Trialing homemade biofuel

[glued]

I have a mate that makes bio and am trialing it in the saf.
Alredy after only 20kms it seems to run cooler,it smokes less and smells like chips,not puke diesel.
I also noticed the inj pump seems to be a little noiser,my mate reckons chances are ill be doin the filters pretty soon as it tends to desoot everything.
i usually get around 500km to a tank,lots of hills out where i am,so ill see how it goes on a tank of bio.

[tallsam66]

Proceed with caution ....If he not making it 100% right will stuff ya motor up.
I would suggest rather than using straight bio ....start with a mix of diesel & bio.

[Dirtydog]

wicked stuff i want to start making biodisel too, start of with 50/50 mix.

ill be glad to hear what you have to say about the trial.

[philip121]

have you the thing that warms the stuff up before it enters engine this stops blogages etc where did you get the kit from
good on you

[Dirtydog]

have you the thing that warms the stuff up before it enters engine this stops blogages etc where did you get the kit from
good on you

Pretty sure thats using just straight vege oil mixed with diesel that ya need to pre warm it.

biofuel is refined down to just the combustable stuff minus all the fatty oils etc.

[tweake]

make sure you carry spare fuel filters and gear so you can change it on the road side (or bush). also watch your fuel lines.

[ladeda]

make sure you carry spare fuel filters and gear so you can change it on the road side (or bush). also watch your fuel lines.

what does it do to the fuel lines?

[tweake]

make sure you carry spare fuel filters and gear so you can change it on the road side (or bush). also watch your fuel lines.

what does it do to the fuel lines?

cleans out any crap including anything thats a bit perished. if the hoses are old it can cause them to leak or crack.

[evolution02]

Your brave, hope you have deep pockets to fork out for diesel pump and new injectors shortly.
We had a diesel delica come into work a few years ago not running well on vege oil. Turns out it had fucked the diesel pump. The pump was rusty as and worn out due to the moisture in the oil and poor lubrication compared to diesel

But it's your vehicle

[ladeda]

by the sounds of it you probably need to decide what your motives are.
by that I mean if you wana save the environment then go for it, but if your tryna save money then, by what the guys are saying, maintance and repair costs will far out weigh the savings in diesel,

[Dirtydog]

can i point out most the stories are about using refined vege oil, not biofuel.

[Budore]

If you reckon that the pump is more noisy there may not be sufficient lubrication in the bio-fuel. To compensate for this you could add 2-stroke oil to the mixture at a rate of 300:1 (it does not have to be exact).

Apparently there used to be sulphur in diesel oil but the oil companies don't add sulphur anymore. People in the UK have been adding 2-stroke oil to their diesel engined vehicles to make their engines quieter and run a lot better - better MPG and more pulling power. It is also reputed to clean the injectors, the valves and the manifolds.

http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=124290&hilit=STROKE+oil

[mudtroll]

Big difference between bio diesel & vege oil. If using vege oil in summer use 50/50 with diesel, more diesel in winter. The main thing is to filter out all the crap & WATER. A mate that I do a little work for runs his 3 Hiace vans & a Izuzu big horn on it, first couple of tanks you will need to change fuel filters, after that no problems.

[crazyclark31]

By the way the o/p author wrote "smells like chips" I'd say he using vege oil. And it does pay to use a pre warmer if running straight oil as it will clog things up.
Friend in wanaka makes his own and only had to do injectors and pump as normal maintaince. Truck had done couple hundred thou ks before he converted it then did 4years of driving with no issues other than having to carry heaps of spare fuel and having bugger all grunt.
Is a 60 series btw

[Dirtydog]

the 2 stroke oil sounds interesting. might have to research into that....

[Dirtydog]

By the way the o/p author wrote "smells like chips" I'd say he using vege oil.

Considering they both are made of the same thing i cant imagine that would be a good indicator of either.

difference is one is basicly crude oil, other is refined diesel....

[Budore]

the 2 stroke oil sounds interesting. might have to research into that....

While you research into 2-stroke there is another additive that you can research, Acetone.

There are a number of people that use Acetone in the diesel. I am told that the Acetone breaks the surface tension of the diesel and lets it flow easier. It also adds more power to the 'bang' thus making the engine more efficient. They also report that it too helps clean the engine top end.

http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=104685&hilit=acetone

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive

http://neubranderinc.com/blog/2007/01/03/acetone-in-gasoline-busted/



PLEASE NOTE - I DO NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY BE CAUSED TO YOUR ENGINE THROUGH THE USE OF ACETONE OR 2-STROKE OIL ADDED TO THE FUEL.



.

[Dirtydog]

ive heard the acetone before but from who ive talked to it hasnt done much at all.

never heard the two stroke before, but i can see where it could work.

[crazyclark31]

ive heard the acetone before but from who ive talked to it hasnt done much at all.

never heard the two stroke before, but i can see where it could work.

Have a bit of a google on it. There are forums in europe with all the specs and information you'd ever need.
Did all my reaserch couple years back.
Is basically a good way of legthing the pump/injector/particulte filter on diesels.
First it replaces the sulpur as the lubricant. This is really benifical for older pumps/injectors.
It also is really good at quieting down the injectors. works magic on those new common rail rattlers.
On vehciles with particulate filters is was proven to length the period between the burn cycles used to self clean the filters.
biggest reason is it help bring crap or lower refined diesel(NZ's) to a level that it will cause less or no issues in vehcile designed for countrys that get the good stuff. This is also why its really good in bio or vege fuel(keeping on topic here) It really keeps the viscosity of the fuel stable which inturn keeps all the filters/pumps/injector happy.

As said there is massive amounts of info out there. I thought it was heresay untill i really looked into it.

[ladeda]

By the way the o/p author wrote "smells like chips" I'd say he using vege oil.

Considering they both are made of the same thing i cant imagine that would be a good indicator of either.

difference is one is basicly crude oil, other is refined diesel....

I woulda thought vege oil is made from organic sustainable products while the other beind made from crude oil?
please correct me if im wrong,

also what actualy is the bio part of bio diesel, whats the difference. supose I should just go google it, neva mind

[handydog]

Have manufactured biodiesel for over fifteen years...

I will add:
Be aware that alot of what is said and done on the internet is crap / hearsay, and when looked at carefully many of the things people suggest are no more than quasi-science.

Unless you are 100% sure of what you are putting into your vehicle you should consider:
1. What your going to use: Refined vege oil, or a correctly processed ester
2. Starting with a 50/50 blend
3. Not using it in a direct injection engine
4. Do your trials in something that is not your daily ride.. (LD28 and 3B engines are forgiving)

Making biodiesel is not hard... But if you love your engine, it does need to be done correctly.

Finally to miss-quote Woodstock> ."..there is no such thing as bad (acid) biodiesel, it is just poorly manufactured..."

[Dirtydog]

By the way the o/p author wrote "smells like chips" I'd say he using vege oil.

Considering they both are made of the same thing i cant imagine that would be a good indicator of either.

difference is one is basicly crude oil, other is refined diesel....

I woulda thought vege oil is made from organic sustainable products while the other beind made from crude oil?
please correct me if im wrong,

also what actualy is the bio part of bio diesel, whats the difference. supose I should just go google it, neva mind

I mean the difference between bio fuel and vege oil is like the diference between using diesel and crude oil in ya truck/car.

[red-devil]

Ive had access to 100% bio for 7 years now. it cleans out the moter well. ran it in the parjio first and it was the bomb. no smoke, power to burn. i was pull 3rd gear up worsley hill at the bottom there is a hirepin which is a second gear corner. before i was stuck in secound all the way to the top.

run it in the VX too just not all the time as wife finds it hard to go to suppier to full up with the kids.

[glued]

I dont make it,a mate does to fuel his $80.000 dollar launch.
he makes it from used canola oil....adds an amount of methanol and caustic soda to seperate the glycerin and whats left is fuel after the process he goes through..heating,filtering and the like.
He did tell me it would clear all of the shit out of the tank,lines and decarbon the engine to a degree.
His volvo penta runs well on it,we have done 350 nautical miles in 2 days and used 200ltrs doing it,and that engine is most likely worth more than most safs so id assume its fairly safe or he wouldnt be making/using it.
Its smells like it does because its used canola oil,always from the same source,he said it costs about 50c a litre to make once everythings factored in.
My wagon has a bit more power,starts easier ive noticed and just runs smoother.
I just done the filters/fluids a week before fueling it up with bio so ill let you all know how long they last,and will post pics of the filter disection I do when they are pulled and changed.
The bonus is the glycerin can be made into natural soap with a little lye and water,and it cleans diesel oil off your hands like nothing ive ever seen,and we all know how nasty that shit is to get off your skin.

[Dirtydog]

sounds bloody good mate,

so what sort of costs are involved in buying all the plant etc?

its one of those things ive wanted to do for a long time but cant get the right info for it, or at least not all the info.

do you know if it burns hotter than diesel? and know where you can get some down southland way???

[handydog]

To the op:
It sounds like your mate knows what he is doing and making good product. He is lucky to have secured a decent supply of used canola as the Fat Man and NZ Biodisel Ltd have managed to squeeze most of the small guys out.

Dirtydog:
The operating temperature will be about the same.. It is dependent on the cetane rating.
Winter temperatures may cause you problems in southland... no different to diesel gelling when it gets really cold.
The cloud point of the biodiesel is relational to the length of the carbon chains after estification and the method used. This is in turn influenced by the waste oil / fat blend that is started with.

[Dirtydog]

so if i managed to find a supplier down here i would have to run something like 25:75 in winter and 50:50 during summer?

ive never had any problem with my diesel during winter, so it would be interesting to see what biodiesel does.

[ladeda]

glycerin is great for blowing stuff up

[handydog]

so if i managed to find a supplier down here i would have to run something like 25:75 in winter and 50:50 during summer?

ive never had any problem with my diesel during winter, so it would be interesting to see what biodiesel does.

the final blend will depend on the process route you decide to take.

a bit more information about summer and winter diesel...

http://z.co.nz/assets/TDS/Diesel-fuel-i ... nergy-.pdf

[glued]

DD,he uses an old hot water cylinder to heat the oil from what I can see,I didnt want to get too nosey. Im not sure on the amounts of the catalyst agents either,the big trail of chippy fat smell in the water still hasnt made hooking a marlin any easier though,he pumps out all the chunks as burley when we are trolling.