Anyone tried this bio diesel "alternative"?

[briancpearce]

My father has a 2010 VW Jetta TDI and is interested in brewing his own fuel. He sent me a link to a site that claims they can sell you a product that will let you make your own fuel for $.46/gal. Dubious, I read their site from end to end, and can't really figure out what it is they are selling or if it would work. Has anyone tried this product and method before? http://www.dieselsecret.com/index.html

 

[Bill in Utah]

With all the VERY EXPENSIVE EPA smog equipment in a NEW 2010 diesel that last thing I'd do is cheap out on the fuel. Buy only what VW states in the manual. Anything else is not something that I'd even think about.

Take care, Bill

 

[jmac]

I looked at that quite a few years ago when learning about bio diesel and how to make etc. IMO you cannot get around the steps of esterfication and washing that making real home bioD takes. To much of a gimmick, what you will likely end up with is injection pumps and injectors clogged with a nasty wax build up similar to what you get running straight WVO without processing. Not even taking into account EGR valves, cats, and DPF. You should be able to find archive discussions on Diesel Stop, or Diesel Site or some of the other Diesel forums from about the 2001 to 2004 time frame with scads more discussion on that very product. Most steered way clear of it. IF you contemplate running SVO, you probably need at least a two tank system, and some way of preheating the oil before feeding to the engine, this is not for the faint of heart and be ready to accept all liability of what you do.
I used to be able to find some pics of gunked up pumps but not sure where they are, but there are some out there somewhere on the net.
Some quick sites that can start you on research:
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/altern...esel-ctd-3.html
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/419605551/m/2901017112/p/1
http://www.flashoffroad.com/Diesel/DieselFuel/bioDiesel.htm
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_TDI.html
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html
http://ctbiodzl.freeshell.org/votdi.html#FAQ
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=64

Here's a good quote from http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=245955

Quote:
Tell me more about Biodiesel and veggie oil…

Biodiesel will shorten the life of the pump, that much is certain. If you have proper filtration, good quality biodiesel, and don’t switch back and forth with regular diesel you should get a good 120-150,000 miles out of a pump. Often biodiesel pumps are good cores and have no problems with rebuilds. The exception is the home brewers that don’t get all the water out which rusts the pump out from the inside.

Grease/veggie oil gums pump the pump. When you open it up it looks like syrup in there. The positioner sticks, as do the sliding sleeves which all combined contribute to the pump failure. Because of that anyone who runs veggie oil can count on a core being completely junked. Sometimes in rare cases they are ok, but this is the exception and not the rule. In my experience most people have their veggie oil pumps fail at 60-80,000 miles. Some have gone more than twice that, but they are very particular about how they use their veggie oil. Remember we’re talking about my average experience over a good 200+ rebuilds over the years.

So in conclusion, if you have proper filtration, don’t have water going through the system, don’t run biodiesel or grease, and run a properly lubricated pump then your pump should last indefinitely. I have customers with over 500,000 miles on the original pump. I’ve heard of a couple older A3/B4 pumps that lasted over 700,000 miles. However, in my experience most A3/B4 pumps last about 200,000-250,000 miles before needing a rebuild. Most A4 ALH pumps last about 175,000-200,000 miles before needing a rebuild. Watch for the symptoms of a bad pump, and then take care of it soon to avoid a good core from being turned into a junk core. If you’re close to a timing belt change you might as well do that at the same time too.

 

[rshunter]

If he does this, he can kiss his warranty goodbye. Volkswagen WILL NOT condone this sort of thing. They have a very specific policy regarding the use of non-petroleum diesel fuel. Anything greater than a B5 blend, anything from other than a certified commercial provider, or not meeting the very latest industry specifications is strictly verboten. If there is any issue potentially relating to fuel use, they have made it clear that they may request proof of the fuel source. My advice is to tell him to forget the whole idea before he screws himself three ways from Sunday.

 

[briancpearce]

As the previous owner of a VW Golft TDI, I told him as much with the warranty. I had contacted VW and asked about it at the time (2004) and they said while they heartily supported bio diesel in Europe, US bio diesel was made from different stock and incompatible with the fuel lines. That seemed easy enough to solve as there were aftermarket places to buy upgraded fuel lines. I never made the switch as I sold the car a few years ago, much to my regret. That car didn't have a DPF and some of the other emmissions equipment that I'm sure the 2010 TDI does.