What do I need to know or be aware of if I am using bio diesel for the first time in my 2002 7.3l? Thanks in advance.

 

nothing really, just a spare bowl filter and a wrench to remove it...(filter). The bio "cleans" thee entire fuel system and tank, resulting in a gunked up filter or two

 

you'll get **** poor milage

 

hmm, i got 18+ towing 2 seadoos on 100% veggie. Then again, if bio is the same price as D2, why bother.

 

Where I live I have almost no choice to run bio. On the pump it says it's anywhere between 5 and 20 percent bio. Only one place to get #2 diesel and that's where I believe I got water in my fuel awhile back. I do get 1 mabe 2 mpg better with # 2 diesel. #2 is only a few cents more expensive. I paid $3.59 yesterday for bio

 

If it is 20% or less, nothing. If it is close to 100%, then the spare filter and wrench as mentioned.

 

Sorry to disagree, but I have checked my mileage with not only BIO but with regular Diesel and I get exactly the same mileage with B99 as I do with summer blend regular Diesel.
I typically get about 1 to 1.5 mpg less on winter-blend regular Diesel.

**This is with Beef Tallow based commercial B99.9**

 

I keep hearing about all the cleaning properties of BIO and to keep a spare filter on hand (which I used to anyway) MY truck's fuel system has always been well maintained, filter after 15k miles hardly shows any discoloration of sediment-I always (used) Diesel-Kleen, I have run 4 tanks of B99.0 Bio through my last filter, then it was time to change it, so I did, no problems, no sediment, I think trucks with crap in the tank and system in general must not have been maintained very well.

 

Working on every fuel station and municipality, what we have seen is the higher percentage of bio to df, the worse the metals look like. All rubber seals, and o-rings are eaten. Most bio dispensers are out of order... its usually leaking.

Within the last year sulfur was reduced even more in reg diesel. We are finding what is called the "Bio Bug" is growing like crazy! this is a microbe that lives in the fuel and sulfur kept it tame down. We are pulling turbine pumps from Chevrons in central CA. that look like they were at the bottom of the ocean.
the steel looks like coffee grounds. Also cross phasing, where water isnt separating from the df. water molecules are suspended in the fuel.

 

Probably because of low quality/non compatable materials used to make the seals (cheap).

 

Maybe, but they are special internals for bio and ethanol.
But either way what's it doing to your trucks fuel system? I'll run bio on a long trip, so I know my next tank will wash the system out w reg diesel. I try not to leave it in the truck like for a weekend cruzer.

 

My dad built a biodiesel reactor and brews a couple thousand gallons a year. Everything on the farm runs on diesel, the tractors, combine, skid loader, trucks, and even the lawn mower. He doesn't quite make enough to do all the farm work on B100, but a good majority of it is.


I have only ran 10-12 tanks of B100, 3 tanks of commercial B100 and the rest came from my dad (I help him pick up oil every once in a while and he might give me a tank full). Most all the restaurants around here use 100% soy oil in their fryers so that is the oil my dad uses to make his bio. Now that being said here is my experience.

The first time I filled up with B100 was from Sun Biodiesel in Colorado. I picked up a spare filter just in case. I never ended up needing that filter until the next scheduled filter change interval. I did not notice a fuel mileage difference on the Sun Biodiesel. I ran 3 tanks in a row then the price went higher than regular diesel so I quit running it, but I would run B20 whenever I could (it was only $0.01-$0.03 higher).

The best fuel mileage I ever got was running B100 from my dad. For some reason I always got better mileage when I ran his B100. I got 22 mpg out of one tank. That was the first and only time I got over 20 mpg, I don't know maybe I had a good tail wind or maybe the planets were aligned just right but when I saw I had 400 miles on the odometer and a 1/4 tank left I was ecstatic.

Now for the ugly. 2 of our tractors have a rubber fuel line running from the auxiliary fuel tank to the main fuel line, we have had to replace this line a couple times because it just starts bleeding fuel out the side of the line. We have had to replace the fuel line on the lawn mower also because it deteriorated and started to leak. On the flip side of that my dad has run the B100 in his 99 F250 PSD for 3 years now and has never had a problem.

 

Everyone above has it covered, but I felt it worth mentioning that our rigs are not 100% compatible with B100, as I had originally thought. There are nitrile 0-rings in the fuel bowl, of particular note, the drain valve. I have over 30k miles on my own homebrew without a leak yet, but I do plan on purchasing the kit from Bob at dieselorings.com. He has the proper compatible seals.

 

the blue or blakc oring ones?

 

Bob's fuel bowl kit is sold with the the three Viton options, black, brown, and blue. I think they're about $20 for the kit.