I have a 2006 Ford F-250 Super Duty Crew Cab and I live in the desert, so summer temps can regularly reach over 100°F and evening temps hover in the mid-70's. In the winter that goes down to 60-65° (day) to 40-45° at night.

My truck runs great, I average between 18 to 19 MPG on a 25 gallon tank. But the price of diesel is getting above $4.40 now, with prices reaching in excess of $4.70 down beyond Palm Springs. I am averaging around $5,500 to $6,500 annual costs just for fuel. I really need to cut down on my fuel costs, and am willing to spend money to save money over the long term.

I would like to convert my truck to run on biodiesel, but do not know if a straight biodiesel setup or a dual-fuel setup is best. I know that it is cheaper to convert for biodiesel (just replacing the fuel lines and possibly the tank, plus heating elements for the most part). But my friend says I should go duel-fuel. He has a F-350 with that setup and swears by it. I however would prefer to just be able to fill up with processed biodiesel, it seems so easy. No expensive petroleum diesel.

The problem with dual-fuel conversions to me is the up-front cost of the kits. I know NOTHING about engines, aside from changing the oil and the most basic operator maintenance. So I would need someone to install it (no problem on that one here).

I have checked several sites, and they offer several dual-fuel kits, they vary little in concept but differ in design. Here are the ones I have found:

Greasecar Truck Kits | Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems

Diesel Conversion Kit | Vegetable Oil Fuel System | SVO Kit

Of the two I like the Organic Mechanic, it has the controller for monitoring WFVO. I can afford the kits, but need to know which is really worth it. There is a ready supply of WFVO here in Yucca Valley, CA but I would have to drive about 40 minutes to get processed biodiesel in Palm Springs (not a headache, my wife will turn it into a shopping trip).

Your advice is very much needed and very much appreciated! Thank you for your time -

 

ok, there are 2 general ways people go about this. one is to just filter the oil and pour it in the truck, which is modified with the necessary systems to make it useable. in short, that requires a dual tank system, fuel heaters, filters, etc.
the other way is to make biodiesel out of that waste oil and burn that - or just buy the pre-made biodiesel from the guys 40 miles away. this requires no modifications to the truck except making sure the fuel tank and lines aren't going to be damaged by the fuel.
since you're in an 06, your injection system is quite expensive, i would lean toward bio, not WVO, because the bio is already processed and as a result requires almost no work to your truck.
from there, you can set up a biodiesel processing system in your garage and brew your own fuel at home

 

I still am leaning towards biodiesel, you are probably right. Too much trouble to me to find the balance between bio/reg diesel for mpg, mess with modifying my truck to much, etc. I'm just going to get it inspected and modified for bio straight in the tank. Less fuss for me.