BioDiesel in my 3720?

[RalphVa]

Wish it was available here. Nearest is over the mountain in the Shenandoah or east of Richmond near the bio diesel refinery in West Point.

There was an excellent article in The Star (Benz Club magazine) a couple issues back, written by a guy who runs bio diesel in 3 vehicles he owns. He says that about the best mix is B20 (20% bio diesel). This doesn't have any of the freezeup problems of pure bio or any POTENTIAL (not necessarily real) lubricity problems of pure bio and will actually clean out your fuel system. Because it actually cleans out your fuel system, you may have to change your fuel filter more frequently early on until things are cleaned up (e.g. the fuel tank, lines to filter).

Still waiting here.

By June this year, even the dino diesel will be cleaned up by having the sulfur reduced to 15 ppm. Should open the door to more availability of diesel engines in our vehicles. In Europe, 40% are diesel. Here, only 2%.

Ralph

 

[megotatractor]

I used up to 20% veg oil in my 2210 experimentally. Yes, Wesson cooking oil up to 20% burns very well. the experiment started when fuel prices started upwards due to various powers that be. OPEC has us by the neck and they know it, they can charge whatever they want cause they know we need it and the world is running out of it. Bio diesel may make us independent from these usurpers but in the future -unless there's somehow built up a vast surplus of veg oil- expect a new power to grab your throat just because we need it. I think the question is not if you want to save a few $ in the short term but who you'd rather have holding your leash.

 

[RalphVa]

The latest Star magazine just arrived. In it is a letter from a guy who has been running 100% biodiesel in his 1990 300 SD. The only 2 problems are a need to dilute it 50-60% with regular diesel in the winter for freeze protection. The other problem is if it gets on the rubber grommet surrounding his fuel filler, the grommet swells and falls apart. He uses only about 20-40% bio in his older Benz diesel, because it has more rubber in the fuel system.

He says that he's been able to go to about 10 or 12k miles (forgot which he said) on oil changes because the 100% bio diesel greatly reduces the amount of carbon in his oil. He just keeps track of it and changes when it reaches (think it was) 2%.

He said he had to change his fuel filter soon after the switch to bio but that it has stayed clean since.

Ralph

 

[pruntyc]

Its easy to blame OPEC, for high prices. But oil has came down in price, but fuel has went up. So I think the blame should go somewhere else.