fortwo CDI veggie oil conversion information

[lebikerboy]

Re: fortwo CDI veggie oil conversion information

Hi, Not sure why you need the extra tank. I have been making biodiesel in the garden shed for a while now - you don't need a lot of room or expensive equipment.

I started with fresh veg oil from the cash&carry and processed it in an old Berko boiler. The process for any chemists, is a straightforward esterification of the triglycerides. Basically using sodium hydroxide and methanol the oil is broken down into the glycerol backbone and free fatty acids (the bits you want).

After a bit of washing it's ready for the tank. I have used it with normal mineral diesel and 100% biodiesel and you don't notice any difference in perfromance at all. I'm running a Laguna estate, an old Astra estate and a Jeep.

I'm now using oil from a local chinese restaurant which needs a bit more chemistry - a simple tritration to get the amount of sodium hydroxide right, but that's dead easy really.

The process takes about an hour and as it's a catalised reaction that's the same for whatever amount you are processing.

It's totally legal, you're allowed to make 2500 litres a year for you're own use.

Hope this helps or if you want any more info or a recipe PM me or if you want to see how it's done then you're more than welcome to come over to Nottingham.
Cheers
Keith
(Anton Digital Ltd.)

You need the extra tank when you're running vegetable oil not biodiesel. The vegetable oil is not used at startup rather dino diesel is. The switchover happens after the engine is running smoothly.

[phil s]

Re: fortwo CDI veggie oil conversion information

Hi,
top gear and 5th gear and myth busters have done spots on this, it is straightfoward as the diesel engine was designed to run on rape seed oil and then we found what we now call diesel fuel.
if clean veg oil is used (at about 25p per lt) you need to add about 25cc of white spirit per gallon. this helps with keeping the oil fluid.
mpg should not suffer i any way.
and of course you may even remember to declair what you are doing to the tax man---i think tempory amnesia is the cause there.
Phil S

[Fudge]

Re: fortwo CDI veggie oil conversion information

The problems come when your High Pressure pump fails early due to the lack of lubricity in the new fuel, these pumps opperate at silly psi, there were issues at one Mercedes garage i worked at in a particularly high percentage of pikey Vito and Sprinter users area, they were running "red" in them and causing the pumps to sieze or break up but it's not even that simple, if the pump does break up there could be particles traveling through the whole system.

Mercedes-Benz and Citroen/Peugeot now approve a 5% mix in their latest Common Rail engines.

[RacingSnake]

Re: fortwo CDI veggie oil conversion information

if clean veg oil is used (at about 25p per lt)

I think I'm looking in the wrong place?!! All I can find is veg oil at about £1.15 per litre, so it's not even worth it, where can I get this cheap oil?

[PeterPiper]

Re: fortwo CDI veggie oil conversion information

I think I'm looking in the wrong place?!! All I can find is veg oil at about £1.15 per litre, so it's not even worth it, where can I get this cheap oil?

it's all gone up recently hasn't it

[H Palmer]

Re: fortwo CDI veggie oil conversion information

Plus theft of spent veg oil is up to due this conversion business plus rising fuel costs.