With the price of diesel getting higher, I was wondering if anybody has ever used biodiesel. Check out the links below. I heard that by the end of winter diesel could be 3 bucks a gallon! If that's the case then I may buy the equipment to produce my own biodiesel. It comes out to about 70 cents a gallon and that beats the he!! out of the 1.95 (Houston, Tx.) I'm paying now.

http://www.biodieselsolutions.com/home/home.asp

http://www.ntxbiodiesel.com/

 

The easiest bio system uses a heated tank, to warm the oil to a more fluid viscocity. You need to have regular diesel to start the engine, and warm the cooling system, which feeds through the bio tank, thus warming it. Then switch over, and you can run soy oil, in an unmodified engine.. You have to switch over to regular diesel for a few miles at the end of the trip too - trying to start with cold cooking oil in the injectors would be a nightmare I would prefer not to get involved in..

diesel today, in Memphis is $2.11

 

You need to switch to regular Diesel at shutdown/startup only if your running straight vegetable oil (SVO) or waste vegetable oil (WVO), if running biodiesel, you don't (down to a certain point temp wise-definately not in Houston).

If making biodiesel, it won't be cheaper than no. 2 if using fresh oil (ideal) especially after labor. but can be if using WVO as a base stock. Prices vary on new oil, but WVO is usually free (you'll need to be picky about your sources though-read more on the subject elsewhere). DO NOT use oil from restaraunts using Hydrogenated oils-only canola, soy, or rapeseed.

 

I have a source for peanut oil close to my house. When I called the biodiesel company they said that peanut oil is the way to go. As far as the tempature in Houston goes, it hardly ever gets below 40 degrees. We just had a cold front yesterday and it's about 55 -60 this morning. That's considered freezing by South Texas standards.

 

Forgot about peanut oil. How much is a gallon of peanut oil in bulk?

 

I really don't know. I have been told that there are folks that buy the used oil for $1.20 per gallon. I have a free source as long as they own the business.

 

Some of you guys are confusing straight vegetable oil with biodiesel (as tdister points out). With biodiesel you don't need to heat the tank and you don't need to start and shutdown on regular diesel fuel.

Here's a great link on biodiesel: www.biodiesel.org

 

Happy to see you drop by John....

 

Try journeytoforever.org , it's based in hong kong but has all the info you need.

 

For oil, that is. I'm gonna try JTF's
"90 liter processor" plan.

Watch for a huge explosion near Tulsa...

Not!


W/K

 

Thanks. I have been busy lately and haven't been spending too much time online.

 

I have read all the interesting views and responses on using alternative fuels present in the forum. I also thanks Johnsdiesel for reminding everyone there is a different in fuel sources. I read and article this morning in the Post and Courier (Charleston SC) (www.Charleston.net) on Biodiesel Market emerging (A burger, fires, drink and fuel for the car) and how fast this market is growing. This article really makes you thinking, is it wise to purchase all the equipment to process your own fuels. The miltary has used alternative fuels for years (however there equipment is design to run on these fuels). Mind you I will be going in this direction on SVO system, that I can take advantage of other fuels ( not a fuel processing system) but with great caustion because of my investiment in 6.0PSD. The biggest question I have is how these fuels going to hit everyone on the maintenance side. How does these fuels really affect ejectors, cylinder etc on a non modified diesel. Will the saving in fuel be eaton up in maintenance and repair cost. To me this all depends on what qualitity of alternative fuels being used.

Thank you all for putting all the WWW. on the threads. I have copied them all and will read each one .

 

I have been using biodiesel for several years now on the farm. We are currently using what is called a B20 soydiesel or (20%) soybean oil + diesel fuel. It has worked great and has been used in new trucks and some diesels which are 40 years old. I have noticed a great horsepower pickup in all equipment. In an experiment a local farm equipment dealership had. The B20 had about a 15% increase in horsepower over the #2 or premium diesel.

 

also when I purchased our f250 w/6.0 I checked with the service manager about using biodiesel in it and he said to go ahead as long as it meets the fuel specs in the owners manual. which if you check the biodiesel.org site it does. and my local fuel supplier confirmed it.
Michigan State University is also using biodiesel in all of it's diesels on campus. Plus several schools in Michigan are using it in buses.

 

Lots of Ford diesel users have been using biodiesel and straight vegtable oil for years. Go to biodiesel.infopop.cc, the Biodiesel and the SVO Forums and search on F-250, etc...

AFAIK, biodiesel works well in all years of IDI and POwerstroke engines. Older
engines may need to replace the fuel lines and inter-injector lines with synthetic fuel lines. But mine haven't leaked on my '92 7.3 in 2 years so far.

One owner did have to replace the fuel shutoff solenoid in his Stanadyne fip.

Many of the older IDI engines have been succesfully converted to dual-tank heated WVO ( waste veggie oil ) fuel. A couple POwerstrokes on FTE too recently. If your down South, you might even get away with an un-heated blend of 50/50 wvo/diesel or kerosene.