Biopowered - vegetable oil and biodiesel forum

General => Chatter => Topic started by: Tony on December 11, 2012, 10:54:45 PM

Title: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Tony on December 11, 2012, 10:54:45 PM
I was thinking that to myself this evening in the freezing cold, as a scraped congealed veg off the floor of my outbuilding in an attempt to get it a bit cleaner.  Winter fuel making requires some proper grafting - something the vast majority of the population just wouldn't be motivated to get on with.

Despite the cold and the unpleasantness, I felt a sense of pride in our little community. :)
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Head Womble on December 11, 2012, 11:18:08 PM
I agree Tony, it does take some dedication in this weather, it's the cost of pump diesel that keeps me going.

But as you and anyone else that's seen my setup will know, I don't do cleaning up  ;D
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Tony on December 11, 2012, 11:28:27 PM
Yes well, yours is clean compared to mine  :o
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Head Womble on December 11, 2012, 11:45:39 PM
But didn't you see my newly built shed, all nice and, um, clean.

I will get around to putting the lino down that I got from Julian, I will, one day, honest.
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Tony on December 11, 2012, 11:50:48 PM
I'm beginning to think that putting down sawdust to absorb spills is a bad plan, and actually a rubber edged wiper of some kind and a dustpan to scoop spills into would be a better plan.
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Head Womble on December 11, 2012, 11:59:41 PM
I started this bio lark with good intentions, I painted the floor and kept it clean for a couple of months,
then started just throwing sawdust on the floor, then the saw dust was 1" thick.
Now I've just given up and have a pare of shoes just for the shed.
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Julian on December 12, 2012, 12:53:22 AM
But didn't you see my newly built shed, all nice and, um, clean.

I will get around to putting the lino down that I got from Julian, I will, one day, honest.

If it takes you as long to put the tasteful Lino down as it has to return my mixer, the concrete base will have worn out and you'll need the mixer again ... Ah, so that's your plan!
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Rotary-Motion on December 12, 2012, 06:24:43 AM
i hear ya there folks, think this is my third or fourth winter now and its worse in winter and more work with more fats and water.

funny my shed is still as clean afyer 4 years i only change the flooring which i always use cardboard from old tv boxes or something, soaks up well and works really well, i have drip caps under each outlet also.

your all dirty veggers  8)
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: K.H on December 12, 2012, 07:22:06 AM
I was thinking that to myself this evening in the freezing cold, as a scraped congealed veg off the floor of my outbuilding in an attempt to get it a bit cleaner.  Winter fuel making requires some proper grafting - something the vast majority of the population just wouldn't be motivated to get on with.

Despite the cold and the unpleasantness, I felt a sense of pride in our little community. :)
If you got your arse in gear and built the 500 litre one you wouldnt have to spend as many nights brewing ;D
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Dickjotec on December 12, 2012, 08:25:23 AM
I put cardboard down in the engine bunker for spills. I acquired a roll of corrugated from a skip on a building site, I did ask, and it absorbs the spills then just fold up and burn. My local resource centre has it in sheets very cheap. Use it in the bund under the processor as well to make cleaning that easy. For bigger spills a square mouth plastic fed scoop works well and means it can be recycled. Sawdust if in a hurry!
The engine shed runs at 35 ish degrees in winter with the door shut so it is nice to go and stand there after working outside.
Dick
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Tony on December 12, 2012, 10:56:38 AM
I was thinking that to myself this evening in the freezing cold, as a scraped congealed veg off the floor of my outbuilding in an attempt to get it a bit cleaner.  Winter fuel making requires some proper grafting - something the vast majority of the population just wouldn't be motivated to get on with.

Despite the cold and the unpleasantness, I felt a sense of pride in our little community. :)
If you got your arse in gear and built the 500 litre one you wouldnt have to spend as many nights brewing ;D

Tell me about it, I'm in the process of clearing an area of the outbuilding so I can work on it inside in the winter, though it's slow going.  I've bought some mighty steel warehouse shelving, so I can get all my junk arranged vertically rather than horizontally :)

Part of the reason for scraping the floor clean in the processor area is that I don't want any stray welding sparks to set fire to oil-soaked sawdust.  A bit of oil on a concrete floor would probably be OK though.  Anyway, that's the other side of my concrete bund right at the other end of the building, I'm probably just being paranoid.

I also worry in summer with sawdust down, about spontaneous combustion due to oxidisation.  I can't help feeling that sawdust is a bad plan all round and nice easy to remove cardboard is the way to go!
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Jmg on December 12, 2012, 09:42:14 PM
Just off to fill the car now, going to look at the price of diesel now to psych myself up :P
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: julianf on December 12, 2012, 10:09:14 PM
I dont plan to make any bio next winter at all.

I want to get a big tank in the summer, and fill it up!

(i posted this before, on another topic, by mistake)
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: K.H on December 12, 2012, 10:14:17 PM
Are you going to winterise it as you go?
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Head Womble on December 12, 2012, 10:49:12 PM
But didn't you see my newly built shed, all nice and, um, clean.

I will get around to putting the lino down that I got from Julian, I will, one day, honest.

If it takes you as long to put the tasteful Lino down as it has to return my mixer, the concrete base will have worn out and you'll need the mixer again ... Ah, so that's your plan!

No chance of the concrete wearing away, the floor level is slowing rising due to veg and gly buildup.
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: julianf on December 13, 2012, 01:35:14 PM
Are you going to winterise it as you go?

Who, me?

Nope.  I want to have two tanks.  One for bio from clear, and one for evreything else.

I will only use the 'everything else' tank in the summer, and only the 'clear' in the winter.

We have a frost here that's not breaking during the day.  I dont know what temp it is, but its cold.  Im currently running on 100% bio using the same technique (but im making the fuel as i go)


The difficulty will be separating out the 'whites' at a low enough temperature - in summer they may be clear.
Title: Re: Winter oilers - we must be mad
Post by: Head Womble on December 13, 2012, 09:17:07 PM
The difficulty will be separating out the 'whites' at a low enough temperature - in summer they may be clear.

Use a floating pickup, any bio that solidifies will drop to the bottom of the tank laving the top nice and clear.