Testing WVO and biodiesel for water.

[Julian]

Well done Julian AND DAVE ... anything I've done is meaningless without Dave testing it!

No, not going to manufacture ... they're so simple to build, there's no reason why anyone can't make them.  Happy to post files of the jig for those with printers along with Chinese dog tag source and code for the Arduino (although I'm sure someone with a modicum of programming knowledge would be able to tidy up what I've done quite considerably).

Anyhow it's not finished yet we still need to be sure of it's accuracy and repeatable and work out what effect, if any, temperature has on the readings.  Then we have to work out how to temperature correct the readings ... help from some one good at sums would be useful!

Next step will be to work out how people can calibrate the thing without the SB kit ... zero should be relatively easy, but span might be tricky ... any ideas on a post card please.

I think oil with traces of glycerin and possibly water might prove a problem as there may be too many variables.  Thinking out loud, we haven't yet compared two different batches of biodiesel ... I wonder if both had the same water content whether the two readings would be the same? Might be worth trying, Dave.

[dgs]

I will repeat the tests with my next batch that I will start in a few days. I can't really use the samples that people send as there is not usually enough. The s/b only needs 30mls but the sensor needs a jam jar full. The s/b ended up at 460ppm. I have edited the original post so it reads more logically.

I must say thanks to Julian, he has done most of the work on this project. I have the easy bit, just doing a s/b and dipping the sensor in the bio.

[Manfred]

Sorry Dave if I was rude to your work in doing the tests it wasn't intended. I was just commenting on the hardware build.

[Julian]

Manfred, my comment wasn't a reprimand (sorry if it came over like that!) ... I just like to see credit where credit's due!

[dgs]

Sorry Dave if I was rude to your work in doing the tests it wasn't intended. I was just commenting on the hardware build.

Don't worry Manfred, you were not rude at all, no offence taken at all.

[Manfred]

Cheers Julian and Dave. I am reading this thread with interest and while appreciating your work in the testing I was impressed by Julian's Sensor build which turns out to be a better design and build than the fully electronic ones previously tested. I think it's time I caught up on Arduino tech.

[Jamesrl]

Cheers Julian and Dave. I am reading this thread with interest and while appreciating your work in the testing I was impressed by Julian's Sensor build which turns out to be a better design and build than the fully electronic ones previously tested. I think it's time I caught up on Arduino tech.

I also need to improve my arduino knowledge, I use a couple of mega2560 r3 and an uno to control stepper motors but their use for other things is almost infinite.

I've been asked to build a "Pilot Aware" gadget, based on a raspberry pi 2b, it's a sort of virtual RADAR that puts aircraft in your local onto your nav screen, well 'andy.

[Julian]

In fairness to the commercial sensors, we're using them in a way they weren't designed for.

Re the Arduino, Chinese versions and the sensors etc are so cheap now it's silly not to have a play.  Get a board, some patch cables, a bread board, a few sensors and some resistors etc and just follow videos on youtube and copy code from all sorts of places.

Oh God, Jim's going to program 747's to dive bomb selected members!

[Jamesrl]

Oh God, Jim's going to program 747's to dive bomb selected members!

Ye', now who's house shall I test it on, let me see?

[dgs]

Quick update;

I tested a sample yesterday for David Shinn that was 113ppm water s/b (dried with his turbo dryer)

I tested it with the dog tag sensor this morning, 430.85 p/f 16.57 degs.

This reading is probably a little low compared to my bio, but of course his feedstock oil is different to mine.

[Soft top]

 Just wondering how much water normal diesel contains. Has anyone tested diesel?

[dgs]

Just wondering how much water normal diesel contains. Has anyone tested diesel?

Petroleum products don't usually show hygroscopic tendencies so it's usually low. I have only tested pump diesel once with the KF and it was 158ppm.

[paulp]

This is fantastic work.
I would like to have a go but don't know where to start.
Water is a real fear for me. I think I knackered the injection pump in my first Octavia running bio diesel with water.
Now on a vW Passat and have injector problems.
I water wash and it's always the back of my mind I have no test to measure the water level.
This looks great. I need to read it again to see if I can put it together.
Great idea and great work.

[dgs]

Thanks Paul,
However we are having a little trouble with the multi plate (dog tag) sensor at the moment. It seems as though the brass plates are slightly oxidising and throwing the result. Even so, the relationship between samples seems to be the same, but unless checked with something like a Sandy Brae the results would be meaningless.

Next step is to clean the sensor with a mild acid wash to see if the range can be re established.

I dry my biodiesel with a 'turbo dryer' A device that sucks the air through silica gel before bubbling through the bio.
From many tests with the s/b I know if I dry for a certain time and temperature then the water will be a certain level. My dried bio usually ends up at around the 120ppm mark.

I test a lot of homebrew samples for water, most are dried with sprayrings, spraybars and the results are very hit and miss.

have a look at post No 4 on this thread, there is a drawing for the dryer.

http://www.biopowered.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2538.0.html

[paulp]

So the idea is to remove the moisture from the air to make the drying more effective