I've logged more than 35k on my benz without issue using a blend of WVO/Diesel/Regular gas. I keep the WVO below 80% and the gas below 5%. I also heat this fuel with injector line heaters (12v resistance wire) and a 26-plate heat exchanger. The biggest issue I've had has been because of the WVO loosening up and cleaning out my fuel tank and lines from 25 years of diesel residue.

Many, many people run their old Benz diesels on vegetable oil. I feel that there's no harm in it if you plan your system well - heat or blend or both - and prepare your vegoil well. Running on a blend saved me nearly $3,000 last year.

I've been inside a VW diesel engine that'd been run on veggie (out of my old Samurai) and can tell you that the engine was clean. Injector nozzles, rings, valves - all were clean and pretty. My mechanic said there was nothing with the VW engine that wouldn't be found in an engine that'd never run WVO.

__________________
1983 300SD, Silver/Blue, 230+K (rebuilt at 196K)

.
Here is a link to a database of thousands of people,
around the world,
with millions of miles running veggie oil.
And their experiences.

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/fuelsdatabase/database/index.php

.
Here is a link to some people on the bleeding edge of knowledge of using veggie oil.
Again, thousand of people from around the world are members.

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums

.
Here is a link to hundreds of US citizens that have setup a network of
"filling stations" where you can stop by and get oil for free at their house,
or business.

http://www.fillup4free.com/index.php

.
I personally have thousands of miles logged using veggie oil.
With no ill effects whatsoever.

.....
I continually search for any proof of damage that veggie oil may cause.
I have found some instances in some other vehicles.
But none with the older Mercedes diesels.

The reason I like the links I listed above is that none of these people,
are trying to make a profit off of what they are doing.
They are not biased by money making motives.

If I had the extra money I would consider offering a reward,
for any provable damage caused to a 617 Mercedes engine by veggie oil.
I really want to know what to look for, what I should be concerned with.
But I honestly have not been able to find any.

....
These are some of the provable benefits of veggie oil

I have saved thousands of dollars in fuel costs.
Both of my cars have paid for themselves.

I am not polluting the environment nearly as much.

I am not dependent on rapidly changing (usually increasing) fuel costs.

I am supporting farmers, not OPEC !!!

My money is not going into the pockets of huge corporations like EXXON,
They posted profits of over 8 billion dollars last year.

My fuel is renewable, and essentially unlimited.

I have saved way more money than the cost of what might break
on my car by using veggie oil.

I sleep better at night knowing I am trying to make the best decisions I can, for me, my children, and my children's, children...etc..

........


Never Mind The Bullocks!!
Have Fun
RichC

__________________

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Jimi Hendrix

With properly de-watered and filtered WVO and a good conversion, an IDI mercedes engine will last LONGER on WVO than it would on diesel.

I have been doing it for over 25 years. No problems. Seen people do it wrong and kill their engines in under a year.

It's not cheap to do it right, but it's worth it for the environment.

__________________
Ron Schroeder
'85 300 Turbo Diesel 2 tank WVO
'83 300 Turbo Diesel 2 tank WVO
Some former WVO vehicles since ~1980:
'83 Mercedes 240D
'80 Audi 4000D
'83 ISUZU Pup
'70 SAAB 99 with Kubota diesel
'76 Honda Civic with Kubota diesel
'86 Golf
Several diesel generators
All with 2 tank WVO conversion
LI NY

I've now run several thousand miles just on filtered WVO. The cafeteria at work gives their oil now. I scored 35 gallons last week. It's pretty clean stuff and runs though my 0.5 micron sock filter fairly quickly.

It did have a stumble this morning after a hard accel/downshift. I suspect it's time for a filter change, which I haven't replaced since I put the car on the road 2-1/2 years ago.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

Easy to find a job that pays $14+.....whatever you are smoking, I'd like to have some.

__________________
'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
'08 Chevy Tahoe
'93 Ducati 900 SS
'79 Kawasaki KZ 650
'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Forced, it really has a lot to do with where you live. Not everyone lives in the same economy that we do.

I have 25,000 miles on alternative fuel in my 83 300SD since Sept '06. The first 8,000 was on homebrew biodiesel, the next 17,000 on WVO/RUG blend...90% WVO in the summer, 80% in the winter. No mods to the vehicle at all.

The only negative is that in the last 6 months or so I have to keep my foot on the throttle slightly at startup to keep it from stalling. This is for only about 30 seconds, then it smoothes out.

__________________
Mark in MA
05 MB E320CDI 402k Granite Grey Metallic
05 MB E320CDI 267k Black
05 MB E320CDI 232k White
05 MB E320CDI 209k Tectite Grey
99 Dodge 2500 Cummins 5sp 148k
62 Jeep CJ-6 120k

If you ever get a chance to see the glycerol that's a byproduct of biodiesel production from WVO, your questions would be definitively answered.

Already looked for a VW b/c I thought theyd be cheaper, but only pne I found for sale locally at the time was a pos and the guy wanted $1700, but MB were far more easier for me to find, and the asking prices on some were actually cheaper. Now I found one in FL that supposedly in great running order and the guy wants $700
Plus I cant stand driving a tiny tiny car
I think Ill stick with MB


I go to Ranken tech in STL and have classes from 8 am to 4:30 PM so I am gone from 6:25 in the morning to 6:00 PM every day and need a place thats open really late. I live in the middle of nowhere and the only places open are gas stations and McDonalds. Even then, I have to drive atleast 10 minutes to any of them

Glad to find an honest and well documented opinion, keep up the use of vegetable oil.


twr

__________________
2000 430 ML
2005 S500
87 300 D
61 300 restoring

The only problems I see with WVO/SVO, besides engine problems brought on by poor filtering/dewatering/heating, etc., is this. The environment. By that I mean knocking down more trees to plant oil bearing plants. It's bad enough with the over building of housing. Look at the cost of milk thanks to the Flex Fuel fad and the cost of corn going up. Make gassers run on pure methanol or ethanol instead of RUG. I know, milk prices will go up higher.

I do live out in the sticks and see new developments moving in. I would rather see what was once a field become a field again for renewable fuels instead of being sold off to yet another developer. Out here we have more empty houses, and they keep building new ones.

__________________
RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

This is EXACTLY the problem. Almost none of the "duuuuuudes" who are doing this have a clue what they are doing. The vast majority of people will not take the time or incur the expense to do it right.

BigJohn, all I can add is that my old MBz ( 1995 ) doesnt like pump D. Have to condition it, and still the engine pings on acceleration once rpms have reached 2800-ish. With bio, nothing. No pings , good power. This is carefully brewed bio, not simply WVO.

Judging by the sound of the engine, it digs the stuff.

Maybe try adn find a biodiesel co-op in your area. We dont ahve them up here, but some areas do. Shared equiptment/costs etc.

BTW, not all WVO are made the same. There are good and bad. The good are pure peanut/soy oils. The bad are the ones that look like Crisco.

For me, with 227K on the clock, and looking to go 500k, biodiesel is the answer for my car. I'd pay the same as dino, even a few pennies more , for the environmental , no US troops dying over soybeans issues.

Dude, I get near 700 miles on a 21 gal tank. Even if you bought diesel at the pump, thats cheap running!

thats in unwashed Bio

glycerin is separated from the triglyceride through the transeserification process and drops out because it is "heavier" than the methyl esters... then through a washing and filtering process it is 99% gone.

I had a 10 gallon batch that I processed and then reprocessed to test out the theory to remove any extra glycerin and I didn't remove that much.

Not going to happen.
EVERYTHING you read is loaded with personal opinion presented as fact. Along with a lot of BS mixed in.

__________________
1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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