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Hi All
Been looking on tinternet, there seems to be a few places around now where you can either buy it from a pump or buy it in 1000 litre containers. It seems to be selling for around £1.05 ish a litre which seems to represent a pretty good saving on dyno diesel.
Wondered is anyone using it, and what peoples experiences were like?
Not all cars/engines can use it, depends on the injectors and fuel pumps as I understand it so do some research before you buy any!
No pretty much all diesel engines should run biodiesel, in fact its already mixed 5% in the fuel you buy on the forecourts.
Your thinking of straight vegetable oil, which only certain cars with a bosch pump will be ok with. Was interested in peoples experiences of running biodiesel B100 specifically.
Double check the MPG drop you'd get using it. Straight veg oil usually drops mpg by 10%. Biodiesel will be better but I suspect it'll still drop over 5% mpg.
No i'm not benjamins11, my octavia specifically states that it cannot be run on biodiesel.
Think it seeps past the piston rings and dilutes the oil in the bottom end killing the engine if you dont change your oil regularly.
VAG engines specify no biodiesel use.
Here you go:
Biodiesel fuel is also known to cause problems with some conventional diesel engines. These include carbon deposits on fuel injectors, excessive wear on piston rings and clogged fuel filters. Biodiesel fuel can also reduce the viscosity of the engine's oil, thereby requiring more frequent oil changes to keep the engine properly lubricated.
Most modern Diesels can tolerate B5 or B10, but very few modern diesel engines can run on B100. The most common issues are, lack of lubricity for the fuel pump and build up and caking in turbochargers. Oil dilution as partyboy says is also a problem
This month and last months issues of Practical Performance Car have articles on making your own biodiesel properly, worth a read.
Thanks guys, useful to know, I used to run my old landrover on straight veggie and it was fine. I was, still am considering buying an old diesel banger and running it on b100.
Its interesting looking on the biodiesel manufacturers websites, none of them make any mention of problems!
The lubricity thing is interesting. I SVO has a higher lubricity than dino diesel, its the thickness at lower temps that causes the injector pump issues, I guess biodiesel isn't the same in that respect.
have any of you actually used the stuff though?
Older inline and rotary pump diesel engines, including Old LandRovers, are a different kettle of fish from modern High Pressure Common rail engines. The tolerances in the fuel systems are far wider and can cope with things like B100 and veggie oil for example, some also run different bearings so they can run on low lubricity fuel, developing markets (Rest of World fuels)for example.
Older Car = A risk but it will prob be fine
Modern High Pressure Diesel = Highly likely to end up with a large bill
benjamins11have any of you actually used the stuff though?
I have. As above, few cars are able to run on it. And no common rail diesel will.
Found it to be fine, though I did wonder about where it was actually coming from and how clean it was, I got it from a shady local garage which doesn't do it anymore, annoyingly. Noticed no major issues what so ever, if anything a slight increase in power. Some lumpy starts on colder mornings. If I put a tank of bio through after being on regular juice for a while I made a point of changing the fuel filter. It seemed to smoke a bit more, but nothing crazy.
Struggling to think of anything to say really.
Is it pure bio or mix?
Bio has the potential to eat non-compliant seals and make a mess of piping that isn't suitable for bio so be careful before using it.
Its also hydroscopic and prone to contamination/growth so be aware of the neeed for clean tanks and higher than normal care when handling.
Oh and be sure its actually good for the environment, a fair bit of bio is worse than straight hydrocarbon unfortunately.
www.bio-power.co.uk/faq.htm
Excellent forum with very knowledgeable people.
www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=10
The local Co-op filling station is selling regular diesel that has a % of biodiesel mixed with it. It's now the only diesel they sell.
I stopped using it as having tried it a couple of times my car ran like crap.
Pretty much all forecourt diesel now is ~B5, I seem to remember a while ago Morrisons decided to use something like B30 at their pumps, i think it was pulled due to pressure from car manufactures due to potential failures
All road diesel will need lowlevel (5-7%) bio in it from the 1st of Jan under new EU regs, not sure if UK has implemented yet. The Morrisons bio was pulled after lots of manufacturers refused to treat vehicles burning it under warrenty as it was outside of intended use for engines.
If you use a common rail diesel avoid it. The injectors are bleeding edge tech which is very sensitive to deposit build up.
Unburnt fuel can also pass the piston rings and get into the crankcase thereby diluting the oil, reducing its viscosity, increasing oxidation and corrosion. Modern diesels also use post injection of fuel into the cylinders after combustion has taken place with the intention that this unburnt fuel gets to the diesel particulate filter and is used to burn off carbon particles trapped there. This exacerbates fuel dilution.