Bio-diesel

And there in speaks words of wisdom.

Anything and everything, boat related, is all about continual and preventative maintenance. No matter how good the product/design/material is, if you do not maintain it, it'll cause probelms, period.

This little gem never seems to be factored into peoples "dreams"...

 

that truck I got for free a while back pretty much just needed to be caught up on every form of basic maintenance involved in keeping a vehicle running

clean fuel
clean filters
new rubber hoses belts and lines
fresh oil
air filter
drain and fill auto transmission
glow plugs
batteries
bla bla bla

and it runs like a top
looks like crap but I might change that next summer

7.3 IDI international engine thats probably got 200k still left in it all because no one thought to change the filters and tighten the fuel connections

stupid people make me happy is all I can say

 

i hear the lubricity of bio is better than dino

 

The Marine Corps base where I live at bought a lot of bio-diesel awhile back and had trouble with it because they bought such large amounts and the fuel had to sit. Bio-diesel is best used quickly and you want to buy it from a dealer that moves it. Boston, you intention of recirculating the fuel constantly is correct. If I were you and were going to put this into a truck, I would install a polishing system using a large Racor and an extra electrical pump. Keep moving it and filtering it. Heating the tank in the winter is a must.

 

ya I looked into the Racor heated filter systems and I found a new unit for $250 but I also found a used Ford water jacketed/heated filter ( heated through the radiator system ) for $110 so I'm exploring my options. Its off the 96 power stroke and should fit in tandem with the one I already have on there

 

oh
the bio diesel can be reprocessed and its fine
deal is when you make it you break up the triglicerides throw away the glycerin and recombine whats left with isopropyl alcohol to form Bio diesel
if it begins to degrade you can simply run it through the process again and its fine

 

Ad Hoc,when i first started running bio i joined a co op who where selling local bio from a plant in southern minnesota,the guys running older cars such as VW Rabbits and Mercedes 300d etc had to change out all their hoses,the newer VWs after 1995 had no problems.Everything i read told me to change the fuel filter and then carry a spare and the tools to change it on the roadside should it clog up with all the gunk that would get flushed out of the tank and lines due to bio being more of a solvent, as it worked out nothing happened even though i worked my way up to 100% bio, im guessing that the previous owner had been running bio already. I heard that you get better mileage with bio but to be honest i couldnt tell any difference at all. When i totalled the car a week ago i bought it back from the insurance co, it would be a nice boat motor.
Steve.

 

Bio has a slightly lower cetane rating than diesel and yes it tends to dissolve dino deposits throughout the system so clogged filters when you first start running the stuff are common but not inevitable

your millage should be the same

as far as why the fuel cleans up dirty systems as well as it does, basically its got an ester bond ( alcohol if I'm remembering this right ) that might not have completely reacted when the bio was brewed and it tends to pick up "gunk" from the tanks and lines

cleans your injectors nicely though

the older diesels work great with SVO or WVO and the newer ones work fine with Bio. Its a long story that I"m still researching as to why but thats the way it is

I lucked out and have one of the best diesels for running alternative fuels out there
in the cliche the 7.3 IDI international is "the" engine along with the merc 300D you mentioned

anyway I just hope I can secure a steady supply of WVO so I can recoup my conversion costs and actually save some money

cheers

 

My accountant and her husband have had a bunch of 300Ds, one of those little Renault based Winnebago Lasharro motorhomes and their current larger motorhome with an Isuzu diesel all converted to WVO by her husband. When they go off on a trip with the motorhome they tow a trailer with enough WVO to give them a 5000 mile range.They have been doing this for years.They drive the Mercedes year round even in our Minnesota winters.
Steve.

 

Interesting. I have a nephew who got a VW Jetta, which evidently doesn't like the cetane rating and needed to get the rubber replaced because of bio.

I found a 1979 Peugeot 504 2.4L diesel wagon with 79,000 miles on it, cheap enough as to be essentially free. Mechanically sound, just spent some time stored in the sun so the interior has degraded. I know the owner, it's in good shape. Body has no significant rust on it, and the tires are looking relatively new and unchecked.

I figured it would make a good experiment at a bio conversion of some sort, without trashing a perfectly good newer car if I don't like it.

It has about 6 wires under the hood, and the oil filter can be changed while standing up. Mechanical injector pump, not sure if that would be a problem. You can work in there really easily, it would be a breeze to maintain as long as you can stay out of that injector pump.

 

If the place where you get the bio doesn't wash off any excess alcohol ( scrub there fuel ) then it stands to reason that components typically sensitive to that stuff would have troubles

same thing happens with "oxygenated" fuels that often contain 10% alcohol
eats the lines

bio diesel is supposed to be tested for excess reactants ( reagents I think its called ) but the test is about 1200 bucks so if your buying cheap bio from someone who is just slapping it together then you could run into other troubles than just some melted lines

basically you could get pre ignition and toast the cylinders

 

Cetane ratings are important, but in the case of home made bio, Flash point is the measue I would be concerned with. Good diesel fuel flashes at 125 F. The K1 kerosene that was mentioned earlier flashes at 100F. The Pensky test for flash actually heats the tested fuel and uses an eletronic spark repeatedly (like a gas grill) and records the temperature of fuel flash. You could distill your WVO fuel and then blend with K1 untill you create the rated fuel you desire. If your blended fuel flashes in the 120F area you are good to go.

 

The flash point of a fuel mixture is that of the fuel with lower flash point. That is the reason to mix acetone with kerosene on the semi-diesel AC engines.

 

OK I think I've found the bits and pieces for my fuel polishing system

I've got two fuel water separators followed by two filters and then a centrifuge filter and then it recirculates. I should be filtering about 60 GPH ( it was the smallest volume centrifuge they had ) The pump is a bit large but I have a relief valve planned to deal with the overflow and keep things running at there optimum

I filtered some WMO the other day and mixed it 50/50 with diesel cause its kinda cold out . I dont want the stuff to kill my fuel pump. Runs noticeably stronger and smoother. Kinda night and day actually so I'm going to use this blend probably for the rest of the winter and come spring I'll try less diesel or maybe no diesel and a bit of Kerosene. I'm still thinking vegy oil as well but I'm not seeing much need to process it if I'm running the WVO blend in the colder weather. Friend of mine suggested I could just go with Kerosene as a mixer and forget the diesel, something about it altering the viscosity better. I'll have to check into that.

anyway its kinda my Christmas present to myself
free fuel for the POS truck
which is fast approaching worth painting

I've got six 55 gallon drums of fuel coming my way soon as I get the system up and running

 

Congratulations. You have done some good work. The 7.3 is a workhorse of an engine. Remember that Rudolph Diesel designed the diesel engine to be fueled by vegtable oil. They have the nickname of "oil burners" for a very goood reason. I have a brother in law who is a diesel mechanic that has a shop next door to an automatic transmission shop. He blends his fuel and burns a lot of ATF. Just be careful with what you blend and keep a sharp eye to the flashpoints of the blended fuels. A good way to keep track of flashpoints are Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Google the product's MSDS and in section 5 of the MSDS will contain fire fighting measures. Flash Point data will be found there. As handy as you are Boston. I would like to see you set up a home made Pensky cup flash point test to verify the quality of your blends. Would not be hard to do.
Merry Christmas to All!