Biodiesel is a fuel that is friendly to the environment and can easily be made in your own home using everyday things like waste vegetable oil as your main ingredient. The great thing about biodiesel is that you only need three simple ingredients to make it. All you really need is methanol, new or used oil, and lye.

This is how to build your processor. First of all, you have to set up the drum by cutting a large hole in the top of a steel drum. You then drill a hole about 1.5 inches into the bottom of this drum. Be prepared to attach a pipe to it. Simply weld a pipe the same diameter as the hole to the bottom of the drum.

You will need to attach a brass ball valve to this pipe. This will be your drain valve. Just so you know it does not have to be brass, but using brass makes the valve more durable. Drill another hole into the side of the drum but this time in the bottom, make it the same size as your heater element. Heater elements can be found in old hot water heaters or can be purchased from your local hardware store.

Alright, now go ahead and fit your heater element properly, making sure it is not touching the either side of the drum. The heater element will need to be wired so that it is connected to your power source. The next thing to do is to assemble the chemical mixer. You can do this by attaching one pulley to the rolled steel rod, and then attach the other pulley to the spindle of the electric motor. A propeller has to be welded to the other end of the rolled steel rod. Cheap shelf brackets can be used as propellers.

Attach the rod, pulley and propeller assembly to one side of the hinge. This will allow you to be able to move the mixer in future when necessary. Ok, across the top of the drum, weld a piece of angle iron. This angle iron will be there to offer support for the mixing apparatus. The unattached side of the hinge should then be attached to the angle iron so the propeller and rod assembly sits in the middle of the drum.

With your hinge now fixed it should swing the propeller and rod back and forth. The next step involves you finally mounting the electric motor onto the side of the drum. You should be able to mount the motor directly to the drum without it tipping the drum. Fit a belt to the pulleys and tighten it to desired length by wedging a block of wood into the hinge. A tight belt is necessary to help you to mix the biodiesel in the drum. The last thing you need is a simple measuring stick and you are done.