Fuel Injection Equipment Maunfacturers & Biodiesel

[SkyPup]

At the present time, in spite of the fact that biodiesel can only be used in a diesel compression engine, there is not a Fuel Injection Equipment supplier anywhere in the world that recommends or will warrant the use of anything but 5% FAME in their fuel injection equipment.

Unfortunatley the good 5% FAME's are all made in Europe, and none of the soy based biodiesel here in North America even meets these bare minimum standards...... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

No wonder I cannot recommend the use of Biodiesel to anyone with a diesel engine.




http://www.ufop.de/download/FAME_Statement_June_2004.pdf

 

[RalphVa]

I thought the only problem with biodiesel was it will attack (make weak, anyway) any rubber seals in the system. Doubt any newer systems have any rubber seals. They're probably all synthetic rubber.

Ralph

 

[SkyPup]

Nope, the problems are much greater than what you though they were.

All those problems are the reason why none of the FIE manufacturers will recommended, certify, or warrant the use of any biodiesel concentration > 5%, and unfortunatley none of the North American soy based biodiesel meets the minimum specifications required for even the 5% BD due to the use of poor feedstocks, production problmes, poor storage, distribution, etc. You'll have to go to Europe and get some rapeseed based FAMEs if you want to run 5%BD.

You could just purchase new fuel pumps, injectors, nozzles, etc. each year and install them if you want to.

 

[1962]

a friend of mine works with the used cooking oils recycled from the local bar & resteraunts. he said alot of the grease they process at his plant gets shipped south for use on chicken feed, or shipped to mills were it is sprayed on steel as a rust inhibiter. at one time i did think about getting some grease from him for a air cooled single cylinder diesel that i have. but if you would see his boots, and how the grease melts the soles in 6 months i didnt want to risk it. actually it expands the sole from like 1/2" to 1". the boots kinda look like platform shoes from the 70's era. he said in time it melts everything made of rubber. and the oil resistant soles of his boots are no match for the grease. says he has to replaces his boots twice a year.

 

[TiminMN]

The Fuel Injection Equipment Manufacturers testified before a house subcommittee in favor of a mandate in MN. The add lubricity is good for diesel pumps. Biodiesel has to meet standards. The ideal that your engine will stop working if you use biodiesel is a rumor spread by oil companies. I have used a 10% blend for four years, a 20% blend for the last year, and 100% biodiesel in a lawn mower for three years. This includes in the winter when I am blowing snow at ten below zero. The added lubricity becomes more important in the winter when the fuel is 30% number one.

 

[SkyPup]

That is the fifth FIE consensus issued by that group in the last ten years regarding biodiesel and its incompatibilty with the fuel injection equipment which they produce, all of them said virtually the same thing, biodiesel has a long way to go prior to them recommending, certifying, or warranting its use. None of them certify any use of BD >5%.

The major US biodiesel problems are due to the use of low quality feedstocks, lack of quality control, lack of oxidation standards, lack of distribution control, lack of storage control, and poor product.

 

[slowrev]

but if you would see his boots, and how the grease melts the soles in 6 months i didnt want to risk it. actually it expands the sole from like 1/2" to 1". the boots kinda look like platform shoes from the 70's era. he said in time it melts everything made of rubber. and the oil resistant soles of his boots are no match for the grease. says he has to replaces his boots twice a year.
//

My friends have a transmission shop and Dexron does the same thing to their boots. It seems that the orings and lip seals in auto trannys hold up ok though.
Ben

 

[cowboydoc]

I agree with Tim. This is simply not true of US biodiesel. IT DOES have to meet the standards of fuel. This site has all the FACTS about biodiesel. Deere and about every other major tractor mfg. has approved it's use. We use a 20% blend in summer and 5% blend in winter and have for the last 5 years with ZERO pump or injector problems and I know hundreds of farmers and ranchers who do the same, many run 100%. It just simply isn't the case that you have to go out and buy new pumps and injectors every year. That is not accurate information.

 

[SkyPup]

That's great!

What kind of injection pumps are you running? In-line, Rotary, Common-Rail, Unit Injector, HEUI?

What is the injection pressure of your pumps? Most low end AG inline pumps only inject ~ 2,000-3,000psi, however the Rotary's are around 10-15,000 psi and the Common Rails and Units 25,000psi plus.

What are the diameter of the injection nozzle orifices that you are using? Most low end AG pintle nozzles are around 300-600 micron, with only one hole, however most upper end nozzles have 5-6 holes with diameters ~ 150 microns or less.

 

[cowboydoc]

Just about everything you mentioned we run. We run everything from the old Stanadyne injector pumps for Ford to the HEUI system to the common rails. We have cummins, powerstrokes, and still some of the original 6.9 and 7.3's. We have a 50 year old D-9 all the way up to a new D-7. We are running tractors from 1954 to 2005. They all run the same fuel and no fuel related problems at all.

We are also partners in a very large biodiesel mfg. facility. Yes that does make me bias. But we would be profitable even without the government subsidies. The crap I hear everyday about it costing more to produce biodiesel than it puts out is baloney. As far as production wise we can make biodiesel, make a nice profit, not have any government subisidies and still put it to the pump for about $1.75/gallon. The talk about biodiesel costing more is true when diesel is below this. But at current prices biodiesel will hold it's own and make a profit with or without government subsidy.