|
FAQ's
Click on a
question to get to the corresponding answer.
Q.
Are the seals in your pumps compatible with 100% Biodiesel (B100)?
What about Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD)?
Q. Will using 100% biodiesel (B100) damage my fuel pump?
Q: I've heard of people burning waste fryer oil or vegetable oil in
their diesel engine. What do you think of that?
Q: I have heard of people blending their own winter diesel by
blending diesel #2 (summer diesel) or Home Heating Oil with kerosene
or gasoline. Is this a good idea?
Q: What is the proper timing for my pump?
Q: Is my Stanadyne Performance
Formula® or Lubricity Formula® ruined if it freezes?
Q: How much power will I have after installing one of your
customized performance pumps?
Q: How much will my mileage increase with a customized performance
pump?
Q: How much will performance modifications for my vehicle cost? Can
you install?
Q: How long does it take you to build a customized performance pump?
What is the warranty?
Q: Can you make me a completely “custom” pump with powder coating,
my name engraved, etc?
Q: Can you do mechanical TDI conversions?
Q: Can you explain exactly what kind of custom machining you do that
other people don't?
Q: Why are your rebuilds so expensive? I know a guy who will rebuild
my pump for X amount of money.
Q.
Are the seals in your pumps compatible with 100% Biodiesel (B100)?
What about Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD)?
A. Yes.
The
longer answer is “Yes and No”. All seals used at Performance Diesel
Injection in pump rebuilds will suffer no ill effects from exposure
to ULSD or biodiesel that conforms to manufacturer-endorsed
specifications. There are presently no specifically
'Biodiesel-compliant' or 'ULSD-compliant' seals available. Such
designations are not strictly necessary, because both of these fuels
will only degrade seals under the very specific circumstances
described below.
There is a great deal of confusion on this issue, because many
people are experiencing new pump leaks in a fuel pump that has run
flawlessly for years. In many cases, this change may have coincided
with a switch to using either biodiesel in high proportions (ie.
Greater than 20% / B20) or the nationwide switch to Ultra Low
Sulphur Diesel, containing less than 15 parts per million of sulphur
compounds. However, neither of these fuels are directly responsible
for the leaks which are occurring – rather, the leaks are the result
of exposure to these fuels AFTER many months or years of operation
on the older diesel fuel standard, Low Sulphur Diesel (500 parts per
million sulphur compounds). The Low Sulphur Diesel contained a
number of aromatic compounds which migrated into the fuel pump seals
and some types of fuel lines, swelling and softening them. The
hydro-treating process used to reduce the fuel's sulphur content had
the unintended effect of stripping out some of these aromatic
compounds, reducing the fuel's energy content slightly, reducing its
lubricity moderately, and providing some mild solvent properties. It
is these solvent properties, combined with the absence of the
aromatic elements, which cause rubber seals, O-rings, and lines to
shrink and/or lose integrity when exposed to Ultra Low Sulphur
Diesel and/or B100 Biodiesel, but only after long exposure to Low
Sulphur Diesel. So going forward, you won't need to worry about the
effects of these fuels on your seals and O-rings – just continue to
use manufacturer-approved, ASTM-standard diesel fuels and you should
not have any problems.
Q. Will using 100% biodiesel (B100) damage my fuel pump?
A. The short answer is no, but we cannot presently support or
recommend it.
Most manufacturers do not warranty against damage caused by fuel
quality problems of any kind, since they cannot monitor the quality
of storage systems in place at fleet fuelling stations or the local
filling station. Thus, it is each operator's responsibility to
ensure that all fuel used in the engine is of high quality, free of
water and contaminants.
Because biodiesel is in effect a plant-based substance, it is prone
to oxidation (in this case, rotting down) in a much shorter time
frame than petroleum diesel. Without stabilization or other storage
precautions, biodiesel can degrade within as little as 2 months.
Generally, a storage interval of 6 months to a year can be
acceptable, but it is recommended not to store quantities of
biodiesel greater than what you will burn in a two-month period, for
purposes of avoiding additional fuel storage and maintenance work.
The
bottom line is that properly made biodiesel which conforms to the
relevant
ASTM spec, should not
harm your fuel pump. Properly made biodiesel which meets these
specifications generally has better lubricity and a higher cetane
index rating than petroleum diesel.
At
the same time, biodiesel made negligently or ignorantly of the
processes involved, will damage your pump in short order, just the
same as bad diesel fuel that doesn't meet the
required spec will damage your
pump and/or engine in very short order.
The
bottom line is that if your pump is still within the manufacturer's
warranty period, it is important that you adhere to their
recommendations, including using no more than their recommended
proportion of biodiesel.
Q: I've heard of people burning waste fryer oil or vegetable oil in
their diesel engine. What do you think of that?
A: If you expect any kind of warranty service or support from
anyone, ever, don't. If you are able and willing to do the majority
of your own work, then under the right circumstances, for the right
people, with the right system it can reasonably be done.
It
is often pointed out that the diesel engine, was originally designed
to run on peanut oil. While this is true, there is a major problem
with this argument. Mainly, it is the fact that since 1913, diesel
engines have been designed to take advantage of specific properties
of modern diesel fuel, such as a specific viscosity level, energy
density, etc. In a straight vegetable oil (SVO) or waste vegetable
oil (WVO) system, the thicker consistency of vegetable oil is
overcome with heating, usually by circulating hot coolant through a
heat exchanger immersed in an auxiliary tank for the oil. By getting
the oil to a minimum temperature of 160F, the vegetable oil's
viscosity approaches that of diesel fuel. Most WVO does have
suspended water in it, which cannot be completely eliminated simply
by boiling, as it is chemically bonded. Without a chemical process
(such as transesterification, to make biodiesel) or the use of a
molecular sieve or other desiccant technology, water will remain,
which can cause problems and accelerate system wear. Different
vegetable oils have different chemical properties, and WVO
introduces the factor of the food which has been cooked in it, often
acidfying the oil.
This FAQ is not a guide to running SVO in your diesel engine, so
we'll stop there. As you can see, there are a lot of new and
different factors introduced by modifying your fuel system to burn
such fuels. While it is an environmentally friendly option, it
promises greatly increased design and maintenance issues, and
requires careful attention to detail in terms of fuel selection and
processing. We have no objection to the use of SVO / WVO, and we
aren't saying “It will destroy your engine.” We are simply saying
that it deviates from the fuel standards the engine was designed to
make use of and presents a number of challenges which the majority
of operators may not be prepared to account for or deal with. Thus,
we do not recommend the use of SVO/WVO conversion systems and cannot
warranty against any damage caused by them.
 Top of page
Q: I have heard of people blending their own winter diesel by
blending diesel #2 (summer diesel) or Home Heating Oil with kerosene
or gasoline. Is this a good idea?
A: No matter how you slice it, mixing gasoline with diesel is a poor
idea.
It
is true that it may not destroy anything immediately, but octane and
cetane work in diametrically opposite ways. So in this case, a fuel
with a relatively high octane index actually lowers the cetane
rating of another fuel when used as an additive. The gasoline may
have sufficient solvent properties to thin the fuel, but in
cold-weather starting scenarios, a higher cetane rating means less
cranking before startup and longer intervals between maintenance or
rebuilds. Thus, mixing in gasoline with summer diesel might be a
cost saver in the short term, but will likely be more expensive in
the long term.
While kerosene is closer in composition to diesel fuel, it has very
poor lubricity and lower energy content. There may be additional
fuel pump wear caused by using a diesel/kerosene blend that has not
been carefully balanced and additized to meet the relevant
functional requirements, and damage that is the direct result of
operator-blended fuel of any kind may not be covered under a
manufacturer's warranty. Even factory-blended winter diesel (Diesel
#1) tends to have reduced lubricity relative to its summer
counterpart, so an additive package is strongly recommended during
the winter months. There are a number of products available,
including Stanadyne Lubricity formula and Stanadyne Performance
Formula for both cetane and lubricity increases. Both are available
here at Performance Diesel Injection.
Q: What is the proper timing for my pump?
A: Between 0.90mm and 0.95mm of lift at Top Dead Centre.
Q: Is my Stanadyne Performance
Formula® or Lubricity Formula® ruined if it freezes?
A: No. It is best not to let it freeze in the first place, but if
your additive does freeze, thaw it completely before adding to any
fuel. Make sure that there are no ice crystals or pockets of cold /
gelled additive before adding to the tank to avoid potential
problems. Freezing does not negatively impact the additive's
lubricity or cetane-enhancing characteristics.
Q: How much power will I have after installing one of your
customized performance pumps?
A: This varies from pump to pump – some have greater capacity for
improvement than others. It is not uncommon to experience a 30 to
40% power increase after installing a Performance Diesel Injection
customized fuel pump.
Q: How much will my mileage increase with a customized performance
pump?
A: That depends on a number of things, including how hard you drive
it.
With a customized performance fuel pump from Performance Diesel
Injection, the engine's fuel efficiency typically increases. How
much depends on other factors such as what you do with your air
intake system and turbocharger (Increase boost? Add an
intercooler?). But as always, your foot will have the greatest
impact. If you drive your car as though it were “stock”, your
mileage may increase by 10-20% or better. If you make full,
continuous use of your newly acquired power, then by definition your
fuel consumption must increase proportionately – which means that
your mileage drops.
Q: How much will performance modifications for my vehicle cost? Can
you install?
A: Performance modifications vary in price depending on the vehicle,
the complexity, and the type of modifications that we are talking
about. A performance rebuild of a VE pump is generally in the range
of $1,000CAD. Yes, we can install.
Top of page
Q: How long does it take you to build a customized performance pump?
What is the warranty?
A: The length of time for a build varies, depending on the
complexity and level of customization involved, as well as how busy
we are in the shop. In most cases, you can expect your pump to spend
around a week in the shop.
Q: Can you make me a completely “custom” pump with powder coating,
my name engraved, etc?
A: We can do basically whatever you want. Powder coating, engraving,
etc. are by no means standard, but no level of customization is out
of the question.
Q: Can you do mechanical TDI conversions?
A: We sure can.
Q: Can you explain exactly what kind of custom machining you do that
other people don't?
A: No. At Performance Diesel Injection, we pride ourselves on
transparency and we do provide a great deal of technical support,
but we cannot provide specifics of exactly what machining we do or
don't do in order to achieve performance improvements that we do.
We
are happy to answer questions, but the simple truth is that many of
the techniques which are used in our pumps were pioneered and tested
by Giles, and they are what are known as trade secrets. We are happy
to help you with general technical questions, but we will not tell
you how to make your own performance pump and we will not give a
detailed breakdown of new custom machining and fabrication involved
in a performance pump. We will however provide detailed,
quantifiable data of performance gains as tested on approved
equipment – but you'll know you're getting what you paid for when
you put the pedal down and try it out for the first time.
Q: Why are your rebuilds so expensive? I know a guy who will rebuild
my pump for X amount of money.
A: At Performance Diesel Injection, we try to keep our prices
competitive. Our prices for standard manufacturer-spec rebuilds are
in line with the going rates for a professional rebuild, tested on
approved equipment. Performance Rebuilds are more expensive because
each one is a custom system, and you are getting significantly more
than a “stock” pump.
If
you know someone who is charging significantly less than the market
rate, it's worth considering what kind of service they are offering
as compared with a professional diesel shop. Do they have approved
test equipment and the knowledge of how to use it? Are they
observing the necessary precautions, maintaining a clean work
environment, and using the correct tools for the job? Consider the
full scope of the service that you are getting, not just the price.
Your injection pump is the heart of your diesel engine, and if it is
done properly it will last a very long time. If done improperly, it
will negatively impact performance, reliability, and longevity.
Top of page |
