What You Must Consider Before Making Biodiesel At Home

Before you consider the biodiesel home making process there are a more than a few things that you need to consider. Some of them have to do with safety and others have to do with any plans you may have about selling biodiesel product. First off, pouring biodiesel into your vehicle's engine may or may not void your warranty on your vehicle. READ your OME warranty to make a wise decision. Keep in mind too that if you sell or give biodiesel fuel to another individual and it wrecks their engine that it is you, not the manufacturer of the diesel engine or diesel car that can be sued. It is also illegal to sell biodiesel that is not fuel grade. The biodiesel home making process can be a time consuming, labor intensive process so set aside week for your homemade diesel production. Also be prepared make test batches and experience a few failures, as biodiesel production not always an exact science. The success of the venture depends on quite a few factors such as the humidity of the air and the quality of the vegetable oil you are using. It also will depend on your actual skills as a chemist and some would say luck! Any fuel that you make should be tested to make sure that you have ended up with a fuel grade product. Otherwise you could be risking damage to your diesel engine or diesel car. Biodiesel home making is not for children. Many of the materials used to make biodiesel are very toxic so be aware of this before making this a "kid's science project." On the other hand, large numbers of ordinary people from all over the world (especially farmers!) have been biodiesel home making for over half a century. Many of the ingredients used in biodiesel are toxic but they are also common household chemicals. For instance, the lye that is used in most recipes is sold in supermarkets and hardware stores as a drain-cleaner. Methanol is the main or only ingredient in barbecue fuel or fuel for fondue. Methanol is sold in supermarkets as "stove fuel" and used at the dinner table. It's safe if you're careful and sensible about the handling and mixing of the product then there is no need to be apprehensive. On the positive side of things Biodiesel fuel works in any diesel engine without any conversion or modifications to the engine or the fuel system as long as you use the percentage of biodiesel fuel to regular diesel fuel that is recommended in your owner's manual.