Thread: Bio Diesel

Good topic and full of renewable resource/recycling/feelgood stuff, but talk to, say, Rankin Diesel in Bayswater, Melbourne, where they have had a fair bit of experience with this alternative fuel.

The damage that these fuels have done to small diesels (eg LR, Nissan, Mitsubishi, etc) and the associated components (injector pumps, injectors, filters, etc) is quite expensive to repair - especially to LR - 300tdi injectors are not repairable, electronic injectors out of td5 are hideously expensive, and pumps are exy, too.

The systems are designed to run on diesel, not canola.

Give them (or their like) a call to find out "what happens if...."

Regards

Pierre

Going back a while I had my 80000km service done at Graeme Coopers and as I had just got the Disco I was asking some questions on servicing etc.
I was told NEVER to use Biodiesel. I never asked why, just heeded the advice from the experts.

Jack

ok guys ... there are bio diesels and bio diesels ..
what you may have been told abour is a set up where you start the engine on normal fuel then switch to bio diesel, this is the simplest and most potentionally damaging way depending way.
However there is a proper way to refine the Waste Veggie Oil and get a far superior form of fuel, if done correctly.
Good Bio Fuel has 8 times the lubrication of normal diesel and will never cause a build up of carbon or any soot from the exhaust. the engine will run smoother and idle much better,
But you will need to change the fuel lines from rubber to nylon and the methanol in the fuel < 20% will erode the rubber. most new cars are equiped to handle bio diesel. in the States and europe thousands or vehicles are already running on bio diesel, it is new here but not there..
if you want to Try it .. run a blend of 80 normal and 20 bio but check their quality ...
any questions let me know, i have done hundreds of hours reaserch on it and other things ....
cheers
Rangee

I filled up a tank of it once from API - Hume highway tarcutta - my disco ran the same got a little better mileage , and didnt blow smoke.

I think the fuel i bought was a mix 80/20 seemed ok to me - no damage - but it was only one tank and 850km......

I know there is a transport company in QLD running it in all of his trucks and the bloke recons its great....

I think the petor diesel companies set out to scare us off Bio and also the government jumped on the tax bandwagion and its no longer a vialble alternate - or at least that is why API stopped selling it.

Mick

Guys,

There is a difference between what some call biodiesel and the real biodiesel. The first is simply running the engine on vegetable oil - it needs to be heated up to flow normally due to the viscosity of the oil. I have read about these systems - the engine starts on normal diesel and switches to veg oil when the oil reaches certain temperature (there is a heating element in the tank). Bit of stuffing around.
The second, real, BIODIESEL is modified veg oil by a process called transesterification. Here is the blurb from a Sepo site www.biodiesel.org

Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products -- methyl esters (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin (a valuable byproduct usually sold to be used in soaps and other products).

It is probably the best source of renewable fuel available for traditional internal combustion engine - there seems to be a balance between the CO2 emissions and the CO2 required for the plants to grow. Not bad.
8)

Here is a link to Biodiesel Association of Australia

guys .. all i can say is make it privatly and use it in your own car ... ddont tell too many people and the government wont bash down your door to get the tax they miss out on at the fuel station.
Methanol may be hard for you to get hold of, luckly i own a manufacturing company and i can source it through my business ...
it is far better then fossel diesel and you will only see that when you have used it
good luck
RANGEE

I don’t know about bad bio fuel, I bought my rangy only a few months after it was released in Australia. The first service it went in for, the service manager told me they had to reprogram the computers on the new rangies because LR in England was getting feed back relating to fuel problems here in Oz because our fuel is so bad it is third world rated and LR England had not allowed for the poor quality when they shipped the first of the new rangies over here.
A mate of mine test drives 4WDs on occasion for one of the 4WD mags and he put me straight on Ozzy fuel ( diesel and Petrol ) a few years ago. At this time the only fuels to use are BP, Shell or Mobil. These three companies guaranty the quality of there fuel.
As for bio fuel, even the worst of that has got to be better than Woolworth's crap.
A little test for any one with a V8. If your not already using high octane rated petrol, the next time you fill up with what ever you use, keep tabs of your consumption and make sure your tank is as empty as you can get it.
Then the next time you fill up use a high octane fuel from one of the 3 mentioned above. It will cost you more for the fill but I bet you will get at least the same cost per hundred Kms or lower and your V8 will not be working as hard ( and when you do need power, when you put your pedal to the metal the V8 will go quicker ).
Regards. 8)

can agree with drivesafe about the difference in V8 performance
chalk and cheese.