Duda Diesel LLC
1112 Brooks St SE , Decatur, Alabama, United States

The sole owner of Duda Diesel LLC is Brian James Duda. He has a Bachelor degree of Science in Engineering. His studies focused on air-breathing propulsion in aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  During his studies in 2005, Brian acquired an old 1986 Detroit Diesel All American Bluebird bus in his home state of Massachusetts. After driving it for a few weeks, he found the high fuel price for diesel fuel of $3.00/gallon to be too much, and explored the alternative fuel of vegetable oil. In the process of finding, filtering and using the fuel, he found that it was very difficult to obtain a lot of the expensive supplies needed for treating waste vegetable oil and the chemicals needed to make biodiesel. He then created a small online store which carried all of the basic supplies for filtering vegetable oil & then for processing biodiesel. As the business increased, he then pushed to create an online store dedicated to all alternative energy supplies for do-it-yourselfers and other small businesses. Duda Diesel now offers many supplies for SVO, biodiesel, solar water heater technology and will soon also push for solar electrical cells (PV cells), wind power, geothermal systems and energy efficient devices such as LED lights and systems which recycle heat.  Duda Diesel strives for excellent customer service and speedy shipping times while delivering quality products at a reasonable price. The goal of the company is to stay American owned and operated and to bring jobs back to the American economy. Ultimately, Duda Diesel would like to design and manufacturer its own products for sale domestically and internationally.

The Benefits

Biodiesel can be burned in any diesel engine or home oil heater and even experimentally in gasoline engines when heavily diluted with gasoline. Biodiesel burns cleaner than traditional petro-diesel. There is basically no sulfur content.  Biodiesel is also renewable. Since biodiesel originates from a modern day plant instead of hundreds of thousands of years worth of dead organic material, we are also using the fuel in a recycling process. The plant harvests energy from the sun and CO2 from the air using photosynthesis, which is further processed into fuel by us, then burned in an engine or heater for its energy, and CO2 is released back into the atmosphere for another plant to breathe in and begin the process all over again. When petrol fuels are used, CO2 is being added to the Earth system and requires extra plants to maintain current CO2 levels in the atmosphere.  Biodiesel is more lubricating than diesel fuel. It will lubricate your injection pump and injectors, thus increasing the life span of your diesel engine. Biodiesel is also a good cleaning agent, so it will clean out your injectors and even your fuel tank, which is why most users will notice that they need to change their fuel filters after running one full tank when introducing biodiesel into their vehicle. It may take a few filter changes before the tank is entirely clean. Your engine will perform better and eliminate the need for fuel additives commonly used in petro-diesel to enhance performance. Most users will also notice a lot less black smoking coming from their exhaust when using biodiesel and most likely, no smoke at all when B100 (100% Biodiesel) is used. The best part of all is that the exhaust smells like the oil which was used, which is a lot more of a delightful smell than the dirtier petrol diesel.

The Disadvantages

Biodiesel has about 5-10% less energy density than petroleum diesel. This will result in a slight loss in power or fuel economy. However, most users do not notice a difference at all, since this is a minimal change. Gasoline fuels mixed with 10% ethanol have exactly the same effect since ethanol has half the energy density of gasoline and most users have not noticed a difference in that either since it has been introduced as a standard into our fuel economy.  Biodiesel also has more of a gelling issue than petro-diesel. It will begin to cloud at about 40°F and gel in lower temperatures. Users of 100% biodiesel can mix into petro-diesel during the winter months to avoid any issues with cold starts and operation in the winter. There is one type of anti-gel formula on the market which actually works with specifically B100 called Technol B100 Cold-flow Improver. It will reduce the gel point by about 30°F. So for biodiesel which gels at 36°F, the new gel point will be 6°F with the proper amount of Technol dissolved into the B100.  B100 (100% Biodiesel) will also corrode rubber lines, seals and gaskets. Most newer vehicles already have the necessary parts for handling biodiesel, but it is best to check with the manufacturer before filling up your tank. users of B20 and less mixtures will not experience any issues with rubber fuel lines. those using B100 can experience line failure within 6 months of use, assuming the lines are new when it is started. If you should need to find a substitute for rubber fuel lines or gaskets, or if your existing fuel system requires a change, you should use Fluoroelastomer hose, which is 100% compatible with Biodiesel. The most common brand name for this type of hose is known as Viton®, and there are many generic versions of it such as our own fluoroelastomer hose which is much more cost effective and works just the same.

Introduction to making Biodiesel

Biodiesel is most commonly made from fats derived from vegetable oils. Its viscosity is similar to diesel and can run in any diesel vehicle without any modification of the engine, with the exception of old fuel lines and gaskets found in older diesels from the 1980s which may be corroded by biodiesel.  Most makers of biodiesel obtain their vegetable oil sources from restaurants. Restaurants will give away their used frying oil since it must be properly recycled and not thrown away. Aside from many other recycling methods, biodiesel is one of the best ways to recycle this used cooking oil since it helps aid an expensive fuel market and its by-products can be used for many other things.