Today I had the oil and fuel filters changed in Grand Rapids Michigan. As I was checking out I got in a discussion with a guy I believe was the commerical truck SA. I asked about bio 6-20% and he said do not use it. I asked what it would do and he asserted pretty aggressively that that fuel would eat seals and gaskets and likely cause fuel system problems including pumps and injectors. OK, so whatt do I do if that's all I can get? Just don't use it, he says. So here I am in corn coutry with a schedule that still takes me to or through Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. I guess I'm doomed.

So, I'm on line for a good part of the afternoon trying to find what chains or stations are still selling B5 or better yet B nothing. So far I'm having no luck. I did however find an interesting forum for the VW TDI (turbo diesel injected) in Chicago. They are under the same biodiesel restriction we are, B5 only. They had a long thread that was devoted to finding and reporting stations selling B5 or below.

I'm wondering if a similar thread might work on here. Of course ours would need to be nation wide by state as many of us are on the road all over the coiuntry. It's one thing to find a station near home but another to find one on the road when you are in a strange area and in bad need of fuel. What do y'all think? And if we did it how would we structure it to keep it current?

 

If this is the case, how come we are not seeing posts about said issue from rural america?

 

If it makes you feel any better me and 10's of thousands of other owners have been burning mandated bio in Pennsylvania since 2010.

 

Like I reported your fuel system and seals are the gating item here. If you're really concerned, you may want to research the Seimens HPFP and injectors to determine these components Biodiesel restrictions.

Once again... seals, fuel system corrosion resistance, and good filtering is the key to Biodiesel compatibility.

You may want to contact Ford Custumor Service about your concern and see how they respond, but having said that if you only have >B5 availablity and you need diesel then you have no choice.

Since your in an area that mandates Bio diesel, the best thing to do is keep your fuel filters changed at a higher frequency, and again fill up at high volume stores since biodiesel doesn't have a long storage life. My gut feel is the current bio diesel that is available to you probably won't hurt your truck.

Good Luck...

 

For some entertaining information on this subject go here OEM Information - Biodiesel.org.

 

Well I don't know. I guess it could be 1. they are finding sources for B5 or below, 2. they haven't used it long enough to have the problems show up, 3. they have made so much money selling soy beans that they bought 6.7s.

 

Troy thanks. You're right of course, when I gotta have fuel I gotta have it so I hope you're right. However, I do note that you have a 2012 which is rated to B20.

 

I was in PA the last couple of weeks, filled up at some flying J's they didn't even say bio on them. Reciept didn't say anything either.

 

I believe the following link will answer your quarry:

Biodiesel Magazine | biodieselmagazine.com

 

There is a website now that is committed to reporting biodiesel stations it is Biodiesel Stations & Biodiesel Prices around the world - Where to Buy Biodiesel Fuel - Find Biodiesel but the problem is that it looks NOT to be updated in quite sometime! Looking around, maybe 2 or 3 years outdated. I use gasbuddy.com to find stations with diesel when I am traveling, problem with that it does not report biodiesel or "real" diesel stations.

I feel for ya as we all keep a close eye on our trucks to make them last longer and not get into a situation of "not knowing" what is going on inside the engine.

 

I'll bet 90% of diesel users in Pennsylvania don't have a clue their buying bio since 2010. Count me in as one of them until last year when a fleet manager informed me about it. Yes, stations owners don't advertise on the pumps that it's bio, and the only stations I ever seen that post cetane numbers is Hess.

 

I was able to find the MN version of the bio law. They were to be at B10 in may of this year but they had some problems and have pushed that date back. It is clear that many states want to mandate B20 at a minimum and are moving steadily in that direction. That is bad news for us and if I read the charts right the first generation DPF equipped Dodge and GM trucks as well as the VW TDI.

I have an idea that this will be my last trip north until I trade for a B20 truck. I'm very disappointed but not at all supprised that these states and dealers would just blow off that many owners.

I did read an article about someone trying to develope a system that would let the customer mix the bio at the pump. That would be wonderful for us but my guess is they would sell very little bio that way unless the B20 savings in tax breaks the dealers enjoy was passed on to the consumer.

 

I though the big issue with Bio in the the 08-10 6.4 had to do more with the emissions systems. So if that is the case then I think if you were deleted then it would not present a problem?

 

I hope that's true, but according to the OP's resource, the problem is it eating gaskets and seals.

We'll see!

Tim

 

Sennix, I thought so too but read my first post on this thread. That is consistant with what I've read about the VW TDI and discussion on some of the io sites I've found. I wish it were just the DPF but I don't think so.