Biodiesel.........

The Edge · 20 Mar 2007 at 20:57

Anyone else use this?

I filled my ZX up last week and once it's running it's fine. It does stutter quite badly until it's warm though - any ideas why?

I've done about 30 miles with it so far.

I'd like to get it sorted as it's so much cheaper

Ta for any tips

paradigm · 20 Mar 2007 at 21:00

I always though biodiesel wasn't great when cold, due to it being thicker at cold temperatures.

Mix it with a bit of "proper" diesel in the winter months.

rossyl · 20 Mar 2007 at 21:10

are you producing it yourself, or purchasing it?

Stonedofmoo · 20 Mar 2007 at 21:13

I heard it was only a few pence cheaper thanks for Browns tax on a 'green' fuel :confused:

The Edge · 20 Mar 2007 at 21:13

rossyl said:
are you producing it yourself, or purchasing it?

I bought it

I have heard you can run on veg oil but it's having the time to make it up. Even buying it you save about £10 on a full tank.

phi1 · 20 Mar 2007 at 21:16

My dad used to use that stuff, Untill It got to the point where there was little diffrence in price. But it used to gum up his car. He had a tank at his house and got it filled and then mixed some normal with it. He went though a fair few glow plugs aswell.

The Edge · 21 Mar 2007 at 07:19

Thanks guys

It's all over the web about it so at least i know it's not going to knacker the engine. All the websited mention an additive to stop this happening, but none say what it is or where you can get it. Any clues?

Thanks

Matt82 · 21 Mar 2007 at 07:25

when youre walking through bham you can smell it everywhere

my sis used it in her shogun loads. we used it when we helped her move (an £80 tank full of the stuff).

only think id worry about is the chemicals they use to thin the oil perhaps damaging fuel lines maybe?

The Edge · 21 Mar 2007 at 08:56

Ok maybe its a 50/50 mix or only use it through the summer. If you can live with it it's a big saving!

Yes in brum you can smell everywhere!

BigToe · 21 Mar 2007 at 09:31

I've done about 13k on B100 in my common-rail Clio, runs like a dream. I use a winter additive to lower the melting point and have never had problems starting in sub-zero temps. BioDiesel is far superior to normal diesel in my opinion. The engine is quieter, smoother and the exhaust smells tasty

rossyl · 21 Mar 2007 at 10:04

you live in bham tho...damn

anyone know where you can buy some of this stuff in the north london area?

The Edge · 21 Mar 2007 at 10:36

BigToe said:
I've done about 13k on B100 in my common-rail Clio, runs like a dream. I use a winter additive to lower the melting point and have never had problems starting in sub-zero temps. BioDiesel is far superior to normal diesel in my opinion. The engine is quieter, smoother and the exhaust smells tasty

Where do you get the winter additive?

Ta

BigToe · 21 Mar 2007 at 12:15

The Edge said:
Where do you get the winter additive?

Ta

I get it from here mate:-

http://www.biofuelsystems.com/wintron.htm

It's actually very difficult to handle due to the extreme viscosity, and needs to be added to warm BioDiesel in order to work. It's very high concentrate though, a single 1L bottle can be good for 1000L of Bio providing it has been made from good feedstock.

The Edge · 21 Mar 2007 at 12:45

How do you warm it?

I take it then you can't just stick in a full tank?

Ta

BigToe · 21 Mar 2007 at 12:57

Well I make the stuff so I just add it after the drying stage. You'd need to get your supplier to do it for you (I'm surprised they don't with our current weather to be honest!), or get yourself a steel container of some description big enough to warm the stuff over a flame or with an immersion heater etc.

The Edge · 21 Mar 2007 at 12:58

Ah ok, probably no good then

BigToe · 21 Mar 2007 at 13:16

Yeah, doesn't really work putting it directly in the tank unfortunately. The sheer viscosity is a real problem as it would take a very long time to even reach the tank, plus the fact it won't mix properly with cold BioDiesel. We tried it once with zero effect.

Perhaps have a word with your supplier about it.

Ukadder · 21 Mar 2007 at 13:17

My company sells a fair few biodiesel products (pumps, filters, hoses and the like) The two most common problems with it are:

1) It waxing when the temperature is low, usually around 5oC or colder (depending on the type of biodiesel, chip fat oil will usually wax at a slightly higher temp than veg oil)

As stated you can get a winter additive to help overcome this problem, it really needs to be put in at the processing stage rather than time of filling the tank. If you don't then problems start when trying to pump the biodiesel from your storage tank unless you heat the tank slightly.

2) Filters in cars clogging up, biodiesel has a cleaning effect on the car stripping out some of the gunk that fills in the bottom of the tank, for the first few trips the fuel filter takes a bit of a kicking and will most likely need changing, after a while though it will be fine (and better for the engine!)

No car manufacturer says anything higher than 20% should be used, most say only 5% biodiesel is recommended (and some...Land Rover) say that no biodiesel should be used. Could be worth thinking about if your car is under warranty.

carpmaster · 21 Mar 2007 at 16:06

I've just checked the price per litre when you buy the big 1000litre of biodiesel from the link above, and it's 98p per litre?

Diesel is only around 90p per litre isn't it?

What's the score here!!!

BigToe · 21 Mar 2007 at 16:29

carpmaster said:
I've just checked the price per litre when you buy the big 1000litre of biodiesel from the link above, and it's 98p per litre?

Diesel is only around 90p per litre isn't it?

What's the score here!!!

They are overcharging, basically. They get away with it (presumably - I don't know if they actually manage to sell any!), because it's a far better quality fuel and appeals to those who want to "do their bit" for the environment.