Bruce wrote in
:

Do you have to heat the biofuel during cold spells?

I'm running two types of systems. In my 6.5L V-8 stepvan (Chevy
chassis), I have a Frybrid installed (www.frybrid.com). It heats the oil
in the tank, in the lines, in the filter, in the hoses, right up to the
injection pump, to 160F to thin it like #2 diesel. It will run in Alaska
as it starts the truck on dino diesel from the original system, then,
when the computer says the oil is hot, the computer switches it over to
pure, heated oil for the rest of the trip. To purge out the oil before
shutdown, you press the PURGE button about 3 miles from destination, only
if you are going to shut it down overnight. No purge is necessary for
short stops, eating/shopping/etc.

My 1973 220D and 1983 300TD Mercedes cars are running, currently, on a
home made biodiesel of mineral spirits and filtered vegoil, exclusively,
with no expensive conversion kit. Living in South Carolina...heavy
emphasis on South...it hasn't gotten cold enough to freeze the oil in
years (global warming is a FEATURE, not a problem!) It started on 20%
gasoline mixed with 80% filtered oil just fine all winter, both cars.
Gas was also overkill, I've figured out. Mineral Spirits are cheaper,
not taxed, and readily available. I got this scatterbrained idea from a
BBC car show on YouTube. They were running a Volvo diesel on homebrew
biodiesel of spirits and vegoil in much colder England just fine. I'm
currently mixing 3oz of spirits with 5 gallons of oil and it runs just
fine, the oil thinned by the spirits. Neither car has been modified, at
all.

Do you process the veg. oil or simply mix it with diesel?

3 of us have Frybrids (www.frybrid.com) that we know of here. George has
a 300SD long wheelbase Mercedes sedan with the same 3L turbocharged
diesel that's in my 300TD station wagon. Mike has a diesel Volkswagen.
George has a warehouse (storage). I provide transportation from Chinese
restaurants to storage. Mike is in charge of filters and pumps. He's a
mechanic..(c; There's about 1200 US gallons in the warehouse, gently
settling away any sediment left from the food. We settle it for a month,
then pump off all but the bottom 2", in place so's not to disturb any
sludge. The restaurants do primary filtering with a large filter funnel
when they pour the used oil back into the 5 gallon plastic-lined boxes it
comes in. That's what I transport. Mike notes the oil level in our 55
gallon drums (3) and filters it off, as necessary. We have oil running
out our ears! I told them we were going to all have to drive back and
forth to Texas to burn off the surplus. Even driving the cars like we
stole them can't keep up with our intake from 3 restaurants. We had four
and dropped one, much to their dismay. 12 restaurants who found out what
we were doing have begged us to come get oil, instead of them paying a
disposal company big money to haul it off. America is swimming in used
vegoil fuel and hasn't a clue....stupid, stupid, STUPID.

So, the oil sits for a month, is piped off 2" above the bottom of the
boxes, filtered through two big truck fuel filter/water separators to
make sure it's clean...and it's very clean...cleaner than diesel fuel.
Then, stored in 55 gallon drums where we pump it into our vehicles for
free. The labor involved is minimal, picking the boxes out of my truck.
The restaurants even load the truck for me!...(c; It's not mixed with
diesel at all...just the cheapest mineral spirits I buy in 5 gallon cans.


Any problems with deposits building up in tanks.

None, whatsoever. The oil is totally sanitized at 450F for days before I
get it. The food particles are sanitized, too. We filter for water, but
the water boils off sitting in the frying machines. We've never found
water in any of it. Vegoil is more sanitary than diesel that's been
poured into a ship full of seawater creatures (ballast). I monitor my
filters carefully and they no longer have black algae deposits in them,
after the oil ran for a few months instead of diesel.


I ask because I'm interested in using it in a sailboat where the fuel
may stay in the tanks for a considerable amount of time, depending on
the wind.

I'm not sure how practical it is hauling vegoil down the docks to a boat.
It sounds wonderful, but I'm sure that would wain after your third trip
with the 20 gallon plastic tank in a dock cart. If you could get it
aboard, you'd be running the diesel more often as it costs nothing! Even
the batteries would benefit because you'd be more apt to run the engine
to charge them better. The boat diesels would certainly run fine on
them. My new diesel genset does, the mineral spirits/vegoil mix. You
don't even have to preheat the glowplug to start it! About the 4th or
5th turn, off she goes.

What is amazing is how much QUIETER the diesels are running on the
heavier oil. The oil burns slower because its heavier, even thinned,
which I think is why the knocking isn't so hard. The noisy-knocking
Mercedes run lots quieter on it. So does the truck, but to a lesser
degree in such a huge diesel.

It's also greener. Vegoil has no sulfur content. It also lacks other
pollutants dino oil produces. There seems to be, also, less carbon black
soot in the exhaust stacks of all of them. I worried they'd coke up on
heavier oil. I pulled the Mercedes injectors monthly when I started.
They're cleaner on vegoil than dino. I don't see any coking at all. The
truck injectors are just too hard to get to. You have to have a lift and
get under it. It's running on hotter oil so any coking should be even
less. Once the engines come up to full temperature, including the heat
transferred to the injection system, I don't think I need anything but
pure oil. The mineral spirits or gasoline is only useful at low
temperature starting it on a cold morning.


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)


Wow...I bet Bangkok (or Phuket) is just swimming in free fuel!...(c;

Larry
--
Grade School Physics Factoid:
A building cannot freefall into its own footprint without
skilled demolition.