Fuelmeister Biodiesel Processor Workshop

I have always been interested in finding alternative energy solutions; it’s kind of like cheating the system whenever possible.  The use of vegetable oil as a fuel or the conversion of vegetable oil into biodiesel has always been an interest of mine. 

The first vegetable oil to fuel solution I came across was from a company called Greasel.  They developed a system using heat generated from the vehicle’s engine to increase the viscosity of vegetable oil, enough to be able to use it in a diesel engine.  The system has worked well for a number of people, but the draw back I saw was it is expensive to install and looks like there would be maintenance involved.  Also, their system used straight vegetable oil with the glycerin not removed, which some say could possibly cause coke deposits.  This system did not produce biodiesel again, it used straight vegetable oil. 

I later came across a resourceful gentleman in our area that used an additive called diesel secret, which claims to thin the vegetable oil increasing the viscosity.  This allows it to be used without warming it first, as the Greasel system does.  This solution does not turn vegetable oil into biodiesel because it does not remove the glycerin.  He built his own processor, which pumped the straight vegetable oil through numerous filters before using it in his diesel truck.  When I interviewed him one year ago he had logged over 25,000 miles in his diesel F250.  He used his home brew diesel fuel, used vegetable oil, and the diesel secret additive.   Again this process does not remove the glycerin making it a turn commercial grade biodiesel.

To view the interview click this link http://www.beyondfossilfuel.com/biodiesel/mark_diesel_secret.html 

I got to thinking, if this resourceful gentleman can build his own biodiesel processor, someone should come out with a marketable version to sell.  A number of months later after my interview with the gentleman that made his own biodiesel processor, I was flipping through an issue of Mother Earth News, when I came across an ad for the Fuelmeister Biodiesel Processors.  I thought wow! There is a home unit made to produce biodiesel.  This is a quality standalone unit which comes with a great deal of support from Fuelmeister and their dealer network.  Fuelmeister is the leader in the biodiesel processor industry, selling more biodiesel processors than any other manufacture.

Early one Saturday morning my 14 year old son and I attended one of the workshops sponsored by the dealer in Nashville, TN.  We had a total attendance of about six people, all with different ages and interest in the Fuelmeister biodiesel processor.  Some attended just out of curiosity, while one person had commercial interest to use biodiesel for a large bus line.  The cost was $50 per person, which could be applied to the purchase of the Fuelmeister biodiesel processor.

First we watched a video on how the process worked.  The Fuelmeister biodiesel processor removes the glycerin from the fuel, making a true commercial grade biodiesel.  The video explained that biodiesel can be made from any vegetable oil, used oil of course would be free in most cases and new oil would not be cost effective to use (yet).  The video explained that vegetable oil is made of three hydrocarbon chains attached to a glycerin back bone.  To start the biodiesel process, mix lye and methanol together then blend it with the vegetable oil.  The lye removes the first hydrocarbon chain, which floats over and attaches to a methanol molecule to form menthol ester, which is a chemical name for biodiesel.  The lye then brakes off the second and third hydrocarbon chains and again they attach to a methanol molecule forming biodiesel.  The left over glycerin falls to the bottom of the tank where it is drained off.  The glycerin we were told can be used for anything from making soap to killing weeds.

The process to remove the glycerin from the oil is simple, but the term used for this process is called transesterification.  That’s a mouth full!

What is biodiesel made from?

After the video, we were shown how to test some used vegetable oil to see how much lye would be needed to add to the batch.  The amount of lye would vary depending on the test results.


I was disappointed that we did not get to make a small batch of biodiesel at the workshop. 

He did have one of the Fuelmeister biodiesel processors on display.  It has a single 40 gallon tank instead of a two tank system like the one found in the first generation unit.  It takes up very little space.  Be prepared to use some water in the process.  For every gallon of biodiesel you produce you will need one gallon of water to wash the oil.  The used water is non toxic and can be simply disposed of as waste water.

The person over the Fuelmeister workshop explained how to get used vegetable oil or “feed stock” by simply going to some local restaurants and speak to the owner or manager.  Explain what you are doing and ask if they would like to have their used vegetable oil removed for free.  In most cases they are paying a service to remove their oil so you would be saving them money.  We were told to avoid the restaurant chains like McDonalds and try to stick with the locally owned restaurants because you should get higher quality oil. 

Once you bring the oil home and test it we were told the process only takes 30 minutes of your time.  The cost of the lye and methanol would average 70 cents per gallon, so with good used vegetable oil your biodiesel would only cost 70 cents per gallon!

If you drive 1000 miles a month paying 4.50 a gallon for petroleum diesel and you get 18 miles per gallon, your cost is $249 a month! If you run biodiesel instead, your monthly cost is $38.85.  The cost to purchase a Fuelmeister is $2,999.99, so in this case your return on investments would take 14 months.  Plus the cost of diesel will only continue to rise, so you should be able to recoup your losses faster.

If you are willing to take the time and effort to make your own biodiesel, you will save a great deal of money.

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