Author Topic: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather  (Read 1780 times)

Offline PD1

  • Oil stirrer
  • **
  • Posts: 63
  • Location: Buckinghamshire
Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« on: December 03, 2020, 10:30:01 AM »
Hi All , I hope you are all keeping well , as above My Bongo is struggling on  my bio diesel  , it runs but is down on power , It seems to coincide with the colder weather, and I’ve been told by you guys that Bio has a point at which it starts to gel? Any way what are my options 1 Mix it with diesel, 2 Mix in some petrol , 3 Fit a FPHE or I’ve even considered running the fuel line alongside one of the coolant pipes and wrapping it in insulation.
What do you guys do in this cold weather , many thanks as always
Paul

Offline Tony

  • Administrator
  • Oil baron
  • *******
  • Posts: 5104
  • Fo' shizzle, biodizzle
    • Southampton Waste Oil Collection
  • Location: Southampton
Re: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2020, 11:13:14 AM »
I don't generally don't have an issue with power loss in winter, but then it's mild down here and my feedstock remains mostly liquid.

What injection system does the Bongo have, is it Bosch VE / VP37?  It could be whatever is used for cold-start advance.
What is the condition of the glow plugs?
Fuel filter could be blocking?

Could try a splash of petrol in with the bio to see if making it thinner helps?

Offline PD1

  • Oil stirrer
  • **
  • Posts: 63
  • Location: Buckinghamshire
Re: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2020, 11:50:16 AM »
Hi Tony thanks for the reply, the IP is a Zexel pump which I believe is a Bosch VE copy, it’s direct injection, not sure on the glow plugs it always fires up straight away though , Fuel filter is quite new but I guess it could be waxed up ? what amount of petrol would you recommend, probably got about 40 litres of bio in the tank
Paul

Offline Vijay

  • Impeller jammer
  • ***
  • Posts: 119
  • Location: London
Re: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2020, 11:54:20 AM »
I learnt the hard way many a time to treat the fuel for winter, so from start up it is ready to go. For years I've done 5% petrol in cold weather but up to 10% when the temps really drop.

Offline knighty

  • Wiki Editor
  • Oil obsessive
  • *****
  • Posts: 531
  • Location: Sunderland, UK
Re: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2020, 01:20:12 PM »
I'd change the filter - why not, might as well, it;s cheap enough and easy enough to do

see what it's like, so you know if that was the problem


then even if that fixes it... stick a tenners worth of diesel in... and if you can be bothered a couple of quids worth of petrol


filter+diesel+petrol will cost what... £15 ?   well worth it to keep you running problem free :-)


if that doesen't fix it then it's time to look for other problems, blockages, air leaks etc.

Offline PD1

  • Oil stirrer
  • **
  • Posts: 63
  • Location: Buckinghamshire
Re: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2020, 02:23:05 PM »
Thanks for the replies , fair point about fuel filter and a bit of diesel / petrol

Offline dgs

  • Wiki Editor
  • Grand Gunge Master
  • ******
  • Posts: 1304
  • Location: york
Re: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2020, 10:18:35 PM »
Keep a 'doorstep' sample in a jam jar in a place where you can see it when you go out of the house. It will give you an indication of cloud/gel temps in the winter. If your bio is fully converted and made mostly from rapeseed oil you shouldn't notice misting until at least -6 degs as long as no palm oil or animal fat contamination in your feedstock.
FOC water tests by Sandy brae or Karl Fischer for forum members.

Offline PD1

  • Oil stirrer
  • **
  • Posts: 63
  • Location: Buckinghamshire
Re: Engine struggling on Bio in this cold weather
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2020, 07:55:39 PM »
Thanks for all the replies , a new filter , splash of petrol, and a few quid of diesel has made it a lot better , I’m not to sure on the origin of my feedstock , which doesn’t help , think I might just add some petrol for these cold months and try the jam jar outside , thanks again
Paul