B20 question
 

I am new to the bio fuels and was wondering if I needed anything special to run B20 in my 6.0L? I found it to be about 10 cents cheaper at the local station than the regular diesel.

I've just been talking with several guys about doing the same thing with my 2002 7.3L that has 136,000 miles on it. The universal answer is that if you have no leaks today, you'll be as "fine as frog hair split three ways".

It was suggested that you start with a couple of tanks of B5 blend first, which can be done by simply filling up with B20 once you've burned 1/4th of your tank (that doesn't mean go down the the quarter tank mark on your tank level gauge - use your known fuel mileage and trip meter to know when you've burned the right amount of fuel, which is about 120 miles for me with my 29 gallon tank.

Be prepared to see the bioD clean out your system, which could require you to change your fuel filters once or twice, so have the extra filters on hand before you start. The bioD will clean out crap in your system that can plug your filters.

No leaks on the truck.

How quickly will the fuel filters need to be changed out when starting out with the BioD? I understand the cleaning properties of the bio but I was concerned about having to change filters every few tanks.

Not necessary. How long before you need to change them the first (and maybe second) time will depend on how "dirty" your system is at the beginning. That's also part of what's behind the wisdom of starting at a lowly 5% for a couple of tanks ... helps make sure you don't sluff off huge things for quick pluggage.

I actually just got my first shot of B20 today... took a little under 9 gallons to fill up, which means that I'm running at about 4-5% bioD right now. The diesel I already had in the tank was already dosed with Stanadyne's Performance Formula, so I'm not sure if I'm going to see much impact until I run through a couple of tanks.

I already need to replace my air filter due to mileage issues, but I'm going to hold off a little bit on that one until I can see how the BD runs. My fuel filters will be in tomorrow, so I'll already be stocked to change them out after a tank or two.

One of my friends gave me two fuel filter kits when he sold his 6.0 so I am set in that aspect. I added the B20 today and will see how it goes. I am about 2k away from having to change it anyhow.

If you notice a power loss. Change the filters. The 6.0 doesn't like to be starved for fuel. You might notice a slight loss of power due to less BTU's in the bio.

I think clogged filters is more an issue of how dirty the fuel system is if you're only dealing with B20. I tried B20 on my 02 at 155,000 miles and was down to under a quarter of a tank when I filled up. I checked my filter once a week, but never had an issue. I was so impressed I tried it on my tractor and it blew all sorts of crap out of the exhaust the first tank, and stopped the black smoke, but didn't clog the filters in that either.

I ended up experiencing lots of acceleration surge and lurching at low speeds and slow accelerations this weekend. Changed my filters yesterday evening and even got a little water out of my pre-pump Baldwin filter. The pressure gauge under the hood, before the filter change, was doing a lot of bouncing around 57-59 psi, where it had been a rock solid 62 psi when I first installed it a couple of months ago. After changing the filters, it rode right up to 61 psi and stayed rock solid.

All the above since putting in 8.7 gallons of B20 to top off my tank last week (gave me about a 5% blend in the tank). Only travelled about 200 miles when the symptoms started showing up, and they got progressively worse until I changed them at about the 270 mile point. Still having a little of the same, but it's much better.

I can't decide whether to fill up with B20 today and take her on a 200 mile road trip through the country tomorrow or not. I think I'm gonna go for it, though. I can definitely see a mileage gain with what's in the tank thus far, and I want to see how it runs for a highway trip.

I have about 160 miles on B20 blended down to roughly 5% but I have not had any problems with power or mileage. It seems to be running a bit smoother and I cant complain about that.

Where have you been getting the B20 in Birmingham, AL? My Sister lives there and wanted to use it in a Liberty CRD but couldn't find any.

Hopefully one of these stations is near you.

http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodi...tate.asp?st=AL

Yep... look over that list.

There is only one station in the near Birmingham vicinity, and it is on Hwy 31 South in Pelham, west side of the road, named Coosa Mart, and the only bioD he sells is B20. I'm going back down thre after dinner (he's only about 7 miles from my house), and I'm going to fill up the tank with B20 and make a 200 mile day-trip on business tomorrow.

Has anyone seen any increased problems with "water" while using B20?

When I changed my filters yesterday, I saw a little bit of water in my pre-pump filter that disturbed me, but I honestly don't know how long it may have been there either, knowing that it was settled out in the bottom (I'm talking about maybe 1/4 teaspoon in volume).

I think I'm going to add some of my Stanadyne Performance Formula with the B20 just for a little insurance.

Only water I have had is when I first started with bio. It seems to clean everything out of system. Gunk, water etc. Just be sure you have a good supplier and you should have no problems.

I haven't had any water issues with biodiesel. As a matter of fact, the places I have bought from have installed additional filters in their systems since they know the bio will clean out there tanks. The extra filters also act as a water collection if they're maintained properly.

Let us know how the trip goes, and if you notice a difference in engine sound when you step up to B20. I was amazed my first time.

I can already see more improvement. I filed up with 22 gallons of B20 last night, which was mixed with the remaining 7 gallons of ~5% bioD and whatever gunk was sloshing around underneath my pickup tube in the tank. I also went ahead and gave the tank another 8oz shot of Stanadyne performance Formula to help tie up whatever water was still in the tank (if any).

By the time I had driven the 9 miles back to the house, she was running as "smooth as warmed butter" again at low speeds and slow acceleration rates. This morning, I didn't notice a single episode of the surging and lunging I had been experiencing, and the motor settled into her quiet rhythms a lot faster than she normally does, and that is even with ambient temps beginning to drop a little (high 50's and low 60's at night).

Sooo.... I am now planning to make my two back-to-back 200 mile day trips today and tomorrow (which will include another fill-up with B20), and see how the fuel pressure gauge is reading on Friday afternoon. If she's bouncing around again below 60 psi, then I'll make one more change on both filters and just plan on shooting straight ahead. If I continue to feel periodic stumbling and surging at low speeds after these trips, then I'm going to drop the tank and clean it out this Saturday, but I really am not expecting to need to go that far right now.

On a side note, I talked with the the guy at the station last night, and he said that they are making their own bioD and then mixing the B20 blend themselves, which means that they are not buying from the "market" and should have more control over quality. He also said that they fill up their tank about once/week.

I appreciate you guys' input and sharing your experiences... you're a great encouragement.

I would ask if the bio meets these specs. http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/f...ets/BDSpec.PDF