BioDiesel

[76BigheadFJ40]

Alright, who of you is out there running this? I know that some of you guys are...and making it too! Good on ya. Are you running 100%? What type of hose did you have to replace the fuel lines with? And the biggest question I want to know the answer to: Have any of you heard of the Water-less bio diesel creating stuff? It's called magnesol. I think that this is the stuff that is supposed to make it, but so that you don't have to change anything, just pump it in? Lets hear it.

 

[Adventure Teq]

The wife's been askin alot about this too. So do you need to already be running a diesel?

I'll see what else I can dig up.

 

[jim45r]

I have a buddy who used to run it in his Jetta, but it ate the seals in his injector to the tune of $1800, so it's important to get the right o-rings and rubber. Some are running straight vegetable oil (SVO) but he said that SVO is sensitive to the type of fuel pump you have, as I understand it, the mercedes and cummins are good, Ford type not as good. I don't know about the Toy. Here's a SVO link: http://www.greasel.com/index.html

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

I run it pretty much as much as possible and on a regular basis. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Most people do not need to replace their fuel lines, I never have and probably never will, it is a big myth as far as I can tell. Homebrew or commercial biodiesel, as long as it is quality, you put it in, end of story. Hope it helps...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

PS I have been brewing and running biodiesel in my Benz and Cummins for over a year and have never heard of magnesol.... ????

 

[76BigheadFJ40]

wait, are you saying that as long as you purify your fuel well enough, it should be fine running through everything? Are you running 100% right now? I have heard that as long as it is not over a certian % your fine, but you should change after about 25%. What type of brewery are you running? Manual or automated? How big?

 

[lingo]

there is a big discusion on this in the international section. Trevor is a chem. engin. for a firm in atlanta that make the equipment to produce bio.( i believe) He can probably answer any specific ?'s

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Our processor is a used electric hot water heater. An "automated" is big big bucks and the cheaper ones ($3000 or so) do not work very well. You can build a high quality "appleseed" style processor for less than $300 not including cost of the tank. Ours are used and were free out of renovated houses. Quality of the tank doesn't matter as long as it doesn't leak. Most of our fuel, when brewed right, meets or exceeds commercial quality stuff. We "wash" our biodiesel. For the best info go to www.biodieselcommunity.org or buy the book from www.localb100.com/book.html I run everything from 100% to pure diesel fuel and everywhere in between. When you first start running (especially high blends of) bio you will go through 2 or 3 fuel filters. This is because diesel is dirty and has sludge and biodiesel is clean and will clean out your system. My solution to this is a cheapo inline autozone filter with small ball valves on each side so no spilling. This saves my $20 Racor and Cummins filters. Once you start running bio regularly it becomes less of an issue but I still do have to change my filters more often unfortunately, say every 6000 miles or so. It also does not smell like french fries but has its own smell that is clearly organic. But it's own unique smell. Some say "like popcorn" which is somewhat possibly true but still not right. Power loss seems to be not noticable at all upto about 50-60% bioodiesel, but after that is is slightly more doggy. That and poor cold weather properties seem to be the only drawback. Here in mountainous / Alpine Park City I never run higher than 20% in winter and learned that the hard way. Best, Andre

 

[76BigheadFJ40]

Where are you getting your oil from? I have heard that it smells like whatever was cooked in it. Does anybody run a 4 cylinder Cummins Turbo Diesel? Where did you get it? Is it a crate motor? I have heard of a J**p that has it, but that was a transplant, and I haven't really heard of it anywhere else.

 

[76BigheadFJ40]

actually, just read your sig dieselcruiser...so...where'd ya get yours?

 

[76BigheadFJ40]

how easy is it to get a Toyota diesel? I know that they don't really make things in advance (like a crate motor or something)

 

[stolemydog]

I am intersested in the way for people not that involved in the language of biodiesel conversion to make a simple step in modernizing the car, but only with a pretence of saving money in their car. I believe this is the only way to make a chang. It must be centralized and almost as mindlest as our current gasoline system. Can someone tell me of a workshop thats hans on or a mechanic that i would love to give my money to. My point is that i would love to make the right decision . but it needs to be simple and available. It must start grass root with people that have enough money to make a decision to save money in the shoert term ,and our planet in the long term. Only way is through our wallets and the unique American spirit of our relaationship with our farmers (soy-fuel) and our positive way of life that is connected to small town America's belief in our country and our morals that have always defined our land. I am no politician in this opinion. I would love the American dream to include me in renewable energy, along with the pay check. Point being we need to "fast food" the conversion. Please let me know if u have info ,or a conversation that will teach me if i have misquted. Thanks

 

[honk]

I am intersested in the way for people not that involved in the language of biodiesel conversion to make a simple step in modernizing the car, but only with a pretence of saving money in their car. I believe this is the only way to make a chang. It must be centralized and almost as mindlest as our current gasoline system. Can someone tell me of a workshop thats hans on or a mechanic that i would love to give my money to. My point is that i would love to make the right decision . but it needs to be simple and available. It must start grass root with people that have enough money to make a decision to save money in the shoert term ,and our planet in the long term. Only way is through our wallets and the unique American spirit of our relaationship with our farmers (soy-fuel) and our positive way of life that is connected to small town America's belief in our country and our morals that have always defined our land. I am no politician in this opinion. I would love the American dream to include me in renewable energy, along with the pay check. Point being we need to "fast food" the conversion. Please let me know if u have info ,or a conversation that will teach me if i have misquted. Thanks

Welcome to the forum! ...

Obviously, you're in the right place.

 

[fj803fe]

I am intersested in the way for people not that involved in the language of biodiesel conversion to make a simple step in modernizing the car, but only with a pretence of saving money in their car. I believe this is the only way to make a chang. It must be centralized and almost as mindlest as our current gasoline system. Can someone tell me of a workshop thats hans on or a mechanic that i would love to give my money to. My point is that i would love to make the right decision . but it needs to be simple and available. It must start grass root with people that have enough money to make a decision to save money in the shoert term ,and our planet in the long term. Only way is through our wallets and the unique American spirit of our relaationship with our farmers (soy-fuel) and our positive way of life that is connected to small town America's belief in our country and our morals that have always defined our land. I am no politician in this opinion. I would love the American dream to include me in renewable energy, along with the pay check. Point being we need to "fast food" the conversion. Please let me know if u have info ,or a conversation that will teach me if i have misquted. Thanks

There are drawbacks here. While Bio-Deisel may be a short-term/long term thought for an environmental solution and offering this change in the mindset of a financial lift is appealing, the idea that the "...American spirit of our relationship with our farmers (soy-fuel)" is a farse. It is impractical, impossible, and NIMBY to believe that simply growing soy or producing vegetable oil is a cure to the mindlessness of our (U.S.) current gasoline system. THINK! How much soy or other crop to produce the vegetable oil would their be to support the U.S. alone-better yet one State alone? There are too many barriers here in the U.S. and like our Irony of Victory with environmental laws - as it pertains to the timber industry - an increase in demand and restrictions in land availabiity to grow the crops and cost to grow the crops under US laws pushes the supply demand to other countries that are not governed by protective laws. Results in pushing our environmental burden elsewhere, cause hey! its NOT IN MY BACK YARD (NIMBY). Moreover we as U.S. citizens drive WAY more than any other country-we have the least amount of public trasportation infrastructure of any other fiscally large counrty. The amount of soy needed to be grown in a given "growing season" to sustain even one State's population's consumption-save for maybe Wyoming- is above and beyond what our land, under its current restrictions, could sustain. Not only in the east where the brunt of our countries populated centers exist, but west of the 105th meridian where our country is more than half federal and otherwise public (restricted) land? And what of the CRP programs designed in the middle western "corn country" to place farmland back into grasslands/wildlife preserves through Government subsdies and tax breaks. Do we rid the country of these environmental programs we have worked to accomplish?

Don't get me wrong, I am not against the idea of BioDiesel at all-in fact I run it in my BJ60 all the time-around 40% in the summer months and like Andre, about 20% in the winter. I am only saying there is another side of the warm fuzzy coin you're flipping.

Look around, even at *honk-how many vehicles are in the driveway?

 

[Trevor]

A mandatory 2% blend in all diesel burned in this country would consume 75% of the soy grown. That would make the farmers REALLY happy. But I agree, it is not sustainable.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

I got my Cummins 4BT from a frito lay bread van. click the link in my sig if you are serious about it, lots of good info. Best, Andre

 

[Mazda Man]

I agree that despite the benifits of b-diesel we can not switch to it as a ereplacment of our fossil fuel system now. However it could be used inconjunction with other sources like hydrogen! Now wait before you shoot me down. Hydrogen is an energy storage fuel it takes more energy to make hydrogen then you get out of it think of it like the food chain the higher you go up the chain the less energy you get. However if we produced hydrogen using readily available renewable sources (solar, wind, tidal, etc.) then it to could be a fuel source a kind of liquid battery. In thus we would not have to produce the b-diesel in such huge quantities, and we would still have something to eat. This does not mean that our lifestyles can continue the way they are no matter what we do we will eventually run in to the problem of cost. Now there will always be oil but will you be able to afford it will the companies be able to afford to look for it not for much longer. We have either reached peak oil or are darn close. and thus we are on the top of a steep hill do you want to use the breaks on the way down or just hope we don't kill ourselves during the freefall.

Feel free to give me your oppinions on the subject.

 

[RHINO]

if we produced hydrogen using readily available renewable sources (solar, wind, tidal, etc.) then it to could be a fuel source
Feel free to give me your oppinions on the subject.

that would be ideal and it would work great.
on the subject of hydrogen,,,, if hydrogen was actually taken seriously as an alternative fuel for regular cars, or even fuel cell cars and cars started comming out tomorow, the only way to produce enough of it would be with fossil fuels, so were right back in there.

i am a big believer in a diesel engine driving a generator powering electric motors, no hybrid bullsheet, no battery backup systems, or battery cruise, just plain electric power as the mining industry has been using trouble free for so many years. when its time to get the wife a new car, her camry will make a great test subject.

 

[Trevor]

Hey Mazda,

There's a company pimping some process that breaks down the waste glycerine into raw Hydorgen. I can't remember their name, though. I'll check tomorrow at work.

 

[FJ40fiji]

I agree that despite the benifits of b-diesel we can not switch to it as a ereplacment of our fossil fuel system now. However it could be used inconjunction with other sources like hydrogen! Now wait before you shoot me down. Hydrogen is an energy storage fuel it takes more energy to make hydrogen then you get out of it think of it like the food chain the higher you go up the chain the less energy you get. However if we produced hydrogen using readily available renewable sources (solar, wind, tidal, etc.) then it to could be a fuel source a kind of liquid battery. In thus we would not have to produce the b-diesel in such huge quantities, and we would still have something to eat. This does not mean that our lifestyles can continue the way they are no matter what we do we will eventually run in to the problem of cost. Now there will always be oil but will you be able to afford it will the companies be able to afford to look for it not for much longer. We have either reached peak oil or are darn close. and thus we are on the top of a steep hill do you want to use the breaks on the way down or just hope we don't kill ourselves during the freefall.

Feel free to give me your oppinions on the subject.

Hydrogen as a fuel source is awfuly misleading. The thing is, it is refined from hydrocarbons, aka oil or natural gas, the things that we use for fuel already. Depending on how the refinement is carried out you can still end up with most of the same pollutants as our cars put out now. It would just be coming from the factories instead of our cars. Our dependance would shift from the middle East to the USSR (or whatever the hell they call themselves these days) where the richest sources of natural gas are currently located, and the overall savings to the environment would be much less than the current belief. You want to save the world? Crack photosynthesis. Every fuel man has explored so far except for solar , hydro, wind and nuclear, come from a plant's ability to use sunlight to seperate water and carbon dioxide and reorganize it into hydrocarbons and oxygen. Solar hydro and wind are ways of using the sun more directly. Good luck in your search. In the mean time if you can save your self a little money and don't mind whatever you have to go through to process it, use a biodiesle blend for the savings to your budget. By the way, I usually shut my engine off on the way home from my trips to the mountains and coast back down to 200ft from 7500 ft. SO infact I don't use the brakes coming off a steep hill. . .