Anyone running Biodiesel?

[Arizona_928]

I have been running my 2001 jetta TDI on just dino diesel, I want to go to Biodiesel. Feeling the eco friendly alternative thing going. I have acouple new fuel filters, and replaced the cloth fuel return lines to the correct rated ones.
First concern is any adverse reaction? Also Is price competitive to the reg Dino?

Anyone else run Biodiesel?

[RWebb]

half the diesels in Orygun seem to run it

the people I know love it & have no problems

what is availability like in your area?

[Joeaksa]

You need to talk with a friend of mine here in town. He is making the stuff and can help. We are getting ready to run a mix shortly.

Joe

[MattKellett]

My indy VW shop just spent hours ungumming a Jetti tdi that had been running soley on bio fuel! I don't know anything about running bio, but make sure you have all the info before you do it, so that you don't run into this problem too.

[MBAtarga]

Isn't "notfarnow" one of the resident Pelican experts?

[TimT]

I fill my '03 Ford F250 PSD with Bio every chance I can. I live on Long Island and no Bio available here. I do have a second home in Vermont, where I can get B100 not a blend ..and I get up to Vermont once a month... So I top off my tank with B100 and fill my 50 gallon auxiliary tank...

Depending on how I use my truck I may have to fill the tank once every few months with dino diesel..

My truck seems to run much better on Bio than Dino...apparently Bio has higher cetane rating.

[TimT]

What is the Biosdiesel you will be buying? B100 (100% Bio), B15 (15%), B20?

Also I have used Bio in my 6.0 PSD from year one.. with nary a fuel related problem..

[pksystems]

new Canola oil from the grocery store should be cheaper then regular gasoline in Canada in a month or so.

$1.40/L in the 16L jugs. Regular is like $1.18/L right now.

I'm looking at diesel beaters if the price keeps going up

[RWebb]

prices ought to go down - crude prices have gone down

[BlueSkyJaunte]

All the pump diesel around me is B5 or B10 now.

[M.D. Holloway]

Diesel fuels can be blended with up to 5% Biodiesel without having to state it. Biodiesel reacts poorly with water and has a lower level of tolerance for water contaminations. These fuels are more susceptible to microbial growth problems, especially when water is present. Diesel fuels created from non-petroleum sources have a shorter storage stability life. These fuels do not perform as well as mineral oil refined diesel fuel in cold temperatures and have a higher gelling point. Biodiesel fuels can also contribute to varnishing of fuel systems.
Biodiesel performs comparably to regular diesel, with slightly less energy per gallon when blended into petroleum diesel fuel.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

Isn't "notfarnow" one of the resident Pelican experts?

close!

I run straight, used vegetable oil in a diesel car with two tanks... one for diesel and one for veggie oil. I start my car on diesel, and then once it's warm I switch over to the vegetable oil tank. If I am shutting the car off for an hour or more, I switch back to diesel before turning the car off.

I do about 600 miles per week, and if I am careful about keeping my veggie oil tank topped up, I can go 2-3 months on a tank of diesel. Saves me about $100/wk right now, for 20-30 minutes of effort every two weeks to collect and filter the oil.

I am fussy about only picking up good oil, and I settle & filter the oil carefully. I've never had any problem running my veggie oil, whereas I've had a few bad tanks of diesel over the years (algea, water, wax etc)

I went with a two-tank conversion instead of biodiesel for a couple reasons. First is effort: both take the same expense up front, but with a veggie conversion, once your car's set up, all you have to do is filter the oil. With Biodiesel you are always processing the stuff (unless you buy it). Second reason was redundancy: if I have a problem with my fuel, I just switch to diesel. If you have a clogged/frozen filter with biodiesel... you're getting towed

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by TimT

What is the Biosdiesel you will be buying? B100 (100% Bio), B15 (15%), B20?

Also I have used Bio in my 6.0 PSD from year one.. with nary a fuel related problem..

I was thinking about running B20 until the tank is cleaned out, and switching to B99 which is the highest available locally; I have heard. I will buy it in bulk as I do now, and I keep my tank in the garage to reduce the chance of water contamination. I go through about 30 gallons a month.

I'm planning to do a 5spd swap over the summer to get rid of that pos slush box, and gain that extra 10 mpg.

Hey Joe, I'll send you a PM.

[Drisump]

I ran B20 in my Landcruiser for 3 years or so until I had a very infuriating time diagnosing a fuel starvation/ air leak problem. After much time, effort and some expense I pulled the pickup tube from the tank and the screen was plugged with a film of unknown origin. Two fuel filters, fuel lines, fuel filter body, and the impending threat of rebuilding the injection pump.....and all it was was a plugged screen. I think that I must've picked up some bad fuel heading into the winter (bio is a little less user friendly in colder weather) and the fats contained in the bio somehow came out of suspension and clogged the pick up screen...... I stopped using it. Even running clean dino for months didn't break down that film. The plus side was that my fuel tank was beautiful inside, for a 20 year old vehicle. Bio has a scouring effect and will enhance the lubricating qualities needed for the fuel system. The dino diesel today has changed into a "watery" liquid that is much less "slippery". Cheers

[M.D. Holloway]

Unless you are very certain thatthe folks making your methyl ester actually know what they are doing and are using non-animal fat to produce the product you will be asking for problems.

[1990C4S]

Is bio-diesel actually cheaper?

Anyone run filtered 'furnace oil'?