| Do It Yourself Guide to Biodiesel: Your Alternative Fuel Solution for Saving Money, Reducing Oil Dependency, and Helping the Planet |  | Author: Guy Purcella
Publisher: Ulysses Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $9.48
as of 9/3/2010 16:51 PDT details
You Save: $6.47 (41%)
New (32) from $9.48
Seller: allnewbooks
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 582,264
Media: Paperback
Edition: illustrated edition
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 1569756244
Dewey Decimal Number: 662.669
EAN: 9781569756249
ASIN: 1569756244
Publication Date: October 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9781569756249 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
|
| Also Available In:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
THE TRUTH ABOUT BIODIESEL - Easy to make at home
- Cheaper than buying diesel
- Works in unmodified diesel engines
- Reduces the need for imported oil
- Decreases greenhouse gas emissions
If you are ready to start making your own biodiesel, then this book is for you. Do It Yourself Biodiesel provides up-to-date information, step-by-step instructions, and tried-and-true methods as well as helpful tips and tricks. With detailed photos, illustrations, and charts, this book makes it easy to understand the procedures and equipment you will need to make biodiesel at home--in small or large batches. About the Author Guy Purcella has been interested in alternative energy for many years.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
 Technical Aspects Well Researched August 21, 2008
Tim Dane (California)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My career requires that I read a lot of technical material and Guy's book is one of the most thorough that I have had the pleasure of reading. How great that we "Do It Yourselfers" have such a complete guide to help us accomplish our goals of reducing our carbon footprints.
Do it yourself guide to Biodiesel September 23, 2009
W. M. Carlile (Madison, Wi USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well written and easy to understand. Gives a thorough review of several methods and several products available and lists some web sites for further investigation. For a 50 year old who purchased his first diesel auto, this was a great find!! At this point, I am not sure if I will begin making biodiesel but if and when I do, this guide is a perfect starting manual. Asks questions, answers questions and presents different viewpoints and options. Truely worthwhile investment with many formulas, graphs and charts....Mike C. Wisconsin
book great for a novice June 7, 2010
Carla Kodet (Colorado)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This technical manual is easy to read and understand and gives the novice all the information needed to understand the process. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the biodiesel process and how it works.
The Guide to do it yourself Biodiesel May 23, 2008
Charles Nugent (Phoenix, AZ)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This in my humble opinion is the definitive resource for making biodiesel. It guides you through the whole process from outsourcing the raw product to putting it into your tank in clear and concise language. As diesel climbs higher and higher the realization of our misguided policy makers decisions and deeper dependence of our energy demands on foreign oil brings keen and painful awareness to do something now to avert financial catastrophe to our way of life. This book definitely has one of the answers to our uncertain future.
DIY Guide to Biodiesel: A must-have book for would-be Biodieselers February 25, 2009
Anthony D. Kuhn (Fairbanks, AK USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In these days of over-priced fuel and the ever-growing reality that something larger than a recession is waiting just around the economic bend, more and more people are looking for ways to cut costs without having to sacrifice mobility or comfort. The previously mysterious art of brewing up homemade biodiesel has found a sage friend in the form of author Guy Purcella whose Do It Yourself Guide to Biodiesel can help any industrious soul turn waste vegetable oil into an inexpensive and environmentally friendly fuel that will work in most diesel automobiles and trucks with few modifications.
Purcella approaches biodiesel as an accessible and worthwhile way to fulfil both of those qualifications since you can make it for about $1 a gallon and since it's not a petroleum-based product, it's friendly for the environment when burned and is not toxic to Mother Earth if spilled. So let's get started!
Purcella begins by laying out his own lengthy search for information on biodiesel production and relates that he had a heck of a time finding good, factual knowledge on the subject despite trolling all manner of websites, blogs and even more traditional media outlets. Out of this frustration was born an idea to write a DIY book that has all the necessary pieces of the puzzle to enable any would-be biodiesel producer to make up a batch without fear of error or danger. That biodiesel production can be a bit dangerous and is not for those who don't follow checklists is worth noting before you dive in and start mixing up volatile chemicals in your broom closet at home!
The style of the book is straight-forward and easy to digest. Purcella lays out the biodiesel production process in a step-by-step format with sidebars to highlight areas of special interest, such as dangerous chemicals, definitions for technical terms, and process steps that require special attention to ensure the reaction that makes waste oil into biodiesel succeeds.
There is a good primer on how to gather waste vegetable oil from your local fast food vendors with Chinese restaurants being a favored place to harvest feed stock for your biodiesel plant. That's because Chinese restaurants tend to turn over their oil more often to ensure better quality food and what's good for the customer is good for the biodieseler: cleaner oil means a better reaction with less goop to deal with and ends up making the fuel cleaner, more stable and easier to make. There is some initial expense in setting up the arrangements necessary to gather oil, but with a little luck and an eye for salvageable barrels, the cost could be very low.
Purcella recommends checking the waste vegetable oil by using a somewhat complex chemical reaction to make sure that the fuel stock you are gathering is even worth trying to convert into biodiesel. It is possible that the oil has been overused and will not make a high enough grade of biodiesel to be used in engines. That doesn't mean you can't use it in waste oil heaters or the like, but there's no need to go through the whole conversion process to use the oil for simple space heating.
The plant one needs to make fuel from WVO (that's waste vegetable oil) can be a bit expensive, especially if one wants to make large enough batches to reap the benefits of economy of scale. At least 2 of the chemicals used in the reaction, methanol and caustic lye, are very dangerous and even life-threatening if improperly handled/used, so Purcella takes extra care to make sure there's absolutely no question that safety is paramount when adding them to the reaction in the proper quantities and in the right amounts. This is a very important and well-covered area in the DIY Guide to Biodiesel that should be carefully noted to ensure the life and limbs of the biodeiseler remain healthy and whole.
There are a number of options for making a biodeisel plant and Purcella offers his own version as a nice way for a fairly well-off DIYer to make a batch with no fuss and less muss. Not very DIy, actually, and a bit of a shill for his business, but to his credit, Purcella also discusses other companies that make competitive models and even offers honest-to-goodness instructions on how to build your own. Again, plenty of caveats to have an electrician hook up the circuits and make sure the sparky parts don't end up providing any extra excitement or shocking results.
I found the process of turning WVO into good quality biodiesel to be quite complex and fraught with areas that could cause the whole batch to turn into "goop." There's filtering, heating, mixing chemicals, reacting, washing, drying, and at each step a small miscalculation or error in process would end in nothing more than a large mass of soapy oil muck.
One of the by-products of the process is glycerin, which Purcella says can be used to keep the dust down on dirt roads or in sports arenas without fear of harming the environment. The normal compounds used to bind the dirt into a dust-free coating are very toxic to flora and fauna and can cause great harm to aquatic life. As a sideline to help reduce the costs of biodiesel production, the glycerin dust reduction business seems like an easy and eco-friendly way to do good while doing well.
The book has a comprehensive list of resources for the potential biodieseler with lots of websites and forums. Also included is a fairly good glossary containing definitions of some of the more esoteric terms used when discussing the conversion process and materials used. As an added bonus, there are also short sections on using biodiesel in colder climates and what kind of fuel hoses and fittings are necessary to withstand biodiesel's chemical attack on normal rubber and PVC used in diesel fuel systems.
With the exception of some grainy and not-so-clear photographs, Gary Purcella's Do It Yourself Guide to Biodiesel is a good quality effort at helping people learn the ins and outs of the entire biodiesel process from waste oil to EPA-approved engine fuel. At $15.95 the price is within reach of almost any budget and the savings that will come in the form of successful batches of biodiesel right out of the chute will pay for the book many times over. If that price is too rich, it is available right now at Amazon.com for $10.85 or if you are lucky you might find one at your local library or cleantech coop. You can also visit Purcella's website, http://www.ezbiodiesel.com/, and learn more about his on-going efforts to help convert the diesel world to a new and friendlier fuel with the additional aim of reducing American dependence on overseas petroleum-based fuel.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
|
|
|
Disclaimer: This is an Amazon.com storefront - the products referenced
on this site are manufactured and sold by parties other than
CleanEnergyFacts.com
CleanEnergyFacts.com makes no representations regarding either the
products or any information vendors offer about their products.
Any questions, complaints, or claims regarding the products must be
directed to the appropriate manufacturer or vendor, or to Amazon.com |
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. The Solar Panel Store From CleanEnergyFacts.comInternational Orders & Shipping
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
Shipping Restrictions
Warranty issues and manufacturer restrictions prevent us from shipping certain products to all geographical locations. You'll be notified while placing your order if we're unable to ship specific items to the address you've selected.
International Addresses
The following items can be shipped to destinations outside the U.S.:
* books*
* DVDs
* music
* VHS videos
Additionally, some software, tools, and kitchen items can be shipped to the following countries:
* Australia
* Austria
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Japan
* Ireland
* Italy
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Sweden
* United Kingdom
These items can be shipped only via Priority International Shipping and are subject to an import fees deposit.
*Note: Books that require special handling because they are extremely heavy (for example, multi-volume sets) cannot be shipped outside the U.S. If this is the case, it will be noted on the product detail page.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Shipping date estimates will appear in the order form. After placing your order, you will see both shipping and delivery date estimates in the order confirmation e-mail and in the order summary in Your Account.
Calculating Cost
Shipping costs depend upon the method and option you choose.
If you choose to group items into as few shipments as possible, you'll be charged for one regular per-shipment fee, as well as a per-item fee for each item in that shipment.
If you choose to ship items as soon as they become available, we'll charge you full per-shipment fees for each shipment as well as a per-item fee for each item.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound. |
|
|
| |
