bio fuel

[gumball63146]

Has anyone converted to biodiesel?if so did your MPG go up or down?

[Ken's PS]

Based on customer feedback, I usually hear a little bit of a loss in mileage as well as a little bit of a power loss because it doesn't have the same btu's per firing.
Kenny

[Herb]

I agree Ken, I have been hearing the same thing.

[Analyst]

I knew that even at a B2 level, biodiesel restores the fuel lubricity, extending injector and pump life. And of course there's all the media buzz on alternate fuels, and the info on how to start making your own fuel. So initially I got excited about one of my main local stations providing a B10 (10%) biodiesel blend, and started using it. But after 10k miles I got around to researching it... and as a result I stopped buying biodiesel. I topped off with a quart of 15W-40 (AME) in my 5w-30 (HDD) to boost the viscosity and TBN, ran it for a few weeks and then pulled an oil sample for analysis.

The oil sample looked good, and I was happy: I had about 50k miles on my oil change with my AMSOIL Dual Remote Bypass Filtration system (BMK-17), and did NOT want to start over with fresh oil.

So why did I do that? Please refer to the AMSOIL TSB on the use of biodiesel fuel (http://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techservicesbulletin/TSB_biodiesel.pdf). Bottom line, biodiesel is very aggressive in lowering TBN. At higher percentages some experts estimate that oil drain intervals will have to be cut in half, and that's what Volvo recommends. Further, the engine oil tends to lose viscosity and drop out of spec far more quickly than normal, and there is a dramatically increased risk of oil sludging & premature oil-filter plugging. :(

AMSOIL's TSB makes this concluding statement:
" AMSOIL Motor Oil extended drain interval recommendations
do not apply to vehicles using biodiesel
fuels at any mix ratios with petroleum diesel.
When using biodiesel fuels at any mix ratio, follow
the OEM recommended oil drain interval."

[And oh, BTW - similar concerns with Ethanol gasoline.]

Bypass filtration helps reduce this biodiesel degradation of course, but in many/most cases it can only extend the drain interval - not eliminate it as many of us are used to doing. In other words, if you're going to use any biodiesel blend(s), you should know what you're putting in your tank, and you should be doing frequent oil sampling analysis to determine a safe oil drain interval. There's just not enough historical information out there yet to understand the full impact of biodiesel.

[diesel envy]

Very good info., alot of people fall into the trap of making decisions emotionally. When it comes to saving our resources, an oil alternative?/substitute gets alot of attention! These formulations waste more resources than they are saving-right now.
Should everyone bite the bullet to modify their cars to run on E85?
NOT! Bio-fuels are a HOT topic.