> Can Biod be used for Central heating? ................ Ian,
Absolutely. You can use biodiesel as a 100% replacement for home heating oil. There are only two principle drawbacks. The first is that fuel oil tanks develop serious paraffin and gum buildup on their inside walls over time. Introducing bio-d with its superb solvent effects will loosen all this up at an extremely quick pace. This stuff is black, waxy, collects particulates like a magnet, and will clog filters in a heartbeat. It can be as thick as an 1/8th inch and cover almost the entire interior surface area of a tank - you're talking a "gallon" or more of gunk in a 10 or 15 year old tank. You have two options. You can choose just to install a "super filter" and take your chances that a few of these filters will get you through each winter with no major problems. Or you can clean the tank, using moderate to high pressure warmed solvent (120-150 degrees Fahrenheit). Bio-d is recommended for the thorough cleaning, due to its high flash point - no others if you value your existence. You will need a directional wand and some patience, as only a slow and methodical pattern will give you any assurance that the tank is clean. You might be able to get away with a hand cranked barrel pump with an extension to pump out the old fuel and the dirty solvent during cleaning. Make sure the extensions are air tight or you may never get a prime. Rinse the tank with several gallons of bio-d several times. If you choose to use an existing tank, you will need to install a "super filter," even if the tank is cleaned. There will almost inevitably be some patch of waxes missed with the pressure cleaning. Last fall the NBB played up a Maryland dairy farmer using bio-d for heat. It was only 5% bio-d, as they didn't wish to contend with any large releases of waxes and gums in a brief period of time. Understandable to some degree, as it is their livelihood being disrupted should serious problems crop up with lines clogging. Five percent is better than nothing, but this low of a percent will never be sufficient to clean a tank "naturally" in anything but geologic time - especially the uppermost portions which run dry first as fuel is consumed and remain dry until the tank is refilled. I would contend that the home brewer would be better off going the whole route, rather than partial measure. The second drawback is ambient temperature and the cloud point of your bio-d. Above ground tanks and lines will "freeze" rapidly, after 30 degree weather sets in. This can happen in but a few hours in the lines and after only a few nights in the tank, leaving you with a very cold problem. Even below ground storage can have some of the same problem, depending upon whether the tank is below the frost line or not and if any of the lines run along the exterior of the building, rather than underground, beneath the frostline, under the building and then up through the floor to the furnace. In an industrial type building, fuel can be stored inside, eliminating the clouding/freezing problems. This is not as possible in residential dwellings, nor advised. If you're going to do this, I would start now, as winter will be here in a bat of an eye. Todd Appal Energy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
