Biodiesel Heater: Eco-Friendly Heating Solution

It's getting cold again, and I want to install a parking heater in my Pumpe-Düse TDI 115PS. It will probably be a Webasto Thermo-Top C diesel heater. Does anyone have experience regarding its compatibility with biodiesel?

I heard there might be a Thermo Top C PME model, have you heard anything about it? Are there any special upgrade kits for running diesel heaters on biodiesel?

I'd also be interested to hear about your overall experiences with biodiesel and auxiliary heaters. It's certainly something that might be of interest to anyone considering using biodiesel. I wonder why there aren't more approvals for this, since it seems like all that would be needed is to replace the seals and hoses...???

Absolutely NO BIO-DIESEL in the auxiliary heater!

I would also advise against using it for the engine. Bosch does not provide approval for biodiesel .

In the event of a defect, it will be difficult for you to prove that you always and only used fuel that met the required standards. VAG will deny it, and Bosch certainly will too.

Regarding the topic of 'only gaskets, etc.': RME is something completely different from diesel!
It's not that simple. -> Google is your friend (I don't want to type everything out for you).

CU Gremlin.

I've had a parking heater for 1.5 years, and I was facing the same decision back then. I didn't go for it at the time, but my colleague, who is quite environmentally conscious, tried it out (and I waited to see how it went).

At the beginning, I reached out to God and the world in search of information.

Webasto states: Biodiesel is not recommended due to excessively high combustion chamber temperatures. Seals are not a problem.

Chemists from Campa-Biodiesel: That's nonsense. It can't be due to excessively high combustion chamber temperatures that there is no approval.

???

So, the information can't be summarized or brought to a common denominator, therefore, let's try it out.

'The first winter, everything worked fine and there were no problems. At the beginning of the second winter, I experienced starting problems with the SH (heating system). However, this might be normal, as similar issues can occur with diesel engines if they are not run regularly during the summer. This winter, I had to run the heating system for about 5 times before it started working properly.'

Even after the PME heating system failed 20 times, we removed it and blew it out with compressed air. A green, slimy substance came shooting out of the heating system. After that, it worked normally right away.

Unfortunately, the diesel hoses we were using were not resistant to PME, which caused them to deteriorate slightly. However, this shouldn't be a problem if you use fuel hoses that are specifically designed to be resistant to PME.

Generally, I would advise against using biodiesel (at least for now).

NO STANDARD -> NO LIABILITY -> NO WARRANTY.

I have experienced that the auxiliary heater does not start when using biodiesel in low temperatures.

I have an Eberspächer auxiliary heater installed in my B5 A4 2.5 TDI (because the Webasto wouldn't fit).

Statement from Eberspächer: No biodiesel.

Previous vehicle: Statement from Webasto: Keep away.


Webasto had announced a 'universal burner' at the time, which was supposedly compatible with biodiesel, but I didn't look into it further.

I'm now starting my fourth heating season with the Eberspächer.

Problem: It's getting too loud... The building management was here the day before yesterday because the burner started ticking at 4 am, and the neighbor wasn't happy about it. Eberspächer doesn't foresee any maintenance... I've already scheduled an appointment with the Bosch service.

Best regards.
felix