No, he was inside, but it was a large area, kind of a warehouse.  I think
the cause was likely that he was doing a small batch for testing purposes in
a 5 gallon container & the vapors were in a confined area beneath the lip of
the container, or that would be my guess.  The little fireball certainly got
his attention though!  Now he has a 500 gallon tank & the process is a
little more automated!

David

----- Original Message -----
From: Arthur Sauerhaft
To: David Dalbey ; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 12:44 PM
Subject: Re: Re: biodiesel

David,
Thanks for the warning, I only work outdoors with it so the accumulation of
enough vapors is highly unlikely, was your friend working outdoors?
Thanks,
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: David Dalbey
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 3:26 PM
Subject: Re: biodiesel

PLEASE BE CAREFUL!! I have a friend that now brews it for resale several
hundred gallons at a time.  When he started out he was doing a small
quantity, stirring it with an electric drill & paint stirring attachment &
had a little explosion when vapors were ignited by a spark on the drill.
Lost a good portion of his arm hair.  Since then he's been using compressed
air rather than electric!

David

----- Original Message -----
From: Arthur Sauerhaft
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 11:42 AM
Subject: biodiesel

Hey all you volks interested in biodiesel check out:
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_link.html
all the resources are on this page
I also ordered my scale and 50ml beakers also syringes (with 1ml gradations)
and droppers from Delta-ed.com. Got some big buckets and big rubber gloves
( the heavy black kind) at a local restaurant supply.You also need a paint
stirrer (the small kind for an electric drill), methyl alcohol from a local
speed shop, and pure lye (Red Devil  works fine , don't use Drano crystals
it has aluminum added)BE CAREFUL and feel free to ask more.
-Arthur