THE CHRONIC TINKERER

A tour of a farm where the farmer grows oilseeds to fuel his equipment

May 26, 2008

" Fuelfarmer" is the online identity for a man who farms in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

 

 

Here he stops his pickup at an overlook of his canola field, while recounting the history of this spot during the Civil War.

 

As you can see from these pictures, this season's canola crop is nearly five feet tall.

 

Here's a close up look at canola seeds in the pod. They are 38% oil by weight. On the left, a "McMansion" has sprouted in the valley, one can only wonder what the heating bills will be this winter for that monstrosity.

 

Camille stands next to fuelfarmer's combine. When he decided to grow canola for farm based biodiesel production, he needed only to purchase the implement on the right, a rake to pick up the swathed canola with the combine.

 

Here's a look inside the back of the combine. A combine separates the seeds from the plant, be it wheat or canola. On the left, fuelfarmer is feeding some canola into his oil press. This machine squeezes the oil out of the seeds and then sends the remaining meal out to be used as animal feed. 

 

Fuelfarmer has done a great job integrating the low cost ($4100) chinese made oil press into his farm operation. On the right you can see the spring augur he uses to dredge some of the particulates that fall into the oil collection tray back into the press for a second pass, thereby increasing his yield. 

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Raw canola oil is sent into a settling tank that allows most of the fines to settle out. On the right, a stream of settled canola oil ready to turn into biodiesel.  

     

Here's a look at the canola meal that comes off the press and can be fed to cattle and poultry. It is high in protein as well and makes a great feed supplement. Most of the soy grown in the US is grown to produce meal for cattle feed.

      

Now we're moving into the biodiesel phase of production, where Bob's expertise lies. Fuelfarmer traded some oilseed for the biodiesel processor on the right, and is using it to make about 3000 gallons per year of fuel for his on farm use. 

    

A man and his fuel. Finished biodiesel in the top jar, with a jar of washed fuel (with clear wash water beneath it) below. 

 

While Bob and fuelfarmer traded local genealogy stories, Camille and the farmer's two daughters entertained themselves by taking turns drawing three separate parts of each drawing to make a whole. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch of fresh salad, with strawberries and nuts followed by some very tasty strawberry pie whipped up by his lovely wife.

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