T.W. Brown Oil Co, 1457 Fleet Ave, Ventura. (805) 339-2355. 8 am - 5 pm, M - F, current price $2.82/gallon.

Crap. I called this guy a few weeks ago, and he was about $1/g more expensive......he musta figured out the tax breaks......

Ron, you listening?

Yeah....I just bought some from him....I think I told you he was still working out the paperwork.

I just sent in a fuel sample from him....to AVlube.

I was concerned because some of the fuel looked cloudy...but sampling at my RACOR R90S filter...at the drain...the bio was crystal clear.

I ran the Bio from my container through some paper towels and it was clear. I think all these vendors have a small amount of water...but if you have extra filtration it should clear it up.


BTW: How is the stuff from Bio bob working out?

Hey Ron

I ended up with 3 barrels now......They still seem to look cloudy at about 65° (as compared to about 85° for the bad batch)

I heated up a sample to about 250° and then compared. The heated sample was a bit less cloudy, but it was pretty minimal.

I know the bio Bob makes comes from chicken fat, so that would explain the higher cloud point. I have been meaning to get a sample and cut it to about B50, and then check for the cloud points. That will tell if the cloud is from water or high ester melting points.

But Ive got to get through 160g of it......Ive got a few trips planned, so Ill be running it then. I started on B100 or so, ran that for a few days (because I was too lazy/busy to go to town to fill up with petrol) and it ran fine. I am running on ~B50 now though.....

Ive got a Van Akken E box on the way, and Im anxious to see how that works with B50.

Have a good one..........

Just for your information...according to TED....any bio with animal fats in it will cloud at high temp but still perform ok.

In other words...if you heat it up and cool it back down the sample appears cloudy in the 60F range...yet there is nothing wrong with the stuff.

Have fun on your trips.

I should just quit screwing around with my homegrown tests, and send the fuel in.......

How much did AVlube charge you? Did you send it in B20 or B100?

I am not so sure that fuel filters will catch the water (if it is indeed water). Since it seems to be emulsified within the fuel, it should slide right through the filters.......but then again, we sometimes put emlusifying additives in our trucks in the first place and send it right through the engine.........and like you said, the much greater lubricity of biodiesel may make all of this a moot point anyway.........

sorry, just thinking out loud.

I wonder what Brown oil would charge for B99 w/o road taxes........pry about .30 cheaper than their on road price?

I do not use any additives now since running basically B99 with the occasional D2 or B20 when I am out an about and need fuel. I believe the additives are designed for D2 not for high BD blends.

She just purrs.

My balance numbers are now at +/-1 to 2 with the one damn injector at +4...I have never seen them that good.

The test is for the B99...I will post as soon as I get it.

Do not spend the money...I have another one that I will use on Bio Bob's stuff when I get some.

The fuel tests are around $60.00

Also...keep in mind that I have the Airdog pump that recirculates a lot of fuel and the fuel temps get up around the 120 to 130f. If the fuel was cloudy going in....after a while it is crystal clear...at least in my truck.

Also keep in mind that the CAT filter does seem to collect water at the bottom that is why you see some rust there at times. I just recently changed mine to see...it had about 8k miles on it with over half of it on Bio Bob's stuff and Ted's stuff and the thing was spotless...I wasted a good filter.

How many barrels of bio bobs fuel have you gone through? Do you notice any difference between ted's and bob's BD?

I wonder what the range is for these guys from batch to batch.........

two barrels of Bio bob's....the recycled stuff. The stuff from Ted has been around 3 barrels worth...the virgin stuff and it is noticeably better in terms of smoothness and balance numbers...mileage is about the same.

I just think that when we look at Bio and it is not crystal clear we think there is a problem and there could be. But I looked at B20 from the ITL guys and it was not crystal clear from the pump...neither was ted's nor was the ARCO down the street.

Bio you need to be extra careful because it breaks down faster and because it soaks up water like a sponge.

I think when I get some more drums from Bio bob that I going to rig up an external filter setup....I saw one someone had on a setup from one of the Biodiesel forums. It was in a clear housing with clear tubing so you can see what the bio looked like before you used it.

That external fuel filter sounds like a good idea. I always look at the fuel before I put it though.......

I took out a sample of ~B50 from the fuel filter, and put it in the fridge......It clouded at ~45°. Seems odd to me. But if the B20 that youre getting is cloudy, that makes me feel better.......

I just wish I knew for sure what the deal is with cloudiness.