Starting to run bio. Any drawbacks?
 

I tried B100 for the first time. I had the truck as close to empty as I could and put 18 gallons(all they had at the time) of B100 in the tank to test run it. I was below 1/8 of a tank so I figure I there was 5-10 gallons of #2 in the tank yet. That should have put me around B60-B75 that was going into the engine. I couldent tell any diference at all(other than the significantly lower price). If I used my imaginization it may have been a little quiter but thats abought it. It did smoke a little less with the box on high but I couldent notice any loss of power or millage at all. I think I am going to start running this all the time from now on unless someone comes up with a good reason not to. For what its worth I paid $2.25 for that 18 gallons and he said the next load would be around $2.60 ish. I cant see any reason not to run it. If I do though I will probobly try to blen it somewhere around B75 or so. Any input???

Yes, you will have trouble running anything over B50 with a common rail engine. If you continue you can expect fuel filter clogging in less than 1000 miles.
I'm not talking about the clogging produced by the solvent effect of bio cleaning petro diesel deposits from your tank as is experienced by all diesel engines but which quickly goes away.
The high pressures and temperatures in a common rail engine cause the bio to become stringy (polymerize), return fuel rapidly clogs the fuel filter.
Our brand new '03 only made it 600 miles on B75, now has over 100k with no problems with B20.
High percentage bio and common rail engines is a widely recognized problem that the industry is currently trying to solve. The degree of the problem is influenced by the type of the oil crop with soy being one of the worst. Unfortunately soy is also one of the most common feed stocks.
The military was planning on using B100 on their vehicles as mandated by the Pentagon till they found out the hard way. Several large public bus systems trying to run B50 plus in newer engines have had to quit also.

Google common rail biodiesel polymerize for many opinions on the cause and reported failures.

Yes , I agree. You might have problems. I have filled up my entire tank with B20 and a little power service and it ran like crap and sounded like parts were going to fly out from under the hood, and cold start ups, it smoked and sputtered like you wouldn't believe. The only time it ran really good in the truck was when I had already filled up with good #2 ran it down to about a quater tank and filled with B20. It almost didn't even sound like a diesel it was so quiet.
From past posts though, I think it varies from truck to truck. Others have run it and had no problem at all.
Just telling my own personal experiences. Hope it helps

Mike

My '99 runs smoother/quieter on B20 than on straight Diesel.

Poop. I thought the stringy fuel was strictly a WVO problem. Well I guess we will see what happens. I supose I will cary an extra fuel filter to be safe. Maybey I will play it safe and start running B20. Thats funny though my buddie with a CRD Liberty says that all the Liberty owners have not had any problems that he has read abought while running B100.

is the liberty a high pressure common rail?

i have 1300 miles on my new 06 no problems. full tank from the dealer and 20 gal @ 900 miles the rest my home brew b100.vw tdi 30,000 psi ours 23,000 psi vw tdi's have been running b100 no problems. the only problem you will have is clogged filters because bio is a better solvent so it cleans out your system and the varnish/junk ends up in the filter

Good luck Karl.
1300 miles is hardly conclusive.
I'll bet you could also run your truck on four quarts of oil for more than 1300 miles before you have a problem.

I don't have a common rail so I have no input there. My 99 has been running for months on B100 with noooooooo problems at all. The only drawback I have found is the smell of the exhaust. The B100 cleaned out my tank and lines like a laxitive as well. [coffee] It wasn't long after I started using it (around 1000 miles) and my fuel filter was filthy like I have never seen it. Now it stays clean and green. :cool:

read here http://forums.biodieselnow.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5442

several people claim to have run it for a while problem free, several claim ti have run into problems.

yes, it is

never in a 1,000,000 years did i think i would stoop to a level and buy a dodge. i bought an engine and it came with a truck. you could grind up chicken bones and the cummins would still run.bio has been bieing made and used for many years and countless miles. time to stop listening to big oil and kick the dino habbit.

I can't speak for the common rail folks, but I've been running homebrew b100 in my 92 for 10 months now, about 25000 miles. The truck runs better on it than dino fuel, idles smoother, quieter, less smoke with same power and mileage. It does show about a 1-2 lbs less boost, but that may have something to do with the pyro temps being about 100* cooler all around. Due to that, I'm able to keep the foot in it longer and utlimately, pull the load up the hill faster. I went through several fuel filters right off the bat, but the last one ran me 10000 miles before it clogged with the same varnishy looking gunk mixed with an abrasive feeling dirt. When making your own fuel, you can at least control over what goes into your fuel tank instead of being at the mercy of having to pay an oil company for dirty fuel.

So is there no concern for a P-pumped Cummins running higher than B50 other than stock fuel return lines deteriorating? I have run 15 gal B100 and the rest #2 on two different occasions. I dont do it all the time because I fear damaging my truck. Anyone able to fact my fears away? The lure of at least 25 cents a gallon less expensive is hard to resist but fear of rebuilding the engine keeps me from it.

from the research ive done polymerization is a result a poorly made fuel. im at 5k or so with b100 homebrew, no problems, but not really that much mileage. fuel pressure gauge is the first thing im putting in for exactly this reason, ive at least paid for a couple filters by now but if i dont catch it quick enough im no where near the expense of an inector pump.

That's fine, you're making it yourself and have control of the quality but honestly would you put B100 in your '06 from a station?

Last I read only 6 of the current 64 biodiesel plants in the US are producing fuel up to the current ASTM standards.