bio-diesel in fort collins

[robertyoke]

they got blue sun bio-diesel 80/20 at pv coop(I25 frontage road & mulberry rd. ) 2. 19 a gal thats about . 30 above regular #2 but if people start using it I would think the price will go down.

and no it does not smell like french fries.

just fyi.



-robert

 

[PaulG]

i thought cummins said that bio-diesel wasn't good for our motors!

 

[robertyoke]

Originally posted by PaulG

i thought cummins said that bio-diesel wasn't good for our motors!

seams to run good with it. Cummins would say that turning the power up is not good, but it sure is fun .

I think cummins recommends only a certain % of bio and not 100% bio. I could not tell you what that % is. If it blows up I will let ya know!

 

[OTRPU]

Actually Cummins pedals some power turn up stuff on their website. Been awhile since I read on it, seems they said 10% was ok. But with fuel prices jacking like they are I'm not about to Go Eco and increase my costs on my own. Supposedly costs more to produce Bio so I think it will always be a premium.



Cheers,

Steve J

 

[txwingrider]

Robert,

Would you please explain to me what bio-diesel is? Is this an additive? Thanks, Cliff

 

[BarryG]

Cliff:

I am not Robert but Biodiesel is diesel fuel made with veg oil. You can get it at only a few places around here. It can come in varying mixtures. B5 is 5% veg oil 95% diesel fuel. It comes in b10, b20, b100 though most places here sell the b20. The local refiner Blue Sun is really trying to make a go of it here. Check out their website it has a lot of info. There is also another site that is out of boulder that has a ton of info in it as well as a homebrew recipe to make it in your garage. Not sure I want to do that though. It is supposed to be more eco friendly and reduce our dependence on foreign oil but currently is at a premium price for a variety of reasons. As time goes by and the market demands it and farmers start growing crops specificaly for it the price may very well drop.

 

[txwingrider]

Thanks Barry for the information. So is the veg oil for better lubrication or just an environmental thing?

 

[BarryG]

It is mainly an enviro thing and to reduce our dependence on oil and has a side benefit of greater lubricity.

 

[JBurghard]

Have been buying B20 from Bartkus Oil in Boulder for over 6 months now and I love it. Go to this website for more info www.gobluesun.com.



I know its more expensive but I did some research and modern diesels were designed to run off a bio fuel but at the time diesel was cheaper so here we are. The only problem with running B100 is there are certain seal materials that do not work well with the B100 and you will develop leaks. I have a friend who has been using B100 in his old mercades to see what will happen.

 

[txwingrider]

Thanks Barry! Knowledge acn be a good thing

 

[NC_Mog]

I've been running B20 in my '03 with zero problems. There is a lubricity benefit, higher cetane rating, and reduced emissions.

 

[Pmaloney]

For what its worth I was up a Central Motive Power (Injection pump rebuild shop in Denver) on friday and they told me that Biodiesel isnt any good due to a fairly large content of alcohol used in it and that is hurting injection pumps. Also I work for a school district and we recently tried the biodiesel and stopped using it due to a few busses that would quit running, seemed to have clogged fuel filters. Just what I've heard and experienced.

 

[NC_Mog]

The fuel filters got clogged because the biodiesel even at fairly low concentrations will help clean you fuel tank. You have to expect to change your filter(s) if you start using biodiesel in a vehicle that has had a lot of fuel go thru it.



Good biodiesel should not have any significant alcohol content in it. Maybe that is a difference between biod that meets ASTM standards and biod that doesn't.



Check out this link . There is an article about a Michigan school district that has logged 1 million miles on B20 with a savings on oil changes (they change based on oil analysis) and a reduction in pump replacements.

 

[BarryG]

What NC Mog said. I recently read a rather in depth article that I ran across on the web about bio. It was talking about the homebrew stuff and that yes it can be made at home to a high quality but that alcohol content really is critical (and that it should be tested for it before use) and that if it has much at all the batch is no good for the reasons stated earlier by CMP. Correctly made bio has higher lubricity than straight diesel. It also mentioned the filters and that you can plan on changing a few initially due to the fact that it cleans everything out but after that it should return to normal maintenance specs.