Buying Bio from a private source

[kainers]

Got a call from a friend today who has been brewing for a couple years and offered to sell me bio at 2 bucks a gallon cause he is makeing more than he is useing.

Good deal or not.I burned WVO and diesel 50/50 in the summer but never bio.

Mike

[Hoarsnest]

Compared to commerical pump prices, sure its a good deal. Compared to the $.50 to $1.00 per gallon cost of brewing your own, not so good.

If you decide to buy from him, make sure the qualty is good; That it has been thoroughly washed, etc.

Shawn

[macinco]

"Compared to the $.50 to $1.00 per gallon cost of brewing your own, not so good."

I am in the middle of the price range above for expendable material costs only (per gallon) (methanol and KOH).

I can only assume the cost range listed above doesn't include water, electricity and (most significant) labor. There is a fair amount of time spent collecting WVO, brewing, washing and drying/filtering this stuff. So if he charged you (e.g.) ~$1/gallon he would be covering his material costs only, and giving you free labor.

Another angle: There is little difference in the labor between brewing a 100 gallon batch and a 20 gallon batch (assuming the reactor, wash and dry tanks are sized appropriately.) There is some difference though, mostly on the collection of WVO, but it also takes more time to heat (waiting while drinking beer time?), etc.

I was thinking ~buck a gallon (above material cost) is fair. So that would put me at about $1.75/gallon if I was selling excess.

There is my 2 cents

[kainers]

Thanks for the responses.He has been brewing for atleast a year now so I think he has perfected it.Maybe not.I was just sticker shock at 2 bucks a gallon knowing what is involved cost and time.

I won't brew my own cause I am a scardy cat with the chemicals and I also lost my 2 oil pick ups due to heavy work load and not being able to go get the oil in a timely manner.


Thanks again

Mike

[tempforce]

if i lived over there and his bio looked and tested good.
i would buy it for 1.75-2.25/gallon.
my diesel is costing me around 2.80-2.90/gallon. (i haven't checked in a few days).
get a sample of his fuel and test it for water, ethanol, lye residue, ect.
before filling up.

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[waterdude]

Friend or good friend? If it is the same fuel that he is filling his diesel with, then I wouldn't worry. Make sure it isn't his difficult oil that he is batching up separately.

His bio should be cleaner than the WVO that you were already using, that stuff worries me.

$2.00 sounds like a great deal, he is giving you a good price while cutting down his expenses.

--Hugh

[dssamp]

I agree..good price. There is a fair amount of time involved that none of us that brew seem to account for...probably because we don't want to know anyway. I've been doing this for a couple of years and am still amazed whenever I complete a batch. However I don't count the time I spend getting the oil, getting the KOH and Methanol, or the time I spend tinkering with the system to make it better or changing out parts, pumps or something. So, bottom line if you can buy for $2.00 and it is selling for 2.50 or more, how can you go wrong?
Hay to Marky too. I'm Dave from Fountain where you got your first start up Methanol and a couple of barrels. Sounds like you're doing pretty good up there..

[macinco]

"Hay to Marky too. I'm Dave from Fountain where you got your first start up Methanol and a couple of barrels. Sounds like you're doing pretty good up there.. "

Hi ya Dave. I brewed fuel with your startup all summer and used VERY little pump fuel until middle of November. I am starting back up... but this cooler weather makes it a lot tougher for me (outdoors). Believe it or not, my best processor is still the standpipe barrel I got from you. Brewed 22 gallons last Friday night, and it took forever to heat up (uninsulated, cool out etc.) I had it washed out pretty good by Sunday, but there it sits. Washing was tougher and I am sure drying will be too. (I am too cheap to buy a hot water heater...LOL) I am going to make a processor (insulated) out a 75 gallon WellXTrol well tank (75 gallon size) so I can brew ~60 gallons at a crack. It'll take some work though. Everything about this is tougher in cool/cold weather.

[kainers]

Family acquaintance.He closed his business down and doesn't travel as much so he has a abundance of fuel.Fuel here is 2.89 on pac pride and 2.79 at some pumps.Hopefully he hasn't found another interested party.I'll call him in the morn.

Thanks again

Mike