E
EekoGeek
Guest
First post here... so pls excuse any gaffs!
I've been reading back through old posts on the pros and cons of biodiesel and thought I would add my experience so far.
I bought my '98 w210 E300TD estate last September specifically to run it on biodiesel converted from waste cooking oil. Previously I have owned a Prius and an bi-fuel (LPG) Volvo and the Merc is my latest adventure in low carbon (low guilt?) personal mobility - now with extra space and oomph!
I buy my biodiesel from Rye BioFuels in East Sussex http://www.ryebiofuels.co.uk/ who run a 'closed loop' system where they supply local restaurants and chippies with cooking oil and then collect the waste oil and chemically process it to produce biodiesel.
Reputable biodiesel manufacturers claim their products can be used in any diesel engine without problems or the need for modification. However, web experiences vary, as does the quality of biodiesel! The wisdom-of-the-web does suggest that older Merc diesels with indirect injection (pre 1999 and the switch to CDI engines) will run on almost anything. So, I am hoping that by using 'proper' biodiesel (as opposed to SVO or WVO or homemade hooch) on a tolerant engine will be a reliable combination.
Shortly after buying the car I got it serviced at Lookers MB in Pevensey(cheaper than Volvo!... and got a clean bill of health) and then started switching over to using biodiesel by topping up the tank with biodiesel until it was running on pure biodiesel (aka b100). After about 800 miles I got the fuel filters changed - a recommended precaution as biodiesel is a stronger solvent than diesel and so can clean the crud from the fuel lines and potentially block the filter.
5,000 miles on and I have had no problems so far running purely on biodiesel. The engine runs more quietly and smoothly and I have noticed no discernable loss of power. (Some biodiesel enthusiasts claim more power/efficiency.) A quick check on mpg worked out at just over 30 - I'll check this again over a longer period. The book figure for the car when new is 33mpg I believe... so this seems at least as good as I would expect. Starting in the cold (often cited as a biodiesel issue) has been no problem. Hastings managed -6 C a couple of nights ago and the car started no problem. (Rye Biofuels claim they have tested for cold starting down to -12... probably more than adequate for us southern softies)
The pump price is 90p/litre so I am saving about £15 per tank at the moment compared with fossil-diesel.
Best of all in my opinion - and I suspect that a mercedes owners forum isn't natural habitat for eco warriers - I reckon that the big beast is one of the greenest cars on the road: Buying second hand, the carbon footprint of my purchase is tiny compared with a new car (an oft overlooked fact when people change their car for a new 'greener' model). On the road it's running on a waste product derived from rapeseed oil (nb these plants were grown to make cooking oil, not biofuel) and therefore part of the carbon cycle. The 'climate-changing' carbon comes only from making the original cooking oil (agricultural inputs, processing, transport) and then making the biodiesel (processing and transport). These are generally reckoned to give waste biodiesel a carbon footprint 20% the size of fossil diesel.
So, if my 3 litre guzzler is pumping out c. 200gCO2/km but only 20% of this is adding to carbon in the atmosphere then I calculate that it's comparitive emissions are 40gCO2/km ... or about half those of a Prius.
.... or is there something wrong with my maths?!
Anyway, I'm enjoying feeling smug as I 'waft' along on cruise control, ensconced in leather seats, enjoying the growl of the V6 ... and saving the planet!
.....I'll let you know if I break down
Simon
I've been reading back through old posts on the pros and cons of biodiesel and thought I would add my experience so far.
I bought my '98 w210 E300TD estate last September specifically to run it on biodiesel converted from waste cooking oil. Previously I have owned a Prius and an bi-fuel (LPG) Volvo and the Merc is my latest adventure in low carbon (low guilt?) personal mobility - now with extra space and oomph!
I buy my biodiesel from Rye BioFuels in East Sussex http://www.ryebiofuels.co.uk/ who run a 'closed loop' system where they supply local restaurants and chippies with cooking oil and then collect the waste oil and chemically process it to produce biodiesel.
Reputable biodiesel manufacturers claim their products can be used in any diesel engine without problems or the need for modification. However, web experiences vary, as does the quality of biodiesel! The wisdom-of-the-web does suggest that older Merc diesels with indirect injection (pre 1999 and the switch to CDI engines) will run on almost anything. So, I am hoping that by using 'proper' biodiesel (as opposed to SVO or WVO or homemade hooch) on a tolerant engine will be a reliable combination.
Shortly after buying the car I got it serviced at Lookers MB in Pevensey(cheaper than Volvo!... and got a clean bill of health) and then started switching over to using biodiesel by topping up the tank with biodiesel until it was running on pure biodiesel (aka b100). After about 800 miles I got the fuel filters changed - a recommended precaution as biodiesel is a stronger solvent than diesel and so can clean the crud from the fuel lines and potentially block the filter.
5,000 miles on and I have had no problems so far running purely on biodiesel. The engine runs more quietly and smoothly and I have noticed no discernable loss of power. (Some biodiesel enthusiasts claim more power/efficiency.) A quick check on mpg worked out at just over 30 - I'll check this again over a longer period. The book figure for the car when new is 33mpg I believe... so this seems at least as good as I would expect. Starting in the cold (often cited as a biodiesel issue) has been no problem. Hastings managed -6 C a couple of nights ago and the car started no problem. (Rye Biofuels claim they have tested for cold starting down to -12... probably more than adequate for us southern softies)
The pump price is 90p/litre so I am saving about £15 per tank at the moment compared with fossil-diesel.
Best of all in my opinion - and I suspect that a mercedes owners forum isn't natural habitat for eco warriers - I reckon that the big beast is one of the greenest cars on the road: Buying second hand, the carbon footprint of my purchase is tiny compared with a new car (an oft overlooked fact when people change their car for a new 'greener' model). On the road it's running on a waste product derived from rapeseed oil (nb these plants were grown to make cooking oil, not biofuel) and therefore part of the carbon cycle. The 'climate-changing' carbon comes only from making the original cooking oil (agricultural inputs, processing, transport) and then making the biodiesel (processing and transport). These are generally reckoned to give waste biodiesel a carbon footprint 20% the size of fossil diesel.
So, if my 3 litre guzzler is pumping out c. 200gCO2/km but only 20% of this is adding to carbon in the atmosphere then I calculate that it's comparitive emissions are 40gCO2/km ... or about half those of a Prius.
.... or is there something wrong with my maths?!
Anyway, I'm enjoying feeling smug as I 'waft' along on cruise control, ensconced in leather seats, enjoying the growl of the V6 ... and saving the planet!
.....I'll let you know if I break down
Simon