economy for the short period. Just. Stop. Buying. We are the consumer, and the power of the dollar is ours, not the businesses'. But then again, there I go ranting again about the Cater to my whims culture that my fellow Americans seem to have developed. Seems to have become epidemic in my rants lately. Oh well, back to biking. ;p -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Multi Fuel Engines
On 10/16/05, Jeromie Reeves [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: How about a rotary engine that doest take those delicate graphite seals?Long story shortI had one via my lil brother that only had 1 working cell and still putout enough HP to go85mph.Jeromie From what I understand, a rotary engine is actually a step down in thermal efficiency; maybe it's just the materials used, but I seem to hear something about how they may have more power density, but their thermal efficiency suffers too much to really make them widespread. Maybe when rotaries have more research put into them like the piston engine has they'll meet and even exceed the efficiency and power density of reciprocating piston engines, but right now I don't believe they're there yet. Besides which they are, as you have just implied, rather delicate as opposed to the near brash ruggedness of a RP engine. Personally I'm a gas turbine fan, but I don't see them overtaking everything and replacing all other engines anytime soon, so I figured I might as well get with something people are a little more familiar with. ;p -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Resource windfall!
I was rooting around under the house recently, trying to find a rumored stockpile of materials left over from when we built the house, and lo and behold I found it. Or something that pretended to be it, at least. I now have, in my possession, some severaldozen feet of copper piping, elbows, Y-connectors, Ts, and a good number of ball valves for same piping. As well as four 55 gallon drums, all plastic. Also in this little treasure trove was a 1/4hp motor (1730RPM) and a pair of 1/3hp motors (3300 and 1500RPM), a rather large box of electrical connectors, a small mini-breaker panel, and some three thouand feet of 12ga three conductor wire. Around fifty or so linear feet of PVC piping as well, and joints and connectors for that are easy to find. Rock on, I may not really have to buy ianything/i for a processor later. Just one question, and I haven't been able to find any mention of problems (Though I haven't exactly done an in-depth search yet) concerning using copper piping for everything. Does Methoxide have any problems with it? BD? I know the oil probably won't, and from the use of copper in a methanol condensor I hazard that it doesn't have a problem with it either. And does anyone know where I can just by pump heads, not full blown pumps? Peace out -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] methoxide solution - missing scale
Hey Brian I've run into problems with measuring lye myself, and ultimately managed to work out a loose but somewhat workable way to measure out the lye by volume. It produced some of my best results to date, too, so I think I'm safe to share it with yas. Sodium Hydroxide has a density of 2.1 grams per cubic centimeter. Since a cubic centimeter = a milliliter, you can use your beaker with mL scale on it to measure out the lye volumetrically. For a test batch with virgin oil it's going to be some incredibly small number; under 2ml, I believe. I was only doing a 300mL test batch, so I needed under a milliliter of NaOH. Using the density of NaOH, convert your titrated grams into milliliters, then measure them out volumetrically and add to your methanol as per normal. I'd suggest erring on the side of caution when measuring it out though; unless your beaker is graduated in .01mL increments it might be hard to get a truly accurate volume. I decided when I tried it to err on the low side, as an incomplete reaction I've read can be reprocessed but too much lye is worse news on the washing step. In the end though, all these guys on the list are right; there's no substitute for a good, accurate gram scale. Just picked on up myself, in fact, measures out to .1 grams with a 500g capacity. Good luck to ya! -K On 10/15/05, Brian Rodgers [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi biodieselersI am here with my wife in our kitchen working on our first titration of WVO.We have determined through heating a sample of WVO that no water ispresent. We have found a soil test kit that has several types of litmus paper. We did several tests of the litmus to determine if itwas still fairly accurate by testing a light solution of lye water,household water, distilled water and finally battery acid. We havecompared the litmus paper color change and are satisfied that we can tell the difference in major pH scales. By the way, thisexperimentation is too much fun.We have several browser windows open to the archives and conversiontables for reference. It seems the first thing I forgot to collect for this first test is a gram scale. We live 15 miles from town and ahopeful there is a way to measure the lye without making a specialtrip. Or, are we done for the day?We have a decent thermometer, 1 beaker with ml scale, two syringes with cc scales, goggles, gloves and lots of excitement.Our question is this: Can we do this first step without the scale?What else are we forgetting if a trip to town is needed?Thanks for your help. Brian Nell Rodgers___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever:http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages):http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Resource windfall!
Copper and vegetable oil: I'm not so worried about the copper but what the copper does to the fuel. Did you ever check what happened toyour fuel properties like oxidation stability and acid value? A lotof research has been done in Germany on VO (and biodiesel) fuelproperties, and who I consider as the leading experts clearly warn against using copper in connection with VO because of the catalyticeffect it has on the VO. The laboratory ASG Analytik-Service(http://www.asg-analytik.de), who were involved in the research leading to the Rape Seed Oil Fuel Standard, says that just a fewPPM of copper in VO will change the oxidation stability... [In SVOsystems] with a catalytic metal, I think you have the best conditions and environment for decomposition of the VO, and the effects it hason the fuel properties again have an impact on the engineperformance, engine conditions (lifetime) and emissions composition.-- Niels Ansø, Folkecenter, Denmark http://www.folkecenter.dk/plant-oil/plant-oil_en.htm Dang. Guess PVC it is then. Thanks for the links, they'll make for interesting reading during breaks at work. Peace out -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] methoxide solution - missing scale
Not a problem, I encourage sharing experiences and tricks. Like I said, I had some of my best results to date on test batches using this method, a nice good clear yellow color top layer and a smooth separation, and it's so far washed very nicely. At least you don't also have to contend with 76% humidity, eh? ^.~ Good luck to ya man. Let me know how it works for you, I may ultimately refine the process with an eye toward really low cost production. Or automation; easier to stop at a volume than a weight, I think. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] methoxide solution - missing scale
On 10/15/05, Brian Rodgers [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I do recall that that ambient humidity messes with the methoxidemixing. Should I wait until the rain quits to continue with the experiment? Lye is hygroscopic; it absorbs water quite readily. Yeah, I'd suggest waiting for it to quit raining, as ambient humidity increases will throw off your measurement of lye on both a mass and volumetric basis because of absorption into the pellets or grains. Now if the humidity in your house is still low, you could always quickly measure it out and put it in a sealed container with your methanol, then hustle outside to mix it; I use Mason jars to mix my methoxide in for test batches. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] methoxide solution - missing scale
On 10/15/05, Brian Rodgers [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Ok very cool I just might try it now and close everything up tightwhile working.Brian Rodgers Best of luck to ya, once more. And now I need to get back to work before they decided I'm not earning my pay. ;p -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] methoxide solution
It sounds like a great new toy, but believe me - you don't really need magnetic mixer to prepare methoxide solution :) If you want to playwith it, that's a different matter, but it's quite enough to use ordinary thick plastic HDPE bottle carefully swirling it. It takesa bit of time, but hydroxide must be completely dissolved. I remember using those things in high school Chemistry class, they were awesome! I've often contemplated (recently) how to make one of my own, improvised kinda; the ones I remember were rather small, and I'm thinking of using it as a way to keep my methoxide mixer pretty much sealed down to as few cuts as possible in the plastic; a magnetic stirrer would let me reduce it by a mixer shaft opening, after all. >From what I can tell, in essence they're just a pair of rotating magnets; one is directly rotated by a motor, and the other is rotated by the first's magnetic field. You'd need a much stronger drive magnet than stirrer magnet, I'd imagine, and a home built one would probably only have a few inches of effective separation distance, but it could probably be done. Rig up a motor on a dimmer, get an HDPE coated stirring magnet, and go at it? Sounds like fun, to me. :p -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Multi Fuel Engines
You know, reading that and several other concepts and proven designs has put an idea into my head. I was doing some library research earlier today, and stumbled across the Deltic opposed piston engines. I looked into those, and was just utterly floored. Like, whoa. is what the guy sitting beside me in the library told me I said. Those things rocked in some serious ways, with only a really complicated crankshaft balancing system keeping them from being really workable on a widespread basis. Ideas immediately started pouring through my head on how to revive the OP engine design. Then I log on to check my e-mail, and see this. Like, whoa all over again. I read everything they have on their site. And the thought hits me. A cam-driven opposed cylinder engine. Cam at one end, cam at the other, 12 cylinders in a round block, 24 pistons riding the two cams. Utterly and completely removes the crankshaft synching issues inherent to the OP design. Low/No exhaust pulse, no valve rattle, no valve timing, drastic moving parts reduction, size reduction, no flywheel needed; with all the reciprocation operating in a front-back orientation, there wouldn't really be any piston pulse to deaden; the mass of the car would do it just fine. Smooth, even rotations, approximately 12 power strokes per revolution to even out the power application. Use small bore/long throw pistons in your cylinders and it would probably even be more incredibly efficient than an inline 3-cylinder. It would be perfect for that slow burn combustion of compression ignition engines. Perfect for diesel. Even more perfect for BD. I want to build it. I ineed/i to build this. And all I can think now is God I'm a geek :p -Kurt On 10/15/05, Greg and April [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Prototype 42 hp Engine 6 inches dia. 6 inches long 42 hp at 7000 rpm 40lbs. Tested at NAVAIR PSEF Oct. 2003 http://www.regtech.com/18.html Greg H. ___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Start Up Problems
Something I keep hitting over and over in all my prelim test batches (Still haven't made one any bigger than a liter...): How's your humidity, and are you absolutely certain that your weights for the lye are accurate? I was having some huge problems with emulsions on a shake test, and with the scale I just recently purchased (Jeweler's scale, up to 500g) I discovered just how inaccurate my old one was; I was using way too much lye, and taking far too long to measure it out. It was absorbing a great deal of water from the atmosphere (70%+ humidity is a constant here). How big are your test batches? The full 2L capacity, or are you only doing 1L batches? I eventually moved to smaller batches so I could measure out my lye quicker, it helped a bit. My current test batches I mix up in a small 400mL Mason-type canning jar, 300mL of oil to about 75mL of Methanol, and just use a hot water bath to bring it to temperature, shake it for ten or fifteen minutes, put it back in the bath for ten, shake fifteen soak ten, and so on for about an hour and half. Produced some very clear, clean-looking results so far. . Have you tried heating up your wash water before doing the shake test? That also helped... I'm slowly, very slowly progressing back up to full sized test batches while I gather parts. Hoped some of this helps! -Kurt On 10/15/05, Peter Currie [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: G'day group it is with great embarrassment that l have my first post. For 3 months l have been doing test batches (lost Count how many) and still cannot past shake test. Methanol - From a drag racers 44 gallon drum - best apparently Lye - Tiny pearls 99+ - fresh - then flake Oil - supermarket virgin oil Deep cooker filled with water with thermo (bottling type to 120 deg. C ) Drill stand above 2Lt glass jar tall with narrow neck with screw top lid with hole for paint stirrer Have tried lots of combinations re mixing time (1hr to 2.5 hr) Mixing speed - slow to fast amounts of lye - 2.7g to 4.2g per lt amounts of methanol 200ml to 250ml per lt types of oil - canola , blended edible all say 100% unused After process the product separates nicely and after waiting 12-24 hours do shake test with rain water (all l have) usually it takes hours to separate with a thick layer in-between of white fluffy cloud like stuff (.5 inch thick) The pearl variety of lye dissolves quickly but is hazy whereas the flake is crystal clear. Am heating oil to 55 c then adding methoxide then stirring maint temp throughout. Have read and reread JTF site and archives but nothing leaps out as obvious, my process seems correct, my materials seem correct but l'm starting to feel Very stupid. Is there something on this side of the planet that l'm not aware of?. Also would be very keen to talk - SEE setup working in Melbourne Aust. I'm in the Dandenongs. Any advice would be appreciated, thankyou Regards Peter from Oz ___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Grey water heat recovery and low tech Solar collectors????
On 10/14/05, Mike Weaver [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I agree.Only on weeks where I do real work - splitting wood or such doI take a shower daily.Mostly every other day is fine.This is notalways true in the Summer, though.I am on the East Coast. Northeast or Southeast? Or even worse, Deep South? They're something of a requirement here in the Southeast. Humidity up around 70-80 percent all year 'round, with summertime heat indexes spiking up over 115-120F. Plus I bike to work each morning, a good 15-16 miles, and home again in the afternoon (In the middle of that heat, ugh!), so during the summer I will instead often do two shorter semi-showers; the one in the morning is more to rinse out the hair and get it manageable, with a more normal shower after I've biked in that heat. I guess though that I'm weird, cold showers are my preference. Certainly less taxing on our NG water heater, though. And cool showers are pretty effective at cleaning if you've been sweating heavily recently, I've found. Very relaxing too. Just another data point. -Kurt ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] SUV Drivers in Paris Get Wind Knocked Out of Them
On 10/11/05, Greg and April [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is it me, or is the civilian Hummer, really bigger and annoying whencompared to the military Humvee? Latest news is that the military is actually looking into hybridizing their HumVees. That would, to me, be utterly hilarious, since they already perform better and more economically for their driving conditions than any of the civilian models (Barring the H1, which was essentially military equipment repainted and sold to consumers). Other interesting thing to note: The Hummers have been getting bigger, weaker, and less fuel efficient with every new model coming out. Their performance has also degraded in every category but one or two. They're becoming less and less a real performer and more and more a fuel-hog show vehicle. I personally can't stand them, both for their size and the attitude that comes with them. Most drivers of SUVs in general act like they own the road, and it annoys me to no end. Everything is relative folks. I would hope that all those that argue against SUV's are walking or pedal cycling most of their miles. What I'm saying might be largely tongue in cheek but it is the logical extension... As wasteful as they are in transporting humans, those Hummers could well be running on bio. Respect, Gary So does this mean I can go start letting the air out of SUV tires? I bike 30 miles a day, round trip to and from work, and take the bus system whenever I'm going it's way. ^.~ Peace out -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Cummins unaware of fuel crisis?
>From what I've been able to read both in my campus library and online... it sounds almost like they were getting their test results from a poor batch of the fuel. Maybe a bad commercial mixture? It also sounds like they're doing a great deal of CTA: Covering Their Ass. If something goes wrong with one of their engines with a bio-fuel when they've recommended their use, the bad publicity will take forever to get over. They'll be branded, and not in a good way. I thought that BD itself didn't have problems with zinc and aluminum, just the methoxide? Good thing we don't use any Cummins engines. Don't even have to worry about their policy. ^.~ -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Alright, I'm stumped.
On 10/11/05, Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Oops, sorry, that message got a bit fouled up, wasn't in ASCII, second try: http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_vehicle.html#whatdo What should you do if your fuel doesn't pass the wash-test?Well, for one thing I'm certainly not giving up. Just stumped. I've licked carburetor problems, idling issues, helped rebuildtransmissions, and above all I'm paying my own way throughengineering school. I'm not letting a simple transesterificationprocess kick my butt. ^.~ It is though, isn't it? Nope, not yet. It's merely throwing obstacles in my way. It's only kicked me soundly when I decide to give up; until then, it's still a fight I can win. . Make sure you measure your Lye very carefully, I found I added to muchthe first time and smoked a blender but it was this and several other blunders that have made it easier to get along with now.Mmm... I should post pictures of what the blender looks like now. Ismoked it pretty badly, on closer inspection. Cracked/melted part of the blender drum, ate away the seal (Seriously, doesmethanol/methoxide attack silicone parts?), started to do somethingfunky to the blender blade; I'm going to guess it's an aluminumblade? Anywho, thank you for your suggestions; I'm swapping, since I'm on abit of a tight budget, from a scale/mass based measuring system forhydroxide to a volumetric one. I have small measures and cylinders abounding all around me, and very little in the way of scales.Calibrate up a couple of different measuring devices, and doeverything by volume instead of mass. Density of NaOH is 2.1 g/cm3right? Makes this whole thing easy and quicker for me. Might seem to at first but it won't. Accurate scales will make iteasier and quicker for you. Accurate scales are also currently out of my price range. I won't keep using it for long, once I have the money for said scale. I've dewatered some of my fresh oil (Got to love Wal-Mart quality,it had measurable water in it.), Why risk wasting your time? People are trying to tell you aboutremoving the variables, not adding more of them. Get some virgin oilthat doesn't have water in it. This was, supposedly. Picked up one of those quart bottles of oil, and just because I was curious (And because in this humidity, it seems ieverything/i has water in it. Ugh.) I heated it up to get anymoisture in it out. Heated it and then let it settle; there was a small, but measurable, little layer of water that settled out. and I'm going to plan on making up a batch in a small jar, about300mL total size for conservation purposes. How will you mix it and keep it hot? Irf, didn't think of that. Right, back to plan B. Anywho, it's midterm time. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Alright, I'm stumped.
On 10/10/05, Thomas Kelly [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The crappy mayonnaise sounds like soap. That's my ultimate thought, too. Added a very carefully measured amount of my methoxide, 100mL, to the reprocessing candidate in the blender. ... Anyway, five hours after reprocessing the first-run product, ... Did any additional glycerine fall out? ... Would suggest an incomplete reaction. If not, it would further suggest soap. I found just a tiny, tiny little film of glycerine down at the bottom. I mean itiny/i, so I don't believe it was an incomplete reaction that was the primary driving force behind the emulsion. It's probably my POS scale. In your case it may simply involve a better balance for measuring lye. Check out how to break emulsions at JtF. I'm going to hope that it is. I've rigged up something else to mix up a batch in (HDPE Mayo container from work that I'm currently letting air-dry, plus parts off the blender I toasted. ^.~ This stuff doesn't eat silicon caulking, does it?), and I'm going to go try a cheap scale idea from another site that uses water as a counterbalance. Humidity seems to be down today, maybe it'll work. Thanks Tom, it's pretty heartening to hear that other people have had similar problems, and it wasn't just made up to make us feel better. ^.~ With determination! -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Alright, I'm stumped.
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_vehicle.html#whatdo What should you do if your fuel doesn't pass the wash-test? Well, for one thing I'm certainly not giving up. Just stumped. I've licked carburetor problems, idling issues, helped rebuild transmissions, and above all I'm paying my own way through engineering school. I'm not letting a simple transesterification process kick my butt. ^.~ Make sure you measure your Lye very carefully, I found I added to much the first time and smoked a blender but it was this and several other blunders that have made it easier to get along with now. Mmm... I should post pictures of what the blender looks like now. I smoked it pretty badly, on closer inspection. Cracked/melted part of the blender drum, ate away the seal (Seriously, does methanol/methoxide attack silicone parts?), started to do something funky to the blender blade; I'm going to guess it's an aluminum blade? Anywho, thank you for your suggestions; I'm swapping, since I'm on a bit of a tight budget, from a scale/mass based measuring system for hydroxide to a volumetric one. I have small measures and cylinders abounding all around me, and very little in the way of scales. Calibrate up a couple of different measuring devices, and do everything by volume instead of mass. Density of NaOH is 2.1 g/cm3 right? Makes this whole thing easy and quicker for me. I've dewatered some of my fresh oil (Got to love Wal-Mart quality, it had measurable water in it.), and I'm going to plan on making up a batch in a small jar, about 300mL total size for conservation purposes. Tight budget and all that. I'll keep you all posted, if you'd like; have a couple of ideas for tinkering once I have the basic process down pat. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Alright, I'm stumped.
Okay, so earlier this week I tried my first batch. Didn't go so hot, it was still a little cloudy after I was done. Emulsed like crap when I tried to wash it, to the point of a full 50% of the test wash ending up a crappy mayonnaise consistency. To date, after 36+ hours of settling, I barely have 100mL of clear upper level separated out of a 300mL test wash. Okay, so I figured I screwed up along the line somewhere. I had some doubts as to the unused status of the oil, so I looked up the directions and reprocessed a liter of it in a blender. I mixed up a large enough batch of the 10% methanol blend suggested for reprocessing for my little scale to be accurate (It only measures in 2g increments. Must find a better scale!) and I did it inside where the humidity was only around 60% (As opposed to exterior humidity of around 90%+) and quickly, only taking a bare 45sec to a minute from the time I opened the cannister to the time NaOH hit the methanol in the blender bowl. It mixed rather nicely, and I pulsed it's mixing off and on to keep the blender cool during the fifteen minutes it took me to be confident everything had fully dissolved. It ended up a very islightly/i cloudy mixture, but nothing settled into the bottom over the next hour. During the course of that hour I set up the other stuff, measuring out a liter of my initial product, putting it in a second blender (Just bought it, cheap $14 one), getting that all set up; it was still slightly cloudy when I put it in the blender. During this same time I also measured out 500mL of just-purchased canola oil, intending to process a real minibatch after I reprocessed some of my initial product. Added a very carefully measured amount of my methoxide, 100mL, to the reprocessing candidate in the blender. Snapped the lid on, made sure everything was secure, and let her go. Twenty minutes of blenderized thrashing commenced, during which time the whole slew became a kind of milky yellow-amber color, with a brown tint to it. Cut the blender off, poured everything inside it out into a glass jar with a cap. Set that aside and went into the house, washed the blender cup thoroughly, inside and out. I towelled it off, then let it air-dry for a good five or ten minutes inside the house. Took it back outside, put it back together, and added my fresh oil to the cup. Drew out another 50mL of my 10% grade solution, adding another 50mL of my methanol source to bring it up to the requisite 20% volume. Since the grams of lye per liter were never changed, just the volume of methanol, I reasoned that doing this was safe and would work since I was just bringing the lye concentration down to normal by diluting the solution with more methanol. Added this to the batch of fresh oil, secured the cap, turned the blender on and walked inside to wash my hands again and get something to drink. Ten minutes later I walked back out, and the blender was utterly empty. Bottom end failure on my cheap blender; apparently I hadn't let the motor cool long enough, so the heat ran up the shaft and when combined with the heat of mixing it I melted the plastic. Bummer. So I don't have that as a comparison. Anyway, five hours after reprocessing the first-run product, I drew out another 100mL and added 100mL of hot (120~F) water. Gently swirled it at first, but that wasn't even mixing water and product so I went to a slightly more vigorous shaking. And it did the same thing. Emulsed like crap. I have a 200mL jar of two-tone mayonnaise. The upper layer is tinged yellow-brown, the bottom layer is pure white. Ummm, help? -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] First batch problems, second batch attempt.
Right, mixed up batch one last night. Unfortunately it was pretty improvised; One I need to get a better scale (This one only measures down to the nearest two grams, how screwy is that?), and two I need to get a dryer place to work. Pictures! Batch number one was made in an improvised Drill-press/paintmixer/ 5gal bucket setup. Not pretty, it used a water bath from a propane ring and a turkey fryer pot to keep it a steady 135F the whole hour. a href=''">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/VasriiHuntress/ConversionSubject/Biodiesel/First_Fuel.jpg'A sample of the first batch made, after 15 hours of separation/a It looked alright to my inexperienced eye, so I decanted it off, settled what was left in some jars for a few hours, poured that into a bigger jar (I'm going to let it settle overnight again, and redecant and so forth.). a href=''">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/VasriiHuntress/ConversionSubject/Biodiesel/Lineup.jpg'Lineup of products/a >From left to right: Initial decanted product, remnant slurry that I didn't want to try and catch during the initial decanting, and a direct pour of the bottom layer (Hopefully the glycerine layer?). Right, set all that stuff aside, poured some into a clean, dry mason jar, added about 30% water to it... and tried washing, gently swirled. a href=''">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/VasriiHuntress/ConversionSubject/Biodiesel/Wash_test.jpg'This happened./a The one on the left is the wash attempt with a miniscule amount of vinegar added (As per Pelly instructions), and the one of the right is straight water/fuel. Yuck. Emulsion city. They'd been sitting there for about forty five minutes when the picture was taken. So I set all that aside, and set about to make up a second batch. Got permission to scrounge up the blender and convert it to my uses, so I used that instead of my ramshackle setup. Measured my lye more quickly and more accurately (Stepped up my production volume for methoxide, into a level where 3.5g and the 2 gram increments coincided: 14 grams to 800mL of methanol. I put the rest of it aside in another glass jar when I was done.), and mixed it up in the blender. Added my oil, mixed at increasing speeds for an hour; that thing got hot, let me tell you. I ended up with this: a href=''">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/VasriiHuntress/ConversionSubject/Biodiesel/Second_Batch.jpg'Right after stopping the blender/a I set a jar of the new beside a jar of the old: a href=''">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/VasriiHuntress/ConversionSubject/Biodiesel/Comparison.jpg'Settled overnight (Left) Vs Just mixed (Right)/a. So... comments or suggestions? I'm going to try reprocessing the first batch, after I get some more methanol. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] And now I start.
Alright, finally found a small-volume supply of Methanol around here, so I have enough sitting right beside me for my first couple liter trial batches. PEAK Gas line antifreeze and fuel dryer. I checked the label, and it contains a nice big warning Danger: Poison! Contains Methyl Alcohol, CAS 67-56-1 Armed with some fresh peanut oil (We use it for our fryer when we do turkeys at Thanksgiving, so we have a big five gallon bucket of it.), and I'm heading out in just a while to get a measuring glass and some other things. I'll probably work up one of the test batch processors, and use the fryer pot as a water bath for the temperature control; it's big enough, and the HDPE container I scrounged fits tightly into it. Should have some results tonight, I hope! Now bravely do I sally forth to a make my first charge against the dreaded beast! Onward! -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Okay, afterwards.
Just took it down off my mixing assembly about half an hour ago; I was going to use a blender, but then ended up rigging up something else using the drill press and a paint mixer because the car was not around to run to the store. Four liter batch, and only because I had to fill it that full so the mixer would be fully submerged. 4L Fresh corn oil (Not peanut, I was wrong earlier. Dang labels.), 800mL of methanol, and 14g of NaOH. These are the right numbers for this size batch, yes? It does use 3.5g/L NaOH for fresh oil, and 3.5g+titration amount per Liter for used? Is it supposed to smell kinda sweet? I have that oil smell, but it's still kinda sweet over all. Looks alright, kinda a semi-cloudy yellowish color; like I said, I just took it off the mixer, I'll check it again in the morning before I go to work. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Biodiesel in SC
I would, but the first vehicle it will be going into is my dad's F250, which is still under warranty. A little talking to with the dealer who sold it said they would still honor the warranty, even if I put B100 in the tank; good people, they are. So an SVO system is out, at least for the moment. ~_~ -KOn 10/5/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Have you though about using SVO and modifing a vehicle instead of doing the BD?Michael LendzianCINS Network Support TeamColumbus State UniversityCINS/Center for Commerce Technology Room 105706.569.3044 (help desk) *Raises a hand.* I'm another startup in SC. Upstate, Anderson/Greenville area. I too would be keenly interested in going and checking out someone else's setup, or maybe just having someone around to lend a hand if I try to blow something up on accident. (A joke, I assure you. Though it might be cool, be one of the first to actually blow something up instead of just catch it on fire. ^.~) Having a hard time finding Methanol; only place I've seen that actually carries it wants nine bloody dollars a gallon for it. And it's an hour's drive away. Eight local petroleum/heating oil/propane distributors, and not a single one of them carries or sells methanol, dangit. Peace all -K ___Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.orgBiofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever:http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Still looking
Hey Bobby, same boat. Anderson/Pendleton Area. Closest thing I've found so far is $6.60/gallon... or so. And they'll have to order it, which of course will inevitably drive up the cost. Pool our resources? -KOn 10/5/05, Bobby Clark [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In upstate South Carolina near Clemson, still looking for a methanolsupplier for aroun $5/gallon or less. Anyone know of one?Thanks,Bobby Clark___ Biofuel mailing listBiofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever:http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] SUCCESS!!
On 10/3/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am in East Texas, and I can buy a 55 gal drum of methonal for $110. That's$2.00/gal. This is the guy that supplies the race track guys. $5.00/gal sure sounds expensive. I already bought jut 5 gal for a guy here for just$2.50/gal. So I think you can do better if you shop around. Well, you are in East Texas. Part of the Gulf Coast is in East Texas. It's possible your supplier is getting his stash more directly from companies that deliver to ports in the Gulf, therefore less cost is being added to ship and distribute it. Cheapest I've found locally, up in the Greenville SC area, is $4/gallon. I'm going to see if I can work something out with the local heating oil distributor, who used to carry it but then stopped due to lack of demand (Wish I'd gotten into this five years ago, I could have picked up some half-thousand gallons of Methanol for $0.50/gallon! ); the race crowd moved elsewhere, so they didn't need it anymore. Their rep said that if we can work out some kind of deal, they'll start carrying it again. And hey, with the way we use it... $5/gallon isn't that bad. Still cheaper than gas, by a long shot, especially if you recover excesses. . -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] lookin for grants and a few more questions
From what I understand, well, at least as it was explained to me by the DOT here in South Carolina, is that ianything/i used as a fuel on the roads has to have the road tax paid on it. It doesn't matter what it's being sold as, additive, fuel, or even tank cleaner, if you use it as your primary fuel source on the road and they find out about it, you will be fined and backtaxed (In the event of it not already having been taxed. I think technically you're supposed to pay the tax on any fuel you produce, as well, but I don't know about any kind of cut-off or buffer you have to fillbefore paying. Maybe it's something that could be individually worked out? I found all this out when I was looking into powering a car on Kerosene, which at the time was half the price of unleaded gasoline. I've been toying with the idea of, once I'm up and experienced with this, establishing a non-profit business to sell BD at-cost to local merchants and the bus systems (Schools and otherwise) just to help them free up some money to work on improvements they need to work on. But I'd have to hit some pretty massive capacities to be able to do that, thus the experienced part of the requirements. (The CATbus system alone burns through some two thousand gallons per week, by what I've figured.)) On 10/3/05, Evergreen Solutions [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is anyone familiar with any grants, (federal, preferably) for BD research/production? I'm sure they are out there, I just need to find them. Also, does anyone know where to look for the tax-break info for companies using BD, and what percentage BD they need to use to receive the benefit?And, lastly, I know you can make some number of gallons per year before you are expected to pay taxes. What's that number? And if you sell even 1 gallon, you're responsible for all the associated taxes, regardless of how many gallons you've made, right? I'm wondering, what if you sold it as an additive to people. Like Come pick up 5 gallons and add it to your fuel tank, since it's sold as an additive, think you still need to pay diesel taxes on it? Even if people ran it as B100, if you sold it as an additive, might you get out of liability? That would be like someone running drigas as their only fuel, legally I mean. Yes? No? Comments?Thanks!___Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.orghttp://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever:http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.htmlSearch the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Supplemental Heat by BD or byproduct
On 10/4/05, Darryl McMahon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I can only assume these are large homes.I live in Ottawa, Canada.South Carolinais where our snowbirds go in the winter to get away from the cold.My annual natural gas heating bill, including hot water, is about Cdn$600, approximatelyUS$500.It is a reasonably small house though.Heating season here is October toMay.(But it's getting shorter courtesy of global warming.) I have some tips for you on reducing you heating bill.http://www.econogics.com/en/natgas.htmYou should also visit Hakan's site at http://www.energysavingnow.com/ It is a fairly large house, five split-levels (Not full fledged floors, but half-floors arranged on a staggered basis). Because of the split-level nature, it has a lot of wide open airspace inside. And wide open airspaces are not conducive to good heating, or really even cooling, as they're just massive pockets of unused air that needs to be heated or cooled regardless. I'll agree immediately that we could have designed our house better. However, we do have insulation (R14) in all the exterior walls, and R14 blown insulation (I think that's the R-value, I'll have to check again) in the attic and any roof airspace that isn't inhabited. The basement, where I live, is easily one of the easiest places to cool (No south facing at all, and its only windows sit underneath a wraparound porch connected to the floor above mine.), but it's a pain in the butt to heat because it's made of concrete under sheetrock and, again, has no south facing. I won't get any radiant solar heat in my room, most of the others will. Luckily, I prefer cooler climates than we get down here anyway (I'm still wearing shorts when it's sub-50's F down here.), so this isn't a big problem for me. The rest of the house tends toward large window spaces to let it a lot of natural light, but at the same time these large windows allow heat to escape. It's economical at times, but during the winter it bites. We did install inert-gas pocket insulated double-pane windows when we built it; I'll look up the R-value again if necessary. It's about a seven year old house, now; might be a little older than that. Concrete foundation, wood construction from there up. Vinyl siding (We originally almost went for brick, which would have been better, but it was too expensive at the time.), and asphalt shingles on the roof. The roof pitch on the south side of the house is nearly perfect (It's a huge expanse of sharply pitched roof) for a solar water heater setup, or even photovoltaic panels; it stays rather well lit during every season, and thesharp pitch makes its surface area enormous. It's a house with potential, but we don't have the money to really exploit it right now, so... Looking for other options. Such as BD (Working on my final little set up to make some test batches today, should have results in tomorrow. ^_^) in the central heating and such. Thanks for the sites, I'll check them out later when I'm actually at home. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Biodiesel in SC
*Raises a hand.* I'm another startup in SC. Upstate, Anderson/Greenville area. I too would be keenly interested in going and checking out someone else's setup, or maybe just having someone around to lend a hand if I try to blow something up on accident. (A joke, I assure you. Though it might be cool, be one of the first to actually blow something up instead of just catch it on fire. ^.~) Having a hard time finding Methanol; only place I've seen that actually carries it wants nine bloody dollars a gallon for it. And it's an hour's drive away. Eight local petroleum/heating oil/propane distributors, and not a single one of them carries or sells methanol, dangit. Peace all -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Biodiesel Storage
On 10/2/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I just made my first successful test batches. Now, I want to make about 200 gallons and store it . Can I store the BD in plastic barrels? I stored some Dino Diesel in a white plastic barrel once and wound up with 50 gallons of diesel on the barn floor because it ate the seams out of the barrel. Should I store it in steel barrels? Rob I don't know what kind of barrel your petrodiesel was stored in, but from what I understand HDPE containers can stand up to the rigors of BD. Or just about anything else. JtF's a href="" href="http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make2.html#plastics">http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make2.html#plasticsIdentifying Plastics/a section has the symbol/code used to identify HDPE containers. That little number two inside a recycling symbol. Where to get HDPE barrels for cheap/free I don't know; I plan on using agricultural tanks to store fuel for Dad's truck, when I get that far. They're HDPE, and about $400 for a 300gallon tank around here. Hope that helps. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Supplemental Heat by BD or byproduct
On 10/3/05, Paul S Cantrell [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: iI live near Charleston, SC USA about 40 miles from the coast,/i so it gets cold for a few weeks or a couple of months depending on your definition of cold. Anyway heating season is about November to March and natural gas prices are through the roof. I'm really keen on what you find out as a solution here, too. I'm also an SC-er, Upstate, near Clemson/Anderson. Similar scenario, centralized heating with a forced air natural gas furnace in the basement, and we're staring an estimated two grand in heating costs for the winter. (Wide open house. Dumb idea when it freezes regularly during the winter. Heating all that airspace sucks up the gas. x.x) So if you get suggestions or ideas, please share? I'll be keeping an ear out myself and send some your way if I hear them. -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Cheap and easy filtering of WVO
On 10/2/05, Evergreen Solutions [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sorry, it is late and I just accidentally closed some scripting that I'd been working on for several hours w/o saving it. The idea is that pushing air past the under side of the filter but above the oil is will keep it from vapor locking. That's the best I can explain for now. Quite alright, I've been there myself before. Just not with scripting. :p Sounds almost like we have similiar ideas, at least once you get past my instinctive ramping up into something mechanical. Like I said, I got the idea from a filter in the lab that uses running water to generate the vacuum; maybe the moving air could have the same effect? And a vacuum pump might be slightly less efficient than a pressure pump, but would require less setup than the pressure pump would to achieve the same effect. I'd think that the vacuum system would actually be safer, since with a pressurized air system pushing it through the filter you might run the risk of suspending oxygen and other atmospheric gasses in the oil; it might not be bad for the reaction, but it is a set of unknown variables you don't need. ;p I'm talking like...3lbs over 1atm. Notevenbicycle pressures. Helping gravity. You get the idea. Also, I really don't suspect that oxygen would be NEARLY as dangerous to the solution as wateror even humid air. Although high pressure injection is a neat idea, hadn't thought of that. It was in a paper that I was reading on different esters. It basically separated them into Drying and non-Drying esters, and said that some vegetable-derived esters could easily become drying if there is too much oxygen suspended in them. So, a fuel that dries in your lines and pump would be, I'd think, a bad thing; I'm paranoid though, it probably wouldn't hurt that much. Better safe than sorry? On a purely coincidental side benefit note, pulling the oil through via vacuum might just pull a small portion of the water out, too, through exposure to under-vapor pressure air as it falls and collects. Why? I'd think that forcing the product through a filter under vacuum would be more likely to 1) force-clog the filter or 2) allow some particulate through just because you're sucking it through the filter. I'd *think* unless it was fancy filter, the vacuum would cause the filter to bow, which would in turn open the meshcompromizing filtration quality. I was just thinking slightly positive pressure on top (could also bow the filter, but we're talking a larger surface area) could likely be done w/ a small aquarium filter and a gasket. A vacuum uses a whole lot more electricity. It only uses a whole lot more electricity if you are shooting for a real vacuum. Just making a small/moderate pressure difference is like running an air compressor; I've actually seen some vacuum pumps that ran more efficiently than air compressors, just because they weren't trying to make such a big pressure difference through forcible compression. Just increase the ambient air pressure an almost imperceptible amount by removing a small volume of air. If you want to be really cheap, hook it up to a pedal-powered reciprocating piston pump. Get your workout and filter your oil all at once. ^.~ Might look into building one of those myself. As for why it would possibly remove a bit of water, I'm thinking it probably would (especially with warmed oil?) simply because with the decreased air pressure there is also going to be a decrease in humidity; I guess similar to vacuum recovery of methanol described in one of the processor pages? Lower the vapor pressure artificially, and more will evaporate? Might get some of that free standing water out of the oil, especially if you added some energy to the system in the form of mild heating. You might possibly be able to prevent filter clogging by having a multiple stage filter, and only have your last layer exposed to the vacuum. By that point all the large chunks are removed, and you're just getting the fine stuff. Might want to clean the filter more often in this instance, though, to prevent buildup and tears. Just thoughts, anyway. I think Keith hit the nail on the head about the importance of allowing the product to settle and using elevated drains though. I would try to explain better, but my vision is getting blurry. I like gravity. Gravity is free. ^.^ -K ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
