Aloha, I am in Hawaii and started using Bio from a commercial producer here. I really wanted to see it work as I am very "Green" at heart. buttttt........
1: I got less power ...about 25% less power
2: The heavy solids (white waxy substance) plugged up my filters (and almost my injectors) and left our Freightliner stranded on the side of the road. I had to spend several hours flushing the fuel system, cracking the injectors, priming, cracking the injectors, etc etc.
This also happened to my Ford Cargo as well.
The company selling the Bio is a large concern, backed by the State of Hawaii, so i assumed they refined it properly, but I was very disappointed. Hopefully you have better luck in Canada.
Frank
My Biodiesel Experience
Moderator: BCDelica
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Green1
- Posts: 3257
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- Location: Calgary Alberta Canada
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Re: My Biodiesel Experience
one of the known issues of using biodiesel is that it does such a good job of cleaning out the system that it actually dislodges all those years worth of "junk" built up by using regular diesel, that junk then ends up trapped in your fuel filters. It is always recommended that you change your fuel filters not too long after switching to bio, after that is done the vehicle should return to full power (in fact some people report an INCREASE in power) and you should no longer have problems with the filters getting gummed up.
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Kuan
- Posts: 323
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- Location: Cowichan Valley
Re: My Biodiesel Experience
Hi Frank,
Sorry to hear about your woes. Green1 is right though, the biodiesel acts as a solvent and cleans out your system. Its often advised to carry a spare fuel filter around when you start running bio.
Also, what percentage biodiesel mix are you using? Its also advised to 'ween' your vehicle on. Say starting at 10% for the first tank and working your way up in 10% increments per tank checking your fuel filter and fuel lines as you go.
Another thing to check is the quality of the biodiesel you are getting. There are some simple checks to get an idea of the purity level or the biodiesel, but I guess if its a commercial supplier they are producing to the ASTM standard, right?
Anyway, don't give up. its worth the effort as long as the supplier is producing from waste veg oil. If they are producing from virgin oil/crops, they are taking land and food away to make fuel.
Regards,
Kuan
Sorry to hear about your woes. Green1 is right though, the biodiesel acts as a solvent and cleans out your system. Its often advised to carry a spare fuel filter around when you start running bio.
Also, what percentage biodiesel mix are you using? Its also advised to 'ween' your vehicle on. Say starting at 10% for the first tank and working your way up in 10% increments per tank checking your fuel filter and fuel lines as you go.
Another thing to check is the quality of the biodiesel you are getting. There are some simple checks to get an idea of the purity level or the biodiesel, but I guess if its a commercial supplier they are producing to the ASTM standard, right?
Anyway, don't give up. its worth the effort as long as the supplier is producing from waste veg oil. If they are producing from virgin oil/crops, they are taking land and food away to make fuel.
Regards,
Kuan
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Schwa
- Posts: 480
- Joined: Tue May 01, 2007 5:16 pm
- Vehicle: 1992 Delica Exceed
- Location: Coquitlam
- Contact:
Re: My Biodiesel Experience
I read somewhere that the tanks on a Delica are painted or coated with something (probably to prevent corrosion) that may peel and dissolve into vegetable oil based fuels, so depending on the condition of the tanks you may be getting that crud too.
Re: My Biodiesel Experience
Aloha, thanks for the encouragement, but I changed the filters 3x. Only after I drained the bio and put regular diesel did I get full power. I suspect the supplier is cutting corners as I heard from other big rig diesel mechanics they had the same experience and the supplier is leaving out an important processing step. This supplier is pushing the Bio on regular gas stations and charging about 15-20 cents a gallon more than regular diesel. I am worried that since Bio is in such infancy stages that this first negative experiences will taint the publics and Governments view here.
frank
frank
Re: My Biodiesel Experience
Hi Frankfrank wrote:Aloha, thanks for the encouragement, but I changed the filters 3x. Only after I drained the bio and put regular diesel did I get full power. I suspect the supplier is cutting corners as I heard from other big rig diesel mechanics they had the same experience and the supplier is leaving out an important processing step. This supplier is pushing the Bio on regular gas stations and charging about 15-20 cents a gallon more than regular diesel. I am worried that since Bio is in such infancy stages that this first negative experiences will taint the publics and Governments view here.
frank
From my experience, with both Deli as well as my 5T truck I drive for a living, a 20% bio mix seems to be the best balance. Power loss is very slight and you still get the benefit- extra lubrication and system cleaning.
I was driving on a 50/50 mix, but the supplier switched to winter diesel with some heavy additives, and the power loss was quite noticeable. Like you mentioned, felt like about 20-25% power loss.
Bio has less energy to begin with, so some power loss is to be expected.
We have quite a few members running on WVO with a decent track record.
Why let someone else make money on you, if you can make your own fuel, right?
Martin
