Significant changes in German government policy towards biofuels have led to the winding down of the original Elsbett company in December 2010.
To meet continued demand former chief engineer at Elsbett, Alexander Noack, founded a new company and restarted the development and production of kits and spare parts.
Most of the former Elsbett partners around the world are still involved.
See ANC / Greasenergy.
Elsbett SVO conversion
The purpose of an Elsbett conversion is to run a diesel car on vegetable oil.
The Elsbett system was originally optimised for canola oil meeting the German Canola Oil Fuel Standard
(see separate data sheet).
Later on standards for other virgin and used oils (Sunflower, Palm, Jatropha, Soya, Camelina, Peanut, etc.) were developed. As a consequence conversion kits are now available for use with straight (SVO) and waste vegetable oil (WVO).
Once fitted the system allows diesel cars to run on 100% vegetable oil, 100% diesel, or any mixture of the two.
How the Elsbett system works
The main issue to overcome with vegetable oil is its viscosity. In an Elsbett 1-tank conversion this is achieved a.o. by pre-heating the oil and optimising the injector spray pattern.
Some of the components are:
- Injector nozzles better suited to higher viscosities
- Higher-performance glow plugs
- An extra temperature switch to extend the glow plug operation
- An SVO fuel filter
- An electric heater fitted to the SVO fuel filter (cold engine fuel heater)
- A coolant-to-fuel heat exchanger (warm engine fuel heater)
Where to get an Elsbett conversion kit
Elsbett conversion kits can be bought online at Greasenergy. Prices exclude sales tax and shipping. European sales tax is not applicable when shipped to Australia.
Prices are listed in different currencies depending on which flag you select at the top. It would seem that the prices in Euros (under the German flag) are the lowest. When paid in Euros, most kits will come in under the AU$1000 mark which means no GST will be due in Australia.
The same range of conversion kits are sold by www.elsbett.nl. They currently list no prices but their prices should be similar to the Euro prices at Greasenergy. You can contact Elsbett NL at info@elsbett.nl.
How to install the Elsbett conversion kit
The new injector nozzles need to be assembled and adjusted by a specialised diesel workshop. Fitting of the other components can be carried out by any competent mechanic.
To read about the installation procedure for a Toyota Landcruiser 80-series 1HZ (non-turbo) follow the link at the bottom of this page.
Where to get canola oil
When you are buying hundreds rather than thousands of litres of oil it is probably best to contact one of the smaller oilseed companies. E.g. Aus-Oils (formerly Kojonup Oils) in WA or Cootamundra Oilseeds in NSW.
One oil that seems to meet the German quality standard is the Premium canola oil produced by Cootamundra Oilseeds. The price in 2006 was $1.10/liter + delivery. Cootamundra Oilseeds can be contacted on (02) 6942 4347.
More information on the purchase and use of canola oil can be found here.
Next: Installation part 1