We have a BD producer just down the street. They are selling B20 to 1 gas station about 11 miles from us. The rest of the production goes to the county, Cherokee reservation and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

I can tell a difference when I run BD compared to regular #2 diesel.

 

Good difference?

 

Just put 100 gal of b10 in the rig yesterday, first time iv got it.

 

I just started using B20 in my rig. I buy it in Belgrade, Mt on Timber st at Pacific Pride (if you don't have an account you can use the card reader with a debit card). Currently $3.13/gal vs $3.10/gal for ULSD

Find Biodiesel click-> NearBio

 

I finished my first tank of B20 Biodiesel and the results look good so far.
The truck runs the same other than a noticeable increase in fuel mileage.
I averaged the last 10 fill ups (not towing) with ULSD and compared them to the mileage on the 31 gallons of B20 I went through this week.
So far on only 1 tank the increase is 3.003 mpg increase with the same driving conditions as the last 10 tanks average. Part of the large increase is most likely due to winter blend. It still was 1.02 mpg higher than the highest ever on straight #2 ULSD.
I will keep using it and see if this keeps up.

 

I'm still gunshy about using yet. I'll was always getting horror stories from my dad who works for a chemical company that had bio in their tanks. Winter was definitely a problem if you didn't keep it treated and the other was the cleaning of the system as mentioned above and plugging things up. I guess being prepared is the main thing.
Anyone know if the manufacturers are recommending higher levels of bio? I have a tech bulletin from AMSOIL on biodiesel that came out a year ago. I'll post. I'll put it in the AMSOIL forum to be on the safe side.
Here's the link to that thread: https://www.dieselbombers.com/amsoil/1445-tech-bulletin-biodiesel.html

 

IIRC Cummins said it was OK to use B20 in fleet trucks so it may also be good in ours but I think Dodge will only let us use B5 at this time for thoses who have a warranty that is. Being Mason Citys Bio plant started up maybe someone in town will sell it for us to try out

 

You would think so. Too bad it was $1.50 from the tap

 

I too am a little gunshy about using it.. something about good old standard #2 makes me feel good .
Scott

 

While there have been issues with biodiesel, they have been pretty well dealt with by the industry. In the beginning there were some reactor issues experienced by many companies (including the one I got my biodiesel from) and it was later recognised that additives were needed to prevent varnish buildup, but those issues have been dealt with. Biodiesel is stable to 40F, below that you will need to mix 50/50 with diesel and below about 15F I would run straight #2 and forget about bio until spring.

Some manufacturers in Europe have permitted use of b100 but most in the us have gone to b5 or b20, this is in part due to the litigious nature of our country and partly due to the age of the bio-diesel industry. In practice any vehicle built after about 1992 should have fuel lines and seals that are compatible with bio-diesel and running it should not be an issue for you, earlier vehicles will need to have the fuel lines replaced with those made of fluoroelastomer (Viton(R)).

Even if you are not sold on the biodiesel or straight vegetable oil concept, it would behoove you to begin adding at lease a gallon of biodiesel with each fill up because as ULSD hits your pumps you are going to start loosing injectors, fuel pumps and injection pumps at an alarming rate, biodiesel restores the lubricity lost through the removal of the sulfur.

I design systems to run on vegetable oil, waste oil from businesses, filtered and put into a second tank. The vehicle starts on diesel and runs on it until operating temp of 160F is reached, a computer then switches to VO for the duration of the trip. SInce the system uses waste heat from the engine it is not temperature restricted and I have clients running at -45 in Alaska. I just finished a 450 mile round trip and burned less than a quart of diesel fuel. Another option, but if you are gunshy about biodiesel, the idea of pouring waste oil from a burger joint in the tank will really make you flinch!

Chris