Who's running their older Diesels on BioDiesel or SVO?

[VW Scully]

Like the title says; anyone running their Mk1 or Mk2 on BioDiesel or straight vegetable oil? I want to run the Rabbit on either, but am trying to decide which one (i.e. make BioDiesel or go full Veggie Conversion).

Thanks!

[web]

Missing the "partially" option! Also you could do separate Biodiesel and SVO options to get more from this poll.

Am running on 25% SVO at the moment,  have tried up to an estimated 60%. Weather is getting too cold for such experiments without any form of preheating, so I am working on some preheating contraption. I am definitely sticking with SVO though. Making my own biodiesel will probably be too messy and time consuming (what do I do with the glycerine residue? where do I get the required ingredients?).

SVO is the cheapest option per mile, although it does require a small investment in preheating/switching equipment and possibly extra countermeasures if you have to deal with REALLY cold weather (preheating it in the engine bay does not help if the stuff turns to jelly in the tank)

Marcel

[web]

Well, petroleum diesel isn't exactly the nicest fuel on the planet either ; diesel cars have to be (and are!) quite tolerant to run it. Which makes them suitable for various different blends as well.

Anyway, with a fresh engine I might not, but at the moment I'd even consider WVO, but only incidentally, for the fun factor. That fuel too, is too labor intensive for safe daily use for me. BTW, "certified" biodiesel is not sold here. I'd have to fill up at certain stations in Germany to get any, so there goes that option.

One pitfall with WVO is that you have to be sure it used to be SVO, not (even partially) piggy fat. Piggy fat kills pumps.

Marcel

[VW Scully]

hee hee; :wink:
Thanks everyone; I'm kind of a newbie to this whole "Poll" thing so sorry!  :oops:  but I think you get my drift and I appreciate the clearer replies

[VW Scully]

btw, commercial BioDiesel isn't very readily available in my area either (there are 2 stations in Toronto selling B20 so I go there when I'm in town) but otherwise, it's up to me to make it .

I would like to be able to get it ASTM tested to or find some method of quality control. I am actually starting to really lean towards BioDiesel instead of full Veggie mostly due to some problems with gelled/impure veggie and the comprehensive changes that must be made first.
Thanks for the replies!

[addautomotive]

I've been running SVO for about 2 years... I might have gone with biodiesel, but it's not available locally.

I have a good, consistent source of good quality used vegetable oil. I filter it VERY carefully. I have NEVER, not once, had to change my in-car fuel filter under way. In fact, I had intended to change it when I changed my diesel filter after one year, but wanted to see how long I was able to use it. I gave up, and changed it anyway after 50 000 kms.

My car in an 87 NA Jetta. I have a 96 1.9 TD that I will be converting shortly... I have also converted my father's (immaculate) Merceds 300sd.

I think the biggest thing is to get a well-sorted sytsem in place, both in the car and for your pre-filtering.

[Zeitgeist]

I've been running ASTM biodiesel for a little over a year in my recently sold '96 Passat tdi and '93 Dodge Cummins, as well as the current Iseki tractor and '87 300TD.  Here in Olympia we have a commercial vendor offering B20 and B100 at the pump -- great stuff.

[dieselpower]

what does it take to run biodiesel? i thought it was the same as petrodiesel and you just pour it in your tank and go. also has anyone ever made their own? sorry for all these questions just i've been wanting to make biodiesel for a long time now, but i didn't kno enough about it.
thanks alot


Mark

[fatmobile]

I just replaced a rubber line coming from the tank, on an '84 Rabbit, today.
 I replaced it with urethane hydrolic lines.
 The original line reduces from about 7/16" (11mm) to about 5/16" (8mm).
 They did this on an old Mercedes I was working on too.
 Couldn't find a 5/16" to 7/16 adapter anywhere ... till I looked at the PEX parts at Manards.
 I used a brass 3/8" to 1/2" PEX adapter. 3/8" PEX is a little smaller than 3/8" and so is this adapter.
 It was hard to find 7/16" hydrolic hose so I used 1/2" but it works well.
 5/16" is easy to find.
 Running that air brake line, between the injectors works great and it's cheap.

[web]

Note that SVO/WVO is only doable in moderate to warm climates. If you have to deal with sub -10C temperatures : forget it, your tank will turn to jelly and no amount of preheating in the engine bay will help. The best you can do in such climates is a VO/diesel mixture, WITH preheating and perhaps still starting on straight diesel.

Having to replace all fuel lines under the car to run a fuel agressive enough to eat plain fuelhose is one more reason for me not to run biodiesel though...

Marcel

(putting some SVO in the freezer can be very enlightening - I have just put a 50/50 mix in the freezer to see how that behaves...)

[VW Scully]

Note that SVO/WVO is only doable in moderate to warm climates. If you have to deal with sub -10C temperatures : forget it, your tank will turn to jelly and no amount of preheating in the engine bay will help. The best you can do in such climates is a VO/diesel mixture, WITH preheating and perhaps still starting on straight diesel.

Having to replace all fuel lines under the car to run a fuel agressive enough to eat plain fuelhose is one more reason for me not to run biodiesel though...

Marcel

(putting some SVO in the freezer can be very enlightening - I have just put a 50/50 mix in the freezer to see how that behaves...)

I am well aware of the limitations of SVO in the cold That is why I was questioning using it since I'm in Canada and it gets pretty darn chilly here!
However, I would not call BioDiesel an "aggresive" fuel! The only reason it 'eats' rubber is because of the chemical reaction between those 2 natural compounds. I used BioDiesel in my TDI with NO changes (since the newer VWs no longer use rubber fuel lines and components) and my car ran great. I plan to change all the rubber components in my Rabbit since the car is 20+ years old and that's likely a good idea anyway!
Thanks for all the input!

It's looking like my decision will be to brew my own BioDiesel and run the car on that. I'm going to be making some test batches next weekend; I've spent the last several months doing LOTS of research on making BioDiesel.

[VW Scully]

I am an Environmental Consultant and have to deal with some scarey chemicals in my work too so I have the required safety equipment and always wear it  :!:
I guess my biggest concern is the washing process; this is a bit confusing to me, since I've seen some people say they don't do it and are fine and others say DO it!! And the "how to wash" has me a bit baffled too since I've seen a few different ways of doing it :?  What is your procedure for washing??
Thanks!

[VW Scully]

Great! That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks

[dieselpower]

hey,
where do you guys get your lye and methanol from. i cant find places that sell it aound here(i havent really looked that hard tho)
thanks for all the info so far


Mark

[VW Scully]

hey,
where do you guys get your lye and methanol from. i cant find places that sell it aound here(i havent really looked that hard tho)
thanks for all the info so far


Mark

Do you have TSC in Alberta? That's where I get mine . I would think the farmer Co-Op would have it too.
hth