Love my 2005 E320 CDI - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

nhdoc · #16 01-26-2011, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spark3542

I'm not running slime...reread it...I'm running biodiesel.

My savings on making BD over 5 years paid for my CDI.

It can blow up and I'm ahead money.

I don't plan on blowing it up.

Don't fear your engine.

I'd love to see the math you used to come up with this. Even if you used B100 and it cost you nothing to make (zero $ for any materials) the most you would have saved driving the 143K miles in your sig is about 4000-5000 gallons or about $12,000-$15,000 for 4000 to 5000 gallons @$3/Gallon. Your car would have cost significantly more than that when new 5 years ago, like 4X that. In other words you risked a $50K+ car to save $200-$250 a month on fuel?

The fact is B100 isn't free so your savings really are substantially less than $12K-$15K too so maybe your real savings are closer to $100 a month instead of $200. And then there's all the hours spent brewing it all...while the rest of us had a life.

Also I would have to chime in that cheating the system by burning home heating oil is immoral and illegal. Will it damage your car? Probably not, but you are stealing the roads from the rest of us who pay for them.

punkinfair · #17 01-26-2011, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhdoc

I'd love to see the math you used to come up with this.

me too. maybe it's the new math.

spark3542 · #18 01-26-2011, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhdoc

I'd love to see the math you used to come up with this. Even if you used B100 and it cost you nothing to make (zero $ for any materials) the most you would have saved driving the 143K miles in your sig is about 4000-5000 gallons or about $12,000-$15,000 for 4000 to 5000 gallons @$3/Gallon. Your car would have cost significantly more than that when new 5 years ago, like 4X that. In other words you risked a $50K+ car to save $200-$250 a month on fuel?

The fact is B100 isn't free so your savings really are substantially less than $12K-$15K too so maybe your real savings are closer to $100 a month instead of $200. And then there's all the hours spent brewing it all...while the rest of us had a life.

Also I would have to chime in that cheating the system by burning home heating oil is immoral and illegal. Will it damage your car? Probably not, but you are stealing the roads from the rest of us who pay for them.

I've made 7,350 gal to date. A finished gallon is $.58 in methanol, $.12 in NaOH, and perhaps $.05 in electricity. Compared to diesel at about $3.25 per gallon. I've saved $18,375. My CDI cost me $17,100 with 130k miles on it. I put 16k miles since July 2010 purchase.

The HHO is not being used with intention of skirting tax. I have 1/4 tank of 4 year old HHO in the basement that I want to get rid of, and I know that BD gels at a high temp. Winning combination. I've used it for the last month at 10% rate (3000 miles at 30/gal @ 10% is 10 gallons of HHO). How much is tax on 10 gal?...I'll write a check.

nhdoc · #19 01-26-2011, 06:41 PM

OK, my misread, I thought you meant you'd been making BD for the CDI for the 5 years and bought it new, not that you've only had the CDI for a short time. You're refining waste oil then since you don't have any expense for oil, that's an interesting experiment on a CDI. I'd love to hear if that car lasts a few more years - it would be the only one I know of running that high a concentration of bio.

#20 01-26-2011, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spark3542

I've made 7,350 gal to date. A finished gallon is $.58 in methanol, $.12 in NaOH, and perhaps $.05 in electricity. Compared to diesel at about $3.25 per gallon. I've saved $18,375. My CDI cost me $17,100 with 130k miles on it. I put 16k miles since July 2010 purchase.

The HHO is not being used with intention of skirting tax. I have 1/4 tank of 4 year old HHO in the basement that I want to get rid of, and I know that BD gels at a high temp. Winning combination. I've used it for the last month at 10% rate (3000 miles at 30/gal @ 10% is 10 gallons of HHO). How much is tax on 10 gal?...I'll write a check.

If you've only driven 16k miles, you've probably only used about 500 gallons of fuel. Apparently your calculation is based on your use of 7350 gallons of this stuff (about 250k more miles); let us know if you make it.

W124 E300D · #21 01-26-2011, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

have you got any suggestions for ways to pay for roads aside from fuel tax?

What we have here, an annual tax/licence per vehicle, based on GVW/class...

*more* than covers road maintenance costs, cept of course it all goes IN to guvvmint coffers, and not a lot gets OUT to spend on the roads....

so we are arguing for an end to it and putting the tax on the fuel....

£1.30 point 2 a litre today, that's US$2.07 per LITRE for diesel. (and I still won't run grease)

careful what you wish for.

spark3542 · #22 02-03-2012, 10:25 AM

Still love my CDI. Update on the last year for other CDI owners:

176k on the car now. 46k on homemade BD.

In-tank fuel pump died at 167k. Catastrophic failure. AAA towed it home. $500 dealer-only part. I'm always fearful that it may be fuel-related, but I have no evidence to confirm or dismiss.

Front wheel bearing seized just recently. Basically welded itself to the spindle. Fortunately it happened very close to home and limped home without losing a wheel. Replaced spindle $450. I would recommend anyone with miles over 150k check the outer wheel bearings and repack/replace. The inner ones seem fine.

I got a code for glow plug #2. Replaced. It came out easily. Easy to get at, too...right on top. I used a torque wrench to loosen, (based on previous 606 motor glow plug changes). No problems changing it on the 648 motor.

I love the power, the comfort, the fuel mileage (still north of 30), and except for the two occasions above, the reliability.

vstech · #23 02-03-2012, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spark3542

Still love my CDI. Update on the last year for other CDI owners:

176k on the car now. 46k on homemade BD.

In-tank fuel pump died at 167k. Catastrophic failure. AAA towed it home. $500 dealer-only part. I'm always fearful that it may be fuel-related, but I have no evidence to confirm or dismiss.

Front wheel bearing seized just recently. Basically welded itself to the spindle. Fortunately it happened very close to home and limped home without losing a wheel. Replaced spindle $450. I would recommend anyone with miles over 150k check the outer wheel bearings and repack/replace. The inner ones seem fine.

I got a code for glow plug #2. Replaced. It came out easily. Easy to get at, too...right on top. I used a torque wrench to loosen, (based on previous 606 motor glow plug changes). No problems changing it on the 648 motor.

I love the power, the comfort, the fuel mileage (still north of 30), and except for the two occasions above, the reliability.

I"m going to bet you have the original grease in your spindle that failed, and bet you've changed the brakes at LEAST 4 times... My old shop boss always had us pull the caliper, remove the rotors, clean out ALL the old grease, and visually inspect the bearings on EVERY front brake change. then repack the bearings, replace the seals, and and coat the rotor with fresh grease. I think the easy to change pads in the MB's allow us to forgo this critical step...