| Registration and class fees | Equipment and Advanced classes | Biodiesel Homebrew Guide book | Processors For Sale | Contact |
Columbus, OH (not yet confirmed)
Fayetteville or Chattanooga, TN
Biodiesel fuel can be made in your backyard or garage for under $1/a gallon with common ingredients, using very inexpensive equipment. Relatively little chemistry knowledge is needed to produce quality fuel that will run in any diesel engine, and thousands of people around the country have discovered homebrewing fuel to be an addictive hobby. Come learn what it takes to produce your own clean-burning biodiesel fuel, and to build the equipment to do so.
These classes are hands-on and fast-paced - you'll be making test batches of fuel, titrating and testing oil, and assessing quality of the finished product throughout the two day class.
There are classes offered from beginner to advanced levels: click here for other class descriptions
This is a fast-paced class designed to quickly teach the skills needed for safely
making high quality biodiesel, using a unique and truly hands-on format. After
learning basic theory, practicing titration, making mini-batches, and learning
quality testing, students will spend a full day solidifying what they learned
by making biodiesel in realistic "Processor Stations', going through every
step used in a full-size home biodiesel production system. Student teams will
operate realistic, tabletop 5-gallon processor systems- a miniature version
of the common Appleseed Processor/wash tank/dry tank found around the world-
and the tabletop reactor will familiarize them with every valve, tank, pump,
switch, and interconnect that would be found in a full-size system. The goal
of the class format is to take the hands-on learning experience a big step beyond
the '1-liter mini-batch' equipment used in most biodiesel classes. There will
also be a full-size reactor system on a trailer at the class, including GL-1
and pot still-type methanol recovery systems.
In most biodiesel workshops (including my own Biodiesel Essentials), "hands-on time" usually means a few hours of lab work involving titration and shaking 1-liter soda bottle batches, or, at best, a demonstration by the instructor of some pre-arranged steps in a full-size reactor, performed once, with the students just watching. Neither of these is an ideal learning method for the complexity involved in using a 'real' biodiesel reactor on your own for the first time at home. People who are hands-on learners sometimes need more time on "realistic" equipment operation in addition to the 1-liter shaken soda bottle batch method.
Operating your own processors in class would be more realistic than 1-liter glassware batches- but is very difficult to arrange as a class for 20 people. Operating a full system can also make it easier to understand equipment choices that face you as you design your own home system after the class, or help decide on one to purchase.
Because this is a fast-paced class, it is highly recommended that you purchase an inexpensive test batch kit/scale from www.utahbiodieselsupply.com and try to make and wash a test batch at home before the class, using storebought, new oil not requiring titration. This is not mandatory but the preparation will enhance your class experience.
To make the class run smoothly, please read the www.biodieselcommunity.org website before the class, so that you have some idea of the basic process. Copies of Biodiesel Homebrew Guide will also be available for sale fpr $15 at the class: www.localb100.com/book.html , and there will be a short handout with some basic formulas for later reference.
Please purchase your parts kit from the instructor ($360) or from www.utahbiodieselsupply.com The deadline for parts kit purchase for the Wilmington class is November 22.
Because we are trying to fit a lot into the weekend, we don't have time to assemble your own 'store-bought' parts, and can only work from the kit. The kit sold by the instructor is similar to that formerly sold by www.b100supply.com and if b100supply.com gets them in stock again, please feel free to purchase theirs. If you are building your reactor, you will also need to bring a new or used electric water heater of any size.
To buy reactor parts for the Essentials/Crash Course classes only:
-contact me at classregistration@girlmark.com
-paypal link for parts kit orders ($360) is below. Deadline is 2 weeks before class date. I will pick up parts for you and bring them to the class. If you manage to get a b100supply.com kit there may be a discount for registered students- email them for info. You can also purchase a kit from Utah Biodiesel Supply- they do have theirs in stock and may have other items you may want to purchase anyway.
-To purchase parts for a reactor kit from me, send me a check to Maria Alovert, 945 Bill Thomas Rd, Moncure, NC 27559 or use this paypal button here:
-you also need to bring an electric water heater, new or used, to the class. If you have the space and money I recommend an 80 gallon. If it is used, please remove all plumbing fittings and plastic drain pipe and clean out the lime scale with water first. Here is a b100supply.com article about testing used water heaters.
-we will not build wash tanks to take home (we do this in another class) but we will discuss how it's done in the Crash Course.
About the instructor:
Maria 'girl Mark' Alovert is a biodiesel production technology consultant based
in North Carolina. She is the author of The Biodiesel Homebrew Guide, a manual
on biodiesel production (http://localb100.com),
the founder of the community-written biodiesel homebrewing tutorial site http://biodieselcommunity.org
and is the inventor of the Appleseed Processor, an 'open source' design now
used by thousands of people around the world to produce biodiesel on a 'homebrew'
scale. She has been involved in home-scale biodiesel technology development
since 2000. She frequently teaches beginning and advanced biodiesel production
classes around the country and is a an active participant in biodiesel production
discussion forums such as http://biodiesel.infopop.cc
Here's what some students have said about recent classes:
Pittsboro, NC , Atlanta, GA in January, Houston, TX , Pigeon, MI and also here,
Graydon Blair's review of Salt Lake City workshop and also here
photos from Lee NH class here
review of one of my California classes here
reviews from past classes (summer-fall 2004) are linked here
| December 6-7 | Wilmington, NC |
Biodiesel Production Crash Course 10-5 each day |
$108 early registration, until Nov 7, $140 after Nov 7 | Hosted by Cape Fear Biofuels |
| January 17-18 | Marietta, OH |
Biodiesel Production Crash Course 9-5 each day |
$108 early registration until Dec 1, $140 after |
Hosted by WSCC diesel technology department |
| Febuary 21-22 | Oxford MS area |
Biodiesel Production Crash Course 10-5 each day |
$108 early registration
|
Hosted by Brad Crafton |