| Heating System |
Heat is a very important part of making high quality biodiesel. Its virtually impossible to make
biodiesel below 70 deg F and you make much better biodiesel if you can heat your oil to 135 deg F.
When choosing your biodiesel processor you should be looking for one that comes with a built in
heater of some type. Here are some different ways to pre-heat your oil.
Drum Wrap
Using a drum wrap heater is one of the most inefficient ways to heat oil or biodiesel. A drum wrap
heater could take up to 6 hours to reach 130 deg F. Plus if you go this way you will need to find a
clean 55 gallon and a extra self priming pump which can cost $160.00. You also risk getting burned
by the HOT OIL while transfering it to your biodiesel processor. Drum wraps are helpful though if you
live in cold climates and need to heat the oil prior to putting it in a biodiesel processor.
Heat Exchanger By Hot Water
You can find some biodiesel processors with a heat exchange system. These are not the most
efficient way to heat oil. They use a small water heater, extra pump, and heat exchange coil.
Basically you turn on the hot water heater then the extra water pump and circulate the hot water
through the heat exchange coil that is submerged in the oil. This type of heating takes about three
hours for 40 gallons of oil.
Inline Heating System
You can find some biodiesel processors with a built in inline heating system. This method is one of
the more efficient ways of heating and drying the oil. Inline heating systems are very basic. They use
a heating element and thermostat that are built onto the biodiesel processor. You simply fill your
reactor with oil, turn on mixing pump, then turn on the heater. As the oil flows through the heater it is
warmed up by the heating element. This type of heating takes about one hour which makes it the
most efficient heating method. The only thing to look out for is dry firing the heater element by
turning it on with no oil flow.
No Heating System
You can find biodiesel processors that do not come with a way to pre-heat your oil. These
biodiesel processors will still make some form of biodiesel. They will work great if your year round
temp is 105 deg F or more, but not to many people live in these climates. Without a way to heat your
oil and biodiesel you will have much longer processing times. Like if it is only 70 deg F you will have
a very slow and incomplete reaction. Your washing and drying times will be a lot longer. At 70 deg F
you can expect to take 48 hours or more to produce 40 gallons of washed and dried biodiesel. But if
you have a good heating system you could produce 40 gallons of washed and dried biodiesel in as
little as 14 hours.
biodiesel below 70 deg F and you make much better biodiesel if you can heat your oil to 135 deg F.
When choosing your biodiesel processor you should be looking for one that comes with a built in
heater of some type. Here are some different ways to pre-heat your oil.
Drum Wrap
Using a drum wrap heater is one of the most inefficient ways to heat oil or biodiesel. A drum wrap
heater could take up to 6 hours to reach 130 deg F. Plus if you go this way you will need to find a
clean 55 gallon and a extra self priming pump which can cost $160.00. You also risk getting burned
by the HOT OIL while transfering it to your biodiesel processor. Drum wraps are helpful though if you
live in cold climates and need to heat the oil prior to putting it in a biodiesel processor.
Heat Exchanger By Hot Water
You can find some biodiesel processors with a heat exchange system. These are not the most
efficient way to heat oil. They use a small water heater, extra pump, and heat exchange coil.
Basically you turn on the hot water heater then the extra water pump and circulate the hot water
through the heat exchange coil that is submerged in the oil. This type of heating takes about three
hours for 40 gallons of oil.
Inline Heating System
You can find some biodiesel processors with a built in inline heating system. This method is one of
the more efficient ways of heating and drying the oil. Inline heating systems are very basic. They use
a heating element and thermostat that are built onto the biodiesel processor. You simply fill your
reactor with oil, turn on mixing pump, then turn on the heater. As the oil flows through the heater it is
warmed up by the heating element. This type of heating takes about one hour which makes it the
most efficient heating method. The only thing to look out for is dry firing the heater element by
turning it on with no oil flow.
No Heating System
You can find biodiesel processors that do not come with a way to pre-heat your oil. These
biodiesel processors will still make some form of biodiesel. They will work great if your year round
temp is 105 deg F or more, but not to many people live in these climates. Without a way to heat your
oil and biodiesel you will have much longer processing times. Like if it is only 70 deg F you will have
a very slow and incomplete reaction. Your washing and drying times will be a lot longer. At 70 deg F
you can expect to take 48 hours or more to produce 40 gallons of washed and dried biodiesel. But if
you have a good heating system you could produce 40 gallons of washed and dried biodiesel in as
little as 14 hours.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |