biodiesel questions

[Josh]

Viton hoses are quite pricey!  

Nylon air hosing works fine as fuel lines.  And it's impervious to biodiesel.  Viton is only necessary where cheaper materials can't be found.  

 -Josh

[Solar_Subaru]

Hey guys. I thought I would chime in.  I have been teaching transesterification for about a year now.  I have a biodiesel processor on order for my school and I can't wait to get it, but I have been doing 2 liter shake batches in clear latchtop jars, so the separation is apparent in a classroom setting.
On the topic of biodiesel and materials:
I attended a presentation from a Cummins Engineer who mentioned that they are finding that a anti-friction coating they use on certain parts inside the injection pumps and (injectors?) can't tolerate biodiesel very well, but Chrysler ships thier diesel Jeeps out of the factory with 5% biodiesel in the tank.(but I think the jeeps have Motori diesels?)
I have been running biodiesel in my jetta for about 2 years, I live in New England, so it gets cold here.  I have not had very many problems, except for one plugged filter, but I usually have at least some mix of petrol in the tank with the bio.  I also run WVO and petrol mixes all time, once it got down to about 20 degrees with about a 40%wvo and 60% diesel in the tank. The car was sluggish at cold start, but it did start and it was fine once I got it up on the highway.
Well I am also messing around with water injection on this car, so I have to now go and find the appropriate place here to ask some questions.

Nice to meet you all. I'm really glad to have found this forum, as I am relatively new to VWs and Diesels.
Tony

[shwartzbewithyou]

Hey guys. I thought I would chime in.  I have been teaching transesterification for about a year now.  I have a biodiesel processor on order for my school and I can't wait to get it, but I have been doing 2 liter shake batches in clear latchtop jars, so the separation is apparent in a classroom setting.
On the topic of biodiesel and materials:
I attended a presentation from a Cummins Engineer who mentioned that they are finding that a anti-friction coating they use on certain parts inside the injection pumps and (injectors?) can't tolerate biodiesel very well, but Chrysler ships thier diesel Jeeps out of the factory with 5% biodiesel in the tank.(but I think the jeeps have Motori diesels?)
I have been running biodiesel in my jetta for about 2 years, I live in New England, so it gets cold here.  I have not had very many problems, except for one plugged filter, but I usually have at least some mix of petrol in the tank with the bio.  I also run WVO and petrol mixes all time, once it got down to about 20 degrees with about a 40%wvo and 60% diesel in the tank. The car was sluggish at cold start, but it did start and it was fine once I got it up on the highway.
Well I am also messing around with water injection on this car, so I have to now go and find the appropriate place here to ask some questions.

Nice to meet you all. I'm really glad to have found this forum, as I am relatively new to VWs and Diesels.
Tony

Different manufacturers use different injector pumps which respond differently to the biodiesel.  It'll affect the pumps that Cummins uses but it  won't even touch the pumps that mercedes used.  It's all in the materials.

[Solar_Subaru]

I think bosch's official stance is something like "we niether approve or dissaprove of the use of biodiesel"
Kind of like a don't ask/don't tell thing.
Bottom line is, this is moslty for warranty stuff.  My sugeestion is, if your pump fails while running bio, flush it with regualr deisel before you warranty the pump?  :wink:
-Tony

[745 turbogreasel]

you dont need your veggie to be 160 f before the pump it just needs to be viscous. 100 degrees F is adequate. everyone is just scared. i have run straight veggie with both kits and just poured into the normal tank. starts in an IDI diesel right down to the low 40s F.

-jared

at lower temperatures the viscousity of the fuelslows the reaction time of the IP components, and burns too cool, causing running problems like hesitation, erratic idle and white smoke.

Burning Veg at lower temps results in coking of the combustion chamber as well as between the pistons and the bore, leading to stuck rings, hung pistons, and rebuilt motors.

so running unheated SVO, you will eventualy have to remove, repair, and replace your fuel tank and your engine.  This in addition to any time you spend on the side of the road or stuck in the morning with fuel flow issues.  With a dual fuel kit, you can at leastswitch to the side that is not having problems at the time.  I have used my Veg side to get me through diesel probelms just as often as the other way around.  That said, many cars will  start and run if the oil is of good quality, and your injectors are in good shape.

[Northern RD]

I bought a magazine from Chapters a while ago called "Make".

The biggest reason i got it was because it had a step-by-step article
on how to make a litre of biodiesel from veggie oil.

see www.makezine.com for info on issues and neat links

http://www.schnews.org.uk/diyguide/howtomakebiodiesel.htm

   

[Solar_Subaru]

The big problem is the hardcore 100% vo users.  I have been mixing Bio with WVO and Petrol for going on three years now.  before I bought my jetta, I had a little grease dumpster diver rabbit.  It had 400,000 when i got it.  I put anything in the tank for about 1-1/2 years. to be fair, at the end, it suffered a stuck injector, and a bad pump seal. Those were fixed, and it lives it's life as a clutch delivery vehicle now.
-TONY

[fspGTD]

Moved to general section.  Not power enhancement related.