Bio Diesel

In October we here in Oregon will only be able to purchase BioD at gas stations. How will this effect older engines like my Farmall 560?

get ready to change a lot of fuel filters

Not much effect 'cept for the slight odor of french fries.

Actually, the exhaust from whatever bio-blend we have around here reminds me of the smell of paint burning off of the manifold, etc of a recently repainted tractor.

We've had NO unusual problems whatsoever with clogged filters. I SUSPECT some of the folks who have have had some stale diesel in their tanks with a bit of algae or whatever living in it.

For those of us that burn enough diesel and keep it fresh, I can't see ANY problems, whatever.

A little Biocide can work wonders, as well.

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ive used up to a b10 blend, and had no problems with filters. However, when it gets cold out, you have to use at least double antigel, and im not sure how that would affect an engine over the long term. Ive since went to regular diesel during the winter.

The local diesel mechanic instructors say this is the best fuel to use since they took away the sulfur.
I have a neighbor who grinds bales for a living and he claims that he's never had a gelling problem with it, even in sub-zero weather.

Been running B10 (10% bio) for 6 years now.

I have 4 125hp+ diesel tractors and a 150hp combine.

In those 6 years I have changed the combine filter once and only two of the tractors once.

In others words. Buy Clean Fuel and Keep It Clean.

Gary

The only thing going around in south Texas is that there is a problem with long time storage. You have to use it up quick. We haven't used it yet.

Used B10 for 2 years, B20 for the last 3. No filter problems, no gelling problems (I have always used 1 gal PowerService Arctic Express to 250-300 gallons). Didn't notice any real difference. My brother claims the engine crack is a bit quieter. I don't pay that much attention.

My son works in the research area of the Ag Engineering Dept at U of Minn. They were successfully running common diesel engines on 100 % Bio. We ran all of our diesels (1968 Ford 8000 tractor, + 2 newer Ford tractors, + 3688 IH, + CIH 1060, + older IH combine, plus 2 Ford powerstroke pickups (paid the road tax). We had no problems and no filter changes necessary. But availability of B100 was an issue, and we got another supplier. It seems their Bio was made from waste animal fat, and maybe not made correctly. It gave us problems with fuel filters jamming in cold weather with little white balls. The soy B100 never gave us a problem. The second supplier had also flushed his tanks with methanol and that ate the heck out of the rubber return lines, heater lines, and hydraulic lines (where it had dripped from a destroyed rubber return line).

When we had the B100 soy diesel, we liked it. The engines seemed to have the same power, they ran quieter and much cleaner and didn't drive us nuts with diesel fumes. Much less exhaust smoke and cleaner engine oil. We didn't have gelling problems, but did use the normal antigel stuff. The injector pumps and injectors like the better lubricity of the Bio fuel.

When we had the B100 from the animal waste fat, we hated it, especially when it got down to 0*F. The little white spheres were jamming up the bulk tank filters and the engine filters. The excess methanol ate up a lot of parts and $$.

With the required lower (0%) sulfur, our diesel tanks are now home to a lot of black algae, as evidenced by cutting filters apart when they jam up. We had never had this problem before in 30 years of farming. I suspect the bio blends in the no sulfur dino will host algae forever, or until the refinerys put algicide in the dino before it goes into their storage tanks.

That is our experiences with the Biodiesel.

Paul in MN

I know this for a fact.

A good friend of mine works at Ford, engine engineering. He says that bio-diesel is fine ONLY for fuel that does not sit in the tank or fuel lines for more then a week or so, the acids in the bio-diesel rot the fuel system.

I would try to buy regular diesel from a another state or have a bunch of farmers go in together to get a truck to deliver it to a central location and all of you bring tanks to store it.

Sounds like you are talking about SVO rather than approved "biodiesel".

Somebody needs to do some research!

There go all of the VW TDIs' warranties.

The Solar Constant is 1350 Watts per square meter, equivalent to 4 - 6 kiloWatt-hours per square meter per day. That is the maximum rate that a bio-renewable can renew, even bio-fossil fuel. Then the future is indebted.

Nuclear power is secure power.

I make biodiesel for a living and first off there is no acids in it. It is a very good solvent and will eat rubber up. It was originally marketed as paint and decal remover. It won"t hurt any engines it is better for them but seals or hoses may have to be updated. Also it will clean the entire system so you will need many filters at first.