Forum:
Quoting from:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/northamptonshire/7527630.stm
A man blew up his garage attempting to make biodiesel from cooking oil at his Northamptonshire home.
The victim received 20% burns when his makeshift garage factory, in Middleton Cheney, exploded on Saturday afternoon.
He was airlifted to the specialist burns unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire, where he is now being treated.
Fire crews from Banbury, Oxfordshire, in breathing apparatus, sealed the area off until the chemicals were made safe.
It is understood the man regularly made fuel from used cooking oil, which he got from his local Chinese takeaway.
Soaring prices
He was using an electric drill to mix the oil with ethanol and caustic soda when a spark ignited the flames, causing the explosion.
Making your own fuel is legal - the government allows people to produce 2,500 litres of biofuel a year, tax free.
The AA has said more people are making their own supplies since the price of petrol and diesel began to soar at the pumps - with one estimate suggesting that 20,000 people across the UK are doing so.
But the organisation said while biodiesel might work in older cars, newer engines often do not react well to home-made fuel.
Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service warned that people without sufficient knowledge of how to deal with chemicals were likely to face problems.
A spokesman said: "Firefighters would like to urge members of the public to take extreme caution if undertaking such chemical mixtures in their own homes and ensure they know exactly what they are doing and the potential consequences."
BIO FUEL TRADEGY
Terrible thing to happen and I wonder whether it was worth it for a few Pence, I doubt whether the poor chap of his family would think so.
I doubt whether the Government will react, perhaps only in banning the making of the stuff other than on regulated and controlled sites.
OLDMINIMAN
M J Young
Homemade Bio Diesel
Hi All.
If he had read the article by Assassin he would not have been using an electric drill, as mentioned sparks from electric motors can ignite the volatile chemicals used in the making of Bio-Diesel, this is one of the areas which was brought up in the article, that some sites on the web say to mix the chemicals with a drill fitted with a mixing paddle.
We await a knee jerk reaction from the goverment and HSE,!!!!!.
Just bought Pure Rapeseed Oil from two supermarkets, Tesco and Co-op, in Wales at £1.08 per liter,localy not available (Tesco , Thornbury's very expensive Tesco's, discontiuned line)at this price or brand (Pura), so have 80 liters in stock, as local diesel is £1.36 a liter, still mixing at 50% rate. We went for a day out and came back loaded with veg oil. Its a bugger though getting rid of those 1 Liter bottles, have to do a trip to recyling skips just for veg oil bottles.
Edward (ews) '92 Fourtrak 2.8 TDX
Bang£££££££££££££
Unfortunate is not the word, just pure stupidity of much misinformation on this subjest posted predominantly on the internet by uninformed and uneducated so called experts.
Ethanol vapour is more volatile than petrol vapour, this is why it is used in drag racing engines, and has to have flameproof electric motors used wherever its vapours may be in industrial applications as these places are covered by H&S legislation.
Fuel Pod is a safe way of making fuel, these cost less than £1000, and minimise all these risks, 10 people using one machine equates to a capital outlay of less than £100 per person. Unfortunately; insurance issues arise, he will not get a payout from them to cover the damage to his, or neighbouring properties, so he has also lost out here.
One train of thought is that the Government ought to be prosecuted by the HSE? they have not controlled fuel prices and as a result have endangered potentially many lives, as well as potentially injuring many people as they have forced them into these methods of obtaining affordable fuel supplies.
Now theres a thought? where are all the smart lawyers.