Winterising B100

[Billyh Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Billyh]

Now that the nights are getting a bit colder my old Toyota BJ70 is displaying symptoms in the morning in Sydney like those that it did in Oberon on a cold winters morning on B000 , i.e. taking longer to start even after 3 usages of the glow plugs. When its really cold I was starting to worry that it wouldn't start at all but it always did.When it did start it large amounts of blew gray smoke for 15 - 30 seconds.
I was told that I should buy my fuel from Oberon as it was winterized and I wouldn't have this trouble, it so happens that I never did buy my fuel in Oberon.
No one seemed to know what they did to winterize the Diesel so now I'm asking all the brains trusts out there What is the best way to make sure that the old beast will start in Oberon and at home on B100. I would like to stick as close to B100 as possible.
Bear in mind that it was hard to start on B000 when it got really cold. Once its running I can't discern any difference.

[Terry Syd Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Terry Syd]

Re: Winterising B100

Perhaps the Oberon fuel was #1 diesel rather than #2.

Winterising biodiesel is more of an effort to keep it from gelling, rather than promoting easier starting. To keep it as close to B100 you can use the 'percentage test' of setting up a series of jars outside with mixtures ranging from B100, B90, B80,....etc. Being outside and exposed to the weather the jars will react sooner to the change in temperature than the larger mass of a fuel tank, especially if you put the vehicle in a garage at night.

Just monitor the condition of the fuel in the jars in the morning. If B100 is clouding up, then you might want to start using B90. I would error on the side of caution and go to B80.

Having a blocked filter because of solid particulates (cold filter plug point) is a pain, but having gelled lines after a cold-snap can really ruin your day.

I note that the electrical schematic for my Hilux has a section of the wiring diagram that has a fuel filter heater. I might see if I can source the components to add that feature to my vehicle. Others might use a heat tape wrapped around the filter with a switch inside the driver's compartment so they could switch it on and off. I suppose having the fuel warm, if not hot, would also help your cold starting problems.

[Captain Echidna Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captain Echidna]

Re: Winterising B100

I believe the oil you use to make your biodiesel will make a difference. If you have a choice of two oils, the one with a lower melting point will make biodiesel with a lower melting point. May help the injector pump on those cold mornings?

[Terry Syd Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Terry Syd]

Re: Winterising B100

It sure does make a difference. You can blend a low point gelling biodiesel with one that gels at higher tempertures to reduce gel point. Tallow biodiesel will gel by 15C, coconut biodiesel will gel at something like -9C. Blend the two together and you will reduce the gel point of the tallow biodiesel.

If you are getting your feedstock from the same source everytime, then the above mentioned ratio test works well. However, if you get your feedstock from many different sources, the above indicator test can get completely thrown off.

I have one source that uses Canola oil. Except for the grease that ends up in the oil it is a very good source. Another source uses Cottonseed oil and it will make biodiesel with a much higher gel point.

[Gunner Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gunner]

Re: Winterising B100

I've not yet had tinker with a winterised blend of BD, so will discuss petrodiesel. The Oil companies use a variety of mixtures to improve the cold weather starting of diesel, but there's not much mystery to it. They most often use heating oil (up to 25%), but have also made use of Kerosene, Turpentine or even Unleaded Petrol, in differing ratios. If you find yourself stuck overnight in a cold climate, before turning off the engine the night before add about 5% Unleaded to the tank. I have found BD to mix quite well with petrol for use in 2 stroke engines, so I would SUSPECT (haven't tried it yet, so don't know) that this would work with BD in winter. I wouldn't expect the ULP to dissolve the gelled parts of BD, or to otherwise alter the gelpoint specs of the fuel, but it will get the engine started. Once running, the temperatures in the engine bay will rise above the gelpoint and warm the filter to eliminate cold filter clogging.
If the thought of adding ULP to your tank unsettles you (I can understand that), then you could consider carrying a can of Aerostart. This IS suitable for use in Diesel engines, and likewise will get the engine running and warmed up to allow the BD to flow.

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Winterising B100

It is possible to use "fractional solidification" of biodiesel to separate the low melting point(MP) biodiesel from higher MP biodiesel.
Simply allow your biodiesel to cool down (handy if you have a cool room) to the coldest temperatures expected (plus a couple of degrees to give a "margin of safety". The higher MP biodiesel will start to solidify and will slowly drop to the bottom of your containers. Use the liquid biodiesel during winter.

While this does work, it is impractical for most of us to install a cool room for this purpose, so I recommend doing the same thing with your Used Cooking Oil from which you make the biodiesel.
Allow the oil to settle, overnight, and decant off the liquid oils from the solidified oils.
Make your winter biodiesel from this low MP oil.
Test samples from your biodiesel production in the fridge and freezer, to ensure that you know the biodiesel performance at low temperatures.

If your conditions allow, use a blend of moderate MP and low MP oils, to maximise biodiesel production, while maintaining cold temperature performance. A number of "mini-batches" can be used to determine the best blend of oils for your conditions.

Use the higher MP oils for summer biodiesel.

Have fun.

[hdj80 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hdj80]

Re: Winterising B100

It sure does make a difference. You can blend a low point gelling biodiesel with one that gels at higher tempertures to reduce gel point. Tallow biodiesel will gel by 15C, coconut biodiesel will gel at something like -9C. Blend the two together and you will reduce the gel point of the tallow biodiesel.

Terry,
I don't believe this is the case at all as the Tallow in the blend will still gell and potentionally plug the filter. I think that all you will manage to do here is dilute the stearates. Which can't hurt in cooler weather...

I asked a question that is somehow tied to this and here is a quote that I got back on that forum.

"Why haven't you been reading a bit more, they are Stearates or more
correctly biodiesel made from stearates. Stearates come from
saturated fats (tallow) and are sometimes referred to dreaded white
stuff."

Stearates is the cloud you see in you bio as it cools. I managed to filter them out when my Storage tank got cold enough. BTW Stearates are normal and are a part of biodiesel. So I believe.

[liquidgold Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close liquidgold]

Re: Winterising B100

I belive following the step metionioned in uses for glycerine will help alot with winterizing from reading it, can someone post their results using this step, fortunately the temperature here is warm to damm hot all year round so winterization is not needed.

[GUB Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close GUB]

Re: Winterising B100

add a bit of kerosene, better than diesel for winterizing purposes and still good for your engine.

[dillyman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dillyman]

Re: Winterising B100

Hi Terry Syd,

I also noticed on my hi-ace schematic a fuel filter heater connection. Have you found out its intended purpose as yet. I will try to find ou what it relates to and get back if I have any Positive results.

Rgs

Dillyman

[dillyman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dillyman]

Re: Winterising B100

Hi Terry Syd,

I also noticed on my hi-ace schematic a fuel filter heater connection. Have you found out its intended purpose as yet. I will try to find our what it relates to and get back if I have any Positive results.

Rgds

Dillyman

[hdj80 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hdj80]

Re: Winterising B100

Has anyone actually done a test to see how much Kero can be used to drop the gell point of bio yet.
I also heard that the Oil companies use Kero to Winter Diesel. I had been simply adding Dino Diesel to Winterise my bio but I think next winter I'll be using Kero instead.