Use of Biodiesel

My manual says I can use Bio Diesel, after making the switch I would need to replace all fuel filters.

Depending on the age of your rig, biodeisel can be okay or a diaster. We have had some significant problems in offshore boats when the owners started using Biodiesel and it dissolved the several years of gunk in the tanks and clogged the lines and filters. I personally would never use it unless I was desperate, then I would try to run every drop I could out of the tank before fueling again.

Bio diesel has less BTU's per gallon, so MPG will be slightly less.

Much shorter shelf life, so storage (which happens in most RV's and boats) is an issue.

As already stated, it will clean the fuel system-- can be a good and/or bad thing.

Not all engines have the same Biodiesel approved levels. I know that it varies by engine size and also emission family.

Keep an eye on your fuel pressure and be ready to change out your fuel filters (keep an eye on your oil pressure and carry an extra oil filter). Depending on how dirty your fuel system is depends on how much stuff will end up in the filters.

With just having a 50/50 mix you might not have any issues, but will still need to change your filters at some point. How many miles on your pusher?

It is possible you might need to change the fuel filter, but it is not likely at all unless your rig has lots of mile on the cheapest crappy petrodiesel money can buy. B20 is only slightly more detergent than straight petri. It usually takes much higher blends for longer time periods to cause problems, and then only if there's really******built up. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

(I've run 100% biodiesel for over a year in a VW Jetta TDI with 100,000 miles on it, and had no such issue.)

Myron, You have already moved a lot of bio diesel through your Cummins. I wouldn't worry about it.

Your mileage with 20% bio will be less than pure diesel but you've been using bio and just haven't realized it till now. Bio is almost everywhere now.

Bio is inescapable and I had my first taste of it in Florida last year...I changed my fuel filters after 16000 miles and I had to fill up in NC on way back from Georgia a few weeks ago..yep, Wilco was selling biodiesel B15 and I've never had an issue with truck stop diesel so I filled up...headed out soon back to Florida..as long as you burn the stuff and change your filters once a year plus carry spares (which I do) I can deal with it..Not my first choice of course but it is rammed down everyone's throat...

The huge drawback to B-20 for us is the cold weather, which B-20 has a problem with. It will cloud at a much higher temp than non-bio and it will gel at a much higher temp, which raises Cain with diesel engines out here. You will not find any B-20 in our area. We will go out of our way to find non-bio diesel fuel when we are traveling, as I don't want it setting in the tank all winter.

I have had two friends who converted their diesel cars to run biodiesel. In both cases it damaged the engines, injectors, etc.. Could have been unrelated but, the evidence seems to suggest that it was the biodiesel.

falconbrother wrote:
I have had two friends who converted their diesel cars to run biodiesel. In both cases it damaged the engines, injectors, etc.. Could have been unrelated but, the evidence seems to suggest that it was the biodiesel.

You don't have to convert anything to run Biodiesel in a diesel engine car or truck. They probably converted to run used veggie oil, where you do need to make a type of conversion. You need a extra veggie tank which is heated because the veggie is to thick to go thru the injector pump and injectors. You also have to set up a switching system to switch back and forth between diesel and veggie oil, because you need to purge the veggie out of the ip system before shutting down. And that is probably how they damaged their engines. I ran a VW Passat TDI over 150,000 miles on veggie oil with no problems. But the guy I sold it to blew the engine trying to haul what a Dodge diesel pickup would haul. He had 5000 pounds of scrap steel on his trailer when it blew. Poor little 90 hp engine just could not handle the heat being created. I was amazed he didn't take out the clutch or tranny!