The first ATV that runs on biodiesel is here from Arctic Cat.
Recently I happened to read an interview of Vinod Khosla, the famous venture capitalist from Silicon Valley. He talked about biodiesel being the next revolution. Artic Cat has recently come out with a twin-cylinder, diesel all-terrain vehicle (ATV), which Artic Cat encourages farmers to use of biodiesel blends. More popular in farms, this is the first of its kind vehicle in the market today. Artic Cat has started the manufacturing in September itself. With the advent of Artic Cat's offering, farmers now have more options—in addition to tractors and other various implements—in which to use biodiesel. The Arctic Cat Biodiesel ATV would be made available with a fuel tag that recommends biodiesel use of up to B20. This would be the first time that B20 has been commercially promoted in small diesel engines.
Watch a video on the benefits of Biodiesel below:
Sott Singlestad, chairman of the MSR&PC Domestic Marketing Committee and member of National Biodiesel Board (NBB) said, that they are extremely pleased with the positive results of biodiesel project. He further added that he appreciated Artic Cat for its support for biodiesel and the environmental benefits it brings along with itself. The research was supported and sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council (MSR&PC), the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute’s Center for Producer-Owned Energy and the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. The state of Minnesota has gone one step ahead and has standardized B2 biodiesel.
Ole Tweet, Vice President of new product development of Artic Cat said that they were highly impressed with B20 and that it offers good selling point to farmers. Moreover, Artic Cat offers an option of running the vehicle on the very stuff that farmers grow, which is in itself a tremendous attribute. He added that Artic Cat is trying to reduce the impact of Artic Cat's ATVs on the environment and that they liked the idea of making an ATV that could run on renewable fuel grown by farmers, who incidentally are Artic Cats' best customers.
Artic Cat carried rigorous testing with B20. They tested Lombardini diesel-engine ATVs on emissions, sound levels, hot-start capability at air temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit. They also tested normal-life engine durability tests, which simulate five years of consumer use. The tests also included winter use with a No. 1 winter blend, as well. No differences in engine or component wear were found. There was also no degradation of the fuel system with B20.
The Artic Cat's new offering runs efficiently on six forms of diesel fuel, including B20. It has a glow-plug pre-heater assist for starting. It has a 686 cubic-centimeter twin cylinder, single-overhead-cam four-stroke diesel engine. The vehicle provides 30% greater fuel mileage and extra low-end torque compared with a conventional gasoline engine.
But today farmers are not the only ones using biodiesel and ATV's are not just for farmers. The U.S Military is another ATV user which also uses biodiesel at many bases across the country. In fact, the military is the largest user of biodiesel in the United States. Volkswagen owners and school bus drivers have also been using various blends biodiesel.
With the fuel prices touching the skies, biodiesel is indeed the need of the hour. We can only hope that other manufacturers will take note and follow suit to certify diesel engines for B20 use.
