Biodiesel

[falcon7]

Plan to run my 56 plate Avensis D4D on biodiesel. :) Going to wean it, starting with B20 and working up to B100 eventually.

Am I likely to run into any DPF or EGR problems as it's done 112k miles?

Thanks

[Devon Aygo]

You will have to clean your EGR more often, however of more concern is Toyotas D4d injection system is only able to use a maximum 5% blend of bio diesel( most major fuel suppliers already mix upto 5% already ), working at a Toyota dealer we have repaired 2 Avensis this year one needing 4 injectors the other a new pump & injectors all because of bio diesel.

[Cyker]

Really?! Biodiesel is supposed to be better for injectors than normal diesel (Much higher lubricity and all that).

I was also under the impression that it would smoke less too; The biggest downside with biodiesel I'd found in my research was higher NOx emissions! All other emissions (e.g. Carbon/soot and sulphur) generally show a large reduction...!

[falcon7]

"You will have to clean your EGR more often, however of more concern is Toyotas D4d injection system is only able to use a maximum 5% blend of bio diesel( most major fuel suppliers already mix upto 5% already ), working at a Toyota dealer we have repaired 2 Avensis this year one needing 4 injectors the other a new pump & injectors all because of bio diesel. "

OOPS!

I'm up to B50 already.

I do add a cetane improver and injector cleaner to my biodiesel, so the injectors should be OK.

There's more lubricity in the bio so the pump ought to be OK as well.

I make my own biodiesel and I'm a bit pernikety about the quality, there's no water in it and it's filtered down to 1 micron, so I'm hoping it's going to be OK.

From all accounts there could be are issues with pump boidiesel, mainly due to water content and poor conversion when trying to speed up the process in order to meet the demand.

[Mistermena]

"You will have to clean your EGR more often, however of more concern is Toyotas D4d injection system is only able to use a maximum 5% blend of bio diesel( most major fuel suppliers already mix upto 5% already ), working at a Toyota dealer we have repaired 2 Avensis this year one needing 4 injectors the other a new pump & injectors all because of bio diesel. "

OOPS!

I'm up to B50 already.

I do add a cetane improver and injector cleaner to my biodiesel, so the injectors should be OK.

There's more lubricity in the bio so the pump ought to be OK as well.

I make my own biodiesel and I'm a bit pernikety about the quality, there's no water in it and it's filtered down to 1 micron, so I'm hoping it's going to be OK.

From all accounts there could be are issues with pump boidiesel, mainly due to water content and poor conversion when trying to speed up the process in order to meet the demand.

Now thats interesting. How do you go about doing that? And do you have to pay duty on it?

[falcon7]

"You will have to clean your EGR more often, however of more concern is Toyotas D4d injection system is only able to use a maximum 5% blend of bio diesel( most major fuel suppliers already mix upto 5% already ), working at a Toyota dealer we have repaired 2 Avensis this year one needing 4 injectors the other a new pump & injectors all because of bio diesel. "

OOPS!

I'm up to B50 already.

I do add a cetane improver and injector cleaner to my biodiesel, so the injectors should be OK.

There's more lubricity in the bio so the pump ought to be OK as well.

I make my own biodiesel and I'm a bit pernikety about the quality, there's no water in it and it's filtered down to 1 micron, so I'm hoping it's going to be OK.

From all accounts there could be are issues with pump boidiesel, mainly due to water content and poor conversion when trying to speed up the process in order to meet the demand.

Now thats interesting. How do you go about doing that? And do you have to pay duty on it?

Anyone in the UK is allowed to make up to 2500 litres per annum without paying any duty. It's perfectly legal.

Method in a nutshell.:-

1). Get some used cooking oil.

1). Heat to 50-60 deg. and allow to cool.

3). Drain off the settled water and measure the remaining volume of oil.

4). Do a titration to find out how much caustic soda to add.

5). Measure out 20% (of the oil volume) of methanol.

6). Add the caustic soda to the methanol and mix until dissolved.

7). Heat the oil to 60 Deg.C then add the methanol solution.

8). Mix for an hour then test for a complete conversion.

9). Settle for an hour then drain off the Glycerol.

9). Bubble air through the bio to get rid og any methanol still in it.

10). Allow to setle for 12 hours, filter and use.

Best forum for bio makers is www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk. Go to the bulletin board.

[Mistermena]

"You will have to clean your EGR more often, however of more concern is Toyotas D4d injection system is only able to use a maximum 5% blend of bio diesel( most major fuel suppliers already mix upto 5% already ), working at a Toyota dealer we have repaired 2 Avensis this year one needing 4 injectors the other a new pump & injectors all because of bio diesel. "

OOPS!

I'm up to B50 already.

I do add a cetane improver and injector cleaner to my biodiesel, so the injectors should be OK.

There's more lubricity in the bio so the pump ought to be OK as well.

I make my own biodiesel and I'm a bit pernikety about the quality, there's no water in it and it's filtered down to 1 micron, so I'm hoping it's going to be OK.

From all accounts there could be are issues with pump boidiesel, mainly due to water content and poor conversion when trying to speed up the process in order to meet the demand.

Now thats interesting. How do you go about doing that? And do you have to pay duty on it?

Anyone in the UK is allowed to make up to 2500 litres per annum without paying any duty. It's perfectly legal.

Method in a nutshell.:-

1). Get some used cooking oil.

1). Heat to 50-60 deg. and allow to cool.

3). Drain off the settled water and measure the remaining volume of oil.

4). Do a titration to find out how much caustic soda to add.

5). Measure out 20% (of the oil volume) of methanol.

6). Add the caustic soda to the methanol and mix until dissolved.

7). Heat the oil to 60 Deg.C then add the methanol solution.

8). Mix for an hour then test for a complete conversion.

9). Settle for an hour then drain off the Glycerol.

9). Bubble air through the bio to get rid og any methanol still in it.

10). Allow to setle for 12 hours, filter and use.

Best forum for bio makers is www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk. Go to the bulletin board.

Many thanks for posting the "How to" on here. How much to you think you save by doing this yourself over the pump prices? Have you noticed any adverse effects to your engine running? Whats the exhaust smell like?

[Cookie-monster]

I work for a small firm that recycles vegetable oil - I drive around in a diesel Transit van collecting it from kitchens, chip shops, schools etc and the van runs on 50% standard deisel and 50% filtered cooking oil. I can safely say that the exhaust stinks of cooking oil and its very obvious to all who follow me lol - if the window of the van is open, I get a load of it in the cab too. We have to change the diesel filter quite often as it clogs up faster, and the oil is not suitable for use in cold weather as it gets too thick. But as we get the oil for free, then it makes the price of running the van 70p a litre instead of £1.40 as the diesel is diluted 50/50 with the oil. We dont do anything to the oil other than seperate the water off and filter it, then pour in into the fuel tank.

[falcon7]

I work for a small firm that recycles vegetable oil - I drive around in a diesel Transit van collecting it from kitchens, chip shops, schools etc and the van runs on 50% standard deisel and 50% filtered cooking oil. I can safely say that the exhaust stinks of cooking oil and its very obvious to all who follow me lol - if the window of the van is open, I get a load of it in the cab too. We have to change the diesel filter quite often as it clogs up faster, and the oil is not suitable for use in cold weather as it gets too thick. But as we get the oil for free, then it makes the price of running the van 70p a litre instead of £1.40 as the diesel is diluted 50/50 with the oil. We dont do anything to the oil other than seperate the water off and filter it, then pour in into the fuel tank.

Diluting UCO (used cooking oil)with pump diesel DOES NOT make biodiesel although it is suitable, with some reservations for running older type diesel engines. Common rail, PD and HDI engines don't take kindly to diluted UCO and even the older DI, TDI and IDI engines can suffer from ring gumming when using UCO.

A more cost effective way of diluting UCO is to use petrol, which is much more effective as a thinning agent.

In summer 10% petrol may well be sufficient, going up to 20 or 25% in winter. A cetane improver is often added to a UCO blend to give better performance.

The raw material cost for making biodiesel is around 24p per litre, including 10p per litre for the UCO and if I add in some time then the cost per litre is about 50-55p per litre. To do the job properly a biodiesel processor is a must. Don't buy one of the Fuelpod type of products which aren't really up to the job for the serious home producer, nor one of the 'cheapies' advertised on eBay, which are often badly constructed and usually dangerous in operation.

The most cost effective way is to build your own. A very good design is the GL Processor, here is the schematic for one :- http://imageshack.us/m/862/8203/glprocessorwithvalvetoa.png

A lot of members on the biodiesel forum http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/index.php use this design in one form or another but there are links to other builders on the forum if you're not able to build your own.

Cost of a home built one £300-£400 in parts. Cost of a well made one £1000-£1500, may seem expensive but even with the most expensive one will recover it's cost in well under a year for the average user.

No adverse effects on the engine of my old Discovery in 2.1/2 years running on biodiesel. Did smell of cooking oil a bit though but the exhaust emissions were really low when tested for the MOTs. I don't do a lot of mileage, about 4,000 per year but I calculated that from the date of one MOT to the next, I saved at least £1,000.