Onsite Storeage drum ideas? - Diesel Forum

PutEr2DaWood · 11-18-2005, 02:53 PM

Ive got a supplier lined up, gunna leave a 55 gal steel drum out there. My question is, how are you guys setting up the drums? I was thinking a band clamp, some wire mesh and a lid on a hinge. Any Ideas? what am I missing? is the mesh overkill? What have you guys run into?

Thanks

Spencnaz · 11-18-2005, 04:06 PM

Have you talked with the restaurant management about them putting their used oil in the 5 gallon plastic jugs they get the oil in?

I do that with my supplier, and I pick up about 10 gallons a week from them. It avoids alot of mess and you can use the plastic jugs (after they're washed out with hot soap and water) for mixing your methoxide up.

PutEr2DaWood · 11-18-2005, 04:40 PM

very good idea. i have one REAL small source that does that, makes it nice. I do have a lot of cubies pieling up at the moment, but its easy and manageable. I guess what drove me to the mass storeage unit idea is thats what the restraunt is used too. I haven't seen how they empty the friers, but i imagin that would work just fine. I guess I'll have to feel em out. There saying they have a huge weekly volume. So I'd still like to hear the ideas....

Thx

Spencnaz · 11-18-2005, 04:45 PM

I tried the mass storage idea too, the only beef I had with it was the pumping, and the transfer to the truck and all the hassle.

This way I just pick up two cubies a week, keep a couple of cubies that are clean and throw the rest in the recycle bin.

Where are you getting your oil from? Stay away from burger and donut shops. The burger places really cook their oil hard, and donut places really never change it (plus the fact it's shortening and hydrogenated, it will solidify in cold temperatures).

As they pour it into the cubies some will filter it thru a coffee filter like membrane to remove any crud from it before the renderer comes to pick it up.

PutEr2DaWood · 11-18-2005, 05:26 PM

itsa bar. pretty popular place. They change 3x a week and titrated out at 2ml from a dip in thier current dumpster.

I did learn the lesson of testing. I picked up 100 gallons (I wasn't ready but didnt want to scare them off) and 50 of it was water and 15 of it was food. after separating and everything, they titrated out at 15 ml. Now I test b4....

Spencnaz · 11-18-2005, 06:10 PM

OUCH! Yeah I'd make sure you test the oil pretty thoroughly before processing.

I put the oil I collect in a 55 gallon settling tank at my processing site. Then I let it sit for a couple of weeks, rotating in fresh WVO as I consume it for biodiesel production.

Most of the water and crumbules will settle out fairly quickly if you just leave it alone and draw off the upper 2/3rds of the tank.

PutEr2DaWood · 11-18-2005, 06:26 PM

[ QUOTE ]
OUCH! Yeah I'd make sure you test the oil pretty thoroughly before processing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh yeah, I learned my lesson. anything more than a cubeie gets tested on site.

NOW here's an idea. You setup a collection with a good source, say you get a bad batch from em once a yearish. I would feel obligated to pick it up (and of course tell them about it) but would you pump it into a renderers dumpster to get rid of it? The renderers shouldn;t care, and the business useing the dumpster shouldnt care as long as they have enough room to suit thier needs? decent way to get rid of it I guess...

My settleing tank is a bit diffrent. I had a 500 gallon transfer tank layin around doin nothin (freebie w/o baffles Im sure) so I put a sight tube and drain on it to drain off the water/crud. Should be marginally crud free from my prefiltering. I placed it within a couple feet of a woodstove to, so theres some heat gettin at it. Im sure I'll be re-addressing my prefiltering setup soon enough, but i think it'll work pretty well for now.