Bill, in a larger city like St. Louis, during good times we have many
restaurants but they are dominated by renderers. The only way to get
oil is to catch a new restaurant before they've signed a contract.
During bad times, the restaurants go out of business and people
struggle to find sources at all. We've been seeing that the
restaurants that are in trouble cut costs by reducing the amount of
frying they are doing and by changing their oil less often. So that
reduces both quality and quantity from the biodiesel homebrewer's
perspective.
We have had grease rustlers for quite some time. There's a notorious
pair in a red dually that comes roaring north on I-44, stopping off
at key exits where restaurants are clustered, and using a trash pump
to clean out the renderers' grease bins. Since they are taking on
renderers, I figure at some point they will get busted.
I drive as little as possible and my car gets about 45 MPG, so I have
been able to get by with a restaurant that gave me only five gallons
a week. I have also made relationships with several green
organizations who sometimes route the results of festivals to me.
Just two weeks ago I got an email to drop everything and come pick up
20 gallons at the 2011 Pride Festival. If that keeps up I hope it'll
tide me over until I find a new restaurant of my own.
Back in 2004 when starting out, eBay, AutoTrader, and Craigslist were
not all that well developed and so it was hard to find diesel
vehicles. I used to tell people, "Buy your vehicle and it will force
you to get serious about making your own fuel." Now it's easy to find
vehicles and hard to find WVO. So now I tell newbies in my area,
"Find your oil source, collect it, and set up your storage while you
practice making one liter batches. You've got plenty of time to find
a vehicle, set up your equipment, and learn how to use it."
Hobbyists are no different than commercial biodiesel plants:
feedstock is everything.
Maud
> Maud, Wife and GD went to Paris yesterday, and informed me I have
>another 25 gallons at Novice, in Texas. So now I will be scrambling
>to store it. Before son quit the city of BB he was supose to get me
>250 gallon containers, but never did. The ones I had, I cut holes in
>them for pig shelters . Lucky, I still have about 15 or 20 55
>galloon drums. plastic and metal.
> I do not know about others who live in larger towns, cities, but
>rural, there are some unique aspects to getting oil. The problem
>with smaller mom and pops. In the winter, some relative or friend,
>will want the oil for live stock feed supplement. Then come spring
>they do not want it. I took the opinion with two this spring, one
>the barrel cost me money to leave there, two it cost fuel and time
>to go check, so I made a rule, whole hogor nothing.
> Then, and caught on camera, at Pier 49 in Broken bow, a couple of
>fellas out of Ft Smith , Ark. had some tanks on a couple of old u
>haul trucks, they routed out an area toward a buyer in Texaranaka
>and I think Durant, toward Dallas, and just helped themselves at
>night.
> Then the larger, national collectors moved in. They seem to try
>and bully owners. Plus one fellow about 40 miles from here wanting
>to go big time, make 5000 gallons a wek. My son caught him, red
>handed moving one of our barrels, and they had words. My point,
>making bio diesel, running straight waste oil, how ever one wants to
>approach it; that is a very simple , straight fwd process, just
>follow fomulars, operating procedures, used now for near on 100
>years or more. But the logistics of aquiring the oil, that is what
>one needs to consider, as much, if not more than how to.
<snip>
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