Does anyone know what alternative fuel is compatible with our 7.3 ltr diesels? I live in San Diego and the gas stations are converting the tanks to renweable D2 fuels. I have bo idea as to what fuel will work for my truck. The regular D2 fuel is getting more dificult to find!
Help me out, Nick

 

"Renewable Diesel" is a California thing, and CARB regulations require that renewable diesel be used in off road equipment (backhoes, bulldozers, loaders, graders, skid steers, etc) by the beginning of next year. I have not seen regulations for renewable diesel for on-road highway vehicles yet.

I cannot speculate on whether, if , or how renewable diesel may or may not have any or no effect on the 7.3L diesel., but I am just as curious.

 

Isn't "renewable fuel" just a politically correct name for biodiesel?

 

I have run B100 ( I make it) kerosene, Jet A, burned a lot of motor oil (new not used) transmission fluid (new not used) my cousin had a friend that worked at a high volume transmission shop and he burned all of their used transmission fluid.
as far as the re new able D2 I believe it meets the specs of regular diesel

 

Renewable diesel is, or at least can be, better than biodiesel. They are similar, but not the same. The difference in the name is not political. Rather, it is to distinguish the variation in feedstock source, processing, blending requirements (or lack thereof), handling, transporting, and storage of these two distinct bio fuels.

The issue I have with renewables is the greater, and more importantly newer (fewer years in the field) variation in how renewable fuels are produced. Yes, the final result must meet an ASTDM standard for fuel oils, but most of us have lived through a few reversals brought about by the test of time.

Here are a couple of paragraphs from the EIA on the difference between renewable diesel and biodiesel. There is more to the differences than defined below, but I selected an excerpt from the EIA on purpose, to illustrate that even one of the most "politically correct" agencies in government (for energy source related climate change) still finds enough of a difference between renewable and biodiesel to describe their distinctions.

 

It's a fancy name for subsidized.

Petroleum is renewable too as it's always being created....and not from dinosaurs, either.

 

Just don't have a pistol brace in one hand and the fuel pump in the other hand... More than the Eeeeee Peeeeee Aaaaaye will come for your biscuits and gravy...

 

Aww dang...I like to burn dead dinosaurs.

 

The 7.3 will burn almost everything you put into the tank that is a fuel like substance, just stay away from the gas handle.

Pump it and burn it....Some however may be better with some fuel treatment.

 

I thought I read on this site that we were safe at a 10% Bio Mix. I believe it was something to do with the lubricating properties of the fuel. I've seen 20% Bio on some Indian Reservation fuel stations at great prices, just wasn't sure if it would harm injectors or HPFP. No harm , No foul. at the price of diesel in CA , it would be nice to know it's safe.

 

The biggest concern for me is that the effects on the injectors long term.

 

You can always add some type of lubricant. Some have used 2 cycle oil, some use Opti-Lube...others something else.

 

This came up awhile back and I posted a link to a lengthy discussion we had over at the Sprinter forum which I will provide again. In the discussion we had input from people in the industry both by email and phone, and one Zoom meeting with a refinery engineer. The general consensus is that the renewables are as good as or better than ULSD, and they meet the ASTM 975 specifications. Pump labeling is very confusing to say the least, and some of the labeling implies that it is a biodiesel when it in fact is not. (All ULSD has up to 5% biodiesel used as a lubricity additive and R99/R95 is no exception). If it says R95 or R99 on the pump it can contain up to 5% biodiesel just like the ULSD we are used to, but it will not contain over that amount even though some of the labeling implies 20%. We were told the labeling is a sore spot with the refineries because the EPA had a hand in it and the labeling was not what the manufacturers would have chosen themselves. One of the refinery engineers told us that the renewables are so refined that in their virgin state they have lower lubricity properties than ULSD so the addition of a lubricity package is very important, and many of us run an additive like Opti Lube just to "feel" safe although I can't confirm if this is really necessary. I suppose it would be good insurance if somehow the package got missed on a batch of R99/R95. Another thing we learned is that the reason R99/R95 is only available in CA, WA and OR is because they can't make enough of it yet to provide it in other states, they are maxed out right now just keeping up with those three states.
The Sprinter owners on the forum who live in these areas are now seeking out R99/R95 as their preferred fuel. It can and often is cheaper than ULSD in CA due to lower taxes on the renewables. We avoid B20 like the plague as it is not recommended in the Mercedes diesels with DPFs and can cause serious issues if used regularly due to buildup in the crankcase from regen post injections and fuel system clogging. (rumor is that the new 2l diesel will be compatible with biodiesel). Here is the link to the discussion: https://sprinter-source.com/forums/i...hreads/101841/

 

Another thing to note is that the engineers explained to us that the biodiesels of today are much better than the early biodiesels. If no ULSD or R95/R99 were available I would have no problem running B20 or even B99 in our dinosaurs but it would be a last resort in a DPF equipped diesel. We ran B100 in our old Mercedes 300D for many years. so some of the very early "primitive" production stuff. The only issue we had was in the Summer the loss of power while city driving was too much for us due to running the AC so in Summer we switched to B20. I also had to replace all my fuel line hoses with Viton.

 

Nothing will ruin an engine design faster than when political agenda driven products get forced onto the market. They weren't satisfied with DPFs, now they want to push it even farther and foist a fuel online that will ruin that same DPF.