New Member

[Dickjotec]

Lozzzz
Aluminium is a no no due to reaction with e meth unless you use it for the former when casting the Venturi.

I looked into the reaction between methanol and aluminium.  Although there is a reaction, it would appear that it's only with the oxidised layer ... so only a few molecules thick.  Consensus (which included a PhD in chemistry) was that it would most likely take years to do any significant damage.

However, it will get seriously attacked by the catalyst.  Whilst in my teens I tried degreasing a clutch with NaOH in an aluminium bucket ... the bucket lost, big time.

My bad should have taken the time to write methoxide!

[Julian]

Ah, sorry, probably down to my poor interpretation.

[Oilybloke]

Welcome Lozzzzzz, you'll enjoy it here. A wealth of information, and humour. I'd advise against going to the BBB 2014 though. There appears to be mighty strange (and of questionable moral & legal standing) goings-on there.

[greasemonkey]

Welcome Lozzzzzz, you'll enjoy it here. A wealth of information, and humour. I'd advise against going to the BBB 2014 though. There appears to be mighty strange (and of questionable moral & legal standing) goings-on there.

Nothing strange at the BBB. A flowery dress and a quick slap of WVO round ya chops, and you'll fit right in.
Oh...........

[Chug]

Welcome Lozzzz, just catchin up here and reading ya blog on ya project, I used to walk past a Schimiter garage every morning on me way to school, lovely motors, they also sold lotus too so always a delay on the way past with me droolin! nearly bought a GTE a few years back but it was only for the essex V6 in it,

As for aluminium definitely a no no, we've got a big Ali spud or rice pan but I used it when trying out water n meth n catalyst mixes, can't remember the name, anhydrous methoxide was it? anyways, I mixed the water and NaOH in our Ali pan, and it spewed out gasses with nasty fumes so I thrashed it down the sink rapid like, but the pan was well spotted all over a bit like a planishing hammer finish, or hammerite paint type look. 

[Mickindashed]

Nice work there with the scimitar - I'm very impressed. Building a reactor shouldn't pose you any problems at all! I hope you do post a build thread. I'd be interested to follow how you get on. Since you obviously have the skills to do a high quality build why don't you try and take the best tips from the forum and build something state of the art that pulls together all the best ideas that people have come up with to upgrade the basic GL design?

[lozzzzzz]

Thanks folks, I'm glad you like the car, and its nice of you to suggest I should be able to get something together. 

I'll do my best, but I've got the usual problem, I'm dying to get going with it, and as Dick says will probably want to add to it later and improve it when I have a better grasp in the chemistry going on inside.  I've still got to decide on my method of drying the oil.  My understanding of what is needed is only just behind where I am in terms of building it. 

Its like lots of things in life when you understand it, its easy!    I'd like to consider myself reasonably bright, and Dick has spent a good few hours explaining things to me, but my mind is still in a bit of tangle regarding the last half of the process.  Thing is the clever folk have figured out lots of ways of doing it, which makes trying to understand it all the more difficult

Anyway all it needs is more time reading through the wiki and I'll get there. 

Making a tank that seals should keep my busy for the foreseeable future. 

I cut the bottom off the barrel this evening and removed the paint.  I chose to make the cone well oversize so I would have a joint like this to weld into:


This way I can trim off the excess metal with the grinder later.  I've done a bit of welding but I'm still really cr*p.  I find a joint like this much easier than a butt joint. 

I cut the bottom off the tank a couple of cm up from the bottom and removed the paint ready for welding:




I messed about trying to solder over the weld in the cone to test the theory of using to solder to seal up bad welding.  I couldn't get it to work

When soldering a heater flange on is it just plumbers solder you use?  I imagine I failed as I'm hoping the solder will just flow over the, but perhaps its needs a gap to creep into like the gap between the flange and the barrel, am I on the right lines?

Other question I thought of while removing paint for welding:  Do I need to remove all the paint from inside the barrel? (please say no cos that will be a right pain in the arse!)



Is this too many photo?  If this is a good level of detail perhaps you could put some of this onto a wiki page so I can see how you do it and I'll build on it from there?

More to come

[Rotary-Motion]

bio will strip the paint when you get going

and its funny you remind me of someone with the pictures bit of ms paint work

and plenty pics is good

I did the flange on the barrel on the wiki I cleaned and fluxed and soldered both bits before placing together then heat again to lock both sides of solder...

[lozzzzzz]

Its my advanced CAD package  

Will that paint stripping action be a problem, will the car burn it ok? or the filter catch it?

Forgot to ask is the BBB some kind of WVO fueled party?

[Rotary-Motion]

filter will grab bits...

bio buddies bash is a weekend we all go on and camp in chugs field and party, bring stuff to view mess about with allsorts of veg related stuff and its like swap arama with bits people bring to sell swap etc. nigeb sorts chemicals out, great weekend you should go meet up with peeps talk bio stuff and drink beers, cook on the open fire and watch demos etc...

forgot we have the big card game winner takes all, entry fee 20 ltrs good runny oil

[Jamesrl]

filter will grab bits...

bio buddies bash is a weekend we all go on and camp in chugs field and party, bring stuff to view mess about with allsorts of veg related stuff and its like swap arama with bits people bring to sell swap etc. nigeb sorts chemicals out, great weekend you should go meet up with peeps talk bio stuff and drink beers, cook on the open fire and watch demos etc...

forgot we have the big card game winner takes all, entry fee 20 ltrs good runny oil

And wear dresses, you forgot that bit.

[Rotary-Motion]

filter will grab bits...

bio buddies bash is a weekend we all go on and camp in chugs field and party, bring stuff to view mess about with allsorts of veg related stuff and its like swap arama with bits people bring to sell swap etc. nigeb sorts chemicals out, great weekend you should go meet up with peeps talk bio stuff and drink beers, cook on the open fire and watch demos etc...

forgot we have the big card game winner takes all, entry fee 20 ltrs good runny oil

And wear dresses, you forgot that bit.

I don't know what scares me the most?? looking at 2 blokes dressed in flowery frock with wigs or the fact you liked it??

 

 

[Jamesrl]

It's now standard dress code, excuse the pun.

[greasemonkey]

I might not be very good at welding, but I've done a lot of it. Trying to weld a sealed joint is a whole different ball game. The first cone I made leaked like a sieve, and was unrecoverable.
Second one didn't look a work of art, but was perfect.

New 0.8mm sheet, with new 0.6mm mig wire. New tip and shroud.
20mm overlap onto the drum. The cone has to fit perfectly to the drum, the slightest gap will cock it up.
The metal needs to be spotless clean, no rust,no paint. (don't worry about the inside, but you'll be able to see the penetration better if there is no paint on it.

The seal comes from the weld fusing the cone and the drum together, not from filling in the edge of the cone against the drum.
Three quarters of the width of the weld will be on the cone, the last quarter just overlapping the edge, onto the drum. Inside, the weld just wants to be slightly penetrating the surface of the drum, a slight black line, and a little ripple. The power and wire speed need to be perfect.
I did about 10 foot of practise weld first, with the same steel, to set the mig up and get everything right.
If it is undercutting, it will leak, if it is to proud, it will not penetrate and fuse the two pieces.
Grind back the weld every time you stop, so your starting on clean steel. Grind out tacks, don't weld over them.
It was a clown of a job, and took me all day. I must say, my view of what a strong weld is, has changed considerably after doing it.

[lozzzzzz]

I've done my share of cocking it up too   I welded up a swirl pot and it never sealed, I ended up buying one.

I'll take that on board, I hadn't thought of using 0.6mm wire, I bet that helps, and a new tip would be a good idea, mine really needs changing.  Thing is I haven't got any 0.6mm wire and that mean waiting   I'm not good at waiting, I wanted to do it tomorrow.  Actually there are a few jobs I can do on the scimitar tomorrow.  I'll, look into 0.6mm now