20% Bio Fuel at Flying J/Pilot

OTR trucks stop at many different truck stops to fuel and they have many different blends of diesel. Does anyone really think that they would fuel their trucks with the blends that are out there if they would hurt their engines. I have the Cummins ISL 400 in my 2008 rv and have not had any problems with the different blends. Do engine problems happen, of course. I don't think it is caused by the biodiesel. I am a retired otr driver and fueled many times with biodiesel and never had a problem.

eheading wrote:
Turtle n Peeps, I assume you are talking about a Cummins engine in a Dodge or Ram pickup truck?? My Cummins engine is in a motorhome, and the warranty is from Cummins, so if they tell me that if I follow their procedures all is okay, then I'm not jeopardizing my Cummins warranty.

That is correct. I just don't want people that own a Cummins in their PU to think that if Cummins says it's Ok to think that Cummins will warrantee their problem. They won't.

If you have a HM with a Cummins in it, then yes, Cummins is on the hook if something goes wrong.

IMHO I think it's garbage that I can't find fuel for my truck when it's manufacture says anything over B5 can hurt the engine. :S

Biodiesel has some nice advantages, but with all the politics involved, its merits are pointless. It would be nice to have a pump with B0 and a pump with B100. If a vehicle can handle pure biodiesel and the different properties, biodiesel is useful, especially getting rid of kitchen grease, waste oils, and so on. However, most vehicles will have big issues with B20, much less anything greater... and diesels are not cheap to fix. A high pressure water pump can be $10,000. Diesel injectors are costly. A new DPF will be a few grand.

With diesel engines so costly, it would be nice to have fuel stations at least respect this and have more accurate posted stats of biodiesel.

06Fargo wrote:
What exactly would be the negative effects of bio diesel blended fuel in California's climate?

The problems are largely with switching from B20 to B5 to straight diesel from tank to tank of fuel. Fewest problems with using B20 only and only in the summer months in areas where the temperatures stay above freezing throughout the day and night. If you live in a temperate area but drive up to the mountains in the winter then B20 can cause problems with newer trucks and is a very big problem with pre 2011 trucks that don't have the special fuel warmer that was added to cope with biodiesel.

The current generation of diesel engines use a high pressure common rail system that is operating at up to 41,000 PSI and is a lot more sensitive to problems with the fuel supply than older engines. Effective fuel filtration is critical and injector repairs are more expensive than a complete engine rebuild of a gas engine. There is no benefit to consumers in burning B20 biodiesel, only to the giant ag corporations and the Congressmen in their pockets.

Turtle n Peeps, I assume you are talking about a Cummins engine in a Dodge or Ram pickup truck?? My Cummins engine is in a motorhome, and the warranty is from Cummins, so if they tell me that if I follow their procedures all is okay, then I'm not jeopardizing my Cummins warranty.

eheading wrote:
Thank you!!!! That is much more encouraging than the message I got back from Cummins via email when I asked them the question. Since it looks like many of the stations in Florida are going to B20 bio-diesel, I was a tad concerned!!!

Thanks again,

Ed Headington

Be VERY careful. Cummins does not warrantee your engine. Ram or your own money does.

Thank you!!!! That is much more encouraging than the message I got back from Cummins via email when I asked them the question. Since it looks like many of the stations in Florida are going to B20 bio-diesel, I was a tad concerned!!!

Thanks again,

Ed Headington

I just googled it. Cummins service bulletin 3379001. Tried to post link but is PDF doc.

How do you access Service Bulletin 3379001? I tried to access that bulletin on their website and was unsuccessful.

Ed Headington