I've been working on a video that shows the weigh heat weigh method of determining water content in vegetable oil. It's been a struggle to get the resolution and image quality I wanted, but I think I'm really close on this one. I've actually uploaded five or six versions to You Tube with a slight improvement on each upload. I've even been working on improving it just a little more. I'll upload that one to You Tube in a few days.

I'm proposing a new section for this web site,"How I Make Biodiesel". A place where you, the experienced homebrewer, have the chance to relate your experience to the beginner.  The idea is that you tell your biodiesel story. We'll give you any help you need to get your experiences across.

The best way to do this is to break it up into steps. In each step you will write at least a paragraph explaining your system. We will break this into four steps:

1) Oil collections
How do you collect your oil?
Who do you collect your oil from?
Anything you feel is important about your oil collections

2) Oil preperations
What do you do to your oil, if anything, after you bring it home and before you load it into the processor?

3) Processing into biodiesel
Describe your processor. Describe your recipe and processing methods.

4) Washing or purifying your biodiesel
Describe how you refine your raw biodiesel into a finshed product. Do you water wash? how? do you dry wash? how?

5) Storing and Using your biodiesel
Once you have finished your biodiesel, what do you do with it? does it go straight from processor to vehicle, or thorugh a storage tank?

The more details and pictures you can provide at each step, the easier it will be for the beginner will be able to learn from you. In the end, that's what this site is all about. Learning how to make biodiesel.

Someone asked about copper and biodiesel again over on the infopop forum. It's a question that has gotten a lot of different answers over the years and one of those subjects where, "It works for me" is used repeatedly even when people post pictures of green biodiesel.

One of the ASTM tests for biodiesel is ASTM D130, The Copper Strip Corrosion test. It has been called a worthless test for biodiesel because all biodiesel passes it. When used on diesel, the test is an indication of sulfer in the diesel. Biodiesel does not normally have sulfur in it.

Gel Point, Cloud Point, Pour Point. These are the bane of biodiesel. It is the the cause of winter nightmares for homebrewers. It's the reason we leave jars of fuel on the stoop all winter, and the reason why our trucks stop dead in the coldest winter. Most biodiesel has a rather high cloud point. It will gel up quicker than diesel so we will either stop using it or mix it with diesel.

On the vegetableoildiesel.co.uk forum, they have come up with the AAF method. It basically is you reverse the process around. Add methoxide to the reactor first, then add hot oil slowly to the methoxide.  It speeds up the reaction giving finished product faster than when the other method is used.

BQ-9000 Program for Supply Chain Management

The biodiesel industry has developed a voluntary quality control program called BQ-9000 for producers and distributors to ensure biodiesel is produced according to ASTM specifications and ensure that consistent procedures are followed to prevent contamination and degradation during distribution, storage, and blending. It is managed by an independent organization, the National Biodiesel Accreditation Commission. Several engine manufacturers recommend the use of biodiesel from BQ-9000 certified sources. Consumers can avoid the need for independent testing by purchasing biodiesel fuels from certified distributors.