Vege Oil...Fact or Myth? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

winmutt · #16 07-18-2008, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephenc03

why is it so impossible to understand the veggie oil is just as exceptable of a fuel as diesel? I do agree that increasing the fuel economy by one mile per gallon each week can easily be accoplished by driving slower or less stop and go traffic. I can say that my friends and I drove a 81 300SD from san diego to the grand canyon with for guys and a bunch of backpacking gear. we were loaded down to the brim and we were getting 28MPG on straight diesel. Coking of the injectors can just as easily happen with carbon buildup when driving it like an old lady and never doing an itallian tune up. as long as you drive it like you stole it for a few minutes a month you should be able to negate coking of injectors if any.
-Stephen

I never said that. Atleast not for a om616/617/60X. It just needs to be pre heated, which he probably isn't doing.

stephenc03 · #17 07-18-2008, 02:45 PM

If you get on grease car.com they talk about the exceptable temperatures for heated oil. They estimate that straight veggie oil need to be heated from around 115 to 140. And since we are on that topic.... why do we need to heat it in the first place? the answer is because the oil is to thick to go through your injectors and will cause coking right? So we need to find a way to thin our oil before we send it through the injectors to stop build up of junk in the combustion chamber. You can do a two tank system you can run bio diesel. why cant we run a blend? biodiesel and blending have two thing in common in that they thin the oil to go through they injectors. We can all agree that Lovecraft is a piece of junk because of the one tank system. I would not classify blending as a one tank system because I am not claiming that i can run straight veggie oil with no conversion. I am saying that thinning by blending is doing the same thing as a heater and biodiesel. it is makeing it less viscose.
-Stephen

notfarnow · #18 07-18-2008, 02:50 PM

I think you'll find most people here are relatively well-versed in biodiesel/SVO/blending... they certainly don't need a "primer" on how/why it works.

The issue is about optimistic claims. People new to veggie/biodiesel/blending tend to be enthusiastically optimistic about the benefits and improvements. Sometimes it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

I'm certainly not a cynic... I've been running WVO for over 5 years.

rrgrassi · #19 07-18-2008, 02:50 PM

I do know the Bio-D has less BTU output than Pump diesel. I do not know if that is the case w/SVO/WVO since the glycerine is also being burned. If you blend w/RUG and Kerosene, it may work out to be the same, but who knows.

stephenc03 · #20 07-18-2008, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notfarnow

I think you'll find most people here are relatively well-versed in biodiesel/SVO/blending... they certainly don't need a "primer" on how/why it works.

The issue is about optimistic claims. People new to veggie/biodiesel/blending tend to be enthusiastically optimistic about the benefits and improvements. Sometimes it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

I'm certainly not a cynic... I've been running WVO for over 5 years.

I agree with that as well as I am not just jumping on the band wagon. I have been doing this for a few years as well and actually built my own two tank cnonversion kit. I always tell people to find a good source of oil and filter it and collect it so that they know what they are getting themselves into before they drop a grand or two on a kit that they will get tired of 6 months later. I have never grown tired of counting how much money i just saved. some might make the argument that what you are saving in fuel you are losing in the purchase of a new part becasue of a "flawed system". I argue that if the mercedes was given to me or it was a couple hundred dollars and it is an ok car not great but ok with a few interior and body problems. will the car die before you reclaim that 500 bucks that you spent originally? probably not. I might have a harder time ptting oil in a mercedes that is cherry. How ever I bought my 12 valve cummins diesel for 10,000 bucks and it says in the manual that it recognizes that other fuels can be used in the vehicle under given specifications and lists them. I am sure that oil fall under these specs. given to me so I run blended oil in my 97 12 cummins with 114000 miles on it
-Stephen

notfarnow · #21 07-18-2008, 03:11 PM

Exactly.

A well-thought out conversion is a reliable conversion. We had a choice... we could forgoe WVO and get a new Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla (I hate VWs) or we could stick with WVO and buy a cherry 8-9 yr old e300d.

Figured over 5 years, buying the e300d and running WVO is ~5k cheaper if you count depreciation. Sometimes it makes a heck of a lot of sense. I last filled up on diesel on May12, and I've put ~4500kms on it since then. I still have half a tank of diesel.

But yeah, many enthusistic newbies are easily discouraged by the logistics of collecting, settling & filtering the oil. The key to success is a good system. I use a variation ofthe upflow system, with 2 settling tanks. I dumped ~20 gallons in last night and walked away. 10 minutes later I had ~20 gallons of clean oil out the other end.

lodester · #22 07-18-2008, 03:21 PM

Hello;
Didn't expect this kind of response and didn't expect that many disbelievers. I am stating the facts. Got nothing to gain deceiving you: I am not selling you anything.

Got the oil in 5 gallon containers from a wholesale restaurant depot in Los Angeles. I am currently looking into possibly purchasing recycled vege oil from a purification plant. Will let you know if I have any luck and share the info when I have it.

For the disbelievers all I can tell you is that if you're in Los Angeles, I be more than happy to show you what I am doing. My "old benz" now runs almost like new and yes, running at a 50/50 diesel/oil mixture did improve my mileage.

Take Care;

Lodester

vstech · #23 07-18-2008, 03:27 PM

why does WVO/SVO clean out stuff? I understand that Bio-D with the lye/alcohol in it has better/different cleaning properties than #2, but SVO? why would it clean better?

winmutt · #24 07-18-2008, 03:32 PM

Still more aciditic than plain old #2. I soak my injectors in canola oil.

#25 07-18-2008, 08:03 PM

VO contains less energy per gallon than D2, thats why it cant have more power or better economy.

beaulieub · #26 07-18-2008, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notfarnow

Exactly.

The key to success is a good system. I use a variation ofthe upflow system, with 2 settling tanks. I dumped ~20 gallons in last night and walked away. 10 minutes later I had ~20 gallons of clean oil out the other end.

Can you explain in more detail how your filtering setup works? I've never heard of an "upflow" system.

Bert - NH

Whiskeydan · #27 07-18-2008, 09:23 PM

Crankcase oil polymerization.

Scary stuff when your oil turns to glue. So, save your money otherwise spent on D2. You may need it in the future.

GRIESL · #28 07-18-2008, 09:59 PM

I get same fuel economy on B20 or less. Higher blend than that and fuel mpg goes down--down a lot. There ain't no way the numbers reported are correct. Are you certain that you're measuring volumes correctly. I messed that up once and calculated 36 mpg. Now that sounds like an Ebay ad! So I knew it was wrong.

BTW, it's not the alcohol in bio that cleans things in the fuel system. Good bio will have that washed/distilled and filtered out. The basic properties of the oil is what has superior cleaning properties.

turbobenz · #29 07-19-2008, 12:07 AM

Sorry op but it is not running like new. Running new is not "idling quietly and having a softer response to the throttle". And its probably shifting easier because of the way it makes your turbo spool and how the engine makes torque (such as how adjusting the alda can make a trans feel like its shifting better) compared to diesel fuel. I just couldn't run vegetable oil in my car thinking constantly about how in between my rings it looks like the bottom of a mcdonalds fryer

Sbean · #30 07-19-2008, 12:35 AM

Correctly made biodiesel doesn't contain lye or alcohol. Vegetable oil doesn't contain glycerine. Steve