Biodiesel and lack of sedimentor

Martin300TDi · Feb 25, 2008

Okies....just got a Defender and looking into running it on Biodiesel. Have a place fairly close to me in Rochdale that does B100 and although I appreciate the issues with colder weather, I believe that mixing it with DERV or using one of the anti-freeze products should solve the issue for me.

BUT, having checked this morning, I don't appear to have a sedimentor, just a couple of holes in the offside rear chassis in front of the axle.

Sooo...how important is it to have the sedimentor or will I just get away with changing the fuel filter a little more often when the B100 dissolves all the gunk in the tank and lines?? Filters are approx £5, Sedimentor is approx £50...then I gotta fit it.

Any views??

Cheers
Martin.

muddythelandy · Feb 25, 2008

If you're buying cruddy fuel full of bits then the sediment could be a problem - also if your fuel system returns fuel to the tank you could have problems with cak from inside the fuel system detatching - but as you say the fuel filter should be up to it.

Martin300TDi · Feb 25, 2008

Cheers for the response Muddy.

The B100 supplied by these guys is meant to be made from new veg oil to EN14214 so I'm hoping it will be refined and filtered appropriately. They can also supply refined used veg oil and bulk rapeseed but I dunno if I want to go down the homebrew route yet!

tacr2man · Feb 25, 2008

The main thing a sedimentor is for taking out water, once you have run on B100 for a while you will need to change the filter, it will be apparent when to do this (usually a drop off in power/speed. After that you should be OK but you need to run b50 or with a diesel percentage in b100 in cold (0C and below) I had a j/can of b100 in the boot of my maestro TD and it went solid overnight at -7 C but came back to liquid as it got to 10c a couple of days later. The b100 that had been put in the fuel tank with some diesel in no problem at all HTSH

Run b50 with some B100 and dinodiesel in 300tdi auto disco no probs for quite a while now

whats the price for b100 where you are Im at about 98ppl

Martin300TDi · Feb 25, 2008

Hey tacr2man. Thanks for the tips. The information I'm reading seems to be consistent about the B100 and low temps, running a weaker mix etc.

The place I'm looking at is at BIOFLO - UK Leaders in Production & Supply of Biodiesel - an Eco Alternative to Diesel.. (Am I OK posting URLs for businesses like that??).

They advertise a current "Pump" price of 80.9ppl. In bulk, delivered they suggest about 85ppl. Even cut with a ittle DERV it represent a good saving on fuel, a better cost per mile than the petrol Astra I have at the moment. There is another place in Rochdale that is selling at 86.9ppl but they don't deliver.

Hope that helps.

achuakh · Feb 25, 2008

start with b20 then to b50 then to b100. i've never tried b100, but then my mate's Td5 has and he reports it's ok. pass the singapore equivalent of the MOT with flying colours for smoke test. the tester had to do the smoke test twice thinking his probe was not inserted properly.

2months into this, you need to change your fuel filter. once that's done, you're pretty much ok.

Martin300TDi · Feb 25, 2008

Just had a thought. What is the specific gravity of Biodiesel in comparison to DERV? Just wondering if the DERV will settle out above, below or remain mixed with Bio.

I guess if the fuel outlet is near the bottom of the tank and you have a 50:50 mix, if DERV sank you'd be starting the engine on predominantly...or entirely DERV.

Or is that wishful thinking??

tacr2man · Feb 25, 2008

I think once the two are mixed they dont separate out, mind you my drums not full long enough to really find out.

There is no starting probs in a tdi, my sisters 200tdi starts instantly on
b100 with 25% diesel , the 300tdi takes a bit longer but it did on derv ,
the maestro starts pretty much instantly , runs lumpy for a couple of secomds .

Its right about the emissions test for the MOT , when i tested the maestro on B100 he thought his machine had gone on the blink.

Biodiesel and lack of sedimentor

Martin300TDi

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muddythelandy

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Martin300TDi

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tacr2man

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Martin300TDi

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achuakh

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Martin300TDi

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tacr2man

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