bio diesel processor

well let me know as soon as you are!!

I've read somewhere recently, can't remember if it was on here or somewhere else, that you get 2500L of veg oil or bio, tax and road duty free per year! The law changed to that last year aparently.

That is correct.

Every DRIVER is entitled to make for their own use 2500 litres of bio diesel per year without paying any duty. You will need to keep a record of what you made, when you made it and when you used it. If asked, you will need to prove you haven't exceeded the 2500 litre limit. HMRC can legally get very unpleasant if they have any suspicion of any tax evasion, so it's best to keep up the paperwork just in case.

The rules are pretty grey regarding if you can sell it or not. The other consideration is if the ministry find out you're trading however legally they'll want to see your records and check that the premises are compliant etc etc. The oil may be pretty safe but the methanol you need to add to make diesel is extremely volatile.

I'm waiting for my biodiesel plant to arrive in the next couple of weeks, I'll post the results, photos and other info on this forum.

The only snag I can foresee at the moment is getting hold of the oil and transporting it safely home. Not all chip fat is suitable for making into diesel - do your research well.

I have an old central heating oil tank in the garage to store the used oil, I'm considering buying a spare to store freshly made diesel in.

There are plenty of web sites dedicated to the subject, just google for biodiesel. I found Greenfuels and JC Fuels both very helpful and a good source of information.

If you're interested, the October 2007 issue of Car Mechanics tells you pretty much everything you need to know at a high level, your suppliers can fill in the details.

Warning. A colleague made his own biodiesel plant, but now he has to hunt around to get anyone to supply him with the methanol to mix with the source oil. At the moment he's buying up stocks from all of the model shops in the area. If you buy a biodiesel plant from a supplier they will happily sell you the chemicals you need to run it.

E-bay, there's a place in Manchester that sell 205l for £90 for Biodiesel only production. You have to prove to them you are using it for BioD before they will even sell you any.

Scrounger, my understanding is as you say you can produce 2500 ltr / year duty free for your own use. You start selling it and believe you become a producer and don't benefit from the duty free element, I belive its 2500 ltr / premises and not person ie a family of four could not produce 10,000 ltr.

the other thing to consider if you haven't already is the stuff you get from the chippy might well be solid which introduces a whole new set of obsticles in terms of storeing it ie if you put it in your existing heating oil tank how will you get it out if its solid?

caterham said:

Scrounger, my understanding is as you say you can produce 2500 ltr / year duty free for your own use. You start selling it and believe you become a producer and don't benefit from the duty free element, I belive its 2500 ltr / premises and not person ie a family of four could not produce 10,000 ltr.

the other thing to consider if you haven't already is the stuff you get from the chippy might well be solid which introduces a whole new set of obsticles in terms of storeing it ie if you put it in your existing heating oil tank how will you get it out if its solid?

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The 2500ltrs applies to producers. HMR&C doesn't differenciate between a producer who makes & sells it, and some one who pours vegoil in their tank.

caterham said:

don't want to give all the trade secrets away.....
just been on a 2 day course basically aimed at using my processor efficiently. which includes the health and safety (don't forget your messing with some nasty chemicals), the operation of the equipement, tasting the oil prior to transesterfication and testing after to achieve a good quality end product. I would suggest even with good equipment (and I'd like to think what I have bought is good) you're looking at 8 hrs (plus settlement time) once you become competent and after lots of practice perhaps as little as 6 hours (plus settlement). oh and don't forget all the time and effort involved in getting the ingredient for the chemistry, the testing equipment, collecting of the oil etc.....

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Hi Bud!

Just noticed the thread and was interested in your comments on attending a course? Could you please let me know what course this was and where? I am very interested in going Bio whilst I have a job that allows me the finance to set it up. I run two disco's TD5 & 300Tdi. Any info would be useful.

thanks

I have bought my processor from green-fuels in Fareham. They also organised the course which I felt was essential and included using my processor to produce Bio.
Excellant company to deal with and would highly recommend.

good. luck.