Question about biodiesel

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Oct 29, 2010 | 09:28 AM

#16

sammy77

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Joined: Oct 2007

Posts: 4,202

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From: Illinois

I have used B11 here since day 1 on my truck, 70k miles later no issues. I do change fuel filters every 10k and add cetane boost every fill up. It is very hard to find straight diesel here in IL.

Algae!?!? You guys have fish tank issues too.....?

Oct 29, 2010 | 09:28 AM

#17

zhilton

Logistics Pro

Joined: Mar 2007

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From: Claremore, OK

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveBricks

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing in small concentrations other than having to change the filters more often. According to that additive study (which is floating around here somewhere on the forum) bio gives the best increase in lubricity for the injectors over the other available additives.

Once you get past 20% (B20) your not going to gain any more lubricity. The issue Ford had with running more than B5 was a concern with "unclean" fuel. Why they haven't raised the limit to B20 like what the 6.7L is "cleared to burn"...I have no clue

Quote:

Originally Posted by tex25025

Bio also has a higher gel temp as well. If you live in a climate that gets fairly cold(38* now here), you might want to consider something for that as well.

I've run B20 in my truck several times in varying temps...the lowest was 20F. If your using the white bottle of Power Service...your ok; it will treat blends up to B20. Might check with TSC, Orcellin's or Atwoods, I know Atwood's carries a BioDiesel fuel treatment....same white Power Service bottle as the winter stuff, but it has a green label.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tex25025

I wouldn't get upset about the fuel filter quicker changes early on. That actually means that the bio is doing it's job.

As a couple of other guys have already said...once you get past the first couple of filter changes...you should be fine. It all depends what the inside of your tank looks like. If you have a low mileage truck you may not have any issues. I haven't had a clogged filter yet; but I swap filters every 10k and I've only got 84k on the truck.

Oct 29, 2010 | 12:27 PM

#18

smokersteve

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Joined: Nov 2008

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From: CA Sacramento

I used a full tank of B5 for the first time (@59k) ever using Bio diesel and I had no issues and the fuel filters were not cloged when I changed them at 61k.

Oct 29, 2010 | 12:31 PM

#19

jetact

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Joined: Dec 2004

Posts: 944

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From: Happy Valley, Oregon

I am not saying its going to clog them after a short time like that. The bio tends to have an algae problem sometimes and like others have said flush some of the crap in your system through.

Oct 29, 2010 | 01:23 PM

#20

npccpartsman

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Joined: Dec 2003

Posts: 15,369

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From: Stuttgart, Ar

I had a well known injector builder that told me he saw more bad injectors from using biodiesel than any other fuel related failure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhilton

Why they haven't raised the limit to B20 like what the 6.7L is "cleared to burn"...I have no clue.....

Different engine, fuel system, and injectors

Oct 29, 2010 | 02:43 PM

#21

IABill

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Joined: Nov 2004

Posts: 577

Likes: 12

From: Cumming, Iowa

From my experience of the past 70K or so miles running 100% bio home brew stuff in my 02 730 and about 40K on my 94 IDI in the mortorhome except from November to March or April depending on when it warms I have had absolutely no fuel related problems cept for jelling the heck out of it the first winter I tried to run it to late into November.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

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>
So if you have a good quality bio IE: BQ 9000 certified you should have no problems other than the filter thing when it’s cleaning out the fuel system.<o

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>
As for a specific cold flow improver I use product from this company: http://www.technol.com/index.html <o

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>
They have a B100 cold flow improver but I have never pushed it below 20deg. with the stuff I brew because I hate jelling up!!<o

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>
Also at this time I am blending 50/50 with pump diesel cause I dont have any CFI to dump in but gotta order some!!!

></o

Oct 29, 2010 | 04:42 PM

#22

AndeyHall

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Joined: Jun 2009

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From: Anderson, SC

Ok, so I'm really confused. I had read a post a while back that said that Ford would not warranty any 6.0 (any that still had a warranty that is) that had signs of running bio-diesel. However, I read another post the other day about fuel additives and somebody had done a test on just about every additive there is on the market and B5 did better than any additive on the market as far as lubricating the injectors. So this doesn't make sense to me. But if I run bio in my '03 6.0, will it hurt? I mean I'm not like you guys...I can only think of 1 station in the entire county that sells Bio, but it just happens to be the closest station to my house and usually one of the cheapest.

Oct 29, 2010 | 06:00 PM

#23

moebdick

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Joined: Sep 2004

Posts: 821

Likes: 1

From: Nashville

I have been using between B5 and B20 bio in my 6.0 for the last three or so years and have not had any fuel-related problems other than shorter filter life.

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Oct 29, 2010 | 09:49 PM

#24

tempforce

Senior User

Joined: Nov 2005

Posts: 307

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From: central texas

i've run up to b-99, for several tanks. so the mix was closer to b-80. no problems, but did see a mileage loss at high mix b-50 +...
i get better mileage using b-5 to b-20...
but i agree with a earlier post, bio and cold weather doesn't mix. be ready with your anti gel, this time of year...

Oct 29, 2010 | 09:53 PM

#25

AndeyHall

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From: Anderson, SC

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempforce

What about places like upstate SC where during dead of winter it's usually low 20s at might and low to high 30s during the day...and occasionally gets down to 15 at night but no worse than that.

Oct 29, 2010 | 09:54 PM

#26

AndeyHall

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From: Anderson, SC

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempforce

What about places like upstate SC where during dead of winter it's usually low 20s at might and low to high 30s during the day...and occasionally gets down to 15 at night but no worse than that?

Oct 30, 2010 | 09:20 AM

#27

moebdick

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Joined: Sep 2004

Posts: 821

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From: Nashville

Andy, the short story is, you're probably OK where you live. The long story is, the gel point, or more importantly, the cold filter plug point (CFPP) depends on the percentage of your bio/petro ratio and on the antigel additives used by the distributor. Pure bio can reach CFFP well above freezing depending on the bio source, but most commercial bio will not reach CFPP until the low 20s or lower.

What I did when I first started using biodiesel was drain my HFCM after a fill up with biodiesel. I then put a little of that in a jar and set the jar by my truck so I could see what the fuel looked like in the morning. It often got cloudy, but it never gelled even when temps got down into the teens. I did use DieselKleen antigel (white bottle) in every tank during the winter.