Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Topic Options
#109128 - 10/19/07 11:22 AM Biodiesel questions...
Polak187 Offline
Veteran

Registered: 05/23/02
Posts: 1403
Loc: Brooklyn, New York
Is there anyone who is using biodiesel on regular basis? I'm trying to get my fleet of ambulances convereted to start using the new fuel but I'm hitting all sorts of bumps along the way (storage, potential damage, etc...). All these bumps are being answered by salesguys with typical Brooklyn saying: "don't worry about it" but I can't risk costly repairs and putting ambulances out of service especially with winter comming up. Most people that are using biodiesel here are construction sites but many rules and laws don't apply to them and construction machinery has higher tolerances for fuel quality than typical diesel engine. If anyone here is doing it in the city (not rural) shoot me a PM since I would like to talk to you. Cheers,

Matt
_________________________
Matt
http://brunerdog.tripod.com/survival/index.html

Top
#109134 - 10/19/07 12:24 PM Re: Biodiesel questions... [Re: Polak187]
norad45 Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/01/04
Posts: 1506
PM sent.

Top
#109135 - 10/19/07 12:27 PM Re: Biodiesel questions... [Re: Polak187]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Are you planning on running unmodified vegitable oil or methylated/ethylated oil?

With unmodified oil you need a preheater on the tank to lower the viscosity of the oil to a point where it'll flow through your fuel system. Even then a lot of time you may need a two-tank system where you start on regular deisel then once everything is hot enough you flip over to the veggie oil.

The methylated/ethylated oil, which I believe is what the bulk biodiesel fuel sellers sell, can be run identically to regular diesel. It doesn't need any preheaters or the engine to be warmed up with regular diesel. However, this biodeisel is an INCREDIBLE engine cleaner. It'll loosen up and old deposits throughout your fuel line. Make sure you have a few spare fuel filters on hand.

All things considered, for something as critical as ambulances I'd stick with regular diesel. Biodiesel technology still has bugs that can shut a vehicle down for a few hours while simple repairs are made.

-Blast, who spent a summer helping a neighbor fiddle with biodiesel
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

Top
#109137 - 10/19/07 12:39 PM Re: Biodiesel questions... [Re: Blast]
Polak187 Offline
Veteran

Registered: 05/23/02
Posts: 1403
Loc: Brooklyn, New York
Yeah we were going with *lated mix and what is worrying me are its solvent properties and how some of our trucks are older and contain a lot of rubber parts in the fuel lines. And no matter how hard you try you may not be able to replace them all. Also since there are different ignition points I don't know how this would affect us in the winter.

Also we have a big trouble with storage. I mean it will get expensive but I can deal with one time tank building cost but I can't justify putting ambulances out of service and repairing it.

I mean I want to do somethign for environment but it is a complicated road.
_________________________
Matt
http://brunerdog.tripod.com/survival/index.html

Top
#109138 - 10/19/07 12:40 PM Re: Biodiesel questions... [Re: norad45]
Polak187 Offline
Veteran

Registered: 05/23/02
Posts: 1403
Loc: Brooklyn, New York
Thanks you Sire.
_________________________
Matt
http://brunerdog.tripod.com/survival/index.html

Top



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, chaosmagnet, cliff 
November
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Who's Online
1 registered (Phaedrus), 375 Guests and 26 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Aaron_Guinn, israfaceVity, Explorer9, GallenR, Jeebo
5370 Registered Users
Newest Posts
Satellite texting via iPhone, 911 via Pixel
by Ren
11/05/24 03:30 PM
Emergency Toilets for Obese People
by adam2
11/04/24 06:59 PM
For your Halloween enjoyment
by brandtb
10/31/24 01:29 PM
Chronic Wasting Disease, How are people dealing?
by clearwater
10/30/24 05:41 PM
Things I Have Learned About Generators
by roberttheiii
10/29/24 07:32 PM
Gift ideas for a fire station?
by brandtb
10/27/24 12:35 AM
The price of gold
by dougwalkabout
10/20/24 11:51 PM
Man rescued, floating on cooler
by Ren
10/16/24 02:39 PM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.