Hi all

I ma new to this forum. I have been told there are several members here that run WVO. I have ordered a WVO kit to install for my 07 LMM. I have called several restaurants to offer to pick up thier oil for free. So far all of them said they actually get paid for thier oil. I have to say I am not liking this track record. Has anyone else ran into this problem to get free WVO?

Thank you.

Hi all

I ma new to this forum. I have been told there are several members here that run WVO. I have ordered a WVO kit to install for my 07 LMM. I have called several restaurants to offer to pick up thier oil for free. So far all of them said they actually get paid for thier oil. I have to say I am not liking this track record. Has anyone else ran into this problem to get free WVO?

Thank you.

1) Try smaller shops and cafe's first. Their UVO volume is typically not worth a big renderer's time.

2) Convert the UVO, not the vehicle.

Here's what I do: I convert the UVO into biodiesel, reclaim the methanol from the glycerin byproduct, reuse the methanol for subsequent batches, render the demethed glycerin into soap and liquid degreaser, and offer the UVO source FREE SOAP and DEGREASER in return for their UVO. I also supply free degreaser to local auto repair shops.

In doing this, my backyard brewed fuel now costs me about $0.69/gallon, they save on soap expenses, and I rid myself of the byproduct.

This way, should all your UVO sources dry up, you can still run the Arabian Cocktail (#2 diesel).

Hi all

I ma new to this forum. I have been told there are several members here that run WVO. I have ordered a WVO kit to install for my 07 LMM. I have called several restaurants to offer to pick up thier oil for free. So far all of them said they actually get paid for thier oil. I have to say I am not liking this track record. Has anyone else ran into this problem to get free WVO?

Thank you.

Most people line up your WVO source before you buy a kit as its getting harder to find not impossible but not as easy as 5yrs ago. Go to small independent asain places they have the best VO . You will need think outside the box for places that are over looked by the aveage guy. Like Assisted living places with caffaterias, ete ete. I would never call them on the phone buy make a personal visit to talk to the owner or head chef in a larger place. Tell them you are looking for a source of used VO for personal use. Good luck

Here's what I do: I convert the UVO into biodiesel, reclaim the methanol from the glycerin byproduct, reuse the methanol for subsequent batches, render the demethed glycerin into soap and liquid degreaser, and offer the UVO source FREE SOAP and DEGREASER in return for their UVO. I also supply free degreaser to local auto repair shops.[/QUOTE]


How much methanol do you usually get back from reclaiming it out of the glycerin?

Here's what I do: I convert the UVO into biodiesel, reclaim the methanol from the glycerin byproduct, reuse the methanol for subsequent batches, render the demethed glycerin into soap and liquid degreaser, and offer the UVO source FREE SOAP and DEGREASER in return for their UVO. I also supply free degreaser to local auto repair shops.


How much methanol do you usually get back from reclaiming it out of the glycerin?

I brew 20 gallon batches and use 20% meth, sometimes 18% (about four gallons). I usually drop about five gallons of glycerin with some bio and let it settle out so I can draw the bio off the top. Out of the four gallons of glycerin, my distiller can pull out a little over a gallon, somewhere about five to six quarts. I pay $3.45/gallon for meth and $3.25/lb for sodium hydroxide. This finishes the 20 gallons with a total yield of about 19 gallons usable.

Basshopper hit it on the head-have your sources lined up before you drop any money on a kit (or on a biodiesel reactor as far as that goes). Around here it is very nearly impossible to find a source of oil. Even the local bar that produces only 5 gallons a week is paid for their oil. Perhaps there are sources around, but after 3 days of driving around to various places and getting the same answer, I gave up.

It is still possible to pay for oil and come out ahead in the long run, but it takes a lot longer to pay off the initial cost of the WVO conversion/biodiesel reactor. For me, factoring in my lack of free time, it just wasn't worth it to have to pay for the oil and still make bio.

Do you have anything you can offer them in return for them giving you the oil? If you are handy perhaps you could trade a service for the oil. Perhaps perforing small repair jobs on the restaraunt. Or small repairs on their vehicle. Or if your wife is a hairdresser offer them I free haircut every month. Stuff like that. I wouldn't make it something that is too time consuming as you will already be spending enough time collecting & filtering/dewatering the oil. This may at least get your foot in the door.

Just a suggestion.

I would definitely not buy a conversion kit until you have a enough oil coming in to at least pay for the cost of the kit in a reasonable amount of time.

Do you have anything you can offer them in return for them giving you the oil? If you are handy perhaps you could trade a service for the oil. Perhaps perforing small repair jobs on the restaraunt. Or small repairs on their vehicle. Or if your wife is a hairdresser offer them I free haircut every month. Stuff like that. I wouldn't make it something that is too time consuming as you will already be spending enough time collecting & filtering/dewatering the oil. This may at least get your foot in the door...

That's a good suggestion, particularly for a small Mom-and-Pop type place. My first source of oil way back when was a small chicken restaurant. The manager didn't much care about me taking the oil, but was the type of guy that wanted to get something in return. So I agreed to empty and clean his fryers for him in exchange for the oil. They were only open for dinner and I got off work at 2 p.m., so I'd stop by on my way home from work. He was the only one there at that time so it was no big deal to go in, drop the oil, give the fryer a scrub, and be gone. Even though the oil was partially hydrogenated, that was still the best source I ever worked with as far as supply and convenience.

I've never since found a restaurant willing to go for the same arrangement for one reason or another.