Biodiesel....SVO....WVO....???? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Colorado220 · #1 12-06-2006, 11:24 PM

Bio Diesel, SVO, WVO..................... What is the difference? Why is one better, what do I have to do for my diesel? Any info you can share would be very appreciated..thank you!

#2 12-06-2006, 11:33 PM

Diesel is best for your diesel engine equipped car.

log673 · #3 12-06-2006, 11:59 PM

If you wish to run your car on Waste Vegetable Oil (chemically unmodified oil) you must install a seperate tank for regular diesel which you will use to start up your car and get it up to operating temp. at which point you can switch over to the veggie. I have never done it this way, but I have quite a bit of experience with biodiesel.

In a nutshell, biodiesel won't do you much good since nutshells will not fit through your fuel line. However, in a figurative nutshell, this is how biodiesel is made:

Veggie oil is made from fatty acids bonded to an alchohol, which in veggie oil is glycerin. The goal of transesterification (the process by which biodiesel is made) is to replace this glycerin with a lighter alcohol. (generally methanol)

You don't have to modify your car at all for biodiesel. (with the exception of replacing rubber fuel lines, and changing your filters a lot initially.)

I've had to quit making biodiesel since I moved to go to school, but I hope to begin buying it commercially soon. (or just make a hell of a lot of it during spring break and summer)

Colorado220 · #4 12-07-2006, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by log673

If you wish to run your car on Waste Vegetable Oil (chemically unmodified oil) you must install a seperate tank for regular diesel which you will use to start up your car and get it up to operating temp. at which point you can switch over to the veggie. I have never done it this way, but I have quite a bit of experience with biodiesel.

In a nutshell, biodiesel won't do you much good since nutshells will not fit through your fuel line. However, in a figurative nutshell, this is how biodiesel is made:

Veggie oil is made from fatty acids bonded to an alchohol, which in veggie oil is glycerin. The goal of transesterification (the process by which biodiesel is made) is to replace this glycerin with a lighter alcohol. (generally methanol)

You don't have to modify your car at all for biodiesel. (with the exception of replacing rubber fuel lines, and changing your filters a lot initially.)

I've had to quit making biodiesel since I moved to go to school, but I hope to begin buying it commercially soon. (or just make a hell of a lot of it during spring break and summer)

How hard is it to make? what will I need.. Any pics?

log673 · #5 12-07-2006, 12:23 AM

If you want to make it at home, I'll post a link to the website that pretty much tells you everything you'll ever need to know about making it. It's really not that difficult to make, but it does take a lot of attention and time, which is a drawback. Like I said, I have had to stop for now because my processor is 3 hours away in Nashville, but I'm hoping to maybe get it started again during the spring or summer when I'm home. But otherwise, if your living conditions are stable and the IRS doesn't find out, homebrew biodiesel is great.

http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/index.php

Colorado220 · #6 12-07-2006, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by log673

If you want to make it at home, I'll post a link to the website that pretty much tells you everything you'll ever need to know about making it. It's really not that difficult to make, but it does take a lot of attention and time, which is a drawback. Like I said, I have had to stop for now because my processor is 3 hours away in Nashville, but I'm hoping to maybe get it started again during the spring or summer when I'm home. But otherwise, if your living conditions are stable and the IRS doesn't find out, homebrew biodiesel is great.

http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/index.php

Cool thanks man!

vwbuge · #7 12-07-2006, 06:21 AM

Depending on your climate, you can run pure WVO with NO modifications to your car.

I have put several thousand miles on my SD by mixing roughly 70% WVO with 30% diesel fuel. Dumped directly in the tank with no preheaters or additives and no replacing of fuel lines.

I am selective about the WVO I pick up. I filter it 3x before dumping it into my tank. I have run a 50/50 mix down to about 35-40 degrees F with no problem.

Just remember to carry spare fuel filters in your trunk.

#8 12-07-2006, 07:09 AM

Your car was designed and manufactured to run on Diesel fuel.

Therefore, I would recommend running it on Diesel fuel.

That is, unless you believe that you understand your vehicle more thoroughly than the MB engineers who designed an manufactured it.

To each their own. Caveat Emptor.

justinperkins · #9 12-07-2006, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrhills0146

Your car was designed and manufactured to run on Diesel fuel.

The diesel engine was designed to run on peanut oil.

There are millions (that's a wild guess) of people worldwide that run their diesels on biodiesel, WVO and/or SVO. They've been doing it for a long time and they're perfectly happy with it.

I say that if you haven't tried running alternative fuels in your diesel, you probably don't have the experience needed to talk bad about it.

log673 · #10 12-07-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrhills0146

Your car was designed and manufactured to run on Diesel fuel.

Therefore, I would recommend running it on Diesel fuel.

That is, unless you believe that you understand your vehicle more thoroughly than the MB engineers who designed an manufactured it.

To each their own. Caveat Emptor.

You might think twice about saying that if you really knew how nasty diesel fuel is. It's just a few steps up from asphalt. But biodiesel on the other hand, if made properly, is clean enough to drink or cook with. In fact, I just had some exquisite biodiesel pancakes this morning.

twr · #11 12-07-2006, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justinperkins

The diesel engine was designed to run on peanut oil.

There are millions (that's a wild guess) of people worldwide that run their diesels on biodiesel, WVO and/or SVO. They've been doing it for a long time and they're perfectly happy with it.

I say that if you haven't tried running alternative fuels in your diesel, you probably don't have the experience needed to talk bad about it.

justinperkins: I agree with you

probear · #12 12-07-2006, 11:02 AM

I ran all summer, from June to September on B100 with no additives. The car ran great and other than 3 fuel filters, no problems. You would be amazed at the crap that #2 leaves in the fuel system (thus the 3 fuel filters).
My mileage was about the same, pickup seemed better, and a visible reduction in smoke, not to mention the exhaust smelled better.
The only reason I am not running it now is because my production area is unheated and I have not had the time to work on the area. I will start again in the spring, if not sooner.

BTW, the main reason I use Bio instead of WVO is that I have three vehicles and it's cheaper to make the Bio than convert all three to a heated system.

dannym · #13 12-07-2006, 11:36 AM

Did you miss the 'biodiesel and WVO - SVO links thread" STICKY at the top of the page?
THAT is where you want to start your research.
Then you can go through the websites linked in that thread.
There is also a SEARCH button that will provide hours of reading enjoyment for you.

That way you can get the facts rather than everyones opinion.
Then if you have a SPECIFIC question, come back and ask it.

Danny

#14 12-07-2006, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justinperkins

The diesel engine was designed to run on peanut oil.

There are millions (that's a wild guess) of people worldwide that run their diesels on biodiesel, WVO and/or SVO. They've been doing it for a long time and they're perfectly happy with it.

I say that if you haven't tried running alternative fuels in your diesel, you probably don't have the experience needed to talk bad about it.

I'd rather not get into this debate yet again, but you are wrong.

The ORIGINAL Diesel engine was indeed designed to run on peanut oil.

The 617, 616, 603, or whichever other Diesel engine in your Mercedes Benz was NOT designed to run on peanut oil. It was designed to run on #2 Diesel fuel. This is not a difficult concept to understand.

Come talk to me about alternative fuels when you have reached a quarter-million miles on home-brewed fuel with no injection pump failure or clogged injectors, and I will subsequently eat my words. In other words, the proof is in the pudding.

greasybenz · #15 12-07-2006, 11:44 AM

biodiesel is the best choice of them all.

And germany already has required DIN specs for the rapeseed bio that is highly available over there. Its the reason manufactures (like VW for example) allow you to run B1-B100 in a TDI. Germany has required standards on the fuel.

US hasnt, it isnt mandated and then we get some crap fuel come into the pumps. So VW limits us to B5 because that would be the lowest risk of something happening to the engine.

How to find high quality bio from a pump? Here yah go.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=110004&highlight=biodiesel+pd+tdi