Biodiesel and paraffine

[Trygve Lillefosse]

Hi.

I have just tossed out my old wood/paraffine fireplace. It had not
been in use for some years, and was unsure weather it would function
properly. The wood part was realy unefficient, and I will replace it
with a normal wood-oven.

Now I have some paraffine that I do not realy have any use for.

I figure that I could either mix the paraffine into the biodiesel of
my car, both to get rid of it and to get better cold-start properties.
Or I could always get a free standing paraffine oven, but are unsure
if it would soot.

Anyway...

Does anyone know how much paraffine I can add to the biodiesel and
what percentage I need to be able to get the car started at 23F/-5C ?

As the paraffine has been stored for several years, there may be water
in it. Is there any easy way to figure out how mutch water there is in
the paraffine?
How do I remove water from the paraffine?

Is there anything else I should considder when using it in the car,
other than filtering it?

 

[Trygve Lillefosse]

It would help if you would use a name most of us are familiar with. In
the US Parrafin is a hard wax that candles are made of.

Thanks for the tip. Did a litle search beforehand, and it seemed like
paraffine was the correct word.

It's the kind of oil that is frequently used to heat homes - when the
boiler has a wick.

After some re-searching...
Seems like "No. 2 heating oil" might be the correct name.

 

[Trygve Lillefosse]

In England, paraffin refers to what we call kerosene. Kerosene is considerably
thinner than #2 heating oil and the two are not interchangeable. I've tried burning
#2 in a kerosene heater which resulted in a stinking sooty mess.

It is thinner than diesel fuel.

If it smells very similar to diesel then it's probably #2 heating oil. If it smells
like kerosene, well...

When thinking about it, I am quite sure that It's like kerosene.
After looking at a site of an aviation fuel supplier, they list
nafta/kerosene(for turbines), paraffin for jet-engines and high octane
petrol for ICE.

AHA!. Found a paraffine deliverer, and in the fact-sheet it is listed
as also called kerosene.

So from now on, we know that it's kerosene we're talking about.

You can mix a considerable amount of kerosene with diesel for engine use. Over here
it's common practice with truckers if they run into waxing (actual paraffin

I tought that was possible, but wanted a confirmation.
In Norway we talk about paraffine wax, and paraffine oil. The latter
is apparently kerosene.

problems in winter, to mix up to half and half kerosene and diesel. The limit is the
lack of lubricity of kerosene.

Ok. Then I should have no problem, as biodiesel have exelent
lubrication properties.

Re: water. Water won't mix with the kerosene so the major concern is to get the kero

After what I understand, there may be water suspended in the kerosene
without falling out, and that there might be some problem if that
content is to high.

out of the tank without the water. If the tank is a fixed installation with a bottom
drain then there should be a water trap there. The trap has a maximum velocity that
the fuel can flow in order to trap out water so your withdrawal would be slow via
that path. Probably the easiest method is to simply pump the kero out through the
filler opening with the suction hose not near the bottom of the tank. If you pump it
into plastic fuel tanks you can see any water that collects in the bottom.

I Have not thrown away the inside tank. I have only removed most of
the pipe that went to the burner(feeder line). That way i can fill the
inside tank by using a built in pump. I Then open a valve to let
kerosene run trough the remainder of the feeder line and into a
suiting container.

BTW: In the small inside tank(1-2 gal) the kerosene is pumped into a
plate with an 1in edge. I suppose that it's there to trap water and
heavy particles.

If the fuel really is #2 then you have the added concern of algae (slime) that grows
at the water/oil interface. This is normally a black goo that will adhere to a dip
stick thrust into the tank. At the minimum you'd need a diesel algaecide and a
dispersant additive.

Seems like #2 is what we call heating diesel or heavy heating fuel (or
something like that)
With theese you need a burner that has some sort of injection or
damper.

Looks like I'm going to be able to get rid of the kerosene in a nice
way. Guess I can use the inside pump until it runs out or there are
visible water in the kerosene, then I guess it's time to dig up the
tank and dispose of it.

Now I only have to make some sort of a filter, as there are some
particles in the kerosene. Not much, but still..
Will use some Iron pipe, and some coffee filters. Should take away
anything that could be a problem in the fuel-line.

 

[Trygve Lillefosse]

It would help if you would use a name most of us are familiar with. In
the US Parrafin is a hard wax that candles are made of.

After even more research, I have found out that its what you call
kerosene.

 

[Eeyore]

It would help if you would use a name most of us are familiar with. In
the US Parrafin is a hard wax that candles are made of.

In the US you mean parafin wax when using the term. In Europe it means parafin
oil.

Graham

 

[Trygve Lillefosse]

It was a dark and stormy night, and the only thing I could get was
Kerosene which is used in portable heaters in the USA, and I ran my 5.7
liter diesel engine on it til I could get home and get real diesel. Works
like a charm!

5.7 liter engine?
Is that a truck or a realy unefficient car engine?

 

[Trygve Lillefosse]

I suggest that you contact a truck parts supplier about an inline fuel
filter and water separater. Theyare available with replaceable
cartridge filters. For a truck they may be about 12 cm diameter and
about 18 cm tall. These filters a designed to eliminate both very fine
particles AND water. They also have a water drain in the bottom. The
housing may be metal, glass, or plastic. Some filter elements are fuel
type dependent.

I think this would be far less risk to your vehicle than the "coffee
filter" idea.

Thanks for the tip. Have been thinking about how to filter it
properly. I think coffee filters would take away almost all particles,
but the main problem for me is to get to make it properly, so if I can
get a fuel filter for trucks without forking out too much, I will
probarbly go for that Idea.

Now, the only problem is to find a supplier...

Hmm. They should have it at a store aimed at farmers and gardeners.
They sell tractors aswell. They normaly have decent prices, so will
drop by them and check.