General running a 16v multijet on Biodiesel?

[x Alex x]

hey FF!

in time me and the GF plan on changing our trusty 8v 2001 punto for a 16v multijet mk2b.

i run my car on bio diesel, was wondering if anyone is running biodiesel in their punto's?

i don't need people telling me it will wreck injectors, fuel pumps etc after reading stuff on the internet and having no actual experience of biodiesel themselves.

me and my dad have used bio in both our cars for around 20k miles with no problems at all, a friend of mine is running a doblo JTD on straight waste oil

cheers all.

 

[DaveMcT]

I have used biodiesel in VW TDIs with no problems.

The issues are that biodiesel has a considerable solvent effect and WILL loosen dirt from the fuel tank floor. The tank must be internally cleaned to avoid clogged pipes. In cold weather biodiesel will gel before normal dino diesel. The low temperature additives are less effective on bio than on dino.

If you are home brewing the fuel do not use it without washing out the small amount of caustic soda that will remain in the fuel. Biodiesel absorbs moisture from the air and this will settle out as temperatures fall overnight. The water itself is no problem but with unwashed fuel it can become highly caustic quickly attacking aluminium and zinc commonly used in fuel systems.

The easiest wash system uses a water mist spray over a barrel of biodiesel. Drain off the water from below the fuel when it is pH neutral, the fuel is clean. I have also used aquarium air bubble washing systems but they are more hassle to operate and work no better than a water mist system.

Another option is a petrol model converted to propane. Fill the tank from 47kg bottles and it costs about 60p per litre.

 

[x Alex x]

cheers mate, as always your advice on bio is spot on!

now looking into LPGing the current punto.

anything cheaper really, we do 15k a year in it so it wouldn't take long to be in profit.

saying that, my bio proscessor is there, i sold my primera diesel so only my dad's using at the moment

 

[DaveMcT]

I had an open tank bio processor and oil sources were all very wet. So boiling it dry was smelly to say the least. Not good. There are also health risks with methanol so really needed a sealed system.

I had plans to build a fully enclosed system with vacuum drying system and pumped venturi mixing but just never had the time to do it properly. 47kg gas bottles are ideal as they have about 100 litres capacity.