DMCJordaan

Is this actually a possibility?? I was just reading an article about how someone was just curious about it so he bought unsued corn oil from wal-mart and used a temporary tank made out of a bottle and put it in his 300d and drove it around, it turned out nothing bad happened and it worked just fine! Can I do this with my 240D for shiz and giggles? I really want to! Thoughts? Here is the original article:

http://dieselgiant.com/runningcornoill.htm

240D 3.0T

No, running on oil like that will damage the engine and injection system. Just because it runs for short time does not mean it will work for a long time.

Anyone that says you can pour it into the tank, mix it with solvents/diesel or use a single tank "conversion" does not know what they are talking about and should not be working on cars.

If you want to use waste oil or straight oil you must use a proper two-tank conversion that heats the oil to 160*f before it reaches the injection system.

In any case, using vegetable oil other than BioDiesel is illegal in the USA.

baco99

as said above, diesel cars can run on almost anything for a short time: vegetable oil, kitchen grease, motor oil, transmission fluid, etc.. But the SVO/WVO system needs to be set up properly for the mixture to work for the long term.

A dual-tank conversion offers the best solution because the car starts and stops with diesel. Once the engine, fuel lines, pumps, etc. are up to temp, the veg can start to flow. Before the car is stopped, if should be "flushed" with diesel again for 10-15 mins to make sure temp changes do not cause the veg to coagulate.

Greasecar.com has the most widely used kit available for all types of diesel cars, especially the W123 model.

In a pinch, if diesel weren't available and you HAD TO get from one place to another, veg oil alone will get you moving, but it's not recommended.

I wish they made a car that could run on beer, which is now cheaper by the gallon than any commonly used fuel.

DMCJordaan

Alright, well nevermind then, don't want to do any long term damage. Just good to know the option is there in case of an emergency.. like I run out of Diesel or something.. I was reading more about Diesel eingines today, they're so pimp! also with my 240D It needs new glow plugs, now is this as easy as changing spark plugs? or are we talking a whole different setup? Thanks again guys!

DMCJordaan

Wouldn't that be something if it ran off of beer! You never know, aye?

ohlord

was diesel giant that did the test and he knows what he is doing and has been working on diesels far longer than the above member who states they should not be working on cars.It used a purge tank and was meant to run out and thus be switched back to diesel before shut down.
Even in a two tank system at 8 bucks a gallon for corn oil it would not be easy on the wallet even in an emergency

240D 3.0T

Simply because of sheer age.

baco99

But WVO is free. $0/gal > $4.50/gal

DMCJordaan

Sooooooo nothing about changing the glow plugs? lol

baco99

you will need a few screwdrivers, ratchet set with extensions, new glow plugs, and the Mercedes chamber reamer to clean the chamber of carbon deposits. you may need a new valve cover gasket as well unless you can VERY careful pull off the old one. But they are cheap enough.

ohlord

because of pure experience.
http://www.dieselgiant.com/glowplugrepair.htm

DMCJordaan

Awesome, thanks guys! Yeah the mechanic we took her to said she needed new glow plugs and my glow plug light isn't working on the dash, he checked the relay and said it was fine so I just need new ones in. It took a few tries to start her this morning on a cold start, so i'm going to try and get them done asap. I'm surpised you have to take the valve cover off, I though you could just unscrew them and pop em out, oh well.... Thanks again!

ohlord

a 616 glow plug diy on www.mercedesshop.com diy section or the technical section.
ohlord

eolon

At the moment, I am running pure rapeseed oil in my '83 300TD. At Sam's Club it sells for about $27 for 35 pounds, called "Frying Oil" or "Canola Oil". That works out to $4.17 / gallon, considerably less than Diesel at $4.75.

The engine runs great and is quieter. The exhaust smells good.

My engine has 245,000 miles and it doesn't seem to mind at all.

At least for the summer, I am running Vegetable oil. There will always be those who are resistant to change, which is fine. Let them pay $5.00 for fuel.

Incidentally, rapeseed oil Btu content is higher than Diesel, and its lubricating properties are similar.

Best Regards,

e

.::.

240D 3.0T

Not resistant to change, resistant to those breaking the law. While people like me and most everyone here PAY OUR TAXES to keep the roads maintained, people like you wear the roads for free.

You have no right whatsoever to use the public roads while illegally burning vegetable oil.

ohlord

if I'm wrong but a gallon of canola oil weighs 7.6 pounds divided into 35 lbs is 4.60 gallons at 27 bucks at sams club that comes out to $5.86 per gallon.
diesel weighs 7.1 lbs per gallon and has 19,500 BTU's of heat energy per lb.
Canola oil has 17,000 BTU's per lb.of heat energy or about 13% less heat energy per lb..
So lb.for lb. the heat energy of canola v.s.diesel makes the comparable cost of your canola oil purchased from sams club equate to a gallon cost $6.58 per gallon v.s. the cost of diesel at $4.75 .
I could be off a few cents just doing the math in my head,but I am not that far off and I am sure your figures need to be recalculated.
canola oil $.77 per lb @7.6 lb/gal.=$5.86gallon
diesel fuel $.67 per lb@7.1 lb/gal=$4.75 gallon
add in the 2400 btu of heat energy fewer per lb. in canola oil
and all you are enjoying is the smell of canola oil and about an additional $1.80
equivalent thermal energy leaving your wallet to travel the same distance.
When you can get your canola oil for about $21 for the 35 lb bucket or about $.60 per lb. then therm for therm you would just be breaking even.

Canola 37 25 37 17,072 (Btu per pound) 7.6(pounds per gallon)
#2 Diesel 3 5 47 19,494 (Btu per pound) 7.1(pounds per gallon)
figures sited for calculations from industry sources and the University of Missouri
ohlord
let him break the law,his wallet will be empty sooner than they catch him,and if you note the first number before the BTU values the viscosity of diesel is 3
the viscosity of canola oil is 37 sooner or later the car with no modifications will not be on the road anyway

baco99

buying canola oil and pouring it straight in certainly doesn't seem like a money-saving proposition to me. i plan to run the 200D from veg oil, but waste veg oil, not fresh off the shelf. better in my tank than in a land fill.

and for the gentleman against non-petroleum fueling options, i pay plenty in taxes, thank you.

240D 3.0T

Faulty logic at best. Waste oil does NOT go to the land fill. Almost all of it is recycled for animal feed, cosmetics, government vehicles, conversion into Biodiesel, power generation and many other uses.

There is no such thing as "plenty" of taxes, only ALL the due taxes! Not paying your due taxes, whether you think you think you should or not, is fraud. I hope everyone running VO and not paying their road taxes is caught and fined the largest amount possible.

baco99

sorry mate, but your logic is just as flawed. not all waste oil goes to those uses, ask a restaurant owner.

and in a dual-tank system, you still have to use diesel, jut not as much. and with probably the highest tax rate in the world if you include income tax, payroll tax, sales tax, excise tax, etc...it's more than 50% of an average household's "reported" income. i do my service, thank you very much.

i assume you also think that people who use solar panels on their homes or who convert their oil burning furnaces to WVO are also fraudulent?

240D 3.0T

Restaurant owners are only the source, they have little control, or knowledge, of what happens to their oil once it is no longer in the fryer.

It doesn't matter what % of your income, even if it is 100% of your income there is no excuse to evade taxes. If you don't like how you are being taxed, fight to get the tax laws changed or repealed.

What "service" would that be? Increasing the burden law abiding citizens have to carry to make up for illegals?

No. Solar panels are bought, nobody has the resources to make their own. Buying them results in sales tax, manufacturer's supplies being taxed, transportation, installation ,etc. If they elect to do so they can even contribute to the power grid by feeding excess unused energy back to be consumed by others. WVO users are selfish, they help nobody but themselves and hurt everyone else.


Furnaces have absolutely nothing at all to do with road taxes or taxes at all. What distorted point of view are you trying to push with that?

eolon

I buy it on sale at Sam's club. Last time it worked out to $4.17/gal.

As for taxes, I use road fuel in my boat, so we're even.

WVO is a real possibility for me, but the initial investment and processing costs and space requirements and mess are not appealing.

Oh, and by the way, is it just me, or is a bit odd for the Government to complain about Windfall Profits of BIG OIL, when their profit is about 19 cents/gal, but the Government taxes the same fuel at over 50 cents / gal? ...and the Government didn't make anything, or otherwise contribute in any way towards the production of the fuel?

Yeah, I love paying taxes so our politicians can have solid gold statues made of themselves.

Best Regards,


e

.::.

240D 3.0T

Not even close. Using the wrong fuel in the wrong application does not offset what needs to be done.

Next attempt at rationalizing poor judgment?

eolon

Sorry partner, you get up on the wrong side of the bed today? Or are you the official socialist for this site?

In the meantime, When I build my wind-powered car, are you going to tax the air? just wondering...


Best Regards,


e

.::.

240D 3.0T

No such thing is possible so there is no need to worry about that.

ohlord

on your side about the oil issue.
The air powered cars are on the way next year .From France and Italy.
$2.00 of compressed air will give a range of about 200 miles.
So you can bet that taxing the air is on the way
ohlord
http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...s/4217016.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-A3XHFT5qc
just a few examples