Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

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smileyt

Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

Post by smileyt »

Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel? Just wondering. I know absolutely nothing about engines, generators or anything that has petrol put in it. But I could learn, if a petrol generator could be converted to a biodiesel one.

Of course, if it's not possible, please tell me kindly, once you have stopped rolling round laughing :lol:
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scoobie
Posts: 1702
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 11:38 pm

Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

Post by scoobie »

Erm in short, I don't think so due to the difference in combustion between petrol and diesel. Diesel has to be put under pressure for it to combust unlike petrol, which readily ignites from a spark.

You might be able to get it to work on ethanol which is considered a bio fuel, but not as easy to make as bio diesel...
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail - Benjamin Franklin
metatron

Re: Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

Post by metatron »

It might be posable to adapt it to run on ethanol. Ethanol is cheap but you could make it yourself with a bit of work. It will most likely run on a mix of petrol and ethanol with no modification.
jansman
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Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

Post by jansman »

NO
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jansman
Posts: 13692
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

Post by jansman »

To expand on my last reply :lol: petrol burns by ignition(spark plug sets fire to the gas)diesel burns by compression.To put it in a nutshell, they are two different engine systems.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
metatron

Re: Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

Post by metatron »

jansman wrote:To expand on my last reply :lol: petrol burns by ignition(spark plug sets fire to the gas)diesel burns by compression.To put it in a nutshell, they are two different engine systems.
lol, well your best bet is to run it on 80% petrol, 20% ethanol which will save you some money. You might want to try a 60% 40% mix and see how it runs, but 80/20 should work with no difference.
smileyt

Re: Can a petrol generator be converted to biodiesel?

Post by smileyt »

Thanks guys. I have learned something new. I was asking because someone was selling a generator near me on evilbay but I know that petrol is not something to store in any quantity around the house ... Anyway, I will give it a miss.