Home foundry blunder

It should be noted that you do not have to operate a burner at its maximum output for a given furnace, but rather there is a maximum amount of fuel and combustion air that can be introduced into a given furnace size that will fully combust, and any additional fuel or air added beyond that point will actually operate at a lower temperature.

What this means is that you can trade off melt time for lower fuel usage (lower gal/hr burn rate), ie: I can melt 20 lbs of aluminum in 12 minutes at a 2.6 gal/hr burn rate, but you can just as easily melt 20 lbs of aluminum at a much lower fuel flow, it will just take more time to reach pour temperature of about 1350 F.

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Rich, As to the price of diesel, have you looked for a supplier of red diesel? It's used on building sites and farms and has a much lower tax point if it isn't used to power a road going vehicle.

lee webster said:

Rich, As to the price of diesel, have you looked for a supplier of red diesel? It's used on building sites and farms and has a much lower tax point if it isn't used to power a road going vehicle.

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Lee,
I have been browsing a little. I know agricultural concerns use it but I am unsure how a domestic user can get hold of small quantities like 5 gal or so?
Domestic heating oil has to be bought in huge quantities like 500 Litre and emergency small quantities offered are close to diesel price.
Shame I don't have a farmer as a friend.
Rich

I found this on GOV.UK

At Budget 2020, the government therefore announced that it would remove the entitlement to use red diesel and rebated biodiesel from most sectors from April 2022 to help meet its climate change and air quality targets. The tax changes will ensure that most users of red diesel use fuel taxed at the standard rate for diesel from April 2022, like motorists, which more fairly reflects the harmful impact of the emissions they produce.

I wasn't aware of this, I don't know if this happened or not. You might be out of luck!

lee webster said:

I found this on GOV.UK

At Budget 2020, the government therefore announced that it would remove the entitlement to use red diesel and rebated biodiesel from most sectors from April 2022 to help meet its climate change and air quality targets. The tax changes will ensure that most users of red diesel use fuel taxed at the standard rate for diesel from April 2022, like motorists, which more fairly reflects the harmful impact of the emissions they produce.

I wasn't aware of this, I don't know if this happened or not. You might be out of luck!

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WOW!
That's a bummer!
Need to find heating oil maybe?
Thanks Lee

creast said:

WOW!
That's a bummer!
Need to find heating oil maybe?
Thanks Lee

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Looks like can be used for off grid domestic heating? Does this count lol!

Heating oil is basically the same fraction of the crude as is the base oil for DERV. But DERV has extra refinement and additives that make it more expensive. (DERV = Diesel Engine Road Vehicle fuel).
# It is now a "low-sulphur" oil,
# It has lubricants in it to improve lubricity, to withstand hydraulic pump use and the high bearing pressures realised (Heating oil or straight Vegetable oil will wear-out the fuel injection pump in a fraction of the regular lifetime of using DERV - just a few years use? In the factory building diesel vehicles we had to buy a "more expensive" (~1p/l => ~ £24,000/annum.) diesel fuel that had the "best" additives, for first fill and first start of the vehicles, in order to maintain the very low Warranty costs of failed fuel pumps - to less than 5/million.),
# DERV is de-waxed, and has fractions for thinning it in winter (wax removal and dilution fractions),
# DERV has some other chemical mixes that enable fast ignition - for cold starting. These last fractions give DERV a distinctive smell compared to heating oil, and can permeate plastic storage "cans". So Long-Term storage MUST be in metal containers, or you will suffer a month or 2 of a "smelly" fuel store, from the "sharp and aromatic" methanol-type stuff. Fuel storage in anything other than a "proper" purpose built fuel store (vehicle tank or Central heating tank) can invalidate domestic fire insurance, so CHECK your policy.
# And please do NOT use RED diesel in any road use, as the red dye will permanently stain components so the Revenue Men can identify where it is used illegally, even years later, or when the vehicle is scrapped, and prosecute on "what they think" you may have cheated them of the road tax on DERV. - You don't want to hear "the Knock!"!
K2

Rich,

I'm do not know your location but a Marina serving canal narrow boats or probably a sea-port is another possibility as I believe these run red diesel. You may have to open an account and declare you are not using it for road transport etc.

Ian

rileyrm said:

Rich,

I'm do not know your location but a Marina serving canal narrow boats or probably a sea-port is another possibility as I believe these run red diesel. You may have to open an account and declare you are not using it for road transport etc.

Ian

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Thanks for the tip Ian,
I am in Leicestershire and there are couple of marinas not too far from me.
I will investigate.
Cheers
Rich

lee webster said:

I found this on GOV.UK

At Budget 2020, the government therefore announced that it would remove the entitlement to use red diesel and rebated biodiesel from most sectors from April 2022 to help meet its climate change and air quality targets. The tax changes will ensure that most users of red diesel use fuel taxed at the standard rate for diesel from April 2022, like motorists, which more fairly reflects the harmful impact of the emissions they produce.

I wasn't aware of this, I don't know if this happened or not. You might be out of luck!

Click to expand...

Warning - - - - likely considered OT!!!!

If they did that here I would be badgering that same government incessantly for 2 things.
A special tax on food -- - - so that I could cover the significant increase in costs.
Then a tax on stupidity - - - - - which if they did implement it would mean that the government would be taxing itself out of existence!

(I don't have enough use for the meals produced or I would likely already have my own pressing systems at this point.
Wouldn't be using bio-diesel but a vegetable oil (done by starting on diesel and then when operating temperature is reached the system is switched to SVO (straight vegetable oil).)