What in Gods green Earth is going on?  When i started this biodiese adventure last summer I heard of a 55-gallon drum of methanol selling for about $135.00.  By the time got a drum by early Fall my supplier (D&D Auto Recycling in Hagerstown) sold me one for $185.00 ("Sorry about that, that was the summer price when we were selling it as racing fuel - now all the suppliers are selling it to the windshield de-icer companies and there's not enough to go around so the price went up.  It should come down again in the summer...").  Now, I just checked with a new potential supplier (Corderman's Auto body in Hagerstown) and they're ready to sell me a 55-gallon drum for about $308.00 including tax.  OK, I admit, I am a newbie to this biodiesel thing, but am I like being taken for a ride (read - being ripped-off)?  Is the price of methanol a seasonal thing?  I just produced my first 95 liters of biodiese and still have about 50 gallons of methanol.  Should I wait it out 'till the warmer months and resupply myself then?  I live in Hyattstown/clarksburg, so information regarding potential sources of methanol supply and any advice from the biodiesel community out there would be gratefully appreciated.

Lil'olBrewmeister 

As more and more people start doing the biodiesel thing, it's going to drive the price of methanol up, I'd wager.

Hopefully an increase in demand will result in ramping up production of methanol.  You can get it from coal and natural gas, apparently.

Li'lolBrewmeister:

What in Gods green Earth is going on? 

The amount of methanol being used by biod'ers is insignificant to the cost. My guess is that distributors have figured out that they can increase the cost to ppl who buy 1bbl @ a time.

But much more importantly to the cost is that methanol is ~ 100% produced from fossil fuels, mainly methane. So as the price of energy goes, so does the price of energy products. My guess is that methanol producers are actually worse off in 2008 than in 2005. Same as fertilizer co's, same as plastic co's, ... high energy prices squeezes the bottom line of many co's and products.