This might be of some interest...(as far as woodgas goes)

http://www.ki4u.com/webpal/b_recovery/3_alternate_energy/woodgas/principles.htm


During WWII, Volkswagen had a variation that had a Holzgas (woodgas) generator.

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09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

the amazing thing about wood gas is that you
start a fire in the trash can... and use maybe 10 or 20 pounds
of fire wood and you can drive all day...
amazing....

Great idea... now go look for the "carberator" on your diesel.

http://www.gas-turbines.com/nt6/index.html#videos

Wood burning generator / Turbine wood-stove. The NT/6 Enginerator.

i did not say you could use wood gas on a diesel... but i bet
you could route it through the air intake just like they do on the air
intake of a gasser...

i dont have any intention of trying it... but the folks that do wood gas
only complain about the ash... and since our diesels are loaded with ash we
might just be the perfect vehicle for it...

if we feed wood gas through the air intake and used it in combo with
biodiesel it would probably increase the power and increase the mileage.

Blueranger,

10 or 20 pounds of wood and drive all day? U would have to prove that to me.

Since a pound of wood has about 5000 BTU 20 pounds would be about 100,000 BTU which is less than the BTU of a gallon of Diesel fuel. So even if all of the wood could could be converted to fuel to run the engine U couldn't go more than 25 miles. Actually much less since U are only using the energy in the wood gas, which is only part of the energy in the wood.

This must be another "old mechanic's" tale.

P E H

The way I understand it, the biggest concerns are that there might be very fine metal particles in the hydraulic oil that might not get filtered out. However, couldn't there be fine particle in WVO that don't get filtered out. Although they MIGHT not be metallic and would PROBABLY burn up, wouldn't metallic particles that small either burn up or pass thru the system harmlessly. The other concern is that it is bad for the environment . Here is a thought......if all the hyd oil(or MO) is not completely burned up it will leave the leftover toxins in the motor and release out the exhaust into the evnvironment . What if you added a propane injection system that is designed to burn the fuel in the cylinder hotter and more completely........no sediment left in the motor and no toxins released to the environment......a more pure burn! It might just work..........

Sbean
Registered User

Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
Woodgas trip across Australia
This is the best woodgas article I've seen.
http://members.tripod.com/~highfores...woodfired.html

There were thousands of these in use during WWII. They have been used for automobiles, buses, semis, even trains. I believe they were mostly junked immediately when gasoline became available. The Mother Earth News made some for automotive and sawmill use in the late 1970s. I have a copy of the plans they published. I met a guy who built one with some friends in California around that time. His comment was, "Forget it, a big hassle, weighs a ton, etc. PITA etc." Definitely not something you fire up for a quick trip to the corner store. But they can be rigged for a combination of gasoline and woodgas. ( Light the fire, start up on gasoline and switch to woodgas when the fire is going; step on the gas(oline) pedal for more power on hills.) They can be used with diesels if you inject a trace of diesel fuel. I have more info if anybody wants to PM me. Steve

foam,

Hotter temperature in the combustion chamber equals more NOX emissions.

Diesels have trouble with those emissions now.

P E H

I hate to inject sanity into what is actually an interesting discussion but any worthwhile source of waste oil, useable as fuel without excess effort, is likely to be spoken for by people willing to pay money for it. Small shops that must pay to have waste oil hauled away probably dump everything into a common tank contaminated with who knows what. There are always exceptions, of course, just none near me.

Stuff we generate ourselves (used ATF, for example) is a possible source but how often do you change your tranny oil? Still, mixing the used ATF with diesel would be a good way to dispose of it. I may try that.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I could get more than 50 gallons of week of free PM1 (paper machine) oil but I don't think I want to put it in any of mine. In addition we have the means to dehydrate it AND filter it to 10 microns. It is a thought.

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Jim

i did try WMO (waste motor oil) in my car up to 20%. I confirm that the smoke was not as bad as others described. I did however filter it at 10µm.
In MHO, i think it is a perfectly fair complementary (up to 50%) fuel to use if handled correctly (filtered and taken from a trustworthy indie mechanic tank).
My concern about motor oil is however pH levels and the presence of cooling fluid and there is not to much to do to avoid it.
Hydraulic oil is a better choice, but less accessible.

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Aquilae non capunt muscas! (Eagles don't hunt flies!)


1979 300SD Black/Black MBtex239000mi
1983 300TD euro-NA. White/Olive Cloth-MBtex 201000mi. Fleet car of the USA embassy in Morocco
1983 240D Labrador Blue/Blue MBtex 161000mi

Aside from the pros & cons already discussed about burning waste oil, can anyone here report their experience burning used Mobil 1 motor oil?

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Mark,

As far as I can tell, Mobil 1 burns the same as any other engine oil. I only mix Mobil 1 up to 5% so its not very concentrated.

P E H

I recently acquired a bargain 240D and am researching alternative fuels, including WVO and waste oil. I happen to have several gallons of used motor oil, including some Mobil 1, that I know isn't mixed with water or antifreeze, so it's tempting. On the other hand, I have a friend that owns/manages a couple of restaurants, so maybe the used motor oil would be better added to the tank for my oil furnace.

Happy Motorig, Mark

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DrDKW