biodiesel

[tommydickfinger]

does anyone seriously use biodiesel,or convert their own veg oil. ive used it for a long time now and have considered commercial ventures. i can buy biodiesel at 80pence a litre +vat, does any1 else consider these options
kind regards

tommy

 

[fattony]

from what I can gather its illegal for commercial use so your market will be private car owners, and unless you offered me a 100% guarantee (in writing) it wont damage my engine I dont think you'd get very far. I think people would be worried about damaging their car

 

[foxhole]

I don't think any well informed people would worry about damage to engine.

 

[Steve]

Morrisons sell biodiesel. pumps colour coded orange (diesel black, UL green)

 

[tommydickfinger]

i was surprised to hear you thought it illegal fattony- i thought everyone knew the government promoted its use and even gave duty relief on the first 2500ltrs use. every diesel is already using it as its in the pumps from the beginning so no worries about compatability or manufacturers warranty. its when people attempt to make their own that the manufacturers try to be clear on- theres no-way a homebrew kit could convert oil from your local curry house upto an acceptable alternative approved fuel. theyre just running on used cooking oil, which most do very well. however im looking for only the good stuff as dont want the inherent problems from not refineing properly, getting the titration wrong, too much water in the fuel system etc etc
and as steve points out- instead of the usal 5-10% mix from your black forecourt pump- morrisons are now doing a 30% biodiesel mix from the orange pump. well in summary- any1 wanting to collaborate with me on this- as always the more i buy- the cheaper it gets, so if any1 else wants some whilst im on my travels we should talk. kind regards matt 07977 863 180

 

[bogsdollocks]

hi chaps just read your bio story, i make and use bio in my mercedes e300 and it runs fine and i dont have probs with water, and incorret mixes, i make about 150ltrs per batch and it cost's me about 25p per ltr must admit it smells a bit chioish but to be fair performance wise cant fault it, my cold starting is as it always was so, i do not use methanol or lye because of the dangers attacthed to messing with these dangerouse chemicals, ie, they can kill you if you splill it on your skin or inhale it so if you are using this stuff be VERY CAREFUL,

 

[xerxes]

According to a report by BBC You and Yours (Radio 4, Monday 15 December) the majority of car makers are saying that the use of Morrison's biodiesel will invalidate warranty claims for any fuel-related problems. That is, presumably, if they're able to find out.

I gather it is because the composition of biodiesel from different vegetable sources cannot be guaranteed. I assume this affects the lubricity of the fuel, and the consequent possibility of damaging expensive fuel pumps.

 

[gasmick2]

hi i was very supprised to hear that bogsdollocks processes his bio diesel without using methonal and lye as a catalyst i would be interested in knowing how you get rid of the glycerine ect
i have built a processor that will do an 80ltr batch at any one time and its all in one process including washing i do the full titration to get the correct catalyst mixture and after use an hydrometer to check the specific gravity of the bio diesel
All my mixiing of the chemicals are carried out with sealed containers
and the methonoxide is then drawn into the oil via the agitation pump and works fine i have only just managed to find a source of oil as lots of people have been selling it on ebay, but now its getting cheaper at the pumps it looks like it will be easier to get hold of
I should be able to produce mine for around 25p per ltr

 

[tommydickfinger]

i was also bemused how you were able to attempt to make biodiesel without using a catalyst or methanol??? it sounds like your just filtering and then using-- which works great for alot of people- but it does give biodiesel a bad name- if its not en14214- then its not biodiesel- its jus some guy in his shed using veg oil. and would morrisons really allow an influx of legal issues?? its hardly like their struggling for profit. this is all propaganda- if its diesel- it runs on biodiesel and is warranted by the manufacturer- it will prob run on veg oil too but this of course is not approved as a substitute fuel.

 

[Donkmeister]

unless you offered me a 100% guarantee (in writing) it wont damage my engine I dont think you'd get very far. I think people would be worried about damaging their car

I agree. If you've bought an older bullet-proof Merc diesel for £2-3000 then you know it can run on pretty much anything and you probably aren't too precious about it.

But, if I had a modern common-rail high-pressure injection diesel that cost me £20K+ then I would be far less inclined to take the risk and would probably stick with the £1.10 a litre dino-diesel to avoid gumming up the injectors and voiding the warranty.

 

[tommydickfinger]

again- i think their is a widespread misconception about biodiesel. all manufacturers warranty its use upon request. vw, audi, skoda and seat include its use in their handbook, but their is no gumming up of injectors- biodiesel en14214 has the same properties as diesel en590 for motor fuel use. i think alot of people have forgotten how and where diesel comes from and i certainly wouldnt prefer to put scum out the ground thats been there for millions of years as opposed to fresh grown oil!!! if its diesel- it is already using biodiesel and runs on 100% biodiesel.

 

[Avocet]

I work in the auto industry. Although this is not my primary field of expertise, I can safely say that the manufacturers CAN tell if damage to the injection system has been caused by using improper fuel!

All new diesel cars sold in the EU are obliged to be able to run on up to 5% biodiesel (which most forecourt diesel contains these days). Any percentage above that is at the manufacturer's discretion. The 30% stuff that Morrisons sell has a sticker on the pumps telling you to check with your vehicle manufacturer before using it in case it voids the warranty. I know the company I'm involved with is running tests on that stuff at present - don't know if they've reached a decision yet though.

As has been said, older diesels are far more tolerant of variable fuel quality than the modern "common rail" ones. If I had an old diesel Landrover or an old Peugeot, I wouldn't think twice. As for a modern one, I wouldn't consider it until well outside the warranty! The problem isn't that you won't end up with a catastrophic failure all of a sudden, it's more that that the wear rates increase and your engine doesn't last as long as it would have done. That's fine if the car's near the end of its life, but I'd think very carefully about buying a second had diesel these days knowing that a previous owner might have been running it on heaven-knows-what!

 

[John506]

It smells like donuts