veggie oil who has started using it??

[PaulG]

has anyone on here started using it? i was wondering about a few things and would like to talk with someone first hand.



1) what was the cost to do it and was it worth it?

2) will our stock pump handle it?

3) i live in CT how would the cold temp effect the oil?

4) where did you put the extra tank.

5) how hard was it to install eveything and do you regret it.



thanks

 

[Supermod56]

If you go to www.thedieselstop.com they have a Biofuel catagory that has some interesting stuff in it. It's a Ford diesel site, gotta keep tabs on the competition!!



Tom

 

[SRadke]

Have you read this thread?



Maybe this one?



-Scott

 

[EBoyts]

PaulG,

1) what was the cost to do it and was it worth it?

You can burn biodiesel blended or 100% without doing any mods to your truck. You can go back and forth, mixing any amounts of bio with petro. Interesting to note, adding 5% bio to petroleum diesel increases the fuel lubricity by about 60%. Also interesting, is that Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine to run on vegetable based oil! He was running peanut oil at the 1900 World's Fair. Rudolph Diesel was a visionary who saw a future with farmers growing their own fuels locally. Pretty cool. Back in the early part of the 1900's, petroleum was dirt cheap (literally) and so that is what the industry ended up going with-- but in today's world,... well... hmmm.

2) will our stock pump handle it?

My understanding is that it will-- but I put in a FASS when I started burning bio (see below).

3) i live in CT how would the cold temp effect the oil?

Commercial biodiesel gets seasonal, winter additives just like petro-- but check with your retailer for specifics. Here's a link to U. S. retailers:

U. S. biodiesel retailers

4) where did you put the extra tank.

Don't need one. Mix bio with petro in any amount you want.

5) how hard was it to install eveything and do you regret it.

Again, no mods needed-- However, some claim that deposit build-ups in the fuel systems of higher mileage engines can result in clogged injectors because burning 100% straight biodiesel can "clean out" your fuel system (similar to how synthetic oils can clean out petro oil deposits in older engines). This is not a problem with younger engines, and not a problem at all if your burning blends-- only the straight 100% does it. On the positive side, bio keeps your injectors running cleaner than petro.

I've been burning B100 for about eight months now and I am a strong proponent. I believe biodiesel is one way our country can become more fuel independent. U. S. farmers can make as much of this stuff as we want, right here at home, and I'm convinced that by doing so we can not only strengthen our country, but also subvert the economies of our nation's enemies.

 

[Cooker]

U. S. farmers can make as much of this stuff as we want, right here at home

Maybe they can grow as much as we want due to our demand being relatively low and the likely probability that our demand will stay relatively low, but the US farmers could not provide enough raw material to produce enough Biodiesel to supply all our this countries diesel needs.

 

[Cooker]

I think the author of this thread is wanting to know about veggie oil and not Biodiesel, these are two different fuels.



I considered running veggie oil for a while until I started reading some published University research. I think I concluded that 20% mixed with straight diesel was what I would feel comfortable running in my truck. It was not worth the hassel to me at that time to find such a small quantity of veggie oil (6 gallons per fillup) to bother running it in my truck. I personally would not feel comfortable running any concentration geater than 20% veggie in my truck.



If I had an older diesel auto and lived in a warmer climate I might look at veggie oil more seriously.



Bio on the other hand is a different story.

 

[EBoyts]

Cooker,

thanks for setting me straight on that-- I was wrongly confusing the two. I'm not familiar with how people are using other veggie oils, and when I saw the "veggie oil" post I was mistaken.



What do you mean, Bio is a different story?



About growing as much biodiesel as we want-- I'm thinking of all the farmers now who get Federal money to leave their fields fallow, and wouldn't it be great if we paid them to help make fuel instead. I'm pretty excited about the prospects and I guess I mis-spoke-- sorry about that. Thanks, EBoyts

 

[Cooker]

What do you mean, Bio is a different story?



I'm thinking of all the farmers now who get Federal money to leave their fields fallow, and wouldn't it be great if we paid them to help make fuel instead.

I was referring to Bio being different in respect to how much, IMHO, that we can safely run in our engines.



True some farmers get paid to leave their field empty, but given the annual total US demand for diesel fuel, if you want me to look up the numbers I can dig them up, their is not enough total farmland to supply the US with it's total demand for diesel fuel. There was a very good discussing on this very topic many moons ago with a former TDR member. If you do a search for biodiesel and use the the member name illflem, you might find some interesting reading.



I also like the idea of an alternative diesel fuel and I think Bio has tremendous potential but I do not think we will ever see it become popular as B100. I think we will see more states like Minnisota (at least I think it is MN) that will mandate that all pumps within a state will be B2 pupms. I would like to see that become more widespread perhaps B5, B10, or maybe even B20. JMHO

 

[darkhorse]

Here is another interesting site promoting straight vegitable oil or SOV www.greasel.com

 

[Supermod56]

What is the price difference between Petro and Bio Diesel??? Petro is $2. 60 a gallon in Idaho now!! Ouch!!! Glad I'm not home!!!!



Tom

 

[darkhorse]

What is the price difference between Petro and Bio Diesel??? Petro is $2. 60 a gallon in Idaho now!! Ouch!!! Glad I'm not home!!!!



Tom

All diesel fuel sold in Minnesota contains, I think it's 10 or 20% biodiesel. Biodiesel being veggie oil with the glycerine removed. It ran $2. 18 when I filled up a couple of days ago.

 

[Cooker]

What is the price difference between Petro and Bio Diesel???

Biodiesel is more expensive. Last Sunday here regular diesel was $2. 25, B2 was $2. 26, and B20 was $2. 46

 

[Cooker]

I pulled this from the Minnesota Department of Ag.



"Minnesota policy makers decided to require the use of 2 percent biodiesel blends in Minnesota diesel fuel by July 2005. "

 

[EBoyts]

Cooker,

Another thing to keep in mind, is that while Petroleum is a finite resource-- Bio is renewable. In that sense, we really can make as much as we want-- within the practical limitations of available farmland, etc... year after year. In these terms its just like wheat or corn-- and we all know how good the U. S. is at growing these in large quantities.

I agree with you about the significance of blends-- even when blended in small amounts (like 2%), adding bio to petro greatly improves the fuels lubricity. Greater blends, like 20 and 50%, may help with keeping injectors clean; 100% certainly does. MHO

 

[paulb]

There has been some interesting Bio-Diesel anouncements in the last few weeks. Here is a link to a Senate Bill - Bio Tax Incentive



And an announcement from Jeep - Jeep Liberity Factory Fill



I agree that the U. S. would have a hard time producing enough Bio-D to replace all the diesel use, but decreasing our dependency on foreign oil, would be a really good thing.



Paul

 

[rweis]

I called biodiesel distributor in Tampa yesterday and biodiesel (Bio30 I think) is $3. 33 / gallon in 55 gallon drums minimum 8 drums to the delivery load to central florida.



Still a little pricey.



Bob Weis

 

[PaulG]

thanks guys but i'm not really looking for bio diesel whats the point of running it if it cost more right???



i'm trying to look at a cost savings here not just to see what else i can burn in my truck if you follow me.

 

[JesseJ]

What about fuel mileage? I've heard running 100% biodiesel increases your fuel mileage significantly, haven't actually seen any hard evidence though, just wondering, for those of you who are using biodiesel.

 

[Cooker]

B100 will decrease MPG's. B20 and less you will most likley not notice a difference.

 

[EBoyts]

Out here in Colorado, the leading Bio producer (Blue Sun ) had this to say:

"Biodiesel has a higher cetane number than U. S. diesel fuel. In more than 30 million miles of in-field demonstrations, B20 showed similar fuel consumption, horsepower, torque, and haulage rates as conventional diesel fuel. Biodiesel also has superior lubricity and it has the highest BTU content of any alternative fuel (falling in the range between #1 and #2 diesel fuel). "



I'll be the first to admit, that you can't always trust what a salesman is telling you-- but my experience has been consistent with their claims. My understanding is that the higher cetane is the result of a "denser" molecule-- which produces more energy gallon for gallon. This is in addition to the already mentioned higher lubricity.



Based on the limited testing I've done, I do not feel I can put an absolute number on the increased efficiency-- but if I had to guess I would say that B100 gets me slightly better mileage, maybe +1 mpg or maybe +1. 5. This is based on the same 600+ mile run I've made several times now on a tank of B100 (consistently ranging 23. 5 to 24+ mpg at 60-65 mph; and 21. 5 to 22. 5 at 70 mph). I think there may be something to this bio claim-- as my mileage with petroleum has never been this high-- usually 1 or 2 less). That's just my experience. I feel very sure of myself when I say my mileage is not worse with bio. This has just been my experience.



I have no experience with "veggie oil", and I'm guessing it may yield quite different results from ASTM Biodiesel. ??