Your thoughts and experience with bio diesel blends.

Checking in with the membership. As usual CA likes to show off and push its own special agenda. It is already impossible to find ethanol free gas at a pump. (Can buy 1&5 gallon cans at $20 a gallon.) Now more and more corner gas stations are pimping only 20% biodiesel blends. So it’s getting harder to find straight diesel.

1) My truck does not idle as well on biodiesel, so wondering what you are experiencing?
2) Some suggest if you do run biodiesel you do not need additives. Do you agree or disagree?
3) Anyone hearing about issues with running biodiesel blends? Such as hurting rubber fuel lines, causing more IP and injector wear, tank algae blooms, corrosion in the fuel system, etc.
4) I can drive a little ways to get straight #2, just trying to decide if worth the effort, time, and extra fuel.

Where in California are you in, never had an issue getting "Regular" Diesel,

But in my truck, which I wouldn't want to use anything but "Regular" diesel and Diesel Kleen additive, since I I want to take care of it the best I can.

However, the next IDI I add to the fleet, I Plan on running used motor oil and whatevers cheaper.

420Bullnose

I ran B99 for a while, and my truck was very happy with it. It ran smoothly, it idled beautifully and quietly, it did not require any additive, and the exhaust smelled a bit like french fries.

My truck developed a serious problem though, and it was my fault for not paying sufficient attention. I simply wasn't driving the truck enough, wasn't burning enough fuel. There wasn't enough turnover of fuel. The B99 stayed in the tank, and eventually rotted. It was in there about a year, with no fill-ups. The B99 isn't dino-juice, it's a biologic. It got too old, and rotted. When that rotted fuel hit the IP bad things happened. It locked up the IP, put it into a self-destruct mode. It was a high quality IP from RussRepair before it became RussRepair. I was not happy.

If I put enough miles on my truck to insure that the Biodiesel did not rot again, I'd seriously consider using it again.

420Bullnose said:

Where in California are you in, never had an issue getting "Regular" Diesel,

But in my truck, which I wouldn't want to use anything but "Regular" diesel and Diesel Kleen additive, since I I want to take care of it the best I can.

However, the next IDI I add to the fleet, I Plan on running used motor oil and whatevers cheaper.

420Bullnose

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Orange County.

All the stations near by that have diesel are Chevrons, but I can drive about 15 minutes to some no-name gas stations that still suggest they have straight #2.

Up till last year, I too was running #2 and Diesel Kleen. Now rethinking the game plan. Spend time and gas to go get #2 or just run the bio blend.

I would love to regularly be able to get b-20. With the added lubricity of the biodiesel you do not need additives any more.
Any more than b-20 and the rubber parts soften unless you run viton. I have switched to viton orings and hoses and have no issue.

My old truck really liked B20 when I ran it. It ran good, seemed to smell less pumping it in and out the tailpipe, and you don't need additives. It can be tough on fuel hoses, but there's barrier style hoses and marine fuel lines rated for B100 if you were inclined to swap all your rubber hoses over and never think about it again. I was a big fan of B20, especially when it was actually cheaper than #2 for a while.

well i know there used to be a big push for biodiesel cause the tree huggers said it had less emissions then they found out that it did not burn as clean as normal diesel. i know i put bioblend diesel thru the old truck, i think it was from Exxon. it might just be that Exxon/Chevron all pump bioblend.

i am not sure that it really effects anything since it is only 20% bio and 80% diesel. i dont see how it would be much different from mixing WMO in with diesel. the other thing to remember is its not "old school" biodiesel that is just straight filtered used cooking/vegetable oil that has oils and proteins mixed in.

If you’re in SoCal look up Propel Fuels to find a station with their pumps and try their Diesel HPR. It’s usually at least .20 cheaper than D#2. You’ll notice a significant difference once your truck is burning it. My engine runs smoother, notably quieter, and smokes a little less when I get on it.

I have also heard good stuff about propel, but have never seen it for sale.

Koch13351 said:

If you’re in SoCal look up Propel Fuels to find a station with their pumps and try their Diesel HPR. It’s usually at least .20 cheaper than D#2. You’ll notice a significant difference once your truck is burning it. My engine runs smoother, notably quieter, and smokes a little less when I get on it.

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Nothing within 20 miles of me. But thank you for the heads up.

I've run B20 all the way up to B100. I personally prefer B100 over diesel, but it is hard to get in my area (state of TX has a vendetta against biodiesel, even though a lot of it is made here).

I've replaced all my rubber hoses, o-rings, etc with B100 compatable materials, so I have no issues with leaks.

When you first start running Bio, suggest carrying an extra fuel filter, esepcially with high blend percentages as it will clean all the crud out of your fuel system and may clog the filter.

My 7.3 IDIT runs smoother on B100 and noticably smokes less at WOT, almost not at all. I do lose about 0.5 mpg. It's a bit less energy dense so you lose some power, however, my calibrated dyno (my butt in the seat) doesn't notice a difference.

One word of caution, biodeisel (especially B100) is an effective paint remover, if you spill it on your paint, clean it off imediately.

I work for a National Park, we are required to run Bio diesel. It's not good. I have a 2009 f350 and that is all I am allowed to use in it. I have been driving it 5 years now. Power is good, it runs good. But when it gets cold, YOU MUST RUN AN ADDITIVE. I have been stranded 3 times over the years now in cold weather because of the fuel turning into a white fatty wax. I can tell when it's getting bad, it waxes up the filter at the pump and it takes forever to fill the truck. My old idi never gels the fuel in the same weather. I do not run bio in it.

I now religously use Howe's fuel additive at every fill-up. I haven't had a gelling problem since. Any of the diesel additives would probably work.

The gelling is a minor problem. The real problem is what was mentioned in a previous post. If you let this fuel sit around in the equipment for too long, it turns into a sticky gummed up mess. The next time you go to buy biodiesel, look at the side of the pump and look at the fill nozzle. Where the fuel has dribbled out over time, you will see this black or brown sticky mess all over the nozzle and the pump. This is what your fuel system looks like if you let it sit around and don't run it enough. We have had so many problems with our tractors and other smaller equipment that doesn't get used much.

We try and keep the red dino fuel only in our standby generators. Some of the guys in the maintenance yard started putting bio in their generator. After a few years it would only run about 5 minutes and then quit. We changed everything and fought that thing till we found the little brass screen in the fuel inlet fitting on the injection pump was clogged with the bio. It was like a white rubbery substance. Ran fine after that, and we made sure to pump all the bio out and only use the red dino diesel.

Only thing I have been able to get locally is B10 from Loves. My truck runs better on it than regular diesel. Its noticeably smoother and quieter on B10.

From what I have read though not all biodiesel is the same quality. The good stuff is made from vegetable oil and the lesser quality stuff is made from animal fats and waste from meat processing.

franklin2 said:

... We changed everything and fought that thing till we found the little brass screen in the fuel inlet fitting on the injection pump was clogged with the bio. It was like a white rubbery substance. Ran fine after that, and we made sure to pump all the bio out and only use the red dino diesel.

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This is normal and not well advertised, when switching to bio (especially ~B50 to B100) after running diesel, the bio acts like Drano and cleans all the old crud out of the tank, fuel lines, pump, etc and ends up clogging filters. This is why I mentioned to carry a spare fuel filter when initially starting on bio.

For cold weather... ya, unfortunately bio B100 gells at a lot warmer temperature, either, cut it with diesel to B20-B30 and/or run additives. On our IDI's this is one time it is nice to have the fuel heater working in the filter head.

With B20 from the pump, one shouldn't have much an issue with gelling, during winter in cold country it should be mixed with winter blend diesel (the other 80% of the mix).

When ULSD came out and was selling for $4.00+/gal (in AZ) I switched over to Bio (B100) which was selling for $2.89/gal. Truck ran well but lost some MPG. Idled smoother and pullled my 5th wheel with no issues. When bio got hard to buy - 1 fuel stop in town I went back to ULSD. Half a tank later my shaft seal on the pump started leaking bad and I had to change the pump. Common issue I heard. But I do run ATF and Power Service in every tank uf ULSD now.