Has anyone come up against this? It has me bumfuzzled! 2001 Dodge Cummins running on 100% Bio-D, and the Fuel Filter clogs up within 1 week Fuel pressure has droped to 6psi and lower. When the Fuel Filter is changed, pressure back up to about 14 - 15, and good to go for another week. Changed from the replacement OEM Fuel Filter to a high dollar Fass Filter that recirculates and filters the fuel in the tank up to 5 times per hour. It has a much larger capacity Fuel Filter (10 micron) than the Dodge Filter, and it also has a 120 micron water seperator. It clogs up within 1/2 day. Truck completely quits, pressure down to zero. When the Fass Filter is changed, pressure up and truck runs great. PS... New Fass Filter has been dialed up at factory to 22psi.

 

Robie, welcome aboard. There's an entire fuels/bio forum within the General Diesel Discussion forum.

As far as your issue is concerned, the bio is a detergent and is loosening up all the crud that has built up in the tank over time. Your filters are filtering the crud out properly.

If it keeps clogging, you might want to strip out your fuel tank and clean it mechanically.

If you always get fuel at the same place, you also might want to change to someplace else (that may have less crud in the fuel).

 

Robie, I have been 100% BIO for two years and only had to change one filter due to a bad batch. If your making your own, make sure the PH is consistent and all the glycol is out.

 

If you havent been running bio much before, you might just chalk it up to crud in the tank getting loosened by the biodiesel.
It may also be that there is too much water content and theres some algae or bacteria in there making a mess. Or it might be a bad batch of fuel with glycerin still settling out.

 

I have been running various mixes of BD, depending on how much I have on hand, for 2 years now, in my 12v, and it still has the same fuel filter that was on it when I bought the truck. Heck, when I have a questionable batch I run it in the 12v, since it will burn anything that makes it through the filter.
Your problem is bad fuel or crud in the tank, as others have said. Have you disected an old fuel filter to see what's clogging it up? That would help this investigation.

Chris

 

There is one other possibility - what used to be known as diesel algae. I had this problem on my boat. I didn't think it was possible to have a living organism in diesel fuel, but it sure is. I had two 250 gallon tanks of diesel and both were contaminated. Both fuel filters on my Perkins diesels would foul almost immediately after being replaced. Actually there are some 27 different varieties of Hydrocarbon Utilizing Micro-organisms (now called humbugs) that thrive without sunlight, in warm conditions and with a minimal amount of water (i.e a few molecules thick is all that is needed) in diesel fuel. The symptoms are exactly as you describe - clogging of fuel filters in a short period of time. A little bit of research on gov't sites says anerobic colonies are also a problem in biodiesel.

It is very hard to get rid of. I had to drain both my tanks and have them washed out with a biocide. You would not have believed the green and black crud that came out with it. Once done, new diesel and no problems. Be careful with biocides though. They can't just be added to the fuel without cleaning out the inside of the tank because killing off the colony might create a huge sludge problem in and of itself. What I don't know is if the switch to biodiesel can hasten the growth of some or kill them off. Do a search on the above and you'll come up with some interesting stuff.
regards,
AJG617

 

AJG617, that's frightening. I have heard of this sort of thing in diesel fuel, but never heard the extent of the damage it can cause. Man I hope I never get a case of that. I'll need to research what causes it now, so I can avoid such things.

Chris

 

Yeah Chris it was. I think boats (or storage tanks) are more susceptible because the fuel tends to be used at a slower rate. But all you need is one bad load of fuel. All this stuff needs is a petro product, a touch of water and NO oxygen to breed. And the organisms can be transmitted in the liquid or by air. The tanks in my boat were built in under the floor. I would have had to remove the entire superstructure to get them out. Not an option. I had run the tanks down a bit, maybe 100 gallons or so in each. But even back then at .69 a gallon, 500 gallons to refill hurt. But, I always kept my tanks topped off after that to avoid any possibility of condensation in the air in the tanks.

Here's a quote from Cummins filtration:
"Upon initial changeover, there may be some cleaning of the fuel supply system, tank, lines etc with either ULSD or a biodiesel blend. If this occurs, it could temporarily cause premature filter plugging due to the higher amount of particles in the fuel system. This should be a short term condition. In addition to this cleaning effect, the properties of both ULSD and Biodiesel are a more favored environment for microbe growth."

Here's the link. http://www.cumminsfiltration.com/pdf.../PB02-07-2.pdf


regards,
John

 

Other than filter clogging has anyone experienced problems with higher levels of Bio? My 2007 5.9 manual says it is only rated for 10% Bio but no reason is given. Would using higher levels cause problems? I have heard of incompatability with certain types of rubber hoses.

 

That's CYA on Dodge/Cummins part. Most manufacturers are this way now. One reason, as I understand it, is because people are making theiir own, and there is less, if any, quality control. If you run bad BD Dodge/Cummins doesn't want to warranty it. If you are only running a small percentage, it's probably not enough to cause bad things to happen in the fuel system even if it is bad for some reason.
It's hard for us little BD makers to meet ATSM certification.

Chris

 

Possible Causes:

1. Bad biodiesel that has a lot of glycerin left in it. Do a 3/27 test to check.

2. Incompatable filter element I've heard of this happening three times. Try a completely different brand of filter. Even twice if needed.

3. Dirty fuel system. This is more myth than fact. The fact is that only about 1 out of 100 people who switch to biodiesel ever have a plugged filter. It does happen, but not that often.

4. Algae growth. Hmm. It would be the first confirmed case I have ever heard of. Algae and bacteria are basically dirt as far as any filter is concerned. I've had experiences with industrial processes that are prone to bacterial growth and I know it can happen.. You'd be surprised where those buggers can meek out a life. (and some people think we are alone in the universe) LOL

Well, I hope that helps.

 

Umm.. I wouldnt quite agree with that statement but it does have merit.
There are a lot of people out there who don't make biodiesel correctly because they learned "from a friend". They fail to do the proper research and they just want it now.. Yup.. they are out there and there are a lot of them.

However, the "informed" homebrewer will usually make higher quality fuel than the big boys. Why is this? common sense.
When you do something for yourself, and you know what you're doing, the average person will tend to do a better job for themselves than someone who is in business to make money will do it for them.. Hence, the saying "if you want something done right, do it yourself".

Also, most cummins engines wouldnt even care about poorly made biodiesel..
Now a ford powersmoke or a duramax might be a different story.

Cummins and Benz engines are pretty darn tough.

 

Yeah, I read it someplace, and thought it had merit only because I can't fathom any other reason the manufacturers would not go whole-hog for B100, except maybe that pesky petroleum lobby.
If you know of another reason, I'm all ears.

Chris

 

Well as I understand it... or so i've been told... I heard it on the street.. yada yada yada... is that it has to do with emissions.

Apparently, the EPA (environmental protection agency) holds the engine manufacturer responsible for fuel emissions. (Not the fuel producer)

Because the current emissions controls required on diesel engines cant handle the high content bio fuels yet, they stipulate a lower ratio.

A few facts,
*ratios of b1 to b20 have been shown to cause a significant (think 50% or more) reduction in all particulate levels and byproduct emissions.
*Bio ratios higher than that can cause slight (think an extra 5%) increase in NOx emissions. (think laughing gas)

NOx emissions are a greenhouse gas.. (a really bad one too). So the epa has set limits on these.

Since biodiesel increases these levels past the epa standards, the engine guys cant endorse biodiesel to the high content levels.

 

They say emmission, which translates into taxes.. Just wait until they figure out how to levy a tax on homebrew! Then there will be no problems.