biodiesel

S

sasha

Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
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What do you guys think of it. I know if i ask on here i would get some good answers as the knowledge on here is awsome. Did anyone try to use it?? I just been thinking about it and here in CA people go for the green thing.. There are plenty of places to find used oil here. So maybe there is some money to be made from it.. Just ideas and any thoughts any of you might have for it using it or not please let me know...

Sasha
 
Total scam.
Burns dirtier, ruins engines, expensive to produce(not to buy currently because it is taxed less), and is creating a world food shortage.
 
What do you mean Sasha?

You are saying Biodiesel but I believe that you mean a grease car?

Biodiesel you can buy at some service stations. Willie Nelson even has his own brand

http://www.biowillieusa.com/inner.php?editorpage=b202

From Willie's page:

Why use Biodiesel?
The main benefit derived from using Biodiesel comes from the reduction in emissions generated when using this biodegradable, low toxicity fuel. These emission benefits are gained all the while you are using a fuel that is made from a fully renewable energy source, grown right here in the USA.

Biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide exhaust emissions by up to 80%.
Biodiesel produces 100% less sulfur dioxide than petroleum based diesel, and sulfur dioxide is the major component of acid rain.
Biodiesel reduces exhaust smoke (particulates) emissions by up to 75% so the usual black cloud associated with a diesel engine can be eliminated. The smell of the biodiesel exhaust is far more pleasant than petroleum based diesel, some times smelling like pop corn or doughnuts if the fuel is made from a waste vegetable oil feedstock. Biodiesel smells better than diesel fuel so it is a pleasant experience re-filling the vehicle's tank. Biodiesel is much easier to handle and does not require mechanics to use barrier cream on their hands to protect the skin from cracking or redness. Biodiesel is much less dangerous to put in a vehicles fuel tank as the flash point of biodiesel is ± 150°C (300°F) as opposed to petroleum diesel which is at ± 70°C (150°F). Biodiesel degrades about 4 times faster than petroleum diesel after spillage, with most of a spill broken down after just 28 days. Biodiesel provides significant lubricity improvement over petroleum diesel fuel so engines last longer, with the right additives engine performance can also be enhanced. Low Sulfur and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel require additives to add the lubricity back into the fuel, biodiesel is a totally renewable additive for this role and complements the use of ULSD. Biodiesel reduces the classic diesel engine "knocking" noise. Biodiesel does not require any changes to the existing storage infrastructure so can be used in any tank or storage facility right away. Biodiesel can be mixed in with existing diesel to create various mixtures like a B5 or B20 blend.
A diesel engined vehicle does not need to be modified in anyway to use biodiesel.
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Biodiesel you can run in any car. What it sounds like you are talking about is a GREASE CAR, where you run it on used cooking oil.

This requires some modifications in the engine and you have to keep it warm in cold temps or it will congeal.

I have a buddy who runs a garage in CT and has several customers with them. He says that most of his customers cars start with regular fuel and then you flip a switch and it runs the cooking oil thru. Said one customer has a volvo station wagon and a plastic tank setting on a electric blanket that plugs into the lighter to keep it fluid.

Here's the site for the Grease Car
http://www.greasecar.com/

And an article about it in Salon:
http://www.salon.com/env/good_life/2008/08/13/grease_car/

I have a buddy who runs a fast food restaraunt and I always tell him when I retire I'm going to fix up a grease car and he's going to keep me in oil.:thumbup:
 
Are you talking about manufacturing your own biodiesel? I saw a show on TV (XTREME 4X4 IIRC) and they showed how to do it. Final cost (I guess minus the initial investment of the system) was like $2.40/gal, assuming you could get the oil for free from a fast food joint or similar.

Did a search for the episode but couldn't find a free video.
 
There are two ways to use cooking oil. One is to burn that oil in your car. Which means you do need to adapt the car for it with another tank and heaters and filters. The other one is to chemicly change the cooking oil it self so you can use it in any diesel engine. With no modification to the car what so ever. What im looking at is the Biodiesel where you dont need to do anything to the car it self. Where you can run on 100% biodiesel. There are some places here in LA area that sell it and it sound as a good way to make some extra money on the side. I read that in Germany its normal to buy biodiesel at the stations. I rather stay away from what is called the greasecar. Too many things to go wrong...

Sasha
 
bio diesel is great if you have an old crappy diesel car thats about to give up and die. Bio diesel is great if you like replacing your injector seals/injectors and degunking your fuel lines every month.

anyone that thinks that biodiesel has a higher lubricity than standard diesel needs to get their head checked.

Our diesel powered 5 ton bin trucks have a highlighted section in the manual that states "the use of bio diesels and alternative fuels will instantly void the entire warranty of this vehicle. Do not under any circumstance use commercial bio diesels or other waste oil derived fuels in this fuel system" "if using low sulfur diesel, add the appropriate amount of addtive to restore the lubricity" "low sulfur diesel will damage the seals and injectors over time without lubricant additives"

one of the diesel mechs that we use showed us the engine parts and fuel lines of a bio diesel powered truck. The fuel lines had corrosion and pitting and they were gunked up like a clogged artery. The fuel pump had massive amounts of solid waxy gunk plugging up the rotor vanes, and corrosion in the inlet and outlet pipes. The cylinder heads had corrosion on the dome. The piston tops were caked in heavy carbon.

diesel fuel is JUST AS SAFE to handle as bio fuel. When we are fueling up our rigs, we are not splashing diesel all over ourselves. There is NO CONTACT with the fuel, unless intentional.

as for fire....have you ever seen fat/oil burn? ever seen fat/oil burns on skin? they are FAR worse than diesel fuel burns. BOTH burn equally well.

if making your own biodiesel, you are dealing with hydroxides in the manufacturing process. Not exactly "green" chemicals, nor are they safe.

"but biodiesel is green they cry" biodiesel pollutes just as much as reg diesel. Particulates are particulates, no matter the original source. (but it smells better they cry)

been there done that. Watched many of my friends DESTROY their Landcruiser engines with biodiesel. Now they all have new DIESEL engines that run on DIESEL, not french fries.

rant off.
 
Bushman5 said:
bio diesel is great if you have an old crappy diesel car thats about to give up and die. Bio diesel is great if you like replacing your injector seals/injectors and degunking your fuel lines every month.

anyone that thinks that biodiesel has a higher lubricity than standard diesel needs to get their head checked.

Our diesel powered 5 ton bin trucks have a highlighted section in the manual that states "the use of bio diesels and alternative fuels will instantly void the entire warranty of this vehicle. Do not under any circumstance use commercial bio diesels or other waste oil derived fuels in this fuel system" "if using low sulfur diesel, add the appropriate amount of addtive to restore the lubricity" "low sulfur diesel will damage the seals and injectors over time without lubricant additives"

one of the diesel mechs that we use showed us the engine parts and fuel lines of a bio diesel powered truck. The fuel lines had corrosion and pitting and they were gunked up like a clogged artery. The fuel pump had massive amounts of solid waxy gunk plugging up the rotor vanes, and corrosion in the inlet and outlet pipes. The cylinder heads had corrosion on the dome. The piston tops were caked in heavy carbon.

diesel fuel is JUST AS SAFE to handle as bio fuel. When we are fueling up our rigs, we are not splashing diesel all over ourselves. There is NO CONTACT with the fuel, unless intentional.

as for fire....have you ever seen fat/oil burn? ever seen fat/oil burns on skin? they are FAR worse than diesel fuel burns. BOTH burn equally well.

if making your own biodiesel, you are dealing with hydroxides in the manufacturing process. Not exactly "green" chemicals, nor are they safe.

"but biodiesel is green they cry" biodiesel pollutes just as much as reg diesel. Particulates are particulates, no matter the original source. (but it smells better they cry)

been there done that. Watched many of my friends DESTROY their Landcruiser engines with biodiesel. Now they all have new DIESEL engines that run on DIESEL, not french fries.

rant off.
Click to expand...


Interesting. I know people who have used it in volvos and jetta's for several years w/no problems.

I wouldn't want to try to make it myself for the reasons you stated above. Having to deal with the lye.
 
volvos and jettas are NOT 300 - 500 hp , 1000 - 2000 lbs torque producing heavy haulers that run 15 hours a day every day.

volvos and jettas see maybe 2- 4 hours a day use average. Wait a few more years and you will see problems.

in other words, how many hours a day and KM's are your friends driving every day?

I drive an average of 12 hours a day, 300 - 500 kms every day, under heavy load (between 5 and 10 tons payload depending on which truck i'm driving) . Your typical car )volvo, jetta) will NEVER see those conditions, and may do fine on biodiesel for a few years. Its a little (LOT MORE) more critical when your truck costs $250,000. (and a **** of a lot more expensive for parts and labour.)

just saying. Bio diesel is in its infancy right now, a lot of people misunderstand the use of it and the ramifications. It has a lot of refining to go thru. There ARE newer big rigs that can use bio diesel, but the also cost a hell of lot more. for most its not worth it.
 
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One of the reasons i were looking at that was that i know a tow company that been using it for the last few years. He had no problems what so ever and i know he is on the road 24 hours. They just change the drivers fill up the tank and drive back out.. He seemed to like it so much that another towing company dicided to switch and they said they had to change the fuel filters at first more but then it was o.k.. They drive mostly Fords and Isuzu trucks.. With one of the trucks being this huge thing that can pull a semi behind and been used for recovery...
Bushman does the Biodiesel actualy eats the metal??? or is it only the rubber parts???

Sasha
 
Just be careful where you park your car if you use biodiesel recovered from restaurants, especially if it is not heavily modified. This summer someone left their biodiesel car parked at the Onion Valley trailhead when he went on a trip into the backcountry. When he came back, he discovered that not only had a bear broken into the passenger compartment to get some food that was left there, but the whole rear of the car was dismantled, too. I can picture the bear thinking "Those french fries have to be somewhere around here, I can sure smell them!"
 
We farm in central Iowa, and run it in our tractors, and I own a Jeep liberty CRD (diesel).

We burn biodiesel only, and believe me, these motors get a workout. No problems, no complaints, no issues. Margins are slim in the ag industry, and if it was a problem, I assure you, we'd be burning petrodiesel. Thas isn't the company I work for, this is my own money talking.

PLEASE don't get into the economics of the food v. fuel thing, because it's not just soybeans going into it, and lately, with dropping oil values, it's not profitable.

If, however, you want to make your own frydiesel, there are a TON of resourses out there, it's safe to do, and for now, the raw product (disposed fry oil) can be free, if you have the time to spend on it.
 
Hi there FarmBoy ... Could you give me some info on the EQ you are using. Some basics info would be great.
 
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