Bio diesel - Pros & Cons?

Hi Mudripper

I haven't used bio, but many others here do so you should get the pros and cons from them. No conversion necessary. Just check what your vehicle manufacturer says. Some say OK up to a specified percentage, and other say none at all.

Motherhen

hi there , i use and make my own bio for my own use -- i run it in my 4.2 TDI nissan ( 2000 model)

have not had any issues at all - i run it at any different ratio - ie 100% ---- 10% bio 90 % dino- No mods have been done to my motor and have been for about 2 years now ( my motor has almost 300 k on it and is used to tow my jayco which is about 1500 kg when loaded) as well as 4x4 work

you just need to know if your motor is made with old type seals - that is with Rubber seals ... if the answer is yes -- then not recommended to use, and from what i also notice - common rail diesel takes to bio than the other

if you have Viton seals in motor - fuel pump and so forth - then should be ok - but check with manufacturer

i am lucky enough to work in a place that bottles olive oil and canola oils - so i get to keep all the spills and left overs when we change product -- ie when i clean a line for say extra virgin to extra light - i have to flush about 20 + litres though to get the correct grade oil , they are happy for me to take it as they were being charged to have it taken away- so i get to work with new feed stocks - i also have friends that own fish and chip shops - so i also get oil from there --- so i blend old and new and made my bio with very high yield

disadvantages - if you make it yourself - its a little time consuming when you first start up - working out your system of titration and mixing - and your initial set up - but once you get the hang of it - you can do it quickly

Biggest problem is water - water + OIL + methoxide (methanol + cauctic) = soap - i have recently had my 44 gal drum of methanol contaminated by water - so i now have 200 Litres of soap ( size of the batch i make )

advantage - burns cleaner - smells better - quietens the motor down - less ash deposits in the sump oil. i have not had to have an injector service in 2 years and i never blow black smoke as this fuel actually cleans your system out

costs me about 20 cpl to make

get a lot of people saying ... i heard that a friend of a friend had his motor destroyed by BIO - most is all hearsay .... and the other small percent is actually just a blocked fuel filter problem as this fuel will rip all the garbage out of your system and send it to your filters - so for the first few tanks you may need to change your filters more often - but this is also cleaning your system and once the crap is out - you should be fine

well i just got home from a weekend away in the bush ---- so if you need to know more - just let me know

Boc

Hi Mudripper,
I can't comment on what bio might or might not do to your engine, but I ran 40% bio about 2 years ago while travelling thru NSW, and over about 1500km I noticed the fuel consumption went up by about 1.5-2L/100k; ie, worse. So any cost saving was negated by more fuel consumed.
The "test" was fairly indicative, as I was running under the same conditions before and after using bio; ie, the same load and travelling at constant 100km/h everywhere I went.
I think it's generally acknowledged that bio has less thermal energy in it by volume than proper diesel.
cheers, Gerry