been playing

[Head Womble]

how hort does it need to be to flow?

That will depend is so many things, type of feedstock, amount of catalyst used in the reaction, % of meths and so on.

It may be worth doing some tests on mixing it with the WMO.

[photoman290]

if someone wants send me a litre or 2 i will experiment. nothing like sitting next to nice warm fire and experimenting with differant combustibles. 

[julesandtash]

Bob, I can send you some KOH based glycerol if you like.

[photoman290]

hi jules yes please about a litre or so will be enough to test the theory. will pm you my address.

[julesandtash]

Wouldn't you prefer a couple of hundred litres, just in case it doesn't quite work first time 

I got your U2U with the address so will get some sorted out and in the post down to you.

[photoman290]

Wouldn't you prefer a couple of hundred litres, just in case it doesn't quite work first time 

I got your U2U with the address so will get some sorted out and in the post down to you.

couple of hundred litres would be great. i am coming past yours in about 3 weeks. will see how the experiment goes first though.

[photoman290]

a progress report on my WMO burnere project. got  the timer circuit built and tested. all working fine. i have it controlling a peristaltic pump. i am using a mixture of 75%wmo 25% kero for now so i don't overload the pump.
 i am sitting in front of it and  playing with the mark space ratio to get an idea of the range i will need. the idea is to have one control knob that varies the pause time. all seems to fine at the moment.
still waiting for the mains powered pump. so i have the system running off a 12 volt 4 amp power supply for testing. once i am happy with it i will see how much power i need for the relay board and just make a 12 volt supply that runs off the 240 line to the pump motor. hopefully i can fit this inside the pump casing for relative safety.
 i was going to use an ssr but think i will stick to mechanical relays,and fit a relay socket on the board. the reason is ssr's tend to fail short circuit which i don't want to happen.
i am wondering if anyone knows of a fully mechanical thermostat that works with liquids? the fewer contacts to wear out the better. something like a gas thermostat but for liquids. the idea is to fit it between the oil feed and the pump so if the temperature gets to high it will reduce the oil flow. i know you get oil shut off valves that cut the oil flow in case of a fire. something like that but variable. not expecting it to control the flow to a great extent just cut the  flow down or off if the relay points stick., or the circuit fails. a fail safe really.

[Julian]

I think Danfos do one.  Its a bit like a TRV but fits to a pipe and has bulb which is located in a pocket.  I found it when looking at fitting a boiler to the log burner ... but it's frighteningly expensive!

[greasemonkey]

Could you adapt a controller for an central heating boiler?
They're cheap, adjustable, and you could vary the temperature range by moving the bullet bit further from the heat source.

One of these.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HOT-WATER-BOILER-HEAT-THERMOSTAT-ALL-RANGES-/280580719207?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&var=&hash=item4153ea0267

[photoman290]

i have plenty of those thermostats. they  only switch the poer on and off around a fixed temperature. usually around 20 degrees differance on the ones i have. i want something that progressively reduces the oil flow as the temperature rises and increases it as it cools down.  i can get one of these which would work if i cant find a variable one.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-0m-x-90C-Remote-Acting-Fire-Valve-for-Oil-Fired-Boilers-/261319998606?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item3cd7e2bc8e

at least one part of the system would then be safe.

[greasemonkey]

I see what you mean.

Thermostatic valve off the bottom of a central heating radiator?
Not quite sure how it would work, but maybe something to ponder upon.

[photoman290]

looks like you can buy capillary TRV's but a bit pricey and not much range,  10 degrees to 30 degrees but a start. the range is a bit small but its a step in the right direction. maybe covering the  bulb with something to get the range up may work. will do a bit of probing with the thermocouple thermometer. and not sure  how they would cope with dirty oil.
just had a thought, i could fit it to the output side of the pump and feed it back to the oil  reservoir. that way i don't have the pump running dry and i have a bit of pressure so i could fit a filter before the valve if i find i need one.

[greasemonkey]

An automatic window adjuster for a green house has big range, and a lot of travel, and it's adjustable. They are also quite powerful.Obviously, the temperatures it is designed to work at are far lower, but you could mount it at an appropriate distance from the burner.
You could rig up something to strangle the pipe, I would say it would be powerful enough to move the lever on a ball valve.

[photoman290]

yes i did think of using one of those. there is a "spare" one on debs greenhouse. that is plan b.

[photoman290]

found one of these, but at that price i could move somewhere warmer for the winter.  like portugal.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sterlco-Sterling-CR-151-F-Temperature-Control-Valve-Self-Modulating-3-4-NPT-/221206285975?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3380ec0e97