Biopowered - vegetable oil and biodiesel forum
Biodiesel => Biodiesel equipment => Topic started by: BD on December 06, 2013, 09:31:42 PM
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I know you've probably heard this many times but...
Whats the average cost of a DIY 125L processor?
Just doing a bit of research for a possible project.
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Welcome to our bio world.
That question is the same as "how long's a piece of string".
It all depends on your budget. The reactor can be a bucket and stick to an all bells and whistles masterpiece.
How much do you want to spend?
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Hi BD,
Welcome to the wiki and forum.
I think you already have an inkling as to what the answer is going to be!
It very much depends on you capabilities in plumbing, fabrication, and simple electrics, your access to various bits required for the build, ability to scrounge them, or how lucky you are at bagging bargains on ebay.
Assuming it's a positive answer to most of the above and that you want to build a basic GL type processor you could be looking at £250 -300.
You've made a great start by asking on here rather than going out and buying a commercial unit. Steer clear of them most are not all they're cracked up to be. Study the wiki and ask on here before you jump in and you'll get a low cost and most importantly safe processor.
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No such thing as an average cost.
Contact Jamesrl on this forum for all your requirements. You wont be disappointed with the price, or indeed the quality, of what you receive.
I see he's just replied before I did.
Send hima PM
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Welcome.
As above but first decide what you want to do. Does the vehicle you plan to use need first class bio or will it be happy with less than perfect.
The best thing you could do is to visit someone near you who makes bio so you understand the process and see how they do it.
I am near worcester but there will be others nearer to you.
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Before considering a processor you will need to ensure that you can feed it. Do you have a supply of oil sorted?
It's becoming increasingly difficult to secure collections ... not impossible, but you may have to work at it.
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If you want to see a jamesrl unit in action or at rest then pop yourself up the M69. You're more than welcome to a visit, a cup of tea and you'll leave my house as many others have with information overload.
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Hi and welcome.
Pencil yourself in for two or three visits as after the first you'll spend a week or two trying to make sense of things.
It will become clearer on subsequent visits.
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If you want it quick, you'll have to pay for it. If you can wait around, and collect parts slowly, when they come up cheap, or free, it'll be cheaper.
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If you want it quick, you'll have to pay for it. If you can wait around, and collect parts slowly, when they come up cheap, or free, it'll be cheaper.
You have a good point, however it needs to be weighed up against the cost of buying dino (pump diesel) until the first batch is produced, with that in mind a JRL (jamesrl) unit becomes cheaper than you think.
This does depend on if you're running veg at present or not.
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If you want it quick, you'll have to pay for it. If you can wait around, and collect parts slowly, when they come up cheap, or free, it'll be cheaper.
You have a good point, however it needs to be weighed up against the cost of buying dino (pump diesel) until the first batch is produced, with that in mind a JRL (jamesrl) unit becomes cheaper than you think.
This does depend on if you're running veg at present or not.
Aye. That's true.
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Wow thanks for the great response I didn't expect so many replies so quickly!
The project (which isn't a definite yet) would be for an old transit/ ambulance. The plan is to use it to drive around Europe with a processor in the back and make the fuel as we go. Obviously the processor will be taken out and operated outside or used in a trailer so as to reduce the health risks etc. so the oil would come from restaurants etc around different countries.
This is also why I'd need to make it myself and bespoke to ensure I can fix it and can make it appropriate for the scenario e.g. fit in a van/ trailer.
I was expecting that sort of price range up to £500 so thats great to know thanks.
Also thanks for the invitation to visit your processor I will take you up on it in the new year i expect! Many Thanks!
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If I was going to have a mobile plant, I would be looking into cavitation processing. Not really tried and tested yet mind, at least not be us. Depends whether you want the hassle of building and testing it I suppose.
If your talking about and old Transit, pre 2000, smiley face, You do know that they will run on straight veg, don't you?
Certainly your options on what oil you can use increase dramatically when making bio, but then they do with a heated tank aswell, which would be very simple compared to a mobile processor.
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The plan is to use it to drive around Europe with a processor in the back and make the fuel as we go.
Mmmmmmmmmm! A great idea in theory but practical, I ain't too sure.
Aquiring chemicals, power and disposing of the byproducts.
I can't see a campsite allowing you to hold and use toxic/very flammable liquid.
Stick to vegging.
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The plan is to use it to drive around Europe with a processor in the back and make the fuel as we go.
Mmmmmmmmmm! A great idea in theory but practical, I ain't too sure.
Aquiring chemicals, power and disposing of the byproducts.
I can't see a campsite allowing you to hold and use toxic/very flammable liquid.
Stick to vegging.
All of what the grumpy old bloke said plus, don't forget the law will be different in different countries ... you may not be able to make road fuel legally in many.
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What Grumpy and Stumpy said, as well, also.
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I agree with Grumpy, Stumpy and Greasy.
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So why for I labeled grumpy old git then?
I ain't not neva grumpy, sarcy, pi$$ taking but grumpy nah.
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And why am I stumpy now?
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And why am I stumpy now?
http://www.biopowered.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1693.0/topicseen.html
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And why am I stumpy now?
I never said you were, that was that KH bloke, I merely enquired as to whether he had a new name for him.
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Hot water tank and immersion, £200, timber, £100, copper pipe, brass fittings and ball valves £200, PID controller, switches and various other electrical bits £100, PVC tube £20, solder flux and gas £30, subtotal £650, £100 allowance for mistakes along the way, £100 for a few oil drums for your settling tank and wvo storage and that's £850. Call it a grand and you might come in under budget which will give you a bit of money for methanol £150 and Kaoh £50. And then you're back at a grand again.
Then you'll probably find yourself upgrading your shed a bit unless you already have water drains and elec.
I could probably build it again for half what I spent first time round, but you pay like that for your education.
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And why am I stumpy now?
http://www.biopowered.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1693.0/topicseen.html
Oh that ... the phrase little things please little minds springs to the fore, but probably not the best one under the circumstances!
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Hot water tank and immersion, £200, timber, £100, copper pipe, brass fittings and ball valves £200, PID controller, switches and various other electrical bits £100, PVC tube £20, solder flux and gas £30, subtotal £650, £100 allowance for mistakes along the way, £100 for a few oil drums for your settling tank and wvo storage and that's £850. Call it a grand and you might come in under budget which will give you a bit of money for methanol £150 and Kaoh £50. And then you're back at a grand again.
Then you'll probably find yourself upgrading your shed a bit unless you already have water drains and elec.
I could probably build it again for half what I spent first time round, but you pay like that for your education.
Oh yeah, we were talking about processors .. I forgot!
Are they your actual build costs? I assume it all new kit?
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Oh that ... the phrase little things please little minds springs to the fore, but probably not the best one under the circumstances!
Mmmmmmmmmmmm, yes, be very careful with your clichés.
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I could probably build it again for half what I spent first time round.
And so you should, you must have bought the most expensive stuff you could find.
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And why am I stumpy now?
http://www.biopowered.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1693.0/topicseen.html
Oh that ... the phrase little things please little minds springs to the fore, but probably not the best one under the circumstances!
I was going to say Grumpy and Stumpy rolled off the tongue nicely, but thought I'd better not.......
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I stopped counting when I went over £1,000, although that was using new parts and I was learning as I went along. If you price the job properly - right down to the cost of the screws and glue for the woodwork - then I think it'd be very hard to do for under £500. Incidentally, on my last post I forgot to include the cost of two pumps. That's another £120 minimum when you include the cost of the fittings to plumb them in.
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I stopped counting when I went over £1,000, although that was using new parts and I was learning as I went along. If you price the job properly - right down to the cost of the screws and glue for the woodwork - then I think it'd be very hard to do for under £500. Incidentally, on my last post I forgot to include the cost of two pumps. That's another £120 minimum when you include the cost of the fittings to plumb them in.
I can see where you're coming from, I have a habit of squirreling things away just in case they come in "useful" so yes costing things all newly bought you're most likely correct.
But things like the cylinder could be had for scrap value, say 50 quid. Timber sound expensive, Wickes do 4x2 (or there abouts) for £4.25/2.4m length ... that's 23 lengths worth! Oil drums could probably be had on here just for the asking, so as was pointed out in and earlier post, if you're not in a rush, use scrap and secondhand parts a far cheaper build is easily possible.
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I would say bare bones budget GL cost would come in about £350, all the little fittings and pipe and incidentals add up. And it is easy to escalate beyond that cost if you want something a bit fancier.
My advice would be to make sure you can get the oil first, then build the biggest processor you can. You can do little batches in a big processor but not the other way around. And you'll save effort doing more volume at once.
The only catch is that it takes a while to learn-in - so it's better to start with small batches.
You will never see a homebrewer downscale their rig though :)
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You will never see a homebrewer downscale their rig though :)
In general the statement holds true but I've built two downsized plants with a third in construction atm.
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I agree with Stumpy, Grumpy & Greasy.
Oily.
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didn't smiley transits also come with lucas injection pumps, as im sure I seen one as I went to buy it quite awhile ago..
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didn't smiley transits also come with lucas injection pumps, as im sure I seen one as I went to buy it quite awhile ago..
Not too sure. Was it just the Turbo ones? Never seen one myself.
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I agree with Oily, Stumpy, Greasy, Grumpy and Tranny
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I agree with Oily, Stumpy, Greasy, Grumpy and Tranny
This is beginning to sound like Snow White, we only need another 2 and we'll have the full compliment.
Hi Ho.
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Stainless Steel Pressure Vessel - Biodiesel reactor processor / Brewing Hopback
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stainless-Steel-Pressure-Vessel-Biodiesel-reactor-processor-Brewing-Hopback-/291034024331
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Stainless-Steel-Pressure-Vessel-Biodiesel-reactor-processor-Brewing-Hopback-/00/s/MTU5OVgxMjAw/z/HoMAAOxygj5SjmMi/$_58.JPG)
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Stainless-Steel-Pressure-Vessel-Biodiesel-reactor-processor-Brewing-Hopback-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNTk5/z/MQoAAOxyzi9SjmNx/$_58.JPG)
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What a beauty!
If anyone wants it, happy to pick up and store at mine (outside though) until convenient to collect or arrange forum courier for.
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didn't smiley transits also come with lucas injection pumps, as im sure I seen one as I went to buy it quite awhile ago..
Not too sure. Was it just the Turbo ones? Never seen one myself.
Mk3 Transits (86-91) had Lucas pumps but all smileys were Bosch except the turbo which left the factory with the Lucas Epic piece of crap fuel system that seems to spend most of it's life in limp mode.
Trouble is there are so many with non original engines that they could be either pumps and you do need to check.
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I agree with Oily, Stumpy, Greasy, Grumpy and Tranny
So that's Oily, Stumpy, Greasy, grumpy, Tranny and Bouncy all in agreement.
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Thank you Scroungey :)
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Thank you Scroungey :)
Koo, hark at Tossy!
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glad im not the tranny lol
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Thank you Scroungey :)
Oily, Stumpy, Greasy, grumpy, Tranny, Bouncy and Scroungey plus the white snow on the screen.
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Well, that's another thread totally off topic ... any body remember what the OP asked?
Poor chap's only posted twice and gets his thread hijack and turned it into the mad hatters tea party.
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its cos we care and are really all waiting for more replys to help out and get him cooking