home brew BD questions
 

My buddy told me about a guy that has been making BD for the past three years and runs it in his 7.3 with no problems. I decided to try some. It contains 20% #2 and the rest is BD made from WVO. I have burned about 4 gallons so far and the truck runs perfectly. The only questions I have are, is BD suppossed to be just slighty thicker than #2? It seems like my fuel pump might be about 1 or 2 decibles louder (hardly enough to notice). Also, the fuel is not clear like #2. Is all this normal? Anything to worry about or change? I have an 04 6.0 with 50,000 trouble free miles. Thanks

Kyle

Anybody can make biodiesel. The process is not very hard to do. The question is weather the bio is quality bio or not.......... I, for one would not use bio from a source I did not know. How does this "guy" make his biodiesel, does he wash his bio, has he done any quality testing, etc? Bio will feel a little "thicker" than #2, and can be colorless or darker, depending on if it was made with virgin oil, or heavily used oil.

[QUOTE=6.0superduty]the fuel is not clear like #2. Is all this normal? /QUOTE]

What do you mean by "not clear" darker color or cloudy. I would be careful of cloudy BD.

I am not sure of the process he uses, but he said he has been running it in his 99 7.3 for the past three years without a single problem. The bio is like a gold color, not cloudy or dark, and it seems like there is no water in it. I just wanted to try some in my truck before I go and buy everything to make my own processor. I am definitly going to start putting a processor together now.

Kyle

Some guys suggest weighing a sample of the bio, bringing the temp up to 212, then weighing again and subtracting the post heated oil from the first sample weight to check for water. The 3/27 test on infopop is an easy way to test and see how well his process converted the oil.

An easy test for water is simply putting some of the bio in question in a pan and heat it above 212 deg and watch for "spitting" or bubbling. Good "waterless" bio SHOULD NOT show any signs at all untill you reach 350+ deg. If it where me, I would try and talk to this "guy" and find out just how he makes his bio.

Do you think it is bad for my fuel pump to be running this stuff if it is a little thicker than regular #2. Also, I will do the test Fabman talked about and see what happens. Thanks

Kyle

Also, when I put half a tank of Bio in my truck and half a tank of #2, will it blend or does it have to be heated to actually blend. Would the bio just go to the bottom of the tank since it is heavier? Thanks

Kyle