Cold weather and diesels

[W210 Fan]

more info on winterisation...

http://www.webasto.co.uk/general/en/3274_3277.html

 

[SilverSaloon]

why bother with parrifin? just wack some veg oil in there with a mix of petrol if you cant get diesel.....

I run my E300D on veg oil as many here know. Still near 100% veg even in these colder conditions. I put about 7 litres of unleaded in with it to thin it out and aid cold starting to every full tank full. It probably has about 10 litres of diesel in aswell as i do occasionally top up if its convient as the price difference isnt huge. I'm also experimenting with an additive called veggiboost that can be added aswell. Good reports on it.

I reckon this would be fine up to -5 or so. lower than that i would put more diesel in just to cover that quick cold spell.

almost 20,000 miles on and i'm still running strong

also i believe running parrifin or kerosene would be ILLEGAL in the UK! It also doesnt offer much lubrication.

I dont know about newer CDI engines, but if you check your older diesel handbook it will state in severe cold spells up to a 30% mix of unleaded is fine if winterized diesel cannot be sourced.

In extreme cold freezing temps you cant expect a diesel to be the same as it would be at 20 deg. Once it gets to normal operating temp it should be fine. I cant see any diesel freezing at the temps we get in the UK normally though.

 

[AANDYY]

How do you find the Vegi-boost?
I've just started on my 1st can but can't really notice a difference, adding 0.3%, will try 0.5%.

 

[SilverSaloon]

How do you find the Vegi-boost?
I've just started on my 1st can but can't really notice a difference, adding 0.3%, will try 0.5%.

funny you should say that as i'm also on my 1st can thismorning, so dont have any reports as yet.

apparently it gives the power back you loose when you add petrol to thin the oil.

i have never needed it really but it seems to be getting colder so i thought i'd try it out - apparently 1 litre bottle of it does 2000 litres or something

 

[AANDYY]

With reference to the cold, I only bought it for the cold starting issues, nothing serious on mine but have noticed in pump diesel car starts on the button even at 0c ish but on the veg. 2-3 seconds turn over, so thought the vegi-boost should help but as yet with little experimentation I can't really notice any improvement, maybe 2-3 seconds turnover on veg. at 0c is OK? It's my 1st MB and 1st car on veg. atomization plus thicker oil!
There answered it my self

 

[SilverSaloon]

With reference to the cold, I only bought it for the cold starting issues, nothing serious on mine but have noticed in pump diesel car starts on the button even at 0c ish but on the veg. 2-3 seconds turn over, so thought the vegi-boost should help but as yet with little experimentation I can't really notice any improvement, maybe 2-3 seconds turnover on veg. at 0c is OK? It's my 1st MB and 1st car on veg. atomization plus thicker oil!
There answered it my self

same reasons for me trying it then.

a lot of it also comes down to the quality and strength of the glow plugs, and how long they are pre-heated for before you start to crank and i guess battery and starter quality. also ensure there are no air leaks into the system.

my other E300D starts 1st turn of the key aswell - probably better than my estate actually and thats with one glow plug out.

 

[AANDYY]

On your car/cars running on a high % of veg. how many seconds of cranking start does it take to fire up on very cold starts?
Mines about 2-3 seconds 90% veg. 10% rug.

No silly comments on carpets from other people please

I'm pretty sure my plugs and pump are good.

 

[219]

My dad was a haulage contractor back in the 50s , 60s and 70's , running a fleet of mainly Bedford TKs latterly .

The diesel may have been different back then , but it was normal to add petrol in cold weather .

 

[SilverSaloon]

On your car/cars running on a high % of veg. how many seconds of cranking start does it take to fire up on very cold starts?
Mines about 2-3 seconds 90% veg. 10% rug.

No silly comments on carpets from other people please

I'm pretty sure my plugs and pump are good.

I keep the car garaged over night so its not covered in ice etc but its still cold inside the garage. It takes maybe 2 seconds. With a little bit of petrol in the mix i dont notice much difference between starting on 100% diesel or with the veg mix. On the other hand, i did leave the car outside a few days ago and it was on 100% veg and the horrible thick KTC stuff aswell. It took ages to get started and then ran really badly until the car started to warm up. I wont be doing that anytime soon again It was 100% veg though and the KTC stuff is soya based so is a lot thicker at even minor cold temps. Try and stick to pure rapeseed if you can.

If you are running waste oil (WVO) then it will be thicker than my SVO.

2 to 3 seconds is fine IMO for WVO.

It also hunts for about half a min before it idles smoothly. I try to start driving the car as soon as i can after starting (a) to warm it up quicker and (b) not to piss off the neighbours with cold veg/cloud smell!

Good thead on this here:

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?tid=9451&page=1#pid96260

and BMW manual for 1980's diesel engine (merc is similar)

 

[kusanku]

My first car was an old London taxi, with a 2.2l diesel. I later found out that this model was considered to be the low point in the entire history of London taxi cabs. Apart from being slow beyond belief, the diesel was always freezing. In those days, we had to buy a winter additive, but it still froze even with that, and often broke down because the diesel would freeze in the fuel pipes under the car whilst driving. Each freeze usually meant replacing the fuel filter and bleeding the engine to get it going. I finally got rid of it as a result of this, and vowed never to have a diesel again.

It took me twenty years to change my mind on this: things are very different now. Diesel now has additives in it, so it should not freeze. Apart from a difference in fuel consumption, my recent deisels have all run fine in the cold weather in this country.

 

[SilverSaloon]

ok have a bit of an update regarding the veggiboost - i think it definatly helps cold starting. After enjoying my R107 for a few days the W124 filled with 90% veg, 10% petrol and 3 capfulls of veggiboost, started 1st turn of the key effortlessly with freezing frost all over the car thismorning. a big difference. recommended.

 

[scumbag]

deisels will run happily all day on kerosene. But if you want to drive on the roads you would need to pay some tax for it. Deisel aircraft have to use Kerosene when the availablity of diesel is poor. Such as where some people work like.

here is some rubbish I found.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question105.htm

 

[nickcc101]

Oil companys change over to winter grade Diesel around October. This alters the cold plugging point (waxing) and you should not experience problems. The only undyed kerosene is either Jet A1 or Avtur (Shell Esso) which can not be obtained unless for aviation use . The problems with using dyed Kero is that even if you remove the dye other markers are still present. Vat and duty is considerably lower on Kero than Diesel and you will be prosecuted if found to be using Kero. Kero is also less of a lubricant than diesel and damage to your fuel system may occur fairly quickly. If you do experience waxing try bypassing the fuel filter as this will be the point that waxing occurs.