Biodiesel bad for engine?

[cd_photo]

Hi everyone,

I just bought a '94 L400 and the guy who I bought it from warned me that he has heard of biodiesel ruining the engine seals (quickly), requiring a rebuild of the engine. I'm pretty sure he was talking about an L300 at the time, so I'm not sure if it might be different on the L400. I'm wondering what your experiences have been running biodiesel in your delicas?

Thanks,

Colin

[TardisDeli]

There was a problem in the past with bad biodiesel on the island. As I recall the post, a co-op group made the biodiesel, but the ingredients/proportions were incorrect and it turned into something similar to a bar of soap in the injectors etc. The ingredients to make a bar of soap are the same as biodiesel.

Many of us use WVO Waste Vegetable Oil, which is carefully filtered, and either just pour it into the normal fuel tank abut 1/3 oil to 2/3 diesel and only do so in the summer, or install a heated WVO system in the van. This is way safer than trying to make Biodeisel and uses less nasty chemicals ... also you can taste your WVO to decide if good quality, but you can't eat Biod.

Christine.

[RichD]

Biodiesel is not WVO. Many confuse the two. There is nothing "bio" about biodiesel; it contains vegetable oil but has been modified greatly by way of chemicals.

Biodiesel is very bad for your fuel system; avoid it. You should not run biodiesel unless you have a fuel system specifically modified to run it. For example it will eat your fuel hoses and seals; you need special Viton lines to run it. 5% blends were common for a while but have gone out of style, I think because of the problems it was causing. Go check out some of the US forums where biodiesel is common and you will read all about the havoc it wreaks on those who experiment. I even avoid biodiesel blends much as I avoid ethanol blends in my motorcycle.

You should also avoid mixing WVO in your diesel tank. "Many of us" try to save a buck however it is still not advice one should give a friend. A WVO conversion with a dedicated veg tank and heated filtration system is the safest bet and still comes with some warnings and risks.

Regarding tasting your WVO. WVO is not handled in a food safe manner. In fact, the containers used have often been used to handle industrial chemicals. There is also bacteria in WVO which could cause god knows what kind of health problems. Please do not taste WVO. It is fuel, not food.

[sinbad]

I ran homemade biodiesel in my Mercedes 300D for 5 years and it ran perfectly the whole time. That being said, not all bio is equal, it is important to get all methanol out of the bio as the methanol is miscible with soap and the soap will stop you pretty quick.