Running a car in Biodiesel

suzyq

I would like to hear opinions on using biodiesel
(only people who use biodiesel) I was speaking to a mechanic who has been using it in both his wagon and car for the last 2 yrs. He told me it is brilliant and he gets more mpg using biodiesel that diesel, also it costs between 75p to 80p per litre. I asked about if it was necessary to change the filter before using biofuel and he said no, although the link http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/ says that it is necessary, and is only suitable for vehicles 1990 to 2004. I was thinking of getting a 2004 fiesta diesel and using biofuel. I dont know anything about car mechanics. All I want is something that will get me from A to B

epz_2

the bigger the engine the more abuse it can take, whacking non standard fuel in a big truck engine will likely cause less issues than a dinky fiesta engine, that said i know little about these fuel types

Wig

You are going to want to prefer to have a Bosch Fuel pump as opposed to a Lucas fuel pump, that said I know of a car that has a Lucas fuel pump and driven many miles on an SVO/diesel blend (which is very similar to what you will be using - it's the diy version as opposed to you wanting the commercial version). But generally it is the Lucas pumps that fail if they are going to fail.

I also think you might like to prefer to have an IDI engine which is Indirect Injection...
In these engines fuel is not injected directly into the top of the cylinder, it is sprayed indirectly via a combustion chamber or swirl chamber which adjoins the top of cylinder; hence the name indirect injection. It is in this pre chamber that the majority of fuel combustion takes place. The fuel injection pump used on these engines times a single injection of fuel into each combustion chamber in turn. This timed injection is synchronised via the timing belt or chain of the vehicle.

The car I know of has this engine, and they are seen as most suitable for 100% SVO useage and if that is true then If I was going to be using 100% commercial biodiesel (which is just transetrified SVO) I would want that type of engine.


Your linked website is very confusing showing some filling stations as

100%
100% blend
B100

It doesn't clearly say what the difference (if any) is between these 3 are. It sounds like an oxymoron to say "100% blend"

Then they have 5% blend listed which could mean either
5% SVO, 95% Diesel
5% Trans-estrified SVO, 95% Diesel

Andy_Edinburgh

To amplify what Wig saysm, there seems to be some confusion out there on this general topic: running on "biodiesel" isn't the same as vegetable oil mixed with ordinary diesel; to make biodiesel (e.g. B100, B20, or whatever) you take vegetable oil or animal fat and subject it to a chemical process known as transesterification, then (usually) mix with fossil-derived diesel oil. (B20 = a blend of 20%biodiesel and 80%fossil diesel, etc.)

Vehicle manufacturers have recently taken to specifying what percentage of biodiesel their engines will run on - most recent diesels seem to be happy with B20 (i.e. 20%), but check your handbook or the web.

For the related topic of running diesel engines on a mix of diesel and vegetable oil, there are many helpful websites. If you could find a supplier of B100 then "in theory" (famous last words...), you could run on a mix of that and vegetable oil if your car was suited to it, and be really "green".

roswell

Bio diesel in the form you purchase from a normall filling station is great, I made my first run on it just before my service was due so that the next runs would be with clean filters etc, I got better mpg but lost some performance, i have flitted between normal and bio probably had about 10 tanks bio over the last 3 years and the rest normal but thats only due to the filling station being 70 mile away from me. If there was a station in my town id use it.

GarethK

As said bio diesel is different to using SVO, because it is treated, its viscosity is much closer to that of dino diesel so that more modern engines with higher fuel pressures/common rail/PD are able to run it with less chance of a problem, however many manufacturers say only use a certain % of it which i would stick to, VW i have read say up to 30% mixed is ok and its use abroad is far more common. Always check what the maker says and try to speak to people with actual experience before you use it though, as it could prove expensive.

june1970_2

just a word of warning, if you use bio diesel your car engine may not be covered by your warranty.

redux

And another point, after I just saw another thread. For cars that slowly feed in urea-based fuel additive from a reservoir, I've read that these don't seem to be compatible with 100% or high proportions of biodiesel

GarethK

Biodiesel (that is fuel made from WVO) does not mix very well with SVO or any residual SVO left in your tank, that is also worth mentioning.

The people most likely to use it are going to have older cars with less sophisticated diesel engines and therefore, unlikely to have any warranty left!

Conor_3

If you're getting a TDCi Ford engine DO NOT run it on bio. The deposits of crud in the fuel lines that biofuel loosens off in the first few hundred miles will shaft the injectors and it's not just a case of whanging in a new one as they're coded and the ECU needs to be reprogrammed to the new injector.

To anyone intending running on a high biofuel mix, expect to change the diesel filter a few times in the first few hundred miles.