Number Crunching

This week saw the end of my tank of B100 Biodiesel.

Throughout the testing my little van has run perfectly happily on B100 and no difference is perceivable. I have crunched the numbers with the aid of an online fuel calculator and can report that in normal conditions (normal for me is running around South London and the surrounding areas, and the occasional motorway trip.) I am getting 49.8 MPG. Not bad when you consider the vehicle I am using is a bog standard 1.9L non-turbo Diesel and has the aerodynamic properties of a small (square) planet.

The downside to this experience has been driving to Manchester. Not because Manchester has caused any offence, but beacuase I was unable to refuel with B100 Biodiesel before my trip. Once in Manchester I was unable to find a supplier who was open either. This lack of availability is the crux of the Recycled Fuel problem. We know vehicles can be run on fuel recycled from waste oils. There is no need to cut down any rainforests or plant GM crops to get this fuel, but with suppliers being small outfits who working the same hours you and I do, we can’t run the fuel we want all the time. Possibly it’s time for a (recycled) B100 pump at your local supermarket? Food for thought.

The upside to this is that I can run the fossil version of diesel and see if the numbers are different.

I will keep you posted on that one.

Road test…

Having driven the 160 mile round trip to Southampton today, I can happily report that the Biodiesel fulled van worked perfectly.

The town of Southampton.

The drive is mostly motorway, with some local roads at each end. As I expected there were no problems.

The van started easily from cold and was very smooth running through the local stop-start weekend traffic. I feel that there is a slight reduction in engine noise and smoother acceleration than using fossil diesel. However, I am aware this is probably a psychological effect of me knowing that Biodiesel is supposed to lubricate the fuel system and engine better than fossil Diesel.

At motorway speeds the van drove like, well a 12 year old van. It pulled strongly and had no problem with in-gear acceleration. So I imagine the performance is on a par with fossil Diesel.

After the journey, my thoughts wandered to fuel economy. Having driven a mix of conditions now, I will take the van over to the Biodiesel filling station and get some meaningful MPG figures when I fill it up. I will also try and source the official figures for it when it was new and see if there is an improvement.

Road test has been Scheduled…

Finally, after all this snow and cold, a chance to go driving with the old recycled veg-oil fuelled beast.

Tomorrow I will be making my way down to sunny Southampton so there should be a road test to post on sunday when I’m back. Fingers crossed!

A cool answer to a cold question…

Having thought I would drive a few miles today and test my new fuel a bit, I was surprised to be confronted with the scene below.

The Scene This Evening

As my drive was to collect my commute scooter from its recent repairer, I concluded that this was not good motorcycling weather. This did give me the chance to try and debunk the “cold starting” myths I have heard about using Biodiesel. These state that the fuel is too viscous to allow the engine to start from cold in low temperatures. This includes supermarket B30 from Morrisons.

My supplier had already told me to add some regular Diesel to the mix for the cold weekend. Although I didn’t listen, fortune would have it that I had a small amount present when I filled up with B100. My calculations show that (based on the vehicle fuel gauge, not scientific measurements) I have a mix that lies somewhere in the B75 – B90 range.

So, I got in and turned the key.. The yellow light went out… and it started first time. There was no need to give myself permanent ice finger by clearing off the snow and going for a drive, as the problems with Biodiesel are only at a cold start and won’t effect a warm/running engine.

As soon as the weather improves (or I get somewhere urgent to go) I will continue this little adventure. Until then, rest assured supermarket Biodiesel fans, your fuel will not freeze into a custard-like, useless gloop. If I can start a 1990′s van on Biodiesel in the snow, you will have no problems.

All the B100 users though, take note. Adding a small ammount of fossil Diesel seems to have helped in my case. Unless your supplier is already selling you “winter grade” B100, add a splash of the fossil stuff if you find your vehicle hard to start in cold conditions.

The first fill

This morning I took my newly acquired “test vehicle” to Uptown Oil, Biodiesel suppliers South London.

Upon arrival I was greeted by a friendly gentleman and directed to pull up next to a fuel pump.  After my timid “will this van blow up at all?” line of questioning, I was relieved to hear that this type of van “loves it” and 25 litres of Biodiesel was added to my tank. The only reason this was not more was because I had to put regular “Dinosaur” or “fossil” Diesel in just to get to the place.

I paid my cash and tentatively turned the key. Glad that there were no immediate explosions, I drove away and headed back home.

To drive the new fuel felt the same if not slightly smoother than “Dino” Diesel, I will keep you updated as I drive and try and get some fuel economy information together after a few trips.

I need a Guinea Pig

This morning I got my new “test vehicle”.

The Renault Extra Biodiesel Test Van

It’s a 1996 Renault Extra, donated to me by the kind folk at Cool-air4u.com Air Conditioning experts, Surrey.