Anyone running BioDiesel? I have been researching this a little since some law makers in Michigan are proposing to mandate the swap to this fuel from regualr diesel. All I have seen in my research is verbage saying biodiesel performs "similar" to regular diesel in regards to horsepower and torque. What does similar mean? They dont seem to want to back up their claims with actual numbers on HP and torque. They have all sorts of numbers on emissions, but none on engine performance. They also claim this fuel has been tested for millions and millions of miles...if so why cant they provide me with some before and after dyno curves or something. If I was in charge of testing this stuff....that is the first thing I would do.

Just to say "similar" is a little vague. Am I going to lose 20 or 100 ft/lbs of torque, or gain 50 ft/lbs???

If anyone is running this stuff...can you give me your opinion on engine performance since you started using it...and what blend you use. Has anyone dyno tested with this stuff?

 

I'm putting 100% biodiesel in my '86 and it's real tough to notice a difference (other than the smell of course). Last I heard Michigan isn't mandating a switch to 100% biodiesel. I think it's something like 5%, which i can't imagine being noticeable in terms of performance. Can't back it up with a dyno, although I would like to see some dyno tests for biodiesel in a variety of engines.

 

From everything I've read the power is the same or a little better, however the big benifit is that it lubricates much better than the dyno juice which should lessen engine and IP wear. I'v never used the stuff because it isn't very available here.

good luck

 

ever dump too much diesel kleen in a tank?
runs a lil more high piched and like its got a lil more umpf

thats the only diff I can tell with bio... it seems to run more like that all the time.

still hard to tell.

 

I have read that it does break down a lot of rubber parts....which the older trucks have a lot of rubber fuel system components (ie. fuel lines, O-rings, etc.). There are replacement parts made of a special kind of rubber resistant to this breakdown....but that could cost a pretty penny to have those components replaced. I had the fuel lines replaced once on my truck about 6 months ago... $600 for a mechanic to do it.

But I was really interested in performance on this type of fuel....I was just worried that the reason they wont provide performance data is because performance is lost....by just saying it's "similar" will pacify us for a while....

 

What is Bio-diesel? Is that anything like French fry oil? I heard of a guy running on the stuff from restraunts, he had to strain it of course then he had to start it on regular diesel and then switch over the other stuff.

 

yeah ryanvaughn....that is the stuff we are talking about. Checkout http//www.biodiesel.org ....this site has a lot of info on it....except performance data....which is what I am curious about...It has already been implemented at several fuel stations, and Michigan is considering mandating its use for diesels.

 

Is it cheaper?? This guy was getting it from restraunts for free and that was the whole point. The price of diesel is ridiculous, my uncle works for ashland oil as a chem. engineer and he said he didn't understand why it was so expensive either.

 

well the stuff you will be getting at the pump will be about the same price as the current price of diesel...or just a few cents more...but there are people making their own stuff for cheap...

 

ok, lotta missinformation here.

vegetable oil and biodiesel are completely different. Biodiesel takes a chemical reaction to make, vegetable oil makes a vehicle set to run on it.

drew

 

yes like the above stated totaly differnent. bio diesel is a blend of vegtable oil, and methane, b100 is pure veg and methane, b50 is 50 percent veg/methane and 50 percent #2. to run straight veg oil/WVO you have to have some extensive vehicle mods to run it because it is required to be heated to flow properly.


Diesel Rod

 

Ok that makes sense. But you can mix Veg oil with diesel and it will run ok? At least then you could cut your fuel costs down some... Anybody ever been checked for off road diesel? Just curious my buddy runs it all the time and man that stuff smokes!!

 

the offroad diesel isn't the cause of the smoking. Its virtually identicle to regular on-road diesel. The only difference might be the sulfer content. The on-road stuff is low sulfer while the off road may not be.

btw, the low sulfer diesel has les lubricity.

 

You can't mix vegetable oil and regular diesel, thewax in the veggie oil needs heated to be able to burn effectively, and the two oils don't get along very well anyway, all kinds of messy formations. Take a cup of vegetable oil and add a cup of diesel in a jug and watch what happens... and the process to make biodiesel is a little more involved. You have to "wash" the veggie oil with methanol to get rid of the wax. If the procedure isn't done good enough, you willl have remaining methanol in the fuel, and it will take out the rubber components. If the methanol is removed effectively enough, it doesn't do much damage. But it remains a risk all the same.
To be able to burn straight vegetable oil, the oil has to be preheated to a minimum of 180 degrees to keep from gunking up the injectors and pistons, and to keep the oil from solidifying as well in the winter.

 

OK again, a lil misinformation here...

You CAN mix oil and #2, I do it, and so do a few others on here, runs just fine, no problems yet....

In the winter, when it is cold, you SHOULD heat the oil so it flows properly, to run just PURE WVO you need to heat it to 180* ideal, 150* min. to burn it with out it coking the injectors, clogging lines and what not.

WVO is not "washed" with methanal, it is mixed, thus creating bio diesel, it is washed, but it's so remove the fatty acids in the WVO.

The methanal in bio is what will eat rubbers, WVO has not shown any signs of eating rubber, yet...


Diesel Rod