I typically average right around 15mpg. My last three fill-ups before i switched to bio were: 14.98, 15.27, and 15.14. Ive now gone through 3 full tanks of B20, and have gotten: 13.85, 13.58, and 13.45.

These last 6 fill-ups have been with the same route, driving habits, and outside temps (95*). I know with running bio, fuel economy typically drops, but 1.5mpgs? No more! The price difference (bio being cheaper), doesnt make up for the loss in economy. On the positive side, it has been nice with a quieter running engine. I changed out my fuel filters before filling back up with good ol #2, and it did clean some crud put of my fuel system. Not a lot, but noticeable. Ill get some pics up once I get back in town.

 

Yeah, it's not good for our 6.0L. Ford says max of 7% biofuel! Hey, I had a great experience once.............70% biodiesel and 30% diesel doesn't make the mighty 6.0L run so great.........we make biodiesel at our shop and that crap cost me a starter trying and trying to get it started!! Never again, I messed around with it for a while, got bolder and bolder (percentages). It cost me! Never again. Oh yeah, fuel mileage did go down like mah77 experience with it.

 

I recently went to get parts for a bobcat and at the parts dealer the had some bio diesel in a jar he said it had been in there for round 3 months and it had stuff growing in it he said its very dirty fuel and they have alot of problems with it clogging up fuel lines and filters

 

What could have been growing in it?

 

ALGEE, IT PROMOTES A FUNGUS IF IT ISN'T TREATED WITH ANTI FUNGAL .AS THE REEFER HAULERS HAVE FOUND OUT AND HAVING TO GO TO A FINER FILTER AND HIGHER PUMP PRESSURES.

 

I did some research on the net on this. B20 isn't available near me, but I'll fill up with B5 anytime. Lubricity and cetane numbers are near what the 500 ppm sulfur #2 used to be. Didn't see any numbers about how "clean" it is tho. Think the algae could be a problem at 5% bio? I'm not seein anything major in the fuel filters.

 

I can confirm a loss in fuel economey bio has less btu's than petro diesel
But its a very minor loss for guys like who brew and burn @ 100%
My latest cost to brew is about .70 per gallon (methanol went up)
I have over 100K mikes on an 2002 7.3 running 100% bio
And 16K on my new to me 6.0 @ 100% with no ill effects at all except for combind city highway driving returning 15 mpg from nearly 18 on petro diesel.
That said if you elect to run 100% like I have been doing for the past five summers with my odl 7.3. I do follow the guideline of fuel filter changes every other oil change and oil changes @ 5K like clock work on my 6.0
I also filter the fuel i make to 10 microns prior to pumping into truck fuel tank.
If you want more accurate info on bio-d go to the bio fuels page here and read everything you can by Fabmandelux he is THE Guru on bio D!
Oh yea about the first of November I go back to pretty much straight pump deisel with a touch of bio for lubricity.

 

Page 29 of the 3rd Printing of the 2006 Diesel Supplement states 5% maximum biodiesel.



So does my '05 supplement. Where did you get 7%?

 

Algae can grow in any diesel, not just bio. And, pretty much any diesel pump you pull up to may be as much as 5% biodiesel and not be labeled as such.

 

The 6.0 doesnt run as well on bio fuels.

However your fuel mileage reports are right on target for what you should expect from a bio fuel. Biodiesel contains less energy per gallon than regular diesel, this is why when you switch to biodiesel you get less power and lower mileage.

 

And the bases for your opinion on this are? I've run mine on B20 for 10k miles without any mechanical issues or starting problems. Yes, my mileage dropped 0.5 to a full mile per gallon...but I know I'm burning less foriegn oil; which is worth the trade off to me (to each their own). Maybe because I change my filters religiously I've never clogged a filter because of biodiesel. I do know I like the smell of the exhaust when I'm burning B20, not a harsh sulfur like smell. Maybe I'm just lucky in that department.

 

My basis? Fact.

I'm not talking about B20. I said "BIO FUEL". I meant things like WVO and B100.

 

How many bases must be covered to form a basis for an opinion?

Seriously. You don't know the difference?

 

To have kept your warranty, I believe the max is actually 5% and that has been held even when B20 met requirements as a direct fuel replacement. Now on the 6.7, Ford has it for the B20. Which is also the most readily available, at least around here. There aren't any pumps that do straight biodiesel here.

Those that have had high mpg reductions, I have to wonder about the quality that you got. Both in terms of the quality of production as well as the quality in which is was stored waiting to get put into tanks. Even fuel turnover at a station is more damning then for regular diesel as well if it's low turnover station.

 

So it has to be B100 or WVO/SVO before you consider it "biofuel"? Guess I'm missing the point, because this is how the Feds/State lawmakers (the folks that collect the taxes) look at it:

Biodiesel is defined as mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with diesel fuel. Biodiesel blends are denoted as, "BXX" with "XX" representing the percentage of biodiesel contained in the blend

So my interpretation is B1 (never heard of such, BTW) would be a biofuel as well. I know I'd like to get a hold of a couple tanks worth of B100 just to see how my '04 will react. Like I said in my last post, 10k miles an no problem. Though I'm buying commercially produced and not "home brewed" B20' so that could explain some of the lack of issues I've had.B5 is the max allowed by Ford on the 7.3L, 6.0L & 6.4L to keep from having an issue with the warranty. That doesn't mean if you got a load of crap in your fuel Ford won't stick you with the bill. It's my understanding the reason the 6.7L was raised to B20 is because of it's different style injectors. Sounds like if your willing to chance the warranty, that dude (6.7L) shouldn't have an issue with B50+. I agree, the guys that are having mpg issues (large looses) might be getting stagnate fuel. The problem with B20 for me is there is only a couple of places that sell it retail. I can get B50 delivered to the house in bulk...but it would take me a while to burn through the 300 gallon minnum order/delivery from the fuel jobber. So I go out of my way to buy B20 from a retailer that's 10 cents a gallon higher than everyone else.