Best engines for Biodiesel?

[TheatricalKate]

Anyone here have experiences to share on running biodiesel?

I know I should be able to use biodiesel in any diesel motor, but have a feeling that practical experience may have more opinions.

Thanks!
Kate.

[indigo_k]

I'd like to know this, too! I hadn't considered it when originally planning a skoolie, but seeing how many of the available busses are diesel engines I definitely want to know more about using biodiesel in one!

[TheatricalKate]

As we're both in Portland OR, maybe we can have a mini skoolie biodiesel meet-up!
Kate.

[indigo_k]

That sounds like a whole nother thread, which I would also happily subscribe to!

[Johnny Mullet]

My bus has the T444E 7.3L engine and i ran lots of 20% biodiesel when I went out west on my cross country skoolie trip. I had no issues with it at all.

[dzl_]

From what I've read (and i'm far from informed on the subject--just curious enough to have done a little googling), older IDI (indirect injection) work better with Biodiesel and Waste vegetable oil. The injectors are less likely to clog up (and much cheaper to service if they do clog). They are also just much simpler robust engines, and much cheaper to maintain.



For Ford you would be looking at the 6.9L/7.3L IDI engines manufactured by International from 1983 through 1994.



I'm less familiar with Chevy/GM but I believe you would be looking at the GM 6.2L/6.5L IDI engines manufactured by Detroit Diesel from 1982 through 2000, and actually still being manufactured in smaller numbers for the U.S. military.


I can't comment on how any of these particular engines do with biodiesel, but I know as a general rule, indirect injection engines fair better and it seems these are some of the more common engines found in smaller school buses (I know nothing about larger buses, so i cant help you there).

[SolomonEagle]

Best engines for wvo and best engines for biodiesel are two different categories. From my experience and research I understand that some of the fuel lines and gasket/ seal materials can chemically react with the bio and eat them up causing leaks. With wvo/svo there are a whole different set of issues and considerations.

[Sehnsucht]

I can tell you that DEF engines don't tend to like biodiesel above a certain amount. I got 25% biodiesel blend once and the engine lights went haywire until I'd burned it all out of the system. Performance and fuel economy also suffered. I chalked it up to the sensitivity of electronic controlled DEF sucking technology more than the fuel itself though.

[Doktari]

I would only run biodiesel older idi engines (indirect injection). And biodiesel from a reputable source. Unfortunately my 1991 Isuzu 4bd1t engine is di (direct injection).

[PNW_Steve]

My 5.9 Cummins runs fine on Biodiesel.

Older vehicles may have issues with fuel lines as a previous poster mentioned.

The IDI Vs direct injection matter applies to waste vegetable oil not biodiesel.

I don't know if you plan on making your own biodiesel. If you are, I would recommend finding sources for oil before you do anything else.

I ran an Appleseed processor for a few years. As making biodiesel became popular sources of free oil became scarce. People started paying restaurants for their oil. When the places that I had been getting oil from started demanding $1 a gallon for their oil I gave up.

[PNW_Steve]

Interesting tidbit :

"U.S. biodiesel production hit an all-time high in 2015, its second record-breaking year in a row. EPA statistics show production of 1.813 billion gallons in 2015, up from the previous record of 1.74 billion gallons in 2014"

I

[Mekanic]

regular at the pump biodeisel ran fine in my 12V 5.9 a few years back when i was on vacation.

[SolomonEagle]

I put bio in my 24v and soon after it started leaking diesel at the injection pump like crazy. Can't say %100 it was the biodiesel, but that has always been the primary suspect.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by SolomonEagle

I put bio in my 24v and soon after it started leaking diesel at the injection pump like crazy. Can't say %100 it was the biodiesel, but that has always been the primary suspect.

I don't know.

I have run many hundreds of gallons of biodiesel in my 5.9 Cummings trucks.

I did also run B20 in my 8v71 with no issues. I was reluctant to run anything above B20 out of concerns about fuel lines and seals. It was a 1980 and as I understand it, older vehicles are more likely to have fuel system components that are affected by biodiesel.

Funny, on my 2004 Cummings I had to replace the injection pump about two weeks after I bought the truck. I had not had a chance to run biodiesel yet.

[Injunfarian]

As mentioned previously clogged injectors, rubber lines and o-rings/seals are the main concerns when running biodiesel.


Viton lines are good replacement to solve the line issues, as for clogged injectors it is due to biodiesel pretty much cleaning/treating your fuel system. The best route to move to biodiesel is a little bit at a time.. never start with full B100 biodiesel or even B20.. try to cut it so you are running B5-B10(5-10%) first. Let that slowly break down the gunk in the lines etc.. Keep an eye on the fuel filters and replace as needed.. Then slowly move up to B20.. I would not recommend anything over B20 unless your engine/fuel system was setup to run biodiesel with the proper seals/lines etc.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Injunfarian

As mentioned previously clogged injectors, rubber lines and o-rings/seals are the main concerns when running biodiesel.


Viton lines are good replacement to solve the line issues, as for clogged injectors it is due to biodiesel pretty much cleaning/treating your fuel system. The best route to move to biodiesel is a little bit at a time.. never start with full B100 biodiesel or even B20.. try to cut it so you are running B5-B10(5-10%) first. Let that slowly break down the gunk in the lines etc.. Keep an eye on the fuel filters and replace as needed.. Then slowly move up to B20.. I would not recommend anything over B20 unless your engine/fuel system was setup to run biodiesel with the proper seals/lines etc.

^^Good advice. ^^

I ran an Appleseed processor for a few years then my oil supply dried up. When I started out the local restaurants were paying to have their used oil hauled off. They were thrilled to have us take it for free. As demand for the oil grew I started having to compete with other Biodiesel producers. Eventually the bigger companies started paying restaurants for their oil. That was when I got out of it. Places that had been thrilled to have us take it for free were signing contracts with the big companies and putting locks on their waste oil containers.

[Stuntmanmitch]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

^^Good advice. ^^

I ran an Appleseed processor for a few years then my oil supply dried up. When I started out the local restaurants were paying to have their used oil hauled off. They were thrilled to have us take it for free. As demand for the oil grew I started having to compete with other Biodiesel producers. Eventually the bigger companies started paying restaurants for their oil. That was when I got out of it. Places that had been thrilled to have us take it for free were signing contracts with the big companies and putting locks on their waste oil containers.

I think I read somewhere restaurants are now leasing their oil?!?!

I have a 97 5.9 and was told I could run bio with little to no problem. Filters aren't a big deal but I'm not keen enough yet to be pulling injection pumps should I need to. Maybe if I made my own but the point of wanting to do it was to get the oil at no cost.

[ben_marko]

Almost any engine out there can run biodiesel, especially older ones. Newer engines may have trouble, but that depends on what type of injectors you have. I know smaller engines such as VW TDI diesels don’t really like BD. Mercedes BlueTec diesels love it. So do older Chevy/GMC Duramax diesels.

Check the fuel lines - older fuel lines will dissolve with BD, as it is mildly corrosive. You'll need to replace them with modern ones, as they are corrosion-resistant.

As it is mildly corrosive, know where your fuel filters are. If the vehicle has never run BD, you'll need spare fuel filters and the tools on hand to replace them. You'll know if your engine power starts to sputter and lose power (from a clogged filter). Typically this takes approximately 30 days or so. Big diesels typically have two - a water separator/heater filter and another one in the engine compartment connected to a fuel pressure regulator.

BD also has a lower cetane value than petroleum diesel. So it is somewhat less efficient, so you'll be using a little bit more than PD. But it's cheaper - my homemade stuff was about $1.38 a gallon, after factoring in the cost of chemicals used in processing. If you buy yours from a seller, it most likely will cost more (but is still cheaper than PD on average).

And get big fuel tanks (if you can) and insulate them well regardless - same for your fuel lines. BD has what is called a "cloud point." This is the temperature at which BD will begin to form crystals from minute traces of water that is in it. That affects viscosity, which will in turn make your fuel pump work harder. You can mitigate this with some good insulation.

That’s about all I can think of when it comes to BD. I ran it in a ’76 Datsun 6-cyl diesel and a ’06 Ford F-250 6L Powerstroke diesel. I never had to make one single modification other than what I mentioned (but new fuel lines for the Datsun). I had lower emissions than my wife’s Toyota Prius with the Ford though, and I was still getting 18 MPG to boot.

Also - I would recommend using a full synthetic oil as well.

[ol trunt]

Don't try to confuse me with facts. As far as I'm concerned the only good engine to run on biodiesel is someone else's!
Jack