biodiesel

[160k87F250]

Does anyone know if I can run bio-diesel in my trruck w/ no modifications. I have a chance to get about 40 gal of free bio-diesel. Thanks,
John

 

[idiabuse]

very small amounts is possible but not worth the risk of plugging filters.
Now if you use wmo and rug then no modifications are required.
what type of bio you talking bout?

Javier

 

[G. Mann]

True Bio Diesel is made to an engineering specification [ASTM 6751] and if the fuel you are getting is made to that spec, it will run the exact same as pump diesel except the gell point is a few degrees higher [it gets cloudy and gells at a higher temp ].

If it's a home made batch of Bio Diesel, the all bets are off as to exactly what you are getting and how it will mix or run. There can be wide variation in the content of what has been "brewed up" and called "bio diesel".

If it's ASTM 6751 spec fuel it will mix with pump diesel in any ratio and even at 100% straight your engine and fuel system should function normal.

 

[Cincinnati Guy]

How will Bio plug your filters?

If you plan on running Bio frequently Id suggest changing out all the rubber orings because the bio will eat them if there all rotted out.

Ive ran bio in the 85 when I had it with no problems.

What ratio of it you going to run, B100?

 

[smolkin]

Bio will also eat your rubber fuel lines and clean alot of built-up junk out of your tank and system. "Clean" as in "break it loose and send it forward". Make sure you have a few spare filters and replace rubber fuel lines with SAE 30R9 injection-grade hose ($$) if you can. Bio eats 30R6 and 30R7 for breakfast.

 

[160k87F250]

Thanks for your help. A customer filled up his 6.4 w/ bio and now it wont run. The truck shop was going to drop the tank and drain it and they were wondering if I wanted it. but now they are just gonna dump it in the tank of waste oil for the waste oil heater.
John

 

[BioFarmer93]

Does anyone know if I can run bio-diesel in my trruck w/ no modifications. I have a chance to get about 40 gal of free bio-diesel. Thanks,
John

John, Javier has a point.. If you are talking about REAL biodiesel (B100) that is well made and chemically correct, you can run up to about 20% mixed in with ULSD* with minimal worry about seals breaking down. Be aware though, that biodiesel will thoroughly clean out built up crud and sludge in your fuel system, so keep a couple new fuel filters handy (in the truck) when you start to run it. If you try to run B100 -straight biodiesel- the "cleaning action" will be intense and start immediately, probably requiring a new filter within 200 miles, especially if your engine has never had any biodiesel in it before. Also, there are a couple critical rubber seals that will have to be changed out to viton or another more impervious compound so as to withstand the chemical differences of bio fuels. Deep Roots and Diesel JD have the scoop on which seals should get replaced, as both of them have extensive bio experience.

 

[Agnem]

No. You can't run it. Give it to me. I'll safely dispose of it.

 

[jonathan]

No. You can't run it. Give it to me. I'll safely dispose of it.

lol

 

[Diesel JD]

A few things to consider. You will almost never find certified ASTM spec biodiesel in home brew or co-op situations. The tests are very rigorous and expensive. Having said that, an IDI does not need ASTM spec fuel to run very well, nor do most older diesel engines. Any mistakes that you or whoever made the fuel made in the brewing process will take you to the proverbial woodshed and continue to do so sometimes long after you've burnt the offending batch of fuel. This usually manifests itself with plugging of fuel filters. There is no doubt with biodiesel that you will be changing filters more frequently than with good quality pump stuff. However, I find the tradeoff worthwhile, the engine runs a little cleaner and I save lots of money, in fact I'm probably paying similar prices for my homebrew to what we were paying at the pump in the 80s when these trucks were designed, the only reason I can afford to drive a vehicle that gets 12-16 mpg. If I had to pay pump prices I'd be walking most likely. Gus and Smolkin are right about the rubber fuel system components. Any cheap N-Butyl rubber or natural rubber has to go. Viton and Neoprene are the preferred materials. As mentioned the expensive fuel injection rated hose is also very good. I have yet to find fuel return lines and injector orings that cn tolerate B100 but Typ4 was good enough to send me a few of his Viton orings. I will report back on how they hold up, I'm also going to use some alcohol grade, AN or Tygon fuel hose(as Gus uses for his WMO setup) for the return lines and see how they hold up. Personally I think you probably did the right thing to pass on the bad fuel from the 6.4. I'm not sure I'd run high blends of bio in a 6.4, so it might have been that the 6.4 is too tempermental for B100. On the other hand I see your location is in PA and I know you guys have had a heck of a winter up there. As mentioned even ASTM spec B100 gels a lot higher than D2 depending on what the feedstock oil was. My guess is he got caught with a tank full of high biodiesel blend and you guys had some cold weather come through and he wound up with a chunk of lard in his tank. This time of year I'd say in your climate you probably can only run very low blends or else you need heated tanks.

 

[MidnightBlade]

we home brewed some bio in Diesel Tech, dumped it in a CAT C15 and Kubota 3 cyl both with no mods at all, it makes the engines run soooo much smoother. weve onlyhad it in there a few days though, so no reports on the cleaning action yet

 

[Diesel JD]

Yeah the engines love it, the only drawbacks I can find are the filter plugging if you make a bad batch(and it is a good cleaner so if you have an old dirty system) and the destruction of older rubber seals. You can improve your homebrew's quality by doing a 27/3 test which was developed by a chemist on the biodiesel community infopop site. That is you dissolve 1 part biodiesel into 9 parts very dry methanol. It is a pass/fail test so if any globules of oil drop out the fuel should be reprocessed. This does not prove it is ASTM spec but according to the developers it has a strong positive correlation to fuel also passing those more stringent specs. I test every bacth after processing but before washing and filtration. The test must be performed at 70 * F +-2 degrees for best results. Higher temps may give a false pass, lower a false fail. I usually take my chances and test at whatever temp the house is usually in the low 70s.

 

[hesutton]

..... but now they are just gonna dump it in the tank of waste oil for the waste oil heater.
John

John, I just help Dad put a Cleanburn waste oil furnance in his shop last weekend. I was impressed with it. Heats the big shop well enough I had to shed my coat. And was suprised by the lack of soot/smoke.

Heath

 

[Brad S.]

Everything I've seen and heard about biodiesel is temp is really, really important.
In the Peoples Republic of Minnesota, they mandate a biodiesel blend in the fuel at the pump. But the last few years they have taken that mandate off in the winter because to many trucks were bypassing the state, or gelling problems etc.
Like everyone said above I think a one time use dilluted would be ok, prolonged use might pose some problems.

 

[smolkin]

I use PS DieselKleen (gray bottle) with every tank of Bio, it really helps with cold starts and gelling. We even did a test in mason jars left on the porch overnight; at 20*F, the straight bio we make has a thick consistency and some gelling, but with the DieselKleen it is much more fluid, similar to thin WVO at room temperature. I hate to be such a fanboy for a product but it works great for bio as well as a lubricity additive for ULSD, not to mention it cleaned out my IP after a year of WVO and bio gummed up the metering valve.