Help with alternative fuels in cold environments!?

Question

I live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and it gets really cold up here. The particular town I live in is the 4th coldest city in the continental US, and the second snowiest.

I would very much like to be as green and eco-friendly as possible, and that means that when I get my first car I would like to convert it to run on alternative fuels.However, other people I've talked to up here say that cars just won't start if they're running biodiesel and the temperature is below freezing (which it is about 6 months out of the year).

So what is a good way to run "green gas" in very cold climates? How much would it cost to implement?

Answer 1

one possible solution is that you install a tank heater. Like in vegetable systems you have to heat the tank you could implement the same idea and heat the tank of bio diesel. also you could convert to LP ( liquid propane) system its not the greenest fuel out there but it also an idea. You could try hybrids but in my opinion they are over rated and not that effective. Your weather is a problem but if you want to go to a bio fuel a duel tank system may be good where you start on regular diesel and switch to bio diesel when it is warm just like in a SVO (straight vegetable oil) system. It may be easier to heat  bio diesel to usable temperature that to try and heat vegetable oil, but I am not sure I hope I was at least some help.

Answer 2

Convert a gasoline car to run on propane.

Answer 3

Does nobody else find it ironic that you are trying to prevent global warming, and you are unable to do so because it's so cold?

Anyway - up there in the "youpee".... biodiesel itself should be fine - the problem is using vegetable oil as fuel - which some people confuse with biodiesel.  

If you must, biodiesel can be thinned with methanol or a small amount of regular diesel fuel.

Answer 4

how about methane? i used to drive a truck converted to it, it had a cooled, pressurised tank and a slightly adapted diesel engine.

or veg oil? i know its even thicker, but that means you have to pre heat it anyway.

edit; i was wondering about if you could add a small amount of a lighter fuel to the biodiesel nicel., but i guessed it wouldnt do your engine any favours at all. i had a diesel light truck i used to start with a hot rag, my ex had it off me and within 2 months he had got it hopelessly addicted to easi-start. grrr.

truck heater plugs to get it going?

Answer 5

you can buy antigel to add to biodiesel or reguler diesel. Even reguler diesel will gel at cold temp if it is a summer grade diesel. I think its 20 dollar and will treat 1000 gallons. Look in any automotive store and ask for antigel for diesel. also you can purchase a product called melt down.  It will thin diesel that is already geled

Answer 6

It makes no diference as to produce the same HP. will produce about the the same CO2.

Answer 7

since biodiesel is a mixture of vegetable oil and ethanol and a catalyst, it is small wonder that you are having problems in the cold weather trying to run biodiesel. as stated you can add an anti-gel agent to prevent fuel gelling though. you can also convert the engine to run on vegetable oil, and since its tank is heated before you switch over, you wont have a problem that way. you will however have to start and shut down on either regular diesel or biodiesel.

Answer 8

The only bio-diesel vehicles that I've seen actually have dual-fuel capability.  You start the car (and warm it up) on traditional diesel fuel, and then switch over to vegetable oil once the car warms up.  

I seem to remember that even traditional diesel cars have trouble in very cold weather, though.  And don't you commonly need block heaters, even for standard gasoline, in crazy cold climates?

It's quite possible that the climate will just be too much of an issue to reasonably switch to a "green" fuel - aside from going hybrid or waiting for an all-electric alternative.

Good luck.