ckennedy

Sorry to ask before I do a detailed search.. but is it ok to use biodiesel in 3rd gen engines??

widelod

I recall seeing in the owners manual no more than B5

RobbieH

Cummins approves no more than B5, but there are plenty of people running B20.

walt_mink

As far as I can tell it's fine. I run upwards of B50 and have run B100 on several occasions with no ill effects other than a clogged fuel filter. I would suggest buying a few cans of B100 (or B99 for the tax break) and start mixing in higher and higher amounts with #2 until you're comfortable with the idea. That being said, it's just like modding - if you want to play, you have to pay.

Good luck and be cautious of the cruddy home brew processors - they look great, but aren't really what you want.

Walt_Mink

ckennedy

well

the home stuff is what I was thinking of making...

walt_mink

Great - I'm all about it - just do very careful research first. I know the episode on 'Trucks' has attracted lots of people to the hobby, but that processor is, in my opinion, not very good. Do some reading on http://biodieselcommunity.org/ and http://www.localb100.com/forum/ and then make your decision. I'd just hate to see a bunch of people get soured on the stuff because they don't have the right gear / knowledge. Someone on the board was going to be making an appleseed processor ... and I think that's my next goal too.

Oh, and please don't take me as an expert - I am not by any means - I'm just a guy who has been doing a ton of research over the past year or so on the subject.

Walt_Mink

bulabula

B100 and B20 (or whatever you can purchase) is not the same thing as the home brewed stuff using Waste Vegetable Oil.

I regularly run Bio diesel in my truck, but wouldn't let anything resembling home brewed WVO even near my truck - especially while its under the warranty.

Can't say I've ever had any fuel filter issues/dirt running Bio diesel either - then again, my truck was new and didn't have the opportunity for the accumulation of long term dirt. I usually mix it to a near B20 concentration, but have run as high as B50 only for cost considerations.

realsquash

Congrats on finding B100 babula! You must live near *the* B100 pump in North America.

Andy

ckennedy

I know it isn't the same -

today I know 1000% about Biodiesel then 48 hs ago.. not saying just how much that is - it just is.. and one of my question was/is does anyone use appleseed bio in these trucks??

bulabula

Andy, "THE" B100 pump??? LOL, heck, I've got TWO B100 pumps nearby; the closest one is about 40 miles away ($3.60 gal); the other is 120 miles ($2.90 gal).

Last weekend I hooked up with a bunch of VW TDI'ers and made the 120 mile road trip with them to buy some B100. We filled up on almost 200 gallons of the stuff; all in 5 or 15 gallon jugs. Good bunch of folks there - diesel sniffers the lot of them; in those cute little cars ...... They're doing chips, clutches, injectors ... jeeeez Musta had about 100 gal's of beer consumed toooooo.

I was thinking $2.90/gal was pretty stiff last weekend; I'm thinking I might go back and fill up while the going is good.

Anyway, I'm trying to work the local powers-to-be and convince a fuel supplier to open a Bio pump in our county.

I try and keep the mix to around 20% to take advantage of the Bio fuel lubricity etc. without taking a huge hit out of the wallet.

ckennedy, we don't have appleseed Bio in these parts, all we have is soy Bio. Other than knowing the difference between soybean and apple, I can't help much beyond that.

bulabula

Hey Andy, looky here for some info on Wisconsin Bio:
http://forums.biodieselnow.com/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=33

ckennedy

BulaBula

Wish we had a B100 around here.. Willie Nelson has B20 up by Dallas - he has his own B20 fuel...

Anyway - the Appleseed is the NAME given to a type of biodiesel processer that is most popular (and very good for) making home biodiesel.. guess the inventer called it the applesed processor - using WVO...

insert** The Appleseed Reactor is a design created by Berkley resident Maria Alovert

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_processor.html (many diff processers)

http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/appleseedprocessor/

realsquash

I have searched high and low for bio retail. Half of the places listed as retail are co-ops and they won't sell/can't pump just the 40 gallons a week I'd consume. They only deliver to farmers in the area and they think I'm absolutely crazy to want to run B100. I found a B11 retail place, in fact they don't have non-bio anymore, which is great. Problem is it's B11 and it's a 2 hour round-trip. There is a B100 place in Batavia, IL, but that's at least a 4 hour round-trip.

I use 2000 gallons of #2/year. That's $5k+/yr in fuel cost. Even if I could make my own from WVO how the heck do I make 2000 gallons? It would be like a second job just collecting that much WVO!

Andy