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footslogger's avatar
footslogger
Explorer
Jan 03, 2014

Use of Biodiesel

I fueled up at a Murphy Express station the other day in central Florida. While pumping I noticed a small tag on the pump saying it dispensed B-20 and the fuel contained biomass between 5% and 20%. I have never consciously purchased bio-diesel before. I topped off my tank, putting 72 gallons in my 135 gallon tank, so I ended up with slightly more than 50% B-20. It happened that the price at this station was about ten cents less per gallon than most other stations in the area.

Cummins now endorses bio-diesel up to B-20, but I have heard that it can act as a detergent and cause fuel system clogging after the first few loads.

So ... what can I expect?

1. Does the use of bio-diesel affect performance, mileage or maintenance?
2. Is it commonly dispensed in this region?
3. Is it normally cheaper than unblended diesel?
Class A
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Jan 04, 2014
    I friend of mine who is a fulltimer has a 1998 Dutch star that he converted to run on used cooking oil. He built this system about 6 years ago and has traveled from Quarstite to Fla for $50. He installed a FG boat tank to hold the oil and a heating system with a centrifuge to filter it. Starts the MH on regular diesel then switches to the cooking oil once it heats up. He work camps in Fla during the winter and collects it all winter in 50 gal cans and pre filters it and travels in the summer. He also buys it pre filtered from others along the way for about $.50/gal. Bottom line it is a lot of work but no detrimental effects on the eng. From what he told me this is only viable for older engines.

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