Sharon asks…
I have a 1984 240D. How do I become a biodiesel guy. I am in Atlanta.?
Do I need to convert the engine. What kit do I need to buy. I would like to do the whole Cinese restaurant oil thing. Sorry, the only democrats around here either don’t work or ride the bus. I have no resource for becoming GREEN!
admin answers:
Put it in your tank. Then be prepared to change fuel filters regularly for a while. You may end up changing fuel lines too….bio cleans everything and they say it can deteriorate the older rubber fuel lines inside.
Sandra asks…
UK: The cheapest/best Biodiesel conversion?
Hi,
I have a 1992 Diesel Toyota Estima and would like to have the car converted to Biodiesel.
I cannot produce the fuel myself but know of a farm not too far away that supplies Biodiesel, aswell as a few fuel stations nearby that also sell Biodiesel.
Would anyone know of a company who does Cheap Biodiesel conversion kits in the UK?
Can i just say this is for Biodiesel not pure veg oil.
Thanks
admin answers:
If it’s actual biodiesel produced by transesterification of vegetable oil than there’s no modifications needed. The whole purpose of transesterification is to make the vegetable oil more like diesel so that modifications would not be needed. Those conversion kits are to use unmodified vegetable oil not biodiese. The kits usually are just a way to start the engine on real diesel till it warms up and warms up the tank and fuel lines so that the vegetable oil flows better.
Saying that your diesel car needs a conversion to use biodiesel is like saying your electric lightbulb needs to be converted in order to use electricity.
Joseph asks…
1990 dodge dakota conversion kit to an alternate fuel source?
i would be interested in exploring my options. i have a 1990 dodge dakota pickup that i would like to convert to another fuel source as a project. what would be the easiest/cheapest means to do this? i would consider biodiesel, or ethanol or maybe even some stuff i haven’t heard of yet……any help at all would be appreciated……
help me to screw the oil companies!!!thanks!!
admin answers:
I hope I can help with your conversion project. Peak oil, short sighted policies, and damaging our people and environment by burning gasoline is screwing the oil companies. Although we all owe them a big thanks for developing an economy and moving us in 100 years technologically speaking to a point that would have taken 1000 or more years.
Here’s my 2 cents on which way to convert a 1990 Dodge:
If it’s a diesel, convert to biodiesel
If it’s gas powered, it can run a blend of 50/50 ethanol/gas mix. This is the easiest but you still need to buy or make the ethanol.
If you want zero gas usage, then a full conversion to ethanol operation with a need to buy or make ethanol.
If you want super clean, easy conversion, little more for high pressure tanks convert to gaseous hydrogen, biogas, or woodgas.
Hit my site www.american-renewable-energies.com and follow links to learn more. Best education books on superior energy choices can be found at Knowledge Publications.
It’s going to be so sweet to finally completely turn off the oil spigot.
Nancy asks…
Did you know about this free Fuel for your car?
Have you ever heard of or do you use Homemade Biodiesel to run your car? If you install a conversion kit for your engine it will be able to run on free vegetable oil from home and Fast Food Restuarants. Pretty cool huh?
Uh the vegetable oil has already been used and it’s really expensive to recycle. So Ethically I don’t think people will cook with use vegetable oil. It’s not good for your health.
admin answers:
This may be true, if you happen to have a diesel engine in your car, and you don’t mind potentially screwing it up.
Otherwise, good idea!
Cheers!
Chris asks…
is biodiesel realiable fuel?
does it really works? anybody have problems with IRS? i’ve seen kits out there and i’m a little convince for switching diesel to biodiesel.
Thanks.
admin answers:
Sure it works, and it’s a very simple technology that lends itself to small co-ops and homebrewing. The chemical process is fairly straightforward, low energy and doable at home.
Dr. Rudolf Diesel intended that his engine use vegetable oil for fuel. It doesn’t work on modern engines because the fuel injection systems are optimized for the (then) cheaper mineral diesel fuel, which is much thinner (less viscous) at cold temperatures. So you have two choices.
1. Modify the fuel to make it thinner, or,
2. Modify the car to deal with thicker fuel.
Choice 1 is biodiesel. You don’t have to modify the car. That’s the whole point of brewing biodiesel 
Choice 2 lets you use veggie oil straight. It involves heaters to warm the fuel, to make it thin enough to work in the injectors. This lets you use oil intended for french fry machines, which was $2.59/gal at CostCo last I looked.
You can also use waste oil, i.e. Used fry oil a restaurant is throwing out, however aside from viscosity, waste oil also has issues with particulate, acidity and water content. Treating it is nearly as hard as brewing biodiesel.
As far as the IRS,
a) you need to pay road tax on the dollar value of any fuel you use in a vehicle on the highway.
B) there are tax credits for use of biofuels.
I believe they cancel each other out, or are a bit in your favor.
Laura asks…
Do I need to do anything to my 1997 VW Jetta TDI to use bio-diesel fuel?
have finally found a station that pumps biodiesel fuel for the public in my area of Maine. We are going to buy a 1997 Jetta TDI that already runs on diesel and would really like to convert it to biodiesel. We’ve asked many people and done a ton of research but cant seem to find a consitant or even reasonable answer. So maybe you can help.
How would we go about converting our car? Do we need to do anything at all? I’ve gotten so many answers from just changing a rubber gasket occasionally to installing a convertion kit. I even got one mechanic that said it would require a complete overhaul of the engine. Biodiesel is something I’ve been wanting to do with my vehicle for a long time and now that I have FINALLY found an affordable car in my area that has the possiblity of doing it at a reasonable cost, I’m looking for some actual facts on what it will take to do this.
Any advice or leads to a more informative sight, person, phone number, whatever would be lovely. Thanks in advance for any help that you can give.
admin answers:
Nope! Nothing. Nada. Just fill with Biodiesel and drive!!
No, you do not need to do anything to a 1997 Jetta to run biodiesel. The 1.9 liter TDI engine loves biodiesel. I have 4 diesels and absolutely no modifications are necessary for biodiesel.
I did modify one car, but that was to heat the fuel to run straight vegetable oil. For biodiesel just fill and go!
On one vehicle, the 190 diesel mercedes, I had to change the fuel filter after about 6,000 miles of biodiesel, because I noticed a slight loss of power when accelerating.
This is because regular petroleum diesel is very dirty! It contains lots of soot. At the pump, they usually give you a glove to use to keep your hand clean. Biodiesel cleans the layers of accumulated soot from your tank and fuel lines over time, and the clumps of sooty particles can clog the fuel filter.
My suggestion is buy a fuel filter at the parts store, but DON’T change it yet! No need to waste a fuel filter it if is unnecessary. Keep it in your trunk, along with the wrench/pliers to change it. If the filter clogs, you can change it at your first available opportunity. You might not need to change it for a year or two.
Keep in mind you will notice when it starts to clog when accelerating up a long hill, you won’t have the power you usually do. Changing the filter is not an emergency. You won’t harm the engine as a diesel is governed by restricting the fuel flow. You can change the day you notice the power loss or wait 5,000 miles and do it then. You will probably just notice it getting a little slower every day.
Because it is a 1997, you already have Viton fuel lines which can handle a certain percentage of alcohol with out degrading. Pre 1994 vehicles require the rubber fuel lines to be changed. You do not.
Just buy it, fill up on BioDiesel and drive happy, knowing you are preventing global warming, and reducing our dependence on foreign oil!
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