Vegan-mobile question

[Pmatte]

Can a freight liner sprinter diesel be converted into a veggie-moblie?
Does anyone know of one out there on the road?Is there real fuel cost savings by doing this?Thanks you guys.
Patrick

 

[Gary T]

In reality right now there is no fuel cost savings. The savings is in pollution. The cost of veggie fuel is actually on par or higher than fossil fuel due to lack of refining resources. Veggie fuel also produces less energy by volume than fossil fuel, so you use more. You will not see a cost savings for 15-20 years because it will take that long to bring refining up to standards. By then there will be other technologies ready. It really is a pipe dream.

 

[The Great Oz]

Can a freight liner sprinter diesel be converted into a veggie-moblie?

Sure.

Does anyone know of one out there on the road?

Pretty common in Seattle.

Is there real fuel cost savings by doing this?

None.

It could be a cool marketing point to advertise bio-diesel use. Even people that aren't green fanatics might appreciate that you care.

But, you won't find any manufacturers that will keep a warranty intact if you use more than 5% bio-diesel blend (why bother). Even off the record, manufacturers don't recommend using anything higher than a 50/50 blend. Bio-diesel will dissolve any crud in the fuel system, so can cause filters to clog and ruin the injection system. If you convert a new vehicle you have to live with the loss of warranty, and if you convert an older vehicle you'll have to change the filters a lot at first.

Bio-diesel will gel at higher temperatures than dino-diesel, so in cooler climates a second tank of regular diesel will be required for start-up. If the truck isn't in continuous use, bio-diesel can become a mold generator, which will also clog your filters.

 

[Pmatte]

Thanks for the replies.

Anyone have any photos?

 

[rhyde]

i talked with the dodge rep 6 months ago about this .....because of the new blue-tech particulate exhaust filter 07 or newer sprinters they cannot use biodiesel above 5% ..he said 10% seems to be OK but 20% isn't and it clogs the emissions systems. The cost of replacing the exhaust particulate system is about 2K...FYI


The new tier of emissions have kicked in.. bio diesel in any meaningful amount is a thing of the past for new vehicles ...emissions become even more stringent in 2010

 

[rhyde]

But, you won't find any manufacturers that will keep a warranty intact if you use more than 5% bio-diesel blend (why bother). Even off the record, manufacturers don't recommend using anything higher than a 50/50 blend. Bio-diesel will dissolve any crud in the fuel system, so can cause filters to clog and ruin the injection system. If you convert a new vehicle you have to live with the loss of warranty, and if you convert an older vehicle you'll have to change the filters a lot at first.

Bio-diesel will gel at higher temperatures than dino-diesel, so in cooler climates a second tank of regular diesel will be required for start-up. If the truck isn't in continuous use, bio-diesel can become a mold generator, which will also clog your filters.

I’ll play the role of the “expert” here since I run biodiesel in the Vortex and my dodge.

Bio diesel waxes at roughly 15 degrees higher that petroleum diesel anit-gel works the same with bio as petrol diesel. The most important thing on a diesel is keeping the fuel system clean I recommend running anti-gel w/cetain boost and cleaner I use power service diesel. Using a SVO (straight vegetable oil) system requires two separate tanks regardless of temperature these are two different fuels SVO is the cheap way to fuel however there are some issues with SVO and some engines which i wont go into here…Terra Clean is running a SVO Vortex I haven’t talked with them in awhile I don’t know how it’s working for them ?

Fuel & warranty
Manufactures don’t warranty fuel or additives so any bad fuel bio or not is bad fuel. Many people don’t know this but it’s important to understand manufactures do not set fuel standards or even engine oil standards for engines they make or sell this is actually set by the EPA. EPA has approved biodiesel as an alternative fuel and a fuel additive that meets ASTM D 6751 all commercially sold biodiesel must meet this standard .

 

[The Great Oz]

I applaud anyone that is willing to make the switch to bio-diesel, as it seems to be positive move to decrease use of dino-fuel. Though Someone considering a switch needs to do some research before tanking up.

Two months ago I called our Fuso dealer's service department to find out what we'd have to do to run bio-diesel in our delivery trucks. The service manager said a conversion was possible, but it required some expense, extra vigilance on our part, an additional annual operating cost of 15% to 20%, and loss of warranty. He referred me to Fuso and other maker's warranty exclusions and some industry articles that showed bio-diesel wasn't quite the perfect replacement yet. He said they have already replaced several fuel pumps, two injection systems and replaced pistons in one engine that were damaged due to use of either 50/50 or 100% bio-diesel, and all repair costs fell to the truck owners.

I might join the party with a personal vehicle, but at $1,000 for a fuel pump, $3,500 for an injection system and more for engine work, I don't want to add the operating expense or take on the risk of giving up a 500,000 mile warranty on our fleet trucks.

Diesel Fuel News by Jack Peckham
The world's biggest diesel fuel injector equipment (FIE) makers -- Bosch, Delphi (formerly Lucas), Denso, and Stanadyne -- just unveiled new "common position statements" warning of denials of warranty claims if fuels fail to meet certain quality standards.
One of the statements continues to warn against using over 5% biodiesel blends, in contradiction to the push for 20% blends ("B20") by the biodiesel lobby. Only engines specially designed for blends above 5%, or else 100% "neat" biodiesel, should use such fuels, the FIE makers say. “Users should be aware that the vehicles, engines and equipment were not designed to run on them and are recommended to refer to the equipment manufacturers 'Limitations of Use' documents for guidance prior to using such fuels."
As currently manufactured, these fuels are less stable than mineral oil derived fuels. Tests have shown that fuel degradation can take place in the fuel supply chain and in the vehicle fuel system; it is accelerated by the presence of oxygen, water, heat and impurities.
"The products of bio-degradation have been shown to be corrosive (e.g. formic, acetic and organic acids, water and methanol) and polymerization products drop out within mixes with mineral fuels."
These corrosive products can corrode fuel injectors, cause elastomer seal failures, lead to fuel system blockage, cause pump seizures, cause fuel injector spray hole blockage and increase injection pressure.