anyone making their own ethanol fuel?

wilbanba · Aug 8, 2008

curious as to whether any of the "brew brains" [scientific term] are making their own ethanol fuels thorough fermentation and distillation.

im just curious about the process - not trying to start a flame war over alternative fuels, scams etc.

thanks

EvilTOJ · Aug 8, 2008

Distilling is illegal in most countries, and we don't discuss it here. So you probably won't get much help with it.

MikeFlynn74 · Aug 8, 2008

Distilling for fuel in the US is legal. However you need to be aware of local codes.

Its basically the EXACT same process for distilling anything. http://www.homedistiller.org/

Bob_E · Aug 8, 2008

Don't miss
Home Distiller Forums - Alcohol as Fuel
Also check out
Journey to Forever Online Biofuels Library
Distilling alcohol fuel is legal in the US after you jump through all the government hoops. I haven't taken the plunge yet...
I don't think I could save much money doing it. I would just gain another hobby and become more self sufficient.
http://www.ttb.gov/industrial/distillation_of_ethanol.shtml

BigKahuna · Aug 9, 2008

BioDiesel...YES! SVO (Strait Vegetable Oil) YES

Ethanol...NO!
It took me 2 weeks, and I'll bet (Not including home made equipment) I spent $20 including propane to fire the still...and I ended up with a Liter of ethanol that ran the mower for an afternoon.

It was sure fun though...and I learned a TON about the whole deal...but totally not even close to cost effective on any sort of small scale.

david_42 · Aug 9, 2008

I only know one person that has done it. He used sawdust as the base and it took years to get all of the permits. Then the town extended their border to include his property & shut him down.

hammacks · Aug 9, 2008

When I was in highschool I was really into Biodiesel. I actually had an order for a 55 gal drum of methanol on hold pending my purchase of an old benz E series (IIRC those are the diesels). I think BD is more efficient and easier for at home. No need to distill.

BigKahuna you should post some pictures of you setup. Do you use anything to heat your oil first? I remember scrounging for an old water heater.

anyone making their own ethanol fuel?

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