Lizzie asks…
Looking for a good service mechanic in Melbourne, Victoria, for a 1983 Mercedes Benz Diesel.?
I live in Melbourne and own a 1983 Mercedes Benz 300D (Diesel) in nice condition. I wonder if someone could recommend a good, honest, and reasonably priced local mechanic, for regular servicing and repairs. While the car is of a vintage not to have any specialist MB electronics, it would obviously be good to find a mechanic with some experience (and fondness) around older Mercedes and/or Diesel cars (and/or possible Biodiesel conversions). Preferably inner Melbourne or eastern suburbs. Your recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
admin answers:
Use the telephone to call around, and ask about prices for routine service work. You know, oil changes, brake work, etc, and see how they react when you tell them what vehicle you’ve got. Also, talk to some other Benz owners in your area,,,,,,,someone knows where a good shop is located, you just have to talk to enough peole to find it!
Richard asks…
BioDiesel, CNG & Brown’s Gas Conversions; How much are co’s charging to perform said conversions?
BioDiesel, CNG & Brown’s Gas Conversions; How much are co’s charging to perform said conversions?
0. Not looking for the DIY products;
Looking for co’s installing (prices, #s & URL’s if they have ‘em)
1.There are a variety of BioDiesel options; feel free to post as many as you can find.
Interesting Portland, OR B50-B99 usage.
http://www.portlandonline.com/water/index.cfm?c=44599&a=168469
http://www.portlandonline.com/water
/index.cfm?c=44599&a=168469
Humorous computer industry comparison of Right now BioDiesel‘s a C=64 (14:50 in)
2. CNG:
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/10/t-boone-pickens-better-idea-natural-gas-fueled-trucks/
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03
/10/t-boone-pickens-better-idea-
natural-gas-fueled-trucks/
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/06/t-boone-pickens-still-bullish-on-oil-sees-200-300-oil-in-10-y
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03
/06/t-boone-pickens-still-bullish-on
-oil-sees-200-300-oil-in-10-y
3. & yes, Brown’s Gas is not a conversion, merely injected into the fuel/air systems, & replacing the carburetor or modifying the injection system.
This one has ton’s of spam web sites.
4. All the above are difficult to do actual product research upon due to such heavy spam & “free energy” quackery.
Ergo, this posting…
5. If you see a DIY that is not a spam site
& has serious data upon it,
with low-to-no “free energy” quackery… post it!
Thanks, kindly to everyone who contributes!
admin answers:
Let’s see, no conversion is needed to use biodiesel. A conversion is needed to burn waste vegetable oil directly.
Most of the CNG conversions were outlawed in the 80′s because the EPA found that the conversions resulted in more pollution than the original gasoline powered vehicle mostly because of the one size fits all approach of the conversion kits.
Brown gas is a scam.
I would assume that people performing the conversions would charge as much as they can get away with since the conversions are either unecessary, illegal or non-functional.
Sharon asks…
Is making high-quality “Biodiesel” from Expired and/or Recycled Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) a potentially …..?
… viable business proposition for developing nations?
Assuming you:
1- can get the Expired or WVO at no or very low cost (i.e. transportation / recycle collection expenses)
2- have access to an affordable labor force
3- mean to produce it on a reasonably large scale to sustain a relatively large size business and NOT just for personal use
4- mean to produce a high-quality Biodiesel and hope to sell the glycerin byproduct to the industry as well
5- can market the Biodiesel directly to the target customers (e.g. trucks, buses, heating market, etc.)
Would the upfront cost of a reasonably large Conversion / Reactor Facility plus the other ongoing costs of production / operation / distribution (fix and variable) make this a potentially viable business opportunity for “the developing country markets”?
And do you know of similar type operations (on large scale) anywhere in the world that you can direct my attention to?
Would greatly appreciate serious comments.
admin answers:
Mr. L the mega corprations don’t like this. This is funny you should ask this one right up my alley…So check these out and if you want to talk further you know how to reach me,,,,
Other Useful web sites:
www.biodieselcommunity.org
www.veggievan.org
www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiese
David asks…
procedure for the conversion of glycerol into ethanol through E.coli?
During biodiesel production glycerol is obtained as bi-product. How it can be utilized?
admin answers:
Are you asking for the chemical conversion, the way it’s absorbed or how to make a practical bioreactor?
I was under the impression the glycerol was sold. Does actually converting it to ethanol make it more profitable?
Helen asks…
whats the deal with biodiesel?
DO U NEED TO DO A CONVERSION ON YOUR TRUCK
has anyone used dieselsecret.com
will it damage the engine
can u mix biodiesel with diesel for better cold starts
please help im thinking about buying a diesel truck but dont really have the money to waste on ideas that dont work
http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/biodiesel/ss/makebiodiesel1.htm
this seems like a pretty truthfull web site. anyone had a similar experience
admin answers:
When you find oil in the market for less than the price of diesel, let me know.
Even when it was $5 a gallon, unless you got waste oil from a fast food place, the station was cheaper.
Daniel asks…
Am I getting burned on this 80′s Mercedes 300CD that ran on GREASE without a full conversion and other pobs…
I am getting this beautiful 1980 CD that HAVE TO OWN….maybe:. Here’s the catch: We took the car out and it started up fine. But once we were on the highway, I could not get past 50 miles an hour with the throttle mashed. It stalled going up the hills back to his home. He explained that the car was sitting in his garage for 8 months without running it. Also, he disclosed that the car was running on grease, biodiesel or a combo of both without a full conversion.. The return lines were never replaced. The mechanic will be doing the following: Clean the fuel tank and replace filters, Valve adjustments and coverings, valve cover gasket, Replace oil pan and filter, and an electrical issue with the engine not shutting off!!! But my guy says everything else he says is fair (jonts/tranny/hoses)…. Anyway, the owner generously agreed to take the total cost off his sale price. An offer I can’t refuse. BUT… Am I getting a mess here, even if my mechanic gives it a clean bill of heath?
admin answers:
I restored Mercedes for about 20 years, the older they are the better put together they are, — but no doubt about it, mercedes is a good car! And pretty tough! I bought a 61 190D that I drove for 11 years, from 170k till it got up to 470K, – broke timing chain, and burned out starter, — so parked it and sold parts off it! Paid $150 for it with rear end “blown out” bought rear end for $150, — when I parked it I sold almost $500 worth of parts off it,and the remainder of body and interior (and title)for $50,— I figure it didn’t owe me anything! The guy that bought the engine and transmission did $1200 worth of engine work and rebuild, an drove it for another 150K– in a different car (and still driving last I saw of him – 20 years ago!) **** Other than possible injection pump problems, – I doubt it will give you much trouible,– also I have heard that a lot of these (mostly 4 cylinders) are driving on “french fry oil) with out having any pump problems! Only thing they do is filter it down to “2 microns” or smaller– and mixing a little diesel along with it (and using diesel to heat engine up from another tank)– makes them go about the same ar regular diesel ones do! Also heard the salt doesn’t hurt anything, as it does not dissolve, and just blows into filter mostly, – and rest goes out with exhaust!**** Been going to pull my old Peugot 504 diesel out and make powerplant out of,– to generate electricity, just to see how it works long term! Then I might revive my Mazda diesel pickup and drive it again!! Vegetable oil is not any more expensive than diesel right now, (even new)!
Charles asks…
UK Bio Diesel Conversion Road Legal Info ?
I have a peugeot 205 diesel I want to convert it to biodiesel as I can get quite a vast amount for cheaper than diesel and it would help to reduce my emissions, I just dont know who to notify about this change and how to go about it legally I realy wana do it and fast so plaese if you have any knowledge on this let me know thanks in advance 
admin answers:
You do not have to notify anyone of the conversion, but, unless you make your own biodiesel at home, of which you can make so much without paying the duty, you have to pay duty to the HMRC.
Nancy asks…
help with me a report (on starting a business converting cars to run on BioDiesel or SVO)?
Although not implicitly stated it had to be something about green energy and I impulsively chose to do my project on starting a business converting cars to run on Bio Diesel or SVO and now I’m stuck with it, problem is i know very little about the subject. Ive worked on and off for a few years in my families auto repair shop so i know a fair share about cars, but I’ve never worked on a diesel engine and don’t know anything about the whole biodiesel and SVO deal other than seeing a few random news pieces about people running their cars off of the used grease from fast food restaurants.
My exact business model is to take an already in use maintenance and repair garage and retrofit it to be able to do the conversion.
so what i need are some websites with info about the actual process of taking out the stock engine on a car and replacing it with a diesel engine, the filtration process necessary to use straight vegetable oil and/or how to make Bio Diesel.
Here are the details of the project
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ARNDGgnsju49ZGN0N2g0NzdfMGdzbWh4ZmNx&hl=en
any help is greatly appreciated
admin answers:
It depends on your market and other factors. If you want to talk to people who already have started their own conversion business, Chris Goodwin at Frybrid is a great guy (I’ve met him once in Seattle) and would be able to answer your questions.
Recently he overviewed all the major conversion services in a thread on his site:
http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showpost.php?p=105685&postcount=39
That came from this whole thread if you want the context:
http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13856
This interesting thing is that he knows the other major suppliers (Greasecar, Plantdrive, Frybrid, etc), and it’s a small market.
Donna asks…
What’s better, a VW TDI or a Mercedes Turbo Diesel?
I’m looking for a turbo diesel to run biodiesel in and possibly do a greasecar conversion with. The later 90′s and up TDI’s get 40-50mpg, not sure on the MB’s. What’s made your decision in a MB over a VW for a turbo diesel?
admin answers:
VW reason #1 it is alot cheaper to work with, #2 MB is over rated and if it is a conversation it will put a holt on the conversation because people expext MB, not VW
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