Just bought an '94 burb. Was wondering if I could run bio-diesel or soy diesel in it with out any problems?

yes you can look in bio diesel/alternate fuels threads section for more info, BTW welcome to the site take a minute to update your sig per welcome note sticky and also go through the FAQ sticky for more new to 6.5 Diesel info

Just bought an '94 burb. Was wondering if I could run bio-diesel or soy diesel in it with out any problems?
WVO and SVO blended in will work too

I was under the impression that the optic sensor didn't like the cloudyness of Bio, but I saw the show on "Spike" called Trucks where they had a system to make it at home and it looked like it refined it pretty clear. What do you guy's think?

I say use it. Fuel injection shops could use some extra customers and pumps are cheap.

BD clouds at higher temperatures than that of #2 Petro Diesel. Cold weather is a problem with BD, especially B100.

Yes, you can brew your own BD at home, but, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. You never, never, never, never, never want to stick homemade BD in your tank, unless you know what in the world your getting into, or have big bucks for new IP just burning a hole in your pocket.

BD isn't that difficult to make once you understand it and botch up a few batches.

I say use it. Fuel injection shops could use some extra customers and pumps are cheap.

OK D Pro could you explain this for those whom might not understand, Like Me, Thanks

Insert thy tongue deeply into thy cheek, and you'll sound just like him. Next thing ya know, he'll have you gettin' your grease gun out for that pesky muffler. Never did like them cheap telfon bearings in them.

OK D Pro could you explain this for those whom might not understand, Like Me, Thanks

If your going to use this stuff please consider whether or not replacing the injection system once and awhile is going to be worth it. Sooner or later the stuff is going to screw up and you are going to have a very high repair bill on your hands. The DS injection system is probably one of the worst applications for alternative fuels. Suggest using a system with a Bosch Inline pump that can take the abuse and keep on pumping no matter what.

Notice how muffler bearings last longer when the cat is removed? Seems when the cat was in heat it would corrode the bearings unless it was serviced promptly. Ceramic roller bearings work best.

Boy, I need a tongue-in-cheek detector for this one. :) I've run a couple of tankfuls of B99 in my Tahoe. It runs very well, except that the fuel economy suffers slightly. It runs very smooth, eliminates black smoke, and cleans the intakes. I read an article from Stanadyne that said that they not only do not oppose using biodiesel with their pumps, but they support it. See this link: www.biodiesel.org/markets/pre/resolution.pdf

I researched this pretty thoroughly before running some in the tank. It should be fine, unless your diesel has natural rubber lines or gaskets. Those with synthetic rubber will not react to the biodiesel.

Sincerely,

Rob :)

OK So where do you get your's at. Do they have station's where you live or do you mix your own from the local KFC??
I am trying to see if there is anything around this small town that would help me try this out?

Insert thy tongue deeply into thy cheek, and you'll sound just like him. Next thing ya know, he'll have you gettin' your grease gun out for that pesky muffler. Never did like them cheap telfon bearings in them.

I believe that DP was for real in his comment thats why I ask the question. I always thought that running that stuff was helpful when mixed and could be done without mixing with a complete system install?

I get mine from a retail station. See http://www.sqbiofuels.com You may be able to find other retail stations around the US. Check http://www.biodiesel.org They have a list of suppliers, distributors and retail outlets. I know of some plans that would allow you to brew your own, but I don't currently have the time, nor the inclination, as it takes sourcing of the oil, purchase of methanol and lye, building of some equipment, and storage of it all, not to mention running the biodiesel still. See http://www.biodieselwarehouse.com for one source of do-it-yourself.

Have fun!

Rob :)

Thanks
don't look like we got any stations around Oklahoma anywhere

Thanks, found one about 20 miles from home :D

Thanks, found one about 20 miles from home :D

Hey, me too. 17 miles, actually.

How much B2 can you safely blend with regular #2?

Moved to Alternate fuels forum, thread is steering away from 6.5 topics

Yes It was, I was keeping an eye on it too. 4 eyes are better than two I always say. :lol:

Iv'e been poking around the site without any luck looking for the answer to my question of "how much B2 can I safely blend in with #2?"

Apparently I should have a couple of extra fuel filters handy for use after running each of the first couple of tanks containing biodiesel. Sounds like it's good for injectors?

Iv'e been poking around the site without any luck looking for the answer to my question of "how much B2 can I safely blend in with #2?"

Biodiesel blends are designated Bx, where x is the percentage of Biodiesel in the blend. B100 is straight biodiesel. B2 is 2% biodiesel and 98% #2 diesel. You can safely blend as much or as little B2 in with straight #2 as you want.

Is it adviseable to run straight B2 without mixing with any #2?

b20 is 20% bio and 80% #2

b20 is 20% bio and 80% #2

The blend listed on the following link is called B2, not B20. I'm pretty sure it's 2%, and not 20%, from what I've heard on the radio stations around here.

http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites/showstate.asp?st=MN

Do you think the B2 is 2% or 20%?

*****One other thing: How many miles should I drive after first putting the B2 in the tank before changing the fuel filter? How many miles after replacing the first filter should I change the second one?

As was pointed out by Oso, the number following the b is the percentage biodiesel. So b2 is 2% bio, 98% petrodiesel. B100 would be 100% bio, 0% petroldiesel.

On fuel filters, I don't think there are any hard and fast rules. If your fuel system is pretty clean, you probably won't have any filter plugging issues (assuming you get spec fuel). Also running only b2 will not have as much solvent power as it would if you were running a higher percentage. All that being said, though, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have an extra fuel filter on hand and perhaps run several tanks through and go ahead and change it. I don't know about the 6.5L but usually fuel filters are cheap enough and easy enough to change that it is easy insurance.

Excellent! Thanks guys.

Around here 5% is called B05. They use both digits so I assumed your B2 was B20.

Thanks guys for the info. I think that I'll give it a whirl and see what hapens.

[QUOTE=w_huisman;626568]The blend listed on the following link is called B2, not B20. I'm pretty sure it's 2%, and not 20%, from what I've heard on the radio stations around here.

http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites/showstate.asp?st=MN

Do you think the B2 is 2% or 20%?

I must admit, after looking at that link, I have never seen bio listed as B2 before. Certainly not around here. If it's only 2% bio, what's the point?:confused:

...I must admit, after looking at that link, I have never seen bio listed as B2 before. Certainly not around here. If it's only 2% bio, what's the point?:confused:

I asked that question of my supplier, and their response was they thought the "old guys" buying diesel from the coop wouldn't trust new fuels, so they wanted to start with a low percentage to be absolutely sure there was no problems, then later go to a higher percentage. I think the problem around here is it is wheat country-for the most part-so the farmers don't think as much of the direct benefit as soybean farmers do.

I must admit, after looking at that link, I have never seen bio listed as B2 before. Certainly not around here. If it's only 2% bio, what's the point?:confused:

I recall hearing on the radio that there is discussion of increasing the blend available at the minnesota locations to 6%, but I don't see anyone offering it yet.

One other question about this stuff. It can get awfully cold around here in the winter. Is this stuff alright to blend with #1 to prevent gell ups?

...One other question about this stuff. It can get awfully cold around here in the winter. Is this stuff alright to blend with #1 to prevent gell ups?

That's a tricky question. At only 2 percent, you shouldn't have much more trouble with gelling than the regular winter blend. But, it also depends so much on the feedstock of the bio. I think it was Mannytranny on the other thread that recommended putting a sample of the fuel in the refrigerator/freezer and I would second that recommendation. Put it in a clear jar (maybe put that inside a plastic bag if you think your wife wouldn't like the idea of diesel fuel in the fridge), then put that in the freezer for a couple hours and see what it looks like. Depending on the temp of your freezer that will tell you what the fuel will do at that temp. If it is gelled at that temp (or even cloudy), the next step would be to let it warm up, then put it back in the freezer (preferably with a thermometer in it) and take a look at it every so often. When you first see a few wax crystals floating around, look at the thermometer and that is pretty close to the gel point.

If you already know by experience how much #1 you have to blend to get by, you may just be able to sweeten the blend a little bit and be perfectly okay. But if you do the test above so you know more what you are dealing with, you may find you don't need to sweeten the blend at all.

Hi Guys,

According to my research, the reason they sell B02, or 2% biodiesel, is that this is the ratio that companies like Standyne have recommended for use as a lubricity enhancement. The process that reduces the sulfur content of petroleum diesel has the undesirable side-effect of also reducing lubricity. With the mandate for ultra-low-sulfur fuel in 2006, the pump manufacturers are looking for ways to increase lubricity while maintaining low-sulfur ratings as well. One easy technique is to add biodiesel.

As you increase the amount of biodiesel, you increase the lubricity of the mix, as well as the solvent power. I have found that biodiesel is excellent at removing accumulated crud from your fuel system. My system was reasonably clean to start with, so I started with B50 (since my retailer sells B99-B100, I can simply run on diesel #2, and when my tank gets to 50%, I just fill it up, and I know it is now B50. I then ran another tank of B85 (according to my self-mix calculations). After going through both tankfuls, and running about 1000 miles, I swapped out my fuel filter. It definitely had some gunk in it, and everything in the bowl looked squeaky clean. I mean - REALLY clean.

On the 99 Burb, I was coming cross-country with the family (running in 114 degree heat last summer) and stopped in Boise. A station was selling B20. I was running pretty low, so I filled it up (with my wife looking a little worried that I was filling up with 'experimental fuel'.). When cruising along the Columbia Gorge, the SES light came on. I pulled over, and checked fluid levels, engine oil (I had changed the engine oil before starting on this 4500 mile journey) and so on. Everything seemed OK, although I noticed the exhaust smelled a little like fried food. The SES light went out after another 50 miles, and I took it into a service center in the next day or two. They could find no bad codes and no problems. I changed the fuel filter and found all kinds of black gunk in the filter, although the bowl looked plenty clean. I can also say that the '99 Burb is running better than it ever has - smooth, strong, plenty of power, and no black smoke at all. I think the B20 did a pretty good job of cleaning the intake and injectors, and smoothed things out quite well!

I personally think that this fuel is a great idea, and that vehicles run really well with it (assuming that you have newer non-natural-rubber fuel lines) and that if you change out the fuel filter and stay on top of things - everything just runs better, and we reduce our dependance on foreign energy!

Sincerely,

Rob

I just wish, there was somewhere closer to me that sold B20 or Bio at all, the nearest place to me is like 2 hours away.

Ya, my place is 2 hours too. But they are kind enough to meet me half way.

I just buy enough to last me 6 months at a time. Works good.

I dont mean to be hijacking this thread, but I tried searching and found nothing about how biodiesel affects horsepower in higer performance duramaxes? Does it run better/worse or about the same? I thought I read somewhere a long time ago about how it didnt work for drag racing/sled pulling. Can anyone enlighten me on this?
Thanks,
Jason

It depends on the type of oil the biodiesel is made from, but some can have slightly lower btu ratings than regular #2. I doubt it is enough to be significant, but could be. Not really power related-but I am not sure if it would be an approved fuel for competition, either.