The Boys' Bugle

2008 Sustainable Energy Fair

Melvin Martin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:02:00 +0000

We plan to be at the North Country Sustainable Energy Fair this year. I hope to bring my centrifuge. We will probably participate mostly like we did other years.

To learn more go to:
http://ncenergy.org/2007/

Larisa Martin - Abide With Me

Steve Spence — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:38:00 +0000

My sister and I made a CD of her singing and playing. Click the play button below, or forward and reverse to select songs. To get copies of the CD, mail Larisa a $12 donation and your address to 156 Newton Rd Potsdam, N.Y. 13676.

Form Object

Winter 2008

Melvin Martin — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:59:00 +0000

Click here to open the Winter 2008 PDF file.

Contents
Slow to Anger!...................................3
Editor’s Desk …………………...4
Justice through Anger with Love....6
What about these Scriptures?...........8
A Young Inventor……………….9
A Perspective on Anger………...10
Sustainable Living……….……..12
Oiling Vehicles with Fryer Oil…...18
What is your Vision?.......................19
His Banner Over Me is Love…….20
What did you Give Him?................20
Who are God’s People?..................21
Controlling the Fire…………........22
Psalms 7………….……………...25
Letter from Joy Martin…..……...26
Various Proverbs………...…..…..27

The VW Fox

Melvin Martin — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:24:00 +0000

Here are some poor pictures of my brother Nathaniel's VW Fox that he put a Lomberdini engine in. As soon as they got it running, they took off for NC and Kentucky. They are still working all the bugs out of it. They hoped to get 60-70 MPG but it don't look that way now. It should run on vegetable oil very well. I'll probably post more later.

More on the centrifuge rotor...

Melvin Martin — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 18:31:00 +0000

I didn't have any good pictures of the centrifuge rotor on this site before. I still don't have a picture of the rotor all put together when it's out of the centrifuge frame, but I'll post what I have. These pictures where all taken while I took it apart for cleaning the dirt out. My brothers had run about 700 gallons through it the day after I ran it. They didn't heat all the oil over the boiling point. When I drained it, I got 1 to 1 1/2 gallons of water out of it. I was amazed how much water was in it. I was pleased. I like how it's working.

The rotor sitting on top of the centrifuge. I took an almost 30 inch section out of a 9 inch OD oxygen tank and machined the ends square.

The top end plate. Notice the holes where the oil spins out of and the weights added to balance it. There is a nut that clamps the rotor together. There is a groove for the oxygen tank to sit into the end plates. Of course there are line up marks so it can be assembled correctly to maintain the balancing.

The rotor before it's cleaned out with the top end plate, the clamping nut, the oil catching pan, and the top bearing removed. The top bearing is held on with two bolts and the oil catching pan is just sitting in there. It only takes a few minutes to take it apart.

Looking down into the centrifuge frame with the rotor and the hopper for catching the oil removed. The center shaft is still there.

The bottom end plate with drain plugs and the center plate for a baffle and support.

The bottom end of the center shaft. Notice the collar for the bottom end plate to sit on, the bearing surface, and then the smaller part for the motor drive coupler to fasten to. You can almost see the holes where the oil comes out the the shaft and into the bottom of the rotor. Actaully this picture is a picture of my old center shaft that is slightly bent. It's only a few thousands off. Sometimes small things matter.

A picture of the whole center shaft with the top at the top of the picture. This is also a picture of the old shaft and wasn't taken the day I took the rest of the pictures.

Sometimes it gets cold around here!

Melvin Martin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:34:00 +0000

Here is a picture of Luray sitting on the cookstove eating breakfast. This is not a fake picture; it's real.

Melvin, the fireman.

Melvin Martin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:27:00 +0000

Last summer I joined the fire department. This winter I resigned because I didn't have enough time. Really I left before they kicked me out. It was a good experience.

More on dirt in the fuel lines...

Melvin Martin — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:21:00 +0000

I added a Ramco filter and an electric switching valve to my Jetta’s fuel system. When I removed the old manual switching valve, I noticed a very interesting thing. The inside of the brass fittings where the diesel and the vegetable oil came into the valve were dirty. That bacteria or corrosion or whatever it is stuff I’ve been having in my systems was there. But the fitting where the fuel came out of the valve was nice and shiny. It seems to me like the dirt got washed off because of more fuel flowing through it. Regardless of the reasons, both diesel and vegetable oil have the same problem of forming dirt. The more pipes and fittings there are after the filter, the more likely for dirt to get in the injector pump. I hope my centrifuge fixes this problem of getting dirt in the pipes. The reason I added the Ramco filter and the electric switching valve is so there is less pipe after the filter than I had before. Someday I'll have it all figured out.

Jonny's grave site

Melvin Martin — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:36:00 +0000

We hope to write on the stone by using rubber and a sand blaster.

More on the Centrifuge

Melvin Martin — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 14:17:00 +0000

Last Monday morning I finished the centrifuge. Then I cleaned oil all day. We cleaned almost 1000 gallons. I was very happy. Here are some pictures of the day.

The heater tank with the centrifuge to the left. In the foreground is the irrigation pump I use to pump oil into the heater tank and where ever.

The heater tank and centrifuge viewing from the other side. The hot oil runs out of the heater tank to the centrifuge to the storage tanks by gravity. I do not pump the hot oil.

Checking the tempature of the oil in the heater tank. If the oil has any water in it, I like to heat it to around 230 F. But 160 is hot enough for lowering the viscosity for the centrifuge, (I think).

The DC motor that drives the centrifuge. It will spin over 6000 RPM, but I only got it up to 3300 RPM yet. The centrifuge does a fine job at 1600 RPM. I still need to do more testing to see just how good a job it does.

The top of the centrifuge. See the oil falling into the centrifuge. Notice the 1 inch thick rubber bearing mount.

The motor controller. I can control the motor speed from 0 to over 6000 RPM.

The info tag for the centrifuge.

Oil coming out of centrifuge and into the storage tank.

The dirt in the centrifuge after almost 1000 gallons. This is a bottom view. There was only about 1/8 inch of very fine dirt at the top.

I was very pleased with the results. My labor was not in vain. It's so good when something goes right. Though I labored hard to make my centrifuge, I realize it was only by God's blessing that I was able to succeed.

My hope is that by spinning the dirt and water out of the oil, I can quit using any biocides.

This spring my brother's suburban and my dad's truck both had injector pumps that where showing signs of dying. I expect them to quite by early summer. This spring I cleaned my used vegetable oil with the cream seperator. Therefore this spring we started to run centrifuged oil. My brother's suburban is still running on that same injecter pump and my dad's truck lasted until this fall. Therefore I'm pretty confident that the centrifuge is the answer to running used vegetable oil in diesel engines. It makes sense because the centrifuge is getting dirt out that is so fine it goes through all the filters, even the 0.5 micron filters.

I also hope I can clean used engine crankcase oil with the centrifuge.

The Centrifuge Works!

Melvin Martin — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:46:00 +0000

Last Saterday I finally got the centrifuge to work. I cleaned around 650 gallons of oil. I didn't test the oil to see how clean it got by running the oil through the centrifuge twice, but looking at the dirt in the centrifuge when I took it apart, I was very pleased. I'm pleased to know that success can happen, and to know that God is the one to get the glory. I still have some bugs to work out of it.

I ended up balancing the centrifuge rotor at a balance shop. I tried to balance it myself first, but I realized that a spinning object can be very contrary. It did things that didn't make any sense to me. It would run smooth for like 10 seconds then vibrate for 3 seconds then smooth again. I realized that God made some amazing things, things too amazing for me. When it works, use it and give God the glory. It is good to understand and search out how God made things to work, but I'm really glad God made a way that I can function without understanding everything first.

More later...

Fall 2007

Melvin Martin — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:56:00 +0000

Click below for the files in the Fall 2007 Issue.

The Boys' Bugle

Vol. 7, Number 3

Contents
Editor’s Desk …………………...3
To be Content?.………………..….4
Let God Be Your Husband………..5
From our Readers……………….6
Forgiven You……………………..8
Questions and Answers…………...9
The Calling of:
Paul Hoover……………………...10
The Bed System………………..12
Let Your Love Flow……………..13
Drink and Strive……………..…..14
Be Content—With What?..............20
Here in the North Country……….21
The Perfect Picture…………….22
The Children’s Challenge
Rhyme Time……………………..23

Man goes to prison for killing boy in DWI

Melvin Martin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:55:00 +0000

By James R. Donnelly
CANTON- A Stockholm man was sentenced Tuesday in St. Lawrence County Court to up to six years in state prison for killing a 15-year-old boy while driving drunk—and was forgiven by the victim’s family.
Richard E Hayes, 40, pleaded guilty July 17 to vehicular manslaughter and felony driving while intoxicated in satisfaction of charges stemming from a March 30 accident in which Jonathan Z. Martin, 15, died. The accident took place when Mr. Hayes’s van slammed into a modified golf cart the youth was using to gather maple syrup along County Route 47, Parishville. Mr. Hayes’s blood alcohol content was0.21 percent, more than three times the 0.08 percent level considered proof of intoxication under state law.
“We grieve much for our son Jonathan and miss him,” said Luke Martin, the victim’s father. But, he said, “As a family we offer forgiveness to you. We believe, even though you are a prisoner, Jesus can set you free.”
Mr. Martin offered Mr. Hayes an opportunity to socialize with his family, joining them at home, during work parties and in church, instead of spending his time drinking in bars.
“Jesus loves you, Richard,” Mr. Martin said, “Please let him into your life.”
County judge Jerome J Richards sentenced Mr. Hayes to two to six years in prison for vehicular manslaughter and one to three years for DWI. He will be allowed to serve the sentences concurrently. He must also pay $1,845 in fines and court fees.

Centrifuge Progress/Update

Melvin Martin — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:36:00 +0000

I’m still working on the centrifuge. At this point I need to remake the center shaft because it is not perfectly straight. It got warped when I welded it. I need a more powerful power supply for the motor. I want to make the top bearing have less friction. And I want to make the rubber bearing mounts stiffer. The two main problems it had were it vibrated and it didn’t have enough power to get up to speed. I had hoped it would work better than it did, but I still have hope of it being a success. I see light at the end of the tunnel. I have all reason to think it will be a success. Hopefully next time I’ll have it working.

How My Summer Went.

Melvin Martin — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:01:00 +0000

I’ve been very busy this summer. I’ve been working at building my centrifuge every time I got a chance all summer long. I am getting close to finished. I think a few days of working at it would finish it. It seems like one thing or another delays me.

The end of May Luray got appendicitis and we treated it with prayer and with herbal remedies. He got fine but being he didn’t know he should keep treating it for 3 months he stopped treating it and went back to work. Then the middle of July he got it again. Not knowing for sure what the problem was, we took him to the hospital. He was in the hospital twice. The doctor thought his appendix had burst so they made a big incision, but it wasn’t burst after all. Now he is not allowed to lift more than 5 lbs till the end of September. I’m really glad he is still here.

Mid August I got a hypodermic needle stuck in my knee while I was picking tomatoes. I never saw a needle in the garden before. I found a needle in a haystack! I think it came from some manure/hayage we bought from a dairy farm. I went to the doctor because I was afraid of tetanus. Afterwards I realized that going to the doctor was useless being I kept the wound clean. I only needed to go if it would have gotten infected, which it didn’t. I’m suspicious that the doctors get a lot of business because people are fearful and ignorant on how to treat themselves. My theory is that God made our bodies with an immune system to fight off any bad stuff that is out to get us. If we are strong, the bad stuff has a hard time getting us. If we are weak, it will get us one way or another. Of course, we should avoid stress as best as we can. I think this applies to both the spiritual world and the physical. I think fear causes us more trouble than the bad thing we’re afraid of. God, and being able to trust in Him, is the greatest strong hold.

About two weeks ago I thought to myself that I need to take a break. I wanted to get my centrifuge finished (besides the regular work) and then go to PA to get it balanced and take a break. But I didn’t make it that far, for I overworked my back and Friday a week and ½ ago it got stiff and tired and I ended up laying on the ground not able to get up. God saw fit for me to take a break sooner than I planned. Now I have time to write.

The beginning of August Charlie Thonus moved from southern N.Y. into Luray’s house at the greenhouses. He is helping with the produce. I think if he wouldn’t have come, by now we’d have hit the dirt. I’m really glad he came. Besides, now I have another friend.

Luray in the hospital.

Charlie beside Luray’s house.

The Bed System for raising produce

Melvin Martin — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:40:00 +0000

The conventional way of farming did not suit us for our pesticide and herbicide free produce farm. We had problems with erosion, overworking the soil, tilling and mowing small sections when a crop was finished, etc. Therefore we switched to a bed system. The bed is about 5 ft. wide and the walk way is about 3 ft. wide.
Generally we first mow the bed down with the flail mower to grind the weeds and spent plants. Then we disc it twice, followed with the rototiller. We may also run the field cultivator (S-tines) over it to make it smoother. Then we plant it and if necessary, we’ll cultipack it. We haven’t yet moldboard plowed it or remade the beds after a few years. The tractor tires always are driving on the walk ways; therefore the beds never get compacted. We try to have clover growing in the walk ways. We have very nice sandy soil, which makes life easier.
We try to keep a cover crop growing any time a bed isn’t planted in a useable crop. It’s best to never have bare dirt. Cover crops are good for soil fertility and for weed control. We use mostly oats, buckwheat, rye, and vetch for cover crops.
We built a nice cultivator for cultivating the beds. The cultivator has a diesel engine with hydrostatic drive (like a skid loader). The engine and operator and cultivators all go up and down. We made it so we can quickly put different attachments on it. Mostly I use 9 inch sweeps on S-tines or the tine harrow for cultivation. The tine harrow has lots of long (about 24 inch) teeth something like would be on a hay rake that scratch the ground. The tine harrow is good for sprouting weeds. We use it on most everything, including carrots. I also have an attachment for making hills, like for potatoes. And attachments for marking rows, harrowing a whole bed, and such. I really like my cultivator.
This system works nice for us on our farm.

Buckwheat for a cover crop.

Potatoes

Deer Fence

Cultivating strawberries

Movie of cultivating the strawberries

The Picker Machine

Melvin Martin — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:34:00 +0000

We’ve been dreaming about building a machine for picking produce and for pulling weeds for a long time already. This summer Daniel was complaining about his back aching. Luray decided to build a picker machine this summer. He was almost finished when he got sick. I ended up finishing it so we could use it. It certainly saves on the back and makes the work go faster. It helps the most when picking cucumbers and when pulling weeds in the strawberries. It gives me a headache if I use it too much. We need to make a few more changes to it sometime. It is powered with a 7 Hp Hatz diesel and hydrostatic drive. And of course, it runs on vegetable oil.

Rear view

Daniel pulling weeds in the flower bed.

Hatz Diesel Generator

Melvin Martin — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:21:00 +0000

My brother Nathaniel put a 7 HP Hatz diesel on a generator. We still haven’t used it enough to know how good it is. Our figures say it should run for 24 hours on a 5 gallon tank of vegetable oil.

Nathaniel and his milk buckets

Nathaniel’s cow

Dirty Vegetable Oil Tanks

Melvin Martin — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:13:00 +0000

I’ve been having a problem with dirt building up on the insides of my fuel lines and tanks. Inside the tank it gave like sheets of dirty leather that fell off and plugged my pipes and filter. I had thought that anti-bacteria fuel conditioner was going to fix my problems, but it didn’t fix them all. Is there a cure for this problem other then getting in there and cleaning it out with elbow grease?

See the pile of “leather” I got out of that tank!

It looks like corrosion on the aluminum piece I show here.

The Doodlebug

Melvin Martin — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:08:00 +0000

We use this doodlebug to get around on the farm. It is powered with a 7 HP Hatz diesel. We run it on straight vegetable oil in the summer time without switching to diesel. Boys love to drive it.

Cleaning Vegetable Oil with a Centrifuge

Melvin Martin — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:07:00 +0000

Last summer and fall we had some trouble with our injector pumps and pipes from bacteria in our diesel fuel and vegetable oil. We started to use anti-bacteria fuel conditioner and all our problems vanished.
But this spring I thought it seemed like a few of our injector pumps were showing signs of wear. I wasn’t convinced I completely found the cure to my problems. I didn’t know if I’m filtering fine enough. Or perhaps bacteria had made acid in my oil that I wasn’t getting out. Or perhaps all the problems I was having was either from old bacteria dirt in the pipes or was just my imagination.
A friend mentioned about using a cream separator to clean the oil. I borrowed a hand crank cream separator from my brother-in-law and tried it. It worked very nicely, but it was very slow and didn’t hold very much dirt, and it was hand-crank. I tried to find an electric motor to turn it, but I couldn’t find one that turned the right speed. Then I got a big cream separator from another friend that had a pulley and mounting for an electric motor. It was an answer to prayer. I was pleased. I put an electric motor on it. It worked, but I had to install pipes in it to get the oil to flow right so the dirt would stay in it (the designers weren’t thinking of me when they designed it). My separator has a 7.5 inch rotor and the rotor spins about 7000 RPM.
I took all the disks out of the cream separator so the rotor is just an empty “can.” I heated the vegetable oil up to 140-230 F. for running through the separator. I run the oil through a screen just before the separator. I prefer the hotter temperatures so the oil is very thin, especially if I suspect any water in the oil. The dirt flies to the outside edge and stays there. The clean oil flows to the top and comes out the milk hole. Nothing comes out the cream hole.
After 50 to 250 gallons (depending on how dirty the oil is), I need to stop the machine and clean the dirt out. If I run it too long, it will fill up with dirt and stop cleaning. The only way to know when it needs to be cleaned out is after some experience. Because of the cone shaped rotor of the cream separator, it holds an amazingly small amount of dirt until it starts to come out with the clean oil.

The whole setup with the heater tank in the background and the barrel to catch the oil to the left. The white bucket is to catch any oil that happens to come out of the cream spout.

I am very pleased with how clean it makes the oil. The finest dirt it takes out is so fine it’s like grease. I probably could fool you into thinking it was dirty wheel bearing grease. I ran 750 gallons of centrifuged oil through a 0.5 micron Greasel (Golden Fuels) filter bag. It didn’t so much as discolor the filter. I did get some bigger dirt in the filter that looked like it would have come out of my cooling/storage tank and pump and pipes. I also got a small amount of “chicken fat” in the filter because I filtered it at 80 F. and I was working with thick oil. But it was clean “chicken fat.”
Even though I’m getting the oil cleaner with the centrifuge than the filter gets it, I still get a significant amount of dirt out if I run the oil through twice.

The rotor when it needs to be cleaned out.

Sometime along the line I decided to try to buy a real centrifuge. I just about bought a Diesel Craft centrifuge, but I didn’t like the idea of having to run the oil through it 3 or 4 times to get it clean. I found a rebuild centrifuge just like I wanted for $6500. It was way too much money for my operation to afford. I decided I could make one just as good for a lot less money (including my time) because I have most of the parts already and I have a lathe and milling machine. I was told of a fellow who can balance it for me. But I plan to wait until next fall or winter to build it. Perhaps I’ll find one for a price I like before I get around to building one.
Sometime I want to try to clean used engine oil, transmission oil, etc.
I think the centrifuge will make the biggest difference on vegetable oil that is very thick, because the thick oil holds the dirt with normal, natural settling, but the centrifuge is finished before the oil has a chance to cool off and get thick.
I was told that American fuel is very dirty compared to European fuel. My goal is to get my vegetable oil as clean or cleaner than American diesel fuel. I don’t think I’m there yet.

Information On Growing Oilseed Crops

Melvin Martin — Wed, 02 May 2007 23:03:00 +0000

There are charts on approximately how much oil you should be able to get per acre for various crops in this PDF file:

http://www.croplandbiodiesel.com/images/clb-brochure-12-20-06.pdf

This information is nice for farmers who are considering growing their own fuel. I haven't checked the figures myself to see if they are accurate, but I assume they are.
Also there is other information and oil pressing equiptment on this website.

Summer 2007

Melvin Martin — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:11:00 +0000

Click below for the files in the Summer 2007 Issue. This issue is a memorial for Jonathan Martin.

The Boys' Bugle

Jonathan Martin's Funeral in audio format

Melvin Martin — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:47:00 +0000

To listen to Jonny's funeral service, click on these links:

Note: There seems to be problems with these links.

Track 1: Teach Me Oh Lord (opening song)
Track 2: Peace, Perfect Peace
Track 3: Abide With Me (Jonny's Favorite song)
Track 4: Luke Martin (speaking)
Track 5: Daniel Martin (Speaking)
Track 6: Gerald Monnet (speaking)
Track 7: Abide With Me, Tis Eventide
Track 8: Be Still My Soul
Track 9: Closing

My Jon Jon Baby

Steve Spence — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 01:35:00 +0000

My Jon Jon Baby--

we all adored him

Dad, Mom and siblings ten

he grew so fast

and was almost nine

when he announced to me

"I told God that I'll live for him."

He found much to do

in the woods, farm, and shop

capable, willing, helping, and studying

kind, forgiving, charming and fun.

He was known to argue with the dictionary

and delight us with tricks.

Fast becoming a man

he was doing his duty--

suddenly hurled in the air

angels were there

ready to catch him and carry him yon.

Oh how we miss him

but through the dark cloud

my sonshines from heaven

his example a beacon

bidding us come.

We love you, Jonathan!

Mom