running issues with new batch

[alexanderfoti]

First off, apologies for those who view both forums, thought I would post it up here for a different set of eyes.

I am having running issues with the new batch of WVO on the Kubota diesel.

I have followed my normal process (5% petrol, settle 2 days, pour through 50/25/10 micron socks, leave to settle in tank, drain off bottom 2 L from storage container, use the rest).

This has been working well. Still working well in my E300 Turbo diesel.

Filled up the bike today, started ok, about 10 minutes into the journey It was having trouble idling. Turned around and drained the tank, though it might be the 2ehn (1.5:1), filled it up with a fresh batch with no cetane booster.

Got it home and had a play. Its very hard to start and puffs out black smoke whilst attempting to. Keeping the revs up keeps it running but then its unhappy at idle. It runs very much like it did before I advanced the timing.

Not sure what is going on here...

This is what the filtered oil looks like:

[Chug]

If its running ok in the E300, then I would say the fuel is probably ok and something has gone wrong with the kubota, I don't know how the timing is adjusted on those but is it possible it could have moved or slipped? Was everything tightened properly after resetting last time?

[alexanderfoti]

My thoughts as well.

I am wondering whether the merc engine is just more tolerant, but as you can see from the picture, it looks pretty good,  doesnt smell etc.

The timing is set usign shims so it cant have moved. I Swapped a spare set of injectors into it today and it behaves in the same way,  just bounces along on the starter.

Will send the other injectors off to be rebuilt at the same time but not sure that will be the cause either.

Just a bit odd.

[GedsJeep]

my 10 micron oil was like glue in the cold snap last week.

5 micron gloopy

1 micron was fine.

do you have a doorstep sample?

where do you filter?

where is the bike kept?

[alexanderfoti]

That's interesting. Maybe I need to filter further.

Yes I do, it's slightly cloudy at 5 degrees c, but as it's OK in the car I figured it was OK. As it has such a small tank (14l) and it sits above the engine, it gets warmed up pretty quickly.

[GedsJeep]

and the wind chill of moving forward cools it in the lines.

the merc engines are famed for running on just about anything liquid ish. the kubota probably hasnt got the same tolerance to cold veg.

where do you filter?

[alexanderfoti]

All the lines are stuck behind the engine, including the filter, in the small section behind the engine (as its sideways in the frame).

All filtering is done outside.

In addition, it was 10 degrees C yesterday when I ventured out so would be surprised if it was temp related. . Not trying to be argumentative just covering all bases.

Also just realised I am responding to you on both forums

[GedsJeep]

it may well have been 10 deg yesterday.

but what temp was the oil filtered at?

what was the overnight temp?

do you know about oil holding onto its temp longer due to its viscosity?

ie, middle of a warm day, it will only just be above night temps?

i run a merc engine, and im off out to do a bit of filtering.

will let you know in an hour.

[alexanderfoti]

it may well have been 10 deg yesterday.

but what temp was the oil filtered at?

what was the overnight temp?

do you know about oil holding onto its temp longer due to its viscosity?

ie, middle of a warm day, it will only just be above night temps?

i run a merc engine, and im off out to do a bit of filtering.

will let you know in an hour.

Its been floating around 10/11 degrees here for the past week with lows overnight of about 3.

It is possible that the filter is blocked with thickened cold oil.

[GedsJeep]

right, its been 12-14 overnight and around 10-12 for the last few days

my 25 micron was like a thick tin of soup.

the 5 micron was probably just runnable, as long as the weather stayed at these temps.

the 1 micron was clear.

the difference between 5 and 1 micron is negligble.

until the temp drops.

 pull a lump of gunk out of one of your wvo filters and watch it melt in your hand. a few degrees makes a load of difference. if its been 3 over night, dont expect your oil to even hit 10 deg during the day. it will hold onto the cold.

im heading for 170,000 miles on wvo now mate.from march to november im at 5 micron. the other few months its 1 because a sudden frost can play havoc.

[alexanderfoti]

Interesting. I suppose the source oils make a big diff as well. When I used to get Julian's surplus, it would stay clean down to even -1 degrees. I will go down to 1 micron and see what happens.

[alexanderfoti]

OK, have some more news (bad)

Turns out, the previous two fills had this amount of diesel overall in the tank:

The first fillup left 50% diesel 45% veg oil 5% petrol
The second fillup left 30% diesel 65% veg oil 5% petrol.
the last fillup left 10% diesel 85% veg oil 5% petrol.

I have filtered down to 1 micron, made no difference.

I have advanced the pumper further than no shims by actually removing small measured amounts of metal from the bottom of the pump, made no difference. I have some of the diesel knock back but it still runs like crap, hunting, blowing out white smoke etc.

I did the advanced pump timing 3 times before not wanting to remove more metal. According to my calculations, it runs no better on 100% veg oil at 4 degrees more than original timing, 6 degrees, 10 degrees and 16 degrees.

1 set of new injectors also did not change anything for the better

Not sure this engine will ever be happy on veg

(the merc on the other hand is still trundling along happily).

Not sure where to go from here, apart from maybe bio?

[Julian]

You'r welcome to some bio if you want to give it a try.

Just a predictive come preventative note ... KH will most like be along to say my bio is no better than WVO.

[Tony]

It would be interesting to run it on bio.  It burns so much more easily.  You may have to retard it slightly from your veg setting, otherwise it'll really knock on bio.

[alexanderfoti]

I have actually run it on bio previously (20L or so) from a friend that makes it. It ran without issues.

The problem I have is that I have no place to make bio, even on a small scale.

I have read about people successfully running these engines on WVO as well which makes me think that it is definitely possible.