Just found a somewhat close (30 miles away) supplier of B5, nothing more. Its about 6 cents less than regular diesel. OK filled up and pulled 5th wheel (truck only had 4500 miles on it so don't expect great millage yet) got only 8.5 mpg for 200 mile trip, filled up with regular fuel and got almost 10 mpg on the return trip. Am I guessing correctly that bio does not give the same BTU's as regular #2? or might it just be a minor difference due to driving conditions, wind etc? This was not ment to be a scientific study and I did not notice wind conditions etc but I was surprised that millage was a little lower with bio than regular #2 and lower than I expected. Not comparing cost of bio as long as it isn't significantly higher or lower than #2 and in this case it was 6 cents lower than #2 so doubt that would equal out to the reduced mpg. I know bio has more lubricity but other than some dino oil savings are there any other good points, drawbacks or ????

Just looking for others observations to see if it is worth the drive just to get some Bio.

 

Several (5 or 6) tanks of B20 has done nothing to slow my steadily improving mpg as the truck breaks in. Just over 10k now and clocking 15.9 mpg hand calculated.

 

Yes Bio does have less BTU's when compared gallon for gallon with regular diesel yet some claim they get the same or better mileage with it. I've been told that Bio will clean out any crud that is in the fuel system when used at B50 or stronger and is why you have to change out the fuel filter every week or so when it's used in older trucks.

 

I ran B20 quite often in my 05 and never saw a decrease in mileage. It made the engine run quieter too.

 

Any % of bio will clean , just the higher % clean more & faster , you do not have to replace filters on a weekly bases for weeks & weeks , just once or twice and back to normal .
I started with 10% , then the old filter plugged about 5-6 days later , then went 35% , did not plug again , that was over a yr ago [ 20,000 miles , I now change fuel filter at 10,000 -15,000 ] now I am going down to 20% , the little millage difference can hardy be proved either way , because of wind mostly , I can drive the same places & speeds ect and millage will vary up to 2 mpgs , bio does have less BTUs [ going by memory , about average of 10-20 % , too many variables to pin down ] but it also has higher centaine , about 5-15% more .
A few of us seem to get better power & millage at between at 20 & 25 % bio , also runs quieter & smother idle .

 

i dont know about biodiesel. Im running on 100% vegetable oil, once the engine is hot, and the millage hasnt changed by more than 1 mpg. maybe the fuel heating or higher fuel pressure has something to do with that....

 

four wheeler magazine did a comparison with #2 and i think b5. if i recall correctly they got a couple mpg less with bio. out here bio is more expensive than #2 so i havent tried it yet. it was 30 cents more a gallon than #2, kinda defeats the purpose if it costs more. i had always heard it was less expensive, but i guess it's just california.... go figure.