Biodiesel in a old Mercedes?

Question

One of my relatives has a old 1985 Mercedes 300 TD wagon, and my grandpa has a 1999 E300D sedan. Both of them are willing to pass them on to me, but with high fuel costs I wanted to know about biodiesel. I know that I will have to convert them, and replace fuel filters, etc. I just wanted to know about the fuel part, can i just put strait filtered fyr oil in, or do I have to do something more complicated. Any info or websites would help. Also tell me which car will be best for running it.

Answer 1

I don't recommend straight vegetable oil(SVO).  The engine will run on it but after a few thousand miles the injectors will be so plugged that it will need very expensive repairs.  Converting the oil to biodiesel is the way to go.  The engine will run fine without modifications.  Make sure there are no natural rubber fuel lines because the biodiesel will dissolve them.  Synthetic lines are OK.  Be prepared to change fuel filters frequently for the first few thousand miles.  Biodiesel is a more powerful solvent than petrodiesel and will loosen sludge from the fuel tank.  check out biodieselsolutions.com

Answer 2

Biodiesel in an old car will destroy the engine, because biodiesel is not good for the sealings.

Answer 3

WVO is cheaper.I made my conversion for $320. Two tanks.

Answer 4

You really cant run straight vegetable oil with out adding a second tank and a heating unit. However you can run B100 ( 100% bio diesel ) with little modifications. The older car you will need to replace the rubber fuel lines to run bio diesel because bio diesel will eat through rubber lines.  If you want to check out www.biodiesel.org , for information on bio diesel and ww.greasecar.com for information on straight vegetable oil. I would take the 99 since you can probably run B100 with no modification just fill up at the pump.

Answer 5

I currently run Bio Fuel (straight vegetable) in a 1999 Dodge 3500 truck. But all Cummins engines were modified from the factory to run on BioD since around 1992 without any modification.

Biofuel is recognized by both the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy as an alternative fuel, and qualifies for mandated programs under the Clean Air Act Amendments and the Environmental Protection Act of 1992 (EPAct).

USDA Clears Air with Biofuel: Buses and other diesel-burning vehicles run cleaner if they mix biofuel with regular diesel fuel, said the US Department of Agriculture at a biofuel fuel seminar at a USDA research center.

Conversely most major automotive manufacturers (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, etc) recommend the use of bio fuels, and nearly every car manufacturer in the world approves ethanol blends in their warranty coverage.

In fact your probably even driving an ethanol car and didn't even know it.

The trick is finding fuel.

I've been producing biofuel for about 3 years now, it's not extremely difficult. Basically you need general household ingredients, a processor (or still for ethanol) and some used oil. Blend it, let separate, screen and use. I complied a guide a while back to help walk you threw the process step by step, just email me or check out..

http://www.agua-luna.com/guides.html

• 1 liter of new vegetable oil, whatever the supermarket sells as cooking oil

• 200 ml of methanol, 99+% pure

• lye catalyst -- either potassium hydroxide (KOH) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH)

• blender or mini-processor

• scales accurate to 0.1 grams, preferably less -- 0.01 grams is best

• measuring beakers for methanol and oil

• half-liter translucent white HDPE (#2 plastic) container with bung and s***w-on cap

• 2 funnels to fit the HDPE container

• 2-litre PET bottle (water or soft-drinks bottle) for settling

• two 2-litre PET bottles for washing

• duct tape

• thermometer

Use the "Methoxide the easy way" method -- it's also the safe way. Here's how to do it.

Measure out 200 ml of methanol and pour it into the half-liter HDPE container via the funnel. Methanol also absorbs water from the atmosphere so do it quickly and replace the lid of the methanol container tightly. Don't be too frightened of methanol, if you're working at ordinary room temperature and you keep it at arm's length you won't be exposed to dangerous fumes.

Carefully add the lye to the HDPE container via the second funnel. Replace the bung and the s***w on the cap tightly.

Shake the container a few times -- swirl it round rather than shaking it up and down. The mixture gets hot from the reaction. If you swirl it thoroughly for a minute or so five or six times over a period of time the lye will completely dissolve in the methanol, forming sodium methoxide or potassium methoxide. As soon as the liquid is clear with no undissolved particles you can begin the process.

The more you swirl the container the faster the lye will dissolve. With NaOH it can take from overnight to a few hours to as little as half-an-hour with lots of swirling (but don't be impatient, wait for ALL the lye to dissolve). Mixing KOH is much faster, it dissolves in the methanol more easily than NaOH and can be ready for use in 10 minutes.

Using a blender. Use a spare blender you don't need or get a cheap secondhand one -- cheap because it might not last very long, but it will get you going until you build something better.

Check that the blender seals are in good order. Make sure all parts of the blender are clean and dry and that the blender components are tightly fitted.

Pre-heat the oil to 55 deg C (130 deg F) and pour it into the blender.

With the blender still switched off, carefully pour the prepared methoxide from the HDPE container into the oil.

Secure the blender lid tightly and switch on. Lower speeds should be enough. Blend for at least 20 minutes.

Using a mini-processor. Follow the instructions below and improvise where necessary -- there are many ways of building a processor like this.

Proceed with processing as above, maintain temperature at 55 deg C (130 deg F), process for one hour.

www AGUA-LUNA com

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:  

www AGUA-LUNA com

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