Biodiesel Question

[never monday]

Originally Posted by kydivemaster

You do know that all diesel dodge products run only bio during testing and when shipped from the factory.

Keith

Kieth,
Your correct. They are shipped with a 5% BioDiesel mix. That means 95% of the fuel is petro Diesel. I've bought 2 of those tanks fulls now.

[never monday]

Del,
We actualy agree for once!
I've been down the Bio route.
I think in 10 yeasrs it might be a good product. Right now it needs more refinement (nice pum) to resolve the cold properties. I've had it gel here in my garage in a filter bowl. The caustic properties need to be nulified also. The long term political consequence I shouldn't comment on because I am politicly incorrect.

[kydivemaster]

Originally Posted by never monday

Kieth,
Your correct. They are shipped with a 5% BioDiesel mix. That means 95% of the fuel is petro Diesel. I've bought 2 of those tanks fulls now.

The CRD in the Jeeps run a B100 from the factory....

[Alan Wheeler]

I was going top comment earlier on the mix ratio's, but..well...didn't. A 20% ratio is very high IMO. A "safer" ratio is recognised at only 5%. So there is a big jump with 20%.
Pat, are you finding problems with the high mix ratio fuels or the 5% that the engines come with?? I didn't understand that clearly. The 5% as a "safe" ratio is because of the issue with Caustic problems.
I have been looking into buy some gear and trying to make it in my backyard. So I have done a small amount of research into the stuff and how to make it. But several issues arose that have stopped me from doing it. One is supply of cooking oil. It's already being brought up in quantities, I can only guess from people trying to produce BioD. So the supply is not as easy as everyone thinks. There are no great reserves of the stuff that food shops are trying to get rid of.
The second was the by product. Glycerol is produced in huge quantities. That's basicaly the "large molicules" being seperated out leaving a more "pure" fuel oil. It can't just be dumped and there is enormouse quantites already being advertised to get rid of. It is probably not of a quality able to be used in the food industry, so I guess little can be done with it.
And lastly, the equipment and chemicals are not that cheap and IMO you don't save enough per ltr to warrant the time and mess to make the stuff. I am refering to backyard manufacture of course. I imagine, or would hope that commercial production have many of those issues sorted. Otherwise there must be a lot of not very nice by product being dumped somewhere.

Now an interested turn has taken place here in NZ. A local company set up a small test plant down at our local effluent treatment ponds. They are growing an Algae and have then successfully produced biodeisel from it. So far it is still in trial stages, but they have made it work and it looks promising.

[never monday]

Wheels,
Summer before last petro diesel here was $3.15 a gal. B99 was 2.85. I ran about 250 gal thru my Cummins, VW and Liberty CRD. When winter set in the temps were in the 30's F. The gal or so in the filter would gel in my unheated garage.

True B100 is rare in the states. B99 is sold as B100 in many cases. There is a special tax break to blenders to produce blended fuels.
Most engine manufactorers will allow B5 and some even B20 under warranty. Others will deny fuel related claims when B anything is involved.

KYDivemaster,
In March of 2005 when the Jeep Liberty was released it was fuled with I think B5 mabey B20. I know it wasn't B100. I owned a CRD for 165 days. Of thoes it was broken 56. My Cummins that replaced it had no Bio in it at delivery.

[delmarrey]

Here is the site on how to make bio......

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html

And here are some more pictures of what happens with biodiesel. This is the by-product of bio when it seperates with temperature.


This is what the bio looks like when pumped out in sub freezing weather


This is a before and after shot of a screen that is used in biodiesel despensers. This is changed once a year unless it clogs up sooner. This stuff on the screen feels like rubber particals.

[unbusted67]

Looks like my arteries after the holiday.

for more on alternative power sources check out this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wVGqrz-ogw

can someone say perfection?

[unbusted67]

I think what I was thinking of when I started this thread was WVO.
I would assume this stuff is probably worse on filters that refined biodiesel. Any thoughts?

[2divers]

Alan,

I made a batch here in Texas last year just to confirm I could and learn the process. Ran through the cars fine.

I typically by B20 from a local dealer. The stuff you by from a station has to meet the government regulations on quality so it is probably pretty good. I was cautioned not to run B100 Right away unless the engine was brand new because biodiesel is fabulous solvent of all things petrochemical and currenly hanging out in your fuel line.

The only horror stories I ahve heard is that of folks how take an old diesel engine and the bio eats the rubber on the hoses from the inside out. (witnessed this first hand on a small pump with rubber base in my own test run, turned it to paste in 2 hours of exposure.) All the new diesel vehicles here in the states are bio compatible (whether it voids the warnuty or not is a different issue) The other horror story and probably the more common one is someone who runs B100 through an engine that has had regular diesl for a number of years and it disolves all the crud in the lines and gums the fuel injectors. If you want to avoid that start running B20 for several tanks so it slowly disolves it and then gradually increase enrich the mix. Most people here will 'make' B50 by filling up half with diesel on an empty tank and the filling the rest with B100.

I don't know about elsewhere bu here in the states Bio is slightly more expensive than regular so if you use it there is a reason other than $.

2divers

[senormechanico]

I thought a little dirt was a problem, but that's ridiculous!

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by 2divers

Alan,


I typically by B20 from a local dealer. The stuff you by from a station has to meet the government regulations on quality so it is probably pretty good. I was cautioned not to run B100 Right away unless the engine was brand new because biodiesel is fabulous solvent of all things petrochemical and currenly hanging out in your fuel line.

The only horror stories I ahve heard is that of folks how take an old diesel engine and the bio eats the rubber on the hoses from the inside out. (witnessed this first hand on a small pump with rubber base in my own test run, turned it to paste in 2 hours of exposure.) All the new diesel vehicles here in the states are bio compatible (whether it voids the warnuty or not is a different issue) The other horror story and probably the more common one is someone who runs B100 through an engine that has had regular diesl for a number of years and it disolves all the crud in the lines and gums the fuel injectors. If you want to avoid that start running B20 for several tanks so it slowly disolves it and then gradually increase enrich the mix. Most people here will 'make' B50 by filling up half with diesel on an empty tank and the filling the rest with B100.

That's what we've have found, also. We started out hauling B100 in the third tank of the tanker to mix the other two tanks with regular diesel for a B20. I got a complaint of a hose leaking so I went out to check it out. The outer skin had turned to tar and the only thing keeping it together was the wire braid. When I grabed it to pull it out the skin came off on my gloves. What a mess that was.

We no longer carry the B100, just the B20 and we've upgraded ALL the hoses............................._/)

[unbusted67]

last time i went to the pumps i don't recall seeing biodiesel. is this stuff readily available in the states?

[delmarrey]

Contact these people and they can probably tell you all the places in MA.

Biodiesel Blog: Biodiesel in Boston

....................................._/)

[unbusted67]

God love the hippies on the Vineyard. They've got it there. Of course it will only cost $7.95 a gallon

[kydivemaster]

To the fellow above who said his cummins didn't come with bio in the tank that would depend all the one built in Mexico come with PreMex 100% Bio.

Keith