PROSOUTH

I read the post in the search of topic for Bio Diesel and they all sound positive, but I'm still not sure that I won't have problems from it, are there any side effects besides a slight reduction in power?

I have a new plant opening here locally by a friend that is planning on having Bio with a 2% blend of diesel available. I am planning on buying a new 100 gallon tank for the bed and filling up the truck about every 2,000 miles. Is there any given formula for additional need of Power Service or other additives that I need to know about?

Thanks Jim

rockhound

i thought the new crd motors would not run on bio diesel

was i misinformed

Smkndzl

Cummins just came out with a Notice this month about what can be used in a Cummins engine , and they will only honor the warranty on engine using no more then 5% bio fuel , that is the limit at this time until the standard are improved in the biodiesel industries. they say it is not that the engine can't handle more , just the standard of biodiesel is varying from different suppliers.

dodgedude361

Yes, in the winter, not sure where you live, you will want to add anti gel. Other than that, save your money. Bio does what PS does.....just better. If you are running Bio for the first time, make sure you have a fuel filter handy. The Bio will clean out your whole fuel system, and bring it to the filter.

Also, be ready to have the urge for some french fries....the smell of the exhaust is a trip

PROSOUTH

"Cummins just came out with a Notice this month about what can be used in a Cummins engine , and they will only honor the warranty on engine using no more then 5% bio fuel , that is the limit at this time until the standard are improved in the bio diesel industries. they say it is not that the engine can't handle more , just the standard of bio diesel is varying from different suppliers."

I'm curious as to why they gave this warning if bio is supposed to be better for the engine than diesel. Richard says that it is much cleaner burning and lubricates much better without the sulfur.

I talked to my friend today and he told me it will be the first of the year before he gets it all going. He did tell me today that there is a $1 per gallon tax credit for using the bio blend he will be selling, Form 720 and Form 8864 IRS. Sounds like a good reason the use alternative fuels to me.

This guy is from Germany and is a Mercedes Master Mechanic and has an engineering degree among others. He is really sharp, I've known him about ten years and he is very impressive. The refinery is completed and he is now in process of building five satellite plants to provide oil for the refinery one from each surronding county. He is buying soybeans from each area and producing cattle feed as a by product of the pressing operation. He then sells the feed back to the farmers and trucks the oil to the refinery for processing. It will then will ship it out by rail or truck to vendors.

If this works out I'm going to expedite putting in that fuel tank I have been putting off installing. I figure its 80 gallon capacity and the 35 of the factory tank will carry me over 2,000 miles. Heck with 115 gallons of Bio per filling I will only fill up four times a year.

mtedwards

I bought a tank of "Soy" Biodiesel at a Shell station in Clarksville the otherday. I normally fill up there with regular old diesel, but noticed as the tank was almost full that there was a big new sticker on the pump saying biodiesel. The clerk inside the store confirmed it. I was wondering why the price had magically dropped $.30.

I noticed a slight reduction on fuel mileage.

I'll probably be at 10K miles in the next couple weeks, so I'll see how it affected the fuel filter.

Childofthewind

What level of bio are you thinking about running?

At B2, just run it like you would petro, but don't need otheradditives unless you use a antigel, the bio will keep the fuel system clean, give you great lubricity, and add a little cetane. In this case I wouldn't get the added tank. You can find B2 in quite a few places if you look for it;

http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodi...lfuelingsites/

Or, carry some 1 gallon jugs of B100 and dump 1/2 gal in the tank with each tank of fuel. this pure stuff will gel around 30F and may not blend well with the petro unless it's 50F, so warm it up before you pour it in. (but once it is blended it will stay blended)

If you are going to run a level higher than B5 you need to know about the higher gel temps, and the cleaning out your fuel system if you don't have a new truck.

There are a lot of fleets running B20 all year long, and don't seem to be having issues with the bio.

Childofthewind

Could you direct me to this Notice

PROSOUTH

This is what I found on Cummins.com

Cummins B5 Biodiesel Capablity for Dodge Ram Pickup on Display for Visit of President Bush to Biodiesel Refinery

West Point, Va. (May 17, 2005) - Environmental progress achieved by Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) was displayed yesterday as part of a visit by President Bush to the Virginia Biodiesel Refinery in West Point, Virginia. A Cummins-powered Dodge Ram pickup truck with a full tank of B5 biodiesel featured as part of the display at the Refinery to highlight to the President the increasing availability of B5 biodiesel-capable vehicles.

"President Bush and his administration are making an important contribution to promoting the wider use of both diesel and biodiesel fuel," said Christine Vujovich, Cummins Vice President - Marketing and Environmental Policy. "The increased use of diesel engines will help to reduce the nation's dependency on imported oil and enhance our energy security. At the same time, the use of biodiesel will bring economic opportunities to America's farmers."

Use of B5 biodiesel will further enhance the credentials of the latest Cummins 610 Turbo Diesel in the Dodge Ram pickup truck. With 610 lb-ft of torque available and 325 hp rated power, the Cummins engine has more performance than other comparable diesels for customers who demand durable and dependable power.

Jeff Caldwell, Cummins Executive Director - DaimlerChrysler Business, commented, "The option of running the Cummins 610 Turbo Diesel with B5 biodiesel in the Dodge Ram will be seen as a significant step forward in encouraging greater use of renewable fuel. This is a popular engine - last year Cummins produced over 150,000 of the 610 Turbo Diesel engines for DaimlerChrysler who manufactures the Dodge Ram. DaimlerChrysler is to be commended for taking a leading role in helping the nation to reduce its dependency on imported oil."

Pure biodiesel is a natural substance derived from soybean and other oil seed crops grown in the U.S. which is both biodegradable and environmentally sustainable. B5 biodiesel is a fuel blend of 5 percent pure biodiesel with 95 percent standard petroleum diesel, and is the most commonly acceptable specification for heavy-duty engines. The use of biodiesel has grown dramatically from just 500,000 gallons in 1999 to 30 million gallons in 2004. Estimates now anticipate an annual demand of 5 billion gallons by 2012 for renewable fuels, including both biodiesel and ethanol in North America.

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (USA), Cummins serves customers in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations. With more than 28,000 employees worldwide, Cummins reported sales of $8.4 billion in 2004.

Smkndzl

if you want I could get the factory letter scanned and post it on here , this is public info.

Lightman

Prosouth don't even sweat it. Run the b2 and don't treat it any differently than normal diesel, and honestly you will not notice any difference, no power reduction or perceptible improvement in running. B2 is just too little of a blend to really notice and not really enough to affect the overall btu's.. I've run up to b50 in my truck, but several run b100. 5% is nonsense....in most areas you can safely run b20 all year round... This thread really should be in the biodiesel forum...

Childofthewind

Nothing in there that's negative, or mention of blends over 5%

PROSOUTH

From what I understood this is going to be 95% Bio and 5% diesel.

What Biodiesel Forum?

Thanks, Jim

Lightman

Exactly. I posted in the site improvements section that the biodiesel/fuels section should be it's own section, not a subforum of general diesel discussion, as there are many biodiesel posts/fuel posts etc. Anyway it's buried in the general diesel discussion area.

bulabula

Jim, I've been running Soy Bio in my truck since December 04 (thanks Lightman...). In the last year I've only filled up 6 times that didn't include any Bio addition to the tank (during a vacation trip).

I either fill up at a local station that has sells B20; or I make a run to another station that sells B100 and put some in the tank and bring another 15 gallons home with me in yellow cans and blend my own. I've hooked up with some of the local VW TDI'ers and we make a bio run every once in a while too.

I can't say that mileage has suffered (or power) - my lowest calculated mpg was 17.0 and the highest was 22.6. Looking at my figures, I probably averaged B20'ish or so in those tanks, and am currently at B30 levels.

With respect to warranty, the Owners manuals lists the approved % of bio allowed. Cummins has no say in what is covered in our warranty; they only provide engines to Dodge (DC) under their own negotiated contract. Dodge pays the warranty bills. I think my manual says 2%; and thought I read that the number went up to 5% for the 04's.