Bio Cleaning out the Fuel System?

[Alan Reagan]

Filled up with my second tank of Bio on Saturday. Today at lunch I slowed for a traffic light and when I started accelerating, the truck start bucking and puffing smoke rings. Scared the crap out of me.



Took it to the house and pulled up at my shop. Pulled the fuel filter and there is this light grey, greasy substance on the filter. Drained the cannister and this stuff was all over the bottom. It took about thirty minutes to wipe it out (using lint free wipes).



Then I poured mineral spirits in the cannister, drained it, and wiped it dry. Checked the lift pump operation and it filled the cannister right up. Drained it for a final rinse cycle and put in the new filter.



Truck runs like a scalded dog now.



I was told that after about one or two tanks, something like this might happen. A Ford owning buddy of mine told me that's what his did on the second tank. He said he was warned by the distributor that Bio cuts the crud out of the tank and lines and cleans everything up. He said he hasn't had any problems since his second tank.



So, is the system cleaned out now or has anyone had this problem using Bio Diesel?

 

[SHobbs]

Alan.



Same thing here when I started. I usually change the filter every 6k. I changed the filter at 3k then again after another 3k after that I went back to my normal. I ran B20 for 2mo then went to B100.



My first filter change was real dirty and as you described I had the same gunk in the canister. Bio has a natural detergent property to it and it will clean the system good.



I really like the way my truck runs on bio and so far I have had no problems down to at least 27*, knock on wood.

 

[Alan Reagan]

Thanks for the response. That's what I understood. It sure stopped up the filter. By the time I got to the house, I could only get the truck up to about 40 mph. My bud with the Ford said that he has had no problems since the initial cleanout. The Bio (20%) runs good so far. It would be nice if it were able to keep the injectors as clean as it supposedly does the pre filter portion of the system.

 

[Headshot zod]

did it look like this?????

 

[Alan Reagan]

Headshot, mine wasn't quite as brown. Probably the difference in time. It was a very light grey. I wish I had taken pictures. There were little "clods" on the filter element. This stuff was very viscous. It took some firm wiping to get it out of the cannister.



This morning, I could really tell a difference in performance. I just took it for a short trip yesterday after the filter change. This morning, there is a lot more power and acceleration is very impressive. Must be the combination of the Bio and new filter in a clean system.

 

[Eco Rednek]

I just changed mine cause my gas mileage was going down. I have run maybe 100 gallons of about B70. I just got the truck Nov 4, It has run on #2 its whole life..... Not sure when the previous owner last changed the FF.



How does this compare.

 

[Alan Reagan]

That's what it looked like. There were small clumps of this greasy stuff all over the filter. The bottom of the cannister was smooth with this stuff about 1/16" deep. Since the filter change, it seems to be running really good.



I called the distributor and of course he said he has had no other complaints of problems. I kept the filter in case it happens again. It could have been a slug of bad fuel that has just been sitting in the tank. I hope it was just the system being cleaned out.

 

[Cattletrkr]

I started running bio in Apr/May of '05. I ran B5 until about Sept when I had my fuel guy mix me up some B40. Next 550gal. was B20. Since then it's been too cold so I've been running B2. I had absolutely no probs until November, shortly after MN mandated B2 in all diesel. I had a couple filters plug on the barrel and one or two in the truck. How could I go all summer with no probs and 20X the bio???? I smell a rat, a BIG OIL-ly rat.



I think I'm gonna put this post in it's own thread.

 

[JFaughn]

did it look like this?????

To me it looks like a couple if things the darkest I would guess is the cleaning of system the other is even a bigger guess , some sort of reaction to some thing or maybe a bad batch. should carry a couple extra filters.

 

[Alan Reagan]

I'm back to straight #2 for the winter. I don't know what that stuff was but it had no smell and was hard to clean out. I don't think it was from my tank.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

My truck has only used # 2 diesel all of it's life. 11 yrs old. 140,000 miles.



First I ran a tank of B20. Then a tank of B38. Then a tank of B20.



I figured by now I would start to "feel" the filter starting to clog. Nothing.



So I changed it anyway after the 3rd tank of Biodiesel.



Truck ran exactly the same way w/ the new filter.



Go figure

 

[BPINE]

I have run over 350 gallons of 100% homemade bio with no filter problems at all. I am going to take the filter off now and cut it open for inspection.

The truck runs perfect but I do get some white smoke when it is cold in the morning. The one thing to remember when making your own bio is not to rush the process and don't cut any corners with the ingredients. Stay away from journey to forever and go to http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve it is pretty simple if you just follow along and don't try to re-invent the wheel. We have 3 processors running in my area without 1 failed batch or problems with our trucks.

 

[EKlem]

With my old truck I was running 100% homemade and had to change the fuel filter twice right after starting to run it. After that, it seemed to be cleaned out and didn't require extra changes. I had one batch of bio at some point that I must not have let settle enough and I found glycerin in the fuel filter. That plugged it up pretty good and was hard to see but it was pretty obvious once I touched it Otherwise, I did not have any filter problems.

 

[randrade]

I have been in Iraq for the last year and my wife was running b2, after reading this it made me wonder how my filter was doing So I installed a pressure gauge at the shrader, I only had 9 psi at idle, 7 at cruise and 2 at wot with comp at 5x5. I changed out the filter and it looked similar to the pic posted I have always changed the filter with every other oil change and had never had it look like that. With the new filter my PSI went to 13 at idle, 10-11 at cruise, and 5ish at wot I installed the vulcan big line kit with the pump relocated (kit was very complete and install went smooth). I don't have an incab gauge yet so I don't have new psi results. I will post when it arrives.

 

[Alan Reagan]

Eklem,

If glycerin is a byproduct of bio, that must have been what stopped up my system. In the bottom of the cannister it was smooth and hard to get out. I used lint free cloths to get it. I'm a little leary now of using Bio. My truck is too new to have had that much crud in it.

 

[SHobbs]

I think this is how bio is gonna get a black eye. If you make it yourself then you are up to your own devices and if you get it at the pump it all depends on how well it was refined. I have had zero problems with running B100 and I guess I have to credit this to a good supplier and Bobby the gentleman that owns the pumps. He uses the same stuff and is always checking to make sure all is well. I even took a chance not to long ago when we had two nights below 18*. Even at that temp I had no problems with clogging or contamination.

 

[JFaughn]

Are you saying that you shouldn't make it yourself ?

 

[SHobbs]

Not at all just saying that if you do be careful. If you get a load of bad fuel have fun. I think it's great that folks are making thier own it's one way to get rid of OPEC dependency. Seems that after reading the threads here and the problems that have been reported seem to be bad fuel related and those that choose to run bio need to be watchful of the fuel they are getting or making.

 

[EKlem]

I fully agree with you guys that this should not give biodiesel a bad rep. I made many batches of biodiesel and I must have messed up on one. This was my error, not an error having to do with biodiesel. For the person who is fairly careful, making your own biodiesel is a great thing to do. For others, buying it is the best way to go. I did not mean to scare anyone off with mentioning how I got a little glycerin in my fuel filter. I truly believe that biodiesel is the best fuel out there and I have a battery electric truck so I can compare it to the other alternatives.

 

[bighornram]

Eklem,

I'm a little leary now of using Bio. My truck is too new to have had that much crud in it.

Your truck came from the factory with B5 in it. I think you may be jumping to conclusions here and cutting yourself short of a good thing in the process. #2 is known to leave junk in the fuel system. How much how fast is anybody's guess but look at the numbers of people who run biodiesel on a regular basis who swear by it. If you have made several fuel filter changes and know that your fuel system is clean, <then> have a problem with filter plugging I would say yes it was bad fuel but IMHO you should keep using it. I only have 5000 miles on my truck. It has run biodiesel it's whole life and I have not changed the fuel filter yet. I will post a picture when I do change it for comparison when I change it.