In processor titrated water wash method

[julianf]

It would take about 2 of the bottles (568 ml) to do a titrated wash on a 125 litre batch,how much do you think you used to split that emulsion roughly?

It was so long ago that any number i came up with would just be a guess. 

What i do recall is that i had this thick emulsion that i then split with the vinegar.  I then thought 'phew', did a 50/50 which was almost clear, but i thought id do a final water wash, just to be sure.
...and the whole thing happened over again (not quite as bad though).  I didnt know why, as the 50/50 wasnt bad? (but that was the end of water washing for me)


In essex we had pretty hard water, moderately alkaline - as i recall from chemistry a-level, hard water forms a precipitate with soap, whilst soft water doesn't (?)
That must, im sure, have some relevance?

[K.H]

I know that Nigel took water samples from a few of us at last years BBB to test if the differing hardness affected 50/50,s which it did,i think that was one reason he came up with the soap test kits.
Im sat on limestone so our water is very hard

[julianf]

I assume this was the vinegar i used -



http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/catalog/sectionpagecontainer.jsp?skuId=36648&departmentid=1214921923813&aisleid=1214921925507&startValue=

...but its more money now, a2 29.9p/ltr

Its coming back now - morrisons did/do the same (same bottle, different label, same price), but, at the time, they were certainly under 10p per bottle.

[Head Womble]

Jules, I always find strip down and rebuild time very scary.
It's that need to get brewing again before you have to visit the tax station that makes me cut corners,
or at least get it up and running before everything is just how I planed it,
my shed is still not finished and I just don't seem to find the time.

Nooooo thats the most enjoyable bit,i much prefer messing about with the processor as opposed to actually brewing a batch (unless theres something new to do) thats probably why im on No 4

I'm with you on that one, I look forward to tinkering time,
At one stage my setup was modified allmost every week.

[julesandtash]

I know that Nigel took water samples from a few of us at last years BBB to test if the differing hardness affected 50/50,s which it did,i think that was one reason he came up with the soap test kits.
Im sat on limestone so our water is very hard

And I am sat on granite so our water is super soft yet we both have success with this washing method.

[julesandtash]

Well the fibreglassing is done - what I thought would be an easy job turned out not to be - I have never glassed a big area before and gained a lot of experience along the way - had I known at the start what I did at the end, I would have done a few things differently.

[Tony]

Sounds like an epic adventure.  I've never glassed a large area before - any tips?  And more importantly, any photos?

[julesandtash]

I would cut the matting into two foot squares with what I know now. I ddn't do that and had a lot of troubles trying to work with a 10 metre long 1 metre wide roll - I was surprised how fragile chopped strand matting is.

Also, polyester resin tends to burn the skin after dissolving cheap surgical gloves and sticks like **** to a blanket.

I will upload some photos once the bund is all done.

[hifly]

very interesting,

i have noticed that no one has mentioned blanking the ipa/methanol befoer adding the bio, would it not be a good idea to get an accurate result?

[nigelb]

I know that Nigel took water samples from a few of us at last years BBB to test if the differing hardness affected 50/50,s which it did,i think that was one reason he came up with the soap test kits.
Im sat on limestone so our water is very hard

The results of the tests I performed were far from conclusive. So many variables and surprisingly difficult to replicate.

The titrated soap test is by far the best indicator of soap in biodiesel.

If you want a kit Julianf give me a shout.

Nige

[julesandtash]

very interesting,

i have noticed that no one has mentioned blanking the ipa/methanol befoer adding the bio, would it not be a good idea to get an accurate result?

Good point - none of mine has been acidic enough to need blanking and has always been blue when adding the bromophenol blue. It it was green or, heaven forbid, yellow, then there would be a need to blank it.

[hifly]

just think it would be worth adding a line or two to any guide for the process as some may not understand the need to blank now most people don't do titrations when making thier bio.

[K.H]

As we used universal indicator it proved our methanol to be neutral before we added bio

[Head Womble]

The first bit of advice I would give for anyone fiberglassing a large area is use woven matting,
far easier to work with but probably more expensive to buy.

Oh and use marigold gloves.

[hifly]

As we used universal indicator it proved our methanol to be neutral before we added bio

yes but you still need to tell people that if its not green to start with add some titration solution until it is, thats all i'm saying, just think how confused people got when titrating wvo.