Sunday, August 09, 2009

Measure twice, cut once....DOH!


Well, I was delayed in getting Jerry Rig II up and running due to a dumb mistake in measurement. I was in the process of cutting a hole to mount the water heater element and upon inserting the element I realized I cut the hole just a smidge to big. Rather than using the inner diameter of the fitting I used the outer diameter. DOH! Being so busy with work and family I haven't had a chance to find a gasket and washer to try and fix my error. But in the mean time I've processed yet another 30+ gallons with Jerry Rig I.

I also had another minor set back in that both of my resin towers had a malfunction. Due to the weight of the resin and biodiesel in the towers they screens began sagging and came loose on one side thus allowing the resin to flow out. Due to the design I followed there's no easy way of repairing the screens as they are glued in. The design should have included some type of support structure to hold up the screens under load. I'm in the process of redesigning and modifying the design to allow for repairs and access to the screens. Here's a diagram of my idea.

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