5-20% Percent Biodiesel

[WM75Guy]

I filled up at Murphy USA tonight and noticed a new sticker on the pump. It stated the amount of biomass biodiesel may be between 5-20%. The old stickers stated contained up to 5% biodiesel. I wonder how MPG will be affected. It is still ULSD.

 

[dodge man]

That's the way the pumps are marked in my area. I suspect it's B5, but you don't really know.

 

[Soundguy]

same here.

 

[MIKE R]

The only marking on the pumps here is its Low Sulfur. Other than that I don't think it has any crap...I meen bio diesel in it.

 

[newbury]

I filled up at Murphy USA tonight and noticed a new sticker on the pump. It stated the amount of biomass biodiesel may be between 5-20%. The old stickers stated contained up to 5% biodiesel. I wonder how MPG will be affected. It is still ULSD.

Don't worry so much about MPG.
I worry about warrantee, on my '09 TDI.
The max VW approves is 5%. I would be just my luck to fill with "5-20%", have a fuel caused failure and the fuel get tested with it showing 6%, and VW denies the claim. I've pulled up to a Pilot station, saw that and rolled on.

 

[MHarryE]

Heat content is 129,500 BTU/gal for straight diesel (average) and 127,260 BTU/gal for B20. That is about a 1.7% loss in fuel economy. However straight diesel varies as much as 15% and in general the bio diesel is more closely controlled. #1 diesel has significantly less heat content per gallon than #2.

 

[BrianDT]

Don't worry so much about MPG.
I worry about warrantee, on my '09 TDI.
The max VW approves is 5%. I would be just my luck to fill with "5-20%", have a fuel caused failure and the fuel get tested with it showing 6%, and VW denies the claim. I've pulled up to a Pilot station, saw that and rolled on.

Exactly, all vehicles with DPF's will state no more than B5, so if it is higher, you could be plugging up a $1,550+ DPF. All I can suggest there is to double treat with a good additive like optilube to try to get as much of it as posible to burn.

 

[cqaigy2]

My Brother in Law doesn't know how to spell maintenance and i won't loan anything to him, not even my least favorite axe, since he already broke it. Has run high bio content biodiesel in his orange tractor for years, until his tractor wouldn't start. That is until i showed him how to empty the water out of the separator and away he goes. So in my opinion, for his situation, the biodiesel hasn't been a problem and he's been running it for years. Just think, if he took care of his tractor, he'd probably have all kinds of problems.

 

[bandit67]

Exactly, all vehicles with DPF's will state no more than B5, so if it is higher, you could be plugging up a $1,550+ DPF. All I can suggest there is to double treat with a good additive like optilube to try to get as much of it as posible to burn.

No, some of the newer DPF equipped vehicles are good for up to B20. I own one of them.

I recommend that owners of ALL diesel equipped vehicles put an additive into the fuel tank nowadays. The ULSD has very poor lubricity characteristics. That is the most important issue now. Use a summer additive to add lubricity, and a winter additive to add lubricity and anti-gel properties. Sometimes, cold spells come before the full package of winter anti-gel is added to the fuel by the suppliers, and there have been instances of new vehicle fuel pumps being destroyed by the ULSD due to the lack of lubricity.

Owner added diesel fuel treatment is inexpensive insurance against fuel-related issues.

 

[WM75Guy]

Stopped at a Shell station in Eustace Sunday. Sign on the pump states up to 50% biodiesel.

 

[Soundguy]

yikes / wow!

 

[Copperhead]

Exactly, all vehicles with DPF's will state no more than B5, so if it is higher, you could be plugging up a $1,550+ DPF. All I can suggest there is to double treat with a good additive like optilube to try to get as much of it as posible to burn.

Not quite true. Cummins has approved up to B20 in their engines. New Holland has approved 100% bio in a lion's share of their tractor engines. I regularly use B10 - B15 in all my diesels with no problem and no warranty issues, including my Jeep Liberty diesel and 2013 Freightliner. I guess I primarly use that much bio, because that is what is generally available at most pumps in my area. Pumps that have non-bio diesel are rare anymore at commercial fueling facilities in my operating area. There is no evidence that bio will have a negative effect on DPF's. Thousands of commercial trucks fuel daily with bio blends and the majority of them have DPF and SCR systems on them. The Technology and Maintenance Council, the de facto standards committee for commercial fleet vehicles of all sizes, has studied the bio issue and found no major problems with modern engines and emissions equipment.

How does it affect mpg? Well, my 4500 lb Jeep Liberty diesel gets, consistently, 33-34 mpg on road trips. The original sticker on the window said it would get 27 mpg highway. My semi is averaging 25% better fuel economy than the standard fleet averages. Not saying that bio will increase mpg, just that I have not seen any real mpg hit by using it. This is not the same can of worms as the ethanol crowd has.

 

[Soundguy]

Not quite true. Cummins has approved up to B20 in their engines. New Holland has approved 100% bio in a lion's share of their tractor engines. .

I know my old 2000 NH 7610s had a section in the manual about alternate fuels.. for instance.. it can run off 100% rapeseed oil.. etc.

different filter and oil change intervals..e tc..

 

[medic0648]

I like the higher bio content diesel. I was getting around 25mpg in town on b100 and a good fuel treatment in my 95 f350. Better power than ulsd too.

 

[CowboyRon]

Stopped at a Shell station in Eustace Sunday. Sign on the pump states up to 50% biodiesel.

Are you from Eustace, our place is by Mabank.

 

[bandit67]

I like the higher bio content diesel. I was getting around 25mpg in town on b100 and a good fuel treatment in my 95 f350. Better power than ulsd too.

That's odd because Bio has a lower cetane rating. On my 01 7.3L, bio dropped my mpg at least .5 mpg, and it had a little less power too, but nothing to bad with the other upgrades I had made.

 

[medic0648]

My 95 hates the ulsd. It loves high sulfur fuel. Not enough lubricity for the fuel system. My only gripe about bio is when I've run pump diesel for a while and go back to high b% fuel and I go through a couple fuel filters cleaning the tank out.

 

[BrianDT]

You must have some nasty fuel in your area if you are plugging filters after running bio. While it does clean out the fuel system, there should not be that much grime in there to clean. You could also be getting bad bio-diesel.

I am surprised that your truck does not like ULSD and shows it in mileage. LSD, while more lubricative, has the same cetane rating as ULSD and should perform the same mileage wise. All of our diesels get a dose of Opti-Lube XPD in every tank due tot he poor USA fuels. most have very high scar ratings and Opti-Lube give us the lubricity needed for the pumps and adds cetane. You can get the stuff cheap at a group buy at the TDI club or here: Diesel Fuel Lube ? Save Money on Your Opti-lube Order

 

[medic0648]

I know the guy I was getting biodiesel from and it definitely wasn't dirty. He is ocd about the fuel he runs in his equipment. Poor quality fuel wouldn't surprise me since I've gotten GAS from the DIESEL pump before.

 

[tracter]

Don't worry so much about MPG.
I worry about warrantee, on my '09 TDI.
The max VW approves is 5%. I would be just my luck to fill with "5-20%", have a fuel caused failure and the fuel get tested with it showing 6%, and VW denies the claim. I've pulled up to a Pilot station, saw that and rolled on.

VW (Aust) do not recommend anything other than straight Diesel in VW product in Australia , they actually have a sticker on the fuel filler warning against its usage