In the last issue of Volkswagen’s DasAuto Magazine, the “Ask Volkswagen” segment answered one of the most common questions I hear Volkswagen TDI owners ask. This as to do with how their TDI diesel vehicles run alternatives to petroleum, be it be SVO, WVO (Straight or Waste Vegetable Oil) or biodiesel. The “Can I use biodiesel in my Volkswagen vehicle?” is a popular question. The answer has always been ‘yes’ with a but …
VW says they only recommend a 5% blend of biodiesel to petroleum diesel fuel.
Of course this is the official “company who has to stand behind the warranty” answer. A more appropriate answer has to do with just how well VW TDI engine tolerate biodiesel long term and what potential risks can be minimized. For example, there are many example of older Volkswagen TDI have used high percentage “quality” biodiesel for thousands and thousands of miles. The key word is “quality.” Biodiesel that is properly manufactured, washed and filtered has little ill effect even in higher percentage blends in all but the Pumpe Duse TDIs. (mid-2005 and newer TDIs had higher pressure PD injection systems that “could” see problems with high percentage biodiesel — this is speculative opinion) Also the new ‘clean diesel’ 2009 and newer TDIs might also have emission control issues with higher percentage biodiesel … their particulate filter exhaust system might not be able to handle biodiesel exhaust?
That said, biodiesel is still being successfully used in many VW TDIs. Here’s a list of a few items to consider as you increase your percentage blends — but for the record, Arthur Daniels Midland and VWoA is said to be testing B20 (20% Biodiesel).
Unblended and untreated biodiesel begins to gell near freezing. Thickened fuel can starve the fuel injection pump, clog the fuel filter and atomize poorly when forced through fuel injectors.
Poorly washed fuel can contain contaminates including corrosive methanol, water and glycerin. Not only can this damage the injection system, but can prematurely damage fuel lines and gaskets.
Long term storage of biodiesel attracts water, so even a top quality BQ9000 fuel that is poorly handled and stored can end up with contaminates in the fuel.
And finally, Volkswagen determines your warranty coverage — if you use high percentage blends of biodiesel and have a fuel related problem, realized that they may be resistant to offer warranty coverage. (they’ll probably point to the above statement of “B5.”)
Times are changing though and I suspect that it won’t be long before most manufacturers approve of a B10 or B20 fuel.
Once again my Treo smart phone ’email to blog’ didn’t post correctly while visiting family in New York state. A couple posts were missed, but I’ll quickly upload at least this one family photo for posterity sake. It is from the Howard Bowl 2008 and shows the well trampled field (my father-in-laws lawn) after our family’s gridiron battle. Thankfully we only had one injury: my nephew Aaron‘s broken nose. I’ll have to check with others for the photo, but all I can say is that “I’m sorry … but it wasn’t my fault.” (my hefty 25 year old nephew was the one landing on top of me while blitzing!)
Although I really haven’t watched much television (besides some news and sports) for years, I’m now hooked on a couple DVD television series sets. A couple of months ago, instead of watching a movie on a Friday or Saturday night, my wife and I started the series 24. We were quickly hooked by Jack Bauer and his CTU team and it became an addiction. My daughter figure this out and “foolishly” gave me another series as a Christmas gift called NCIS. Prepare for some more wasted time!
😯
Often times those who are ‘somewhat’ computer literate dread the holidays with family for reason other than “they are family.” How many receive the annual (or semi-annual) questions a post over at Lifehacker offers assistance about?
“It takes forever to start up.”
“I keep getting a pop-up saying I need to pay for my antivirus software.”
“When I get on the Internet things look weird” or “I keep getting these annoying popup ads.”
“I can’t find the digital photos I downloaded last month.”
“The Internet stopped working.”
TechRadar compiles a list of fix-it tools you can take with you to the family holiday that you can install on a USB flashdrive, just in case your relative has slow Internet service.
Merry Christmas all. We had a nice day relaxing at home and enjoying presents, cookies and each other’s company. Unfortunately I notice a “diesel fuel smell” in the garage when my daughter parked her 2001 VW Jetta TDI in the other night … so I took part of the afternoon to investigate: a leaking fuel injector pump.
Hmm … $$$ … but on the other hand its well over 100K and has been pretty solid for 7 years.
Although I’m pretty fond of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI clean-diesel when it comes to highly efficient, yet enjoyable to drive, transportation, Ford might have a winner if they can build and price the new Ford Fusion Hybrid attractively. Their new 2010 mid-sized vehicle is going to be the most fuel efficient mid-sized car sold in the U.S. receiving a 41 city, 36 highway EPA rating, although an LA Times reporter was getting 52 mpg during the auto show. It would be great to see an American company produce attractive and efficient cars … how about a clean-diesel hybrid next?
Kicking Tires blog: “Ford has introduced a slew of new technology that allows the Fusion Hybrid to achieve those numbers, including a nickel-hydride battery that is smaller, lighter and produces 20% more energy. Improved regenerative braking technology manages 94% energy recovery as well.
Test drivers have reported different mileage numbers for the Fusion Hybrid, ranging from low 30s to low 50s. Largely, this fluctuation depends on the driving habits of whoever sits behind the wheel.”
My daughter’s good friend Nora headed home for Christmas in Seattle about the time heavy snow socked in all, but the most capable of winter vehicles … you know … snowmobiles, large 4×4 trucks, Jeeps and Smartcars! (thanks Nora for the great iPhone photos of your dad’s car that I’ll post below)
The drugstore sector stumbles at the market open on Monday after Walgreen’s (WAG) announced that their profit fell 10 percent in its fiscal first quarter. Traders responded with selling shares even after acknowledging the shortfall was due to “the costs opening more than 200 new store.” The company answered the loss with a plan to slow the opening of new stores in order to save $500 million during the recession.
Walgreen, Rite Aid and CVS after Monday’s Market Open
CNBC hosts talked JPMorgan healthcare analyst Lisa Gill Monday as the market opened and she offered opinion on drugstore and associated pharmacy sector.
Cost saving in this sector favors manage care companies like pharmacy benefit manager Medco, Express Scripts and CVS, which control most of the mail order pharmacy business in the U.S. The 90-day mail prescription rather than 30-day drugstore prescriptions along with automation continues to be the most efficient way to cut cost for customers and their healthcare insurance companies.
I was updating a small video project this weekend and have been struggling with a way to boost the gain on a USB Snowball microphone used for voice overs. Thankfully there are a couple links for the updates that at least give it boost on the Mac and Windows computers — unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a gain for Linux (right click/save as for zip files using the links below).
In the last issue of Volkswagen’s DasAuto Magazine, the “Ask Volkswagen” segment answered one of the most common questions I hear Volkswagen TDI owners ask. This as to do with how their TDI diesel vehicles run alternatives to petroleum, be it be SVO, WVO (Straight or Waste Vegetable Oil) or biodiesel. The “Can I use biodiesel in my Volkswagen vehicle?” is a popular question. The answer has always been ‘yes’ with a but …
I should probably wait until I get a chance to read 
Often times those who are ‘somewhat’ computer literate dread the holidays with 
I was updating a small video project this weekend and have been struggling with a way to boost the gain on a