NissanDiesel Forums

Our local co-op-style BD dispensing arrangement when bye-bye late last year -- the local officials could not look the other way any longer. Nearest retail BD is about 40 miles away.

This impacts my use of BD considerably.

My plan is to use excess warehouse space to house a std 275 gal. IBC tote up at 12' on top of some industrial racking, to forklift it down into the util trailer every four months or so, and drag it to the BD distributor and have it filled myself. Me & my co-worker will be pretty much the only ones using this fuel, so I should be able to get away with filling it 3-4 times per year.

Totes are plentiful, if not always cheap. One will come along.

I bought a Fill-Rite totalizer a couple of weeks ago, from John Lilley in Medford, Ore. area, for $45 shipped.



However, luck was with me yesterday, and I was actually able to buy a complete Tokheim setup off CL:

Gas Pump 120 Volt Bio diesel - $150
Reply to: sale-617967702@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-03-25, 7:52AM PDT


Tokheim Gas Pump
120 Volt Model 515
Older and a little Beat up
Re-Settable Gallon Gauge
Works Well may need new Pump Handle
Found one online for $20
Click Link then Search
“NOZZLE”
http://www.benfordfueling.com/index.shtml
Scroll down the page and find
“Husky VI swivel Features: Multi-plane, full 360 degree spherical rotation”
This pump similar to the one that I am selling
$150 Cash
I am Located
14 Miles North of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
13 Miles South of Bremerton
5 Miles South of Port Orchard
Just Off HWY
If You Can’t Come Take A Peek Don’t E-Mail Me!
If You Can Send Me Your E-Mail Address & Best Time To Call

# Location: Beautiful Olalla

It runs quiet, pushes air. That's as far as I've gotten so far.

Guess I won't have to find one at the Portland Swap Meet next week.

Plumbing is always a challenge for me, so many specialized ways of connecting the dots/lines/etc. I acquired (for $~60, Thanks, MarkH!) a clean, used IBC ("tote"), 275G I believe. It has a valve attached -- not a ball valve; despite what the pictures below may have you think, it's a cam-operated poppet valve.

(click on image for larger)




I want to utilize what appears to be a quick-disconnect feature of the outflow portion of this valve, which also seems to be threaded.



Trouble is, I can't figure out what size it is, to order matching fittings. I am looking at quick-disconnect adapters like these (C, or D style) at JM Ellsworth



As you can see in their chart, listed sizes include 3/4", 1", 1-1/2", 2", 3". But what size do I need?

(click on image for larger)



It seems, by measurement, that this is neither fish nor fowl?

Referencing the McMaster Carr catalog pages 282 through 289 for cam and groove couplings, I believe it to be 2 1/2". McMaster offers this size in metal but not plastic. Apparently, your vendor doesn't offer 2 1/2" in plastic either.

Later.

On second look, they do offer the plastic in 2 1/2". If the other side of the fitting is NPT, then it will be 2". This may be the system your vendor is using. Referring to the fittings by the applicable pipe size.

With your help, I agree this might be a 2" coupling. Looking at McMaster-Carr, page 288, 5237T26 is 2" and has a plug OD of 2-1/2", polypropylene and locking levers, $10.



Plumbing . . . bah!

http://www.kthsales.com/website/vendors ... ttings.htm

Has a good selection of Cam Lock Fittings.

I had to order a coupling for the tote, so I ordered two, as Mark H. has a tote also.

2" quick-disconnect to 2" NPTF:
http://www.jmesales.com/item/32356/2-Po ... lings.aspx

They come with EDPM gaskets, for which I do not know BD compatibility, so I ordered viton gaskets:
http://www.jmesales.com/item/23340/Dixon-2-Gaskets.aspx

Total for two couplings + two gasketsl, after $14 shipping, was $44. This was cheaper than McMaster-Carr, because M-Carr wants a lot more for their Viton gaskets.

When is "bio-diesel" not "biodiesel"?

I've been searching for the answer to this Q:

"Who can supply D5761 BD in 1000 litre quantities five times a year
within 50 miles of 98368, who also uses domestic feedstock(s) or second-use oil to produce BD . . . "

. . . and whose quality is such that I don't end up with a batch of "ASTM-spec" (!!) fuel like the batch we received from a large "reputable" Seattle-area BD supplier 27 mos. ago, which clogged members' filters and caused me to have to do a tank drop on at least one member's vehicle (see the thread, "Floating crap in our totes" on the biodieselnow site: http://biodieselnow.com/forums/p/6669/48513.aspx for horrible the-aliens-are-here pictures)

A few days ago, I saw this intriging ad on the local CraigsList (http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/for/760619164.html):

Bio-Diesel For Sale (Arlington)

Reply to: sale-760619164@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-07-18, 4:28PM PDT<br>

Looking for Affordable Bio-Diesel. Here it is!!! Only from Waste Vegetable Oil

$4.50 Gallon

Can Deliver for free in Snohomish County (Minimum delivery amount 300 gallons)

Exit 210 off I-5

Only building visible on west side of the freeway.

Address:
23810 Old 99 N
Arlington WA 98223

ASTM Certified Fuel

EPA Certified Fuel

• Location: Arlington
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 760619164

The address looked familiar, and it wasn't hard to discover that it's the address for Standard Biodiesel. While not meeting my criteria of being somewhat close geographically, Standard Biodiesel is based in Arlington (about 45 min. north of Seattle). As of today, their website includes the the following bites:

Standard Biodiesel wrote:About Standard Biodiesel
Standard Biodiesel provides biodiesel to be used in engines, generators, and furnaces. . . .

. . . The renewable diesel meets ASTM specifications for "diesel fuel" but remains an alternative fuel derived from recycled materials.

Products
Standard Biodiesel produces biodiesel fuels from recycled vegetable oils in the Puget Sound region. Biodiesel can be delivered full strength or blended with petroleum diesel at product concentrations ranging from B5 (5% biodiesel) to B95 (95% biodiesel).

Why Biodiesel?
Biodiesel (mono alkyl esters) is made from natural, renewable sources . . .

Unfortunately, I discovered yesterday that what Standard Biodiesel is currently selling is not ASTM D6751 biodiesel.

I had to take a day off and take a ferry to Edmonds anyway, so I thought I'd make the best of it and go buy 275G of biodiesel while I was paying the ferry fare anyway. I borrowed a (diesel) truck for the day.

I called ahead the day before, because it seems odd that Standard Biodiesel would be running a CL ad but not include their name. The woman answering the phone confirmed that the CL ad is theirs, and that I could fill a tote's worth (their website states both "wholesale only" and "300 gallon minimum"). I let her know I'd be bringing my empty tote the next afternoon.

When I arrived, sandwich board signs on the road helped me find their operation. I pulled up to the dispensing station, which is fairly neat and relatively clean. An employee, "Hav", greeted me and said he had been expecting me. The clipboard next to the pump indicated that several fuel sales had preceeded me that day, all under 100G each.

We removed the tote's 6" fill cap and began filling. I noticed the color seemed pretty dark, even for reclaimed feedstock, and foam seemed more than usual too. Mark, who was with me, inquired about process details while I was preoccupied with other stuff (getting air in the truck's tires). The tote was filled, and then it was related that this fuel does not meet ASTM D6751 spec. "Hav" and "John" we (at that point) clear that they are selling renewable diesel and not biodiesel; they said their fuel meets D975 (the diesel spec, not the biodiesel spec).

I was told that Standard Biodiesel is no longer using an alcohol transesterification process, as the cost of methanol is now too high for their business model to sustain. They are using a "binding agent" and the glycerol is left in the product. The product they sell does have a significant percentage of a petrodiesel component.

Everyone was friendly and helpful, and "Hav" was able to remove the tote's-worth of fuel. As we had already filled one of the truck's two tanks with it, I purchased that fuel, and after about an hour we headed back south.

Moral of the story: "bio-diesel" may not be "biodiesel, even if the website claims it is.

I really dislike the bait and switch feel of their pitch (ad included the phrases "ASTM Certified Fuel" and "EPA Certified Fuel," which could be true, but not what folks commonly expect [ASTM D6751 biodiesel] when seeing these phrases) but caveat emptor is the rule of the day.

Not that you only "accidentally" found out it was SUBstandard biodiesel (sorry!) but how many customers actually realize that what they are receiving is not what they thought they were buying?

These guys also have a bad reputation for muscling out the other renderers and DIYers from collecting WVO, from Bellingham to Olympia.

looks like you are missing some hoses and sealants D: JN supply

Yeah, I didn't show all the parts involved, and that was 16 years ago . . . so what?