Don't try this at home. Just a small piece of dirt can damage your fuel injectors and fuel pump. What was not tested here is long term use of cooking oil. Diesel fuel you buy at the pump as many different additives in it. If your going to play around with your generator it would be a good idea to get some better fuel filters, extra fuel injector and fuel pump. What is also not mentioned here is the viscosity of the fuel. Cooking oil will gel faster in colder weather. Many people preheat them first. Also a car can adjust the timing and make up for the different flash points of various fuels. Your generator can not.

 

Biodiesel is being treated with caution by the fuel injection equipment manufacturers and engine companies. While many support the development of alternative (non-petroleum) fuels in diesel engines, they are worried about unregulated biodiesel being used in equipment that was designed to run primarily on highly regulated #2 Diesel.

A variety of source materials are used to make biodiesel, which means there are lots of undesirable finished products that could end up in your fuel tank. This is of great concern to diesel engine companies because there can be all sorts of bad stuff roaming through their equipment such as:

• Free methanol
• water
• free glycerin
• Mono-, di-, and triglycerides
• Free fatty acids
• Solid particles and Oxidated fuel.

If your diesel engine / generator is under warranty and you want to run biodiesel, you'd better think twice before filling up your tank.

Biodiesel Pros and Cons

Read more: Caution using Biodiesel

Biodiesel is being treated with caution by the fuel injection equipment manufacturers and engine companies. While many support the development of alternative (non-petroleum) fuels in diesel engines, they are worried about unregulated biodiesel being used in equipment that was designed to run primarily on highly regulated #2 Diesel. A variety of source materials are used to make biodiesel, which means there are lots of undesirable finished products that could end up in your fuel tank. This is of great concern to diesel engine companies because there can be all sorts of bad stuff roaming through their equipment such as:

• Free methanol
• water
• free glycerin
• Mono-, di-, and triglycerides
• Free fatty acids
• Solid particles and Oxidated fuel.

If your diesel engine / generator is under warranty and you want to run biodiesel, you'd better think twice before filling up your tank.

Read more: Biodiesel vs Your Warranty

Red diesel fuel is only slightly different chemically from regular automotive diesel fuel, but there can be a significant difference in cost. The cheaper red diesel fuel could conceivably work in place of the more expensive automotive diesel fuel, but that would defeat the purpose of a fuel tax. In order to ensure that home heating oil, which is minimally taxed, is not used as diesel fuel, which can be heavily taxed, revenue agents require home heating oil to receive a special red dye. This liquid red dye can be detected in even the smallest samples taken for examination. Using red diesel for reasons other than home heating is generally considered a criminal act, since the buyer did not pay the proper tax for regular diesel fuel. If there is reasonable cause to inspect a vehicle's fuel tank or storage tank, inspectors can quickly and conclusively identify the presence of red diesel and take appropriate action against the offender. Without the creation of red diesel, it would take a trained chemist to differentiate between home heating oil and automotive diesel fuel. Different countries use different solvent dyes to create their red diesel, but the purpose is generally the same. The dye has no negative effects on the fuel itself, but it does allow revenue agents to determine at a glance if a violation has occurred.

As of 2006, almost all diesel fuel available in Europe and North America is of a Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel type (ULSD) The change was made to help protect our environment from the environmentally harmful sulfur content in the fuel. Much like lead was removed from gasoline. This process used to reduce the sulfur also reduces the fuel's lubricating properties. The fuel no longer has the same ability to lubricate and protect the various parts of the engine's fuel injection system from wear as it did before. ULSD fuel is also known to cause some seals to shrink and may cause fuel pump failures. What can you do?

The Cetane number measures the ignition quality of a diesel fuel.

It is the % volume of Cetane (n-hexadecane, Cetane Number = 100) in alpha methyl naphthalene (Cetane Number = 0), that provides the specified standard of 13 degrees (crankshaft angle) ignition delay at the identical compression ratio to that of the fuel sample. These days, heptamethylnonane - with a Cetane Number of 15 - is used in place of alpha methyl naphthalene because it is a more stable reference compound. It is measured in special ASTM variable compression ratio test engine that is closely controlled with regard to temperatures (coolant 100C, intake air 65.6C), injection pressure (1500psi), injection timing 13 degrees BTDC, and speed (900rpm). The compression ratio is adjusted until combustion occurs at TDC (the ignition delay is 13 degrees). The test is then repeated with reference fuels with five Cetane numbers difference, until two of them have compression ratios that bracket the sample. The Cetane number is then determined by interpolation and the higher the Cetane Number, the shorter the delay between injection and ignition. Now, if the fuel is pure hydrocarbons ( does not contain Cetane number improving agents like alkyl or amyl nitrates) then the Cetane number can be predicted fairly well using some physical properties, such as boiling point and aniline point.

Read more: Cetane Number in Diesel Fuel

Don't try this at home. Just a small piece of dirt can damage your fuel injectors and fuel pump. What was not tested here is long term use of cooking oil. Diesel fuel you buy at the pump as many different additives in it. If your going to play around with your generator it would be a good idea to get some better fuel filters, extra fuel injector and fuel pump. What is also not mentioned here is the viscosity of the fuel. Cooking oil will gel faster in colder weather. Many people preheat them first. Also a car can adjust the timing and make up for the different flash points of various fuels. Your generator can not.

Watch this video

Read more: Mythbusters Diesel VS Cooking OIl

Diesel Fuel Consumption

Approximate Fuel Consumption Chart

This chart approximates the fuel consumption of a diesel generator based on the size of the generator and the load at which the generator is operating at. Please note that this table is intended to be used as an estimate of how much fuel a generator uses during operation and is not an exact representation due to various factors that can increase or decrease the amount of fuel consumed.

Read more: Diesel Fuel Consumption Table

Types Of Diesel Fuel

Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil. It is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon molecules. It is developed for engines that provide energy for power, flow readily in cold temperature, provide low emission, provide good fuel economy, and allow easy start-up. Power generators are run by diesel fuel. The fuel also runs diesel-powered vehicles, such as ships, buses, or trucks. Diesel engines of these types of vehicles are internal combustion engines.

Diesel is used in a high-compression engine. Air is compressed until it is heated above the autoignition temperature of diesel. Then the fuel is injected as a high pressure spray. There is no ignition source. As a result, diesel is required to have a high flash point and a low autoignition temperature. The flash-point of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which it can form an ignitable mix with air. The high flash point in diesel fuel means that it does not burn as easily as gasoline, which is a safety factor. Too low of a flash point is a fire hazard because ignition may continue and lead to explosion.

Read more: Types of diesel fuel

Off-road fuel and red dyed fuel are designed to run on different engines. The sulfur content in red fuel is 500-1000 ppm   Your engine and catalytic converter are designed for fuels with less then 10ppm. If you use those fuels, you will deactivate the catalyst and lead to soot clogging of the converter core.  We see it all the time. Converters deactivated, over heated engines and exhaust systems glowing red hot from all the soot inside them. Often they catch on fire.

The EPA has made it illegal to use any other fuel type then the engine was tested and approved for.  You should also beware of biodiesel. There is issues with the cloud point, cetane number, water content and lubricity.  The majority of engine failures are a result of the fuel used and the condition of the lube oil, not a manufacturing defect.