Will the banning of transfats reduce the amount of biodiesel available?

[dd74]

Hmmm....wonder why the higher horsepower with your friend's car? Thicker fuel (veggie vs. dino). I know it needs to be thinned out, but could veggie still be a bit thicker? Race fuel, I think, is thicker than unleaded, which may be why there's a slight increase in horsepower on some engines. I'm not sure. I'm just learning in a layman's sort of way...

[notfarnow]

I have better fuel flow on veggie than on diesel.

On the diesel side, the final fuel lines by the diesel filter are ~1/4".

All of my fuel lines on the veggie side are 3/8". In terms of volume and fuel flow, that's a HUGE difference. Plus, my onboard veggie filter is HUGE, even as a 5micron filter it is designed to flow 200gph!

My setup has the fuel flow altered so that all fuel is SUCKED through filters instead of pushed. I monitor my filters with a vacuum gauge.

Interestingly, I found that the car runs a higher vacuum on diesel than on veggie. At 70mph, I see 8-10inHG vs 3-5 on veggie.

Typically, the car starts to bog down if vacuum gets above 15inHG. Part of that is air leaking past fuel o-rings. Mine are brand new and pretty tight, but at that vacuum the system starts to suck some air and bog down. My veggie filter has to be in REALLY bad shape to get to that point... I haven't done it yet.

[dd74]

So, is it true or not that modern diesels, particularly Bluetecs, can't run on veggie? I've heard they can, but still not sure.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by dd74

So, is it true or not that modern diesels, particularly Bluetecs, can't run on veggie? I've heard they can, but still not sure.

There are 2-3 guys running veggie in 2005/2006 Benz 320 CDIs with common rail injection systems, plus smart cars and Powerstrokes. Those engines are very fussy about fuel pressures, viscosity and contamination. Converting one requires really understanding how to fool the engine management systems.

When I first got into this, people were saying you couldn't convert direct injection engines like the 98+ VW TDis, so I take the skeptics with a grain of salt. What is true is that as the engines become more complex, so do the conversions. I've seen early Benzes & VWs converted using garden hose and baling wire (no exaggeration). Converting a 35k used Mercedes like a 320CDi requires more finesse.

Even my mercedes was pretty old-school. The fuel plumbing is complex and involves many potential "Check Engine Light" triggers, but ultimately it's just a hotrod, DOHC, turborcharged old-school indirect injection, prechambered diesel.

One car I'd love to convert is an Accord 2.2CTDi. They have them in Europe, and I hear they're coming here next year. If they'd been available when I was car shopping, hard to say if I would've bought the Benz.

[dd74]

Cool! Let me do more reading on this. I can get hold of you through PlantDrive, or should I just PM you if I have more questions?