thinning WMO with E85?

[hedgehog69]

I have been homebrewing biodiesel for 5+ years now. Just beginning to get a filtering system set up for WMO. I am wondering about using E85 as a thinnner? I see that some use gasoline..others use kerosene.
Would 10% E85 be enough in the summer? My plan is to add 5-10 gal of the WMO blend to app. 30-35 gal B100.

I will be using this in a '99' Powerstroke and an '86' Mercedes 300SDL

 

[pmramsey]

As I recall, the Mercedes manual allows some gasoline mix for winter operations.

 

[flyxpl]

it would all come down to if any gaskets or o rings would be effected by the methanol . I would not do it .

 

[wreckerman893]

it would all come down to if any gaskets or o rings would be effected by the methanol . I would not do it .

Ditto.

 

[rchalmers3]

Why not use a little B100 for dilution thinning?

Rick

 

[hedgehog69]

it would all come down to if any gaskets or o rings would be effected by the methanol . I would not do it .

E85...and E10...uses ethanol...and we having been burning that for years in gasoline engines,,,,autos and trucks anyway. Not supposed to use it in small gas engines and 2 cycle engines due to the rubber issues.

Around 1996, diesel engine manufacturer's went to Viton rubber. Biodiesel doesn't eat away at Viton

 

[hedgehog69]

Why not use a little B100 for dilution thinning?

Rick

I was concerned that blending WMO into B100 would not make it thin enough. I have no way to measure viscosity other than eyesight.

If I do it as I plan to...right now, anyway,...I would have a blend of app. 20% WMO and 80% B100.

 

[rchalmers3]

If the objective is to get the WMO thinned for filtering, you also have the option of heating the oil before hand.

As for using your eyesight to guess the thinning, you can also install pressure gauges on your filter system to observe the operation pressure and monitor for plugged filters.

Rick

 

[Jimma]

If you slightly heat the oil before filtering it, you will find that it will fly through a filter. I am not running bio diesel but a blend of WMO and WVO and use either gasoline or diesel to thin it. I have tried to stay away from the E85 because of possible side effects. Regular gas with a 10% blend is bad enough.