will B100 fuel work in an 02 sprinter? CDI - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

vstech · #1 07-14-2014, 03:15 PM

I'm thinking the official answer will be no, but I see no reason not to try it...

hundreds of thousands of owners are driving on B100 with cdi's... what about B50?

Diesel911 · #2 07-14-2014, 11:22 PM

Does B100 gel easier in Cold Weather.

pawoSD · #3 07-14-2014, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

Does B100 gel easier in Cold Weather.

Yes, a local fuel station that sells it told me it will start clouding below about 40-45F

jake12tech · #4 07-14-2014, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

Yes, a local fuel station that sells it told me it will start clouding below about 40-45F

I don't think 40-45, more like 20 degrees or so is more accurate.

Jeremy5848 · #5 07-15-2014, 12:07 AM

I tested B100 in a refrigerator; as I recall it started to cloud at about 32F. As for the use of B100 in a CDI, I'd check for any hoses or o-rings that would need to be replaced with Viton. Fuel economy will be slightly reduced. BTW, commercial biodiesel or homemade?

Jeremy

Phillytwotank · #6 07-15-2014, 06:47 AM

Cloud point is a non issue this time of year. The fuel you got from us is certified good for cold soak filterability and cloud point will vary from different producers as it has all to do with type of feedstock used to make the fuel. Vegetable feedstocks yeild the best for these two properties and MBF uses veggi feedstocks. I can tell you exactly the cloud point number from the latest test results when I get to the plant later.

I don't recall ever tanking up a Mercedes CDI but both Duramaxxes in the fleet run nothing but pure bio no problem.

pawoSD · #7 07-15-2014, 07:41 AM

When I ran B20 for a while I recall the engine's smoothness was nice, but the reduced power and fuel econonmy were not....especially since the fuel cost more than regular diesel....

Phillytwotank · #8 07-15-2014, 07:51 AM

Reduced power and economy on B20?? A slight reduction in economy is unavoidable. It's the nature of the fuel. On B20 it would be a pretty small reduction.

Reduced power is not expected. Especially on B20. I would think that you either are hyper sensitive to your engine or you had a low quality fuel.

pawoSD · #9 07-15-2014, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phillytwotank

Reduced power and economy on B20?? A slight reduction in economy is unavoidable. It's the nature of the fuel. On B20 it would be a pretty small reduction.

Reduced power is not expected. Especially on B20. I would think that you either are hyper sensitive to your engine or you had a low quality fuel.

I am hyper sensitive to my engine.

The fuel was good stuff.

I am talking about full throttle type driving, you can tell there is a sliiiight loss of seat of the pants get up and go on bio. Normal people would probably not notice it. But I am not normal.

uberwasser · #10 07-15-2014, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jake12tech

I don't think 40-45, more like 20 degrees or so is more accurate.

Totally depends on base stock. See this article.

How Different Oils Influence The Gel Point Of Biodiesel | Utah Biodiesel Supply Blog

The worst are those made with animal fat base stock, not tested there. I have read those can gel as high as 50*F.

I know the B100 I was using in my '79 last fall gelled solid during an early "cold snap" at least in terms of the Tucson area. It was 32* in the shade. The biodiesel looked like old bacon grease left in the pan.

funola · #11 07-15-2014, 12:24 PM

No problem with Bio in the summer. To avoid being stranded from a clogged fuel filter from the Bio cleansing, I'd suggest plumbing in a whole house water filter before the fuel filter to catch the junk that will be coming through. Choose a clear housing so you can see what junk is coming from the tank.

spark3542 · #12 07-15-2014, 12:41 PM

The answer to your question is Yes, B100 will work in an '02 Sprinter CDI. I have 101k miles on homemade B100 on my '05 E320CDI.

sleepstar · #13 07-15-2014, 01:10 PM

for what its worth i saw a sprinter in the parking lot of target yesterday and it had biodiesel bumper stickers

Dan Stokes · #14 07-15-2014, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phillytwotank

Reduced power and economy on B20?? A slight reduction in economy is unavoidable. It's the nature of the fuel. On B20 it would be a pretty small reduction.

Reduced power is not expected. Especially on B20. I would think that you either are hyper sensitive to your engine or you had a low quality fuel.

Philly, Others:

Fuel economy is SO hard to measure accurately and repeatedly that it's REALLY hard to pick the fly droppings out of the pepper (as an old boss used to say). That's why the EPA FE values are determined on a dyno at controlled ambient conditions (temp and humidity) and a repeatable driving cycle and with HIGHLY calibrated instrumentation.

I built, installed, and ran fuel economy testing on a level closed test track and on a number of varied vehicles. We used density-corrected fuel meters and ran the EPA driving cycles (at that time there was 1 city cycle and 1 highway cycle). We had to power the test gear from an independent battery so that alternator loads didn't effect the FE readings. We only ran within the EPA required ambient conditions (68 to 86 F degrees (30-40C)) and with no rain, etc.

The reason I mention all this - most operator-reported fuel economy values are, at best, anecdotal. While I know that operators mean to report accurate values they don't have control over ambient conditions or the driving cycle (some idiot just pulled out in front of you on THIS trip).

I suspect that Philly is suggesting that the BTUs/LB (or metric equivalent) would indicate some % deterioration of FE and that is probably the best indication of the the FE reduction barring a full-on lab testing situation.

Dan