Posted 2005-08-31 10:03 AM (#29822) Subject: Biodiesel...
New User
Posts: 3
Location: Willits, CA
Greetings to all...
I've been lurking for a while and finally decided to register and post! With the rising cost of fuel, and the shrinking gap between the price of traditional diesel and biodiesel... does anyone out there use it? I have a 2001 F250 PSD... can I run it without modification??? It just scares me to pump it the first time! Thanks for the input!
Happy trails
Catherine
Posted 2005-08-31 10:51 AM (#29823 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Elite Veteran
Posts: 634 Location: Tipton, IN
I run soy-diesel from our co-op in my 1999 F250 all the time, and when I can't get it I run regular old diesel. There is nothing special you need to run bio-diesel unless you are trying to make the vehicle run on veggie-oil, which requires a two tank setup where you start and stop the truck using regular diesel. The diesel engine was designed to run on peanut oil during the war, so that flamable fuel did not have to be carried by supply trucks and it was very easy to get at that time.
Posted 2005-08-31 3:41 PM (#29837 - in reply to #29827) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Expert
Posts: 1719 Location: PA
Maybe with these fuel price increases biodiesel will become more readily available. I would be happy to pay high prices for a while if we actually started using more alternative fuels. BTW, try to buy your fuel at only the stations that rely only on American sources for oil, Sunoco, BP/Amoco, Phillips 66, and Conoco. That way we aren't giving money to the terrorists to use against us.
Posted 2005-08-31 6:17 PM (#29847 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Expert
Posts: 2689
I've used the blends when passing through places that have it. Not sure if the truck actually ran any better because of it, or because I was doing relatively long hauls. Anyway, no mods needed for the generally available blends.
SVO is a whole 'nother subject (-:
Posted 2005-08-31 7:35 PM (#29852 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Elite Veteran
Posts: 634 Location: Tipton, IN
Just got my new issue of Farm World, and there is an article about a new bio-diesel plant coming online in Indiana in 2006. Maybe it will be cheaper being here at home.
Posted 2005-08-31 8:55 PM (#29855 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Expert
Posts: 1723 Location: michigan
from what I have read-biodiesel won't be a cheaper alternative to regualr diesel, like all fuels made from corn or soy, its more expesive to produce than conventional fuel. This is assume fairly normal times rather than the exceptional circumstances we are seeing now.
Posted 2005-08-31 9:21 PM (#29856 - in reply to #29855) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by farmbabe on 2005-08-31 8:55 PM
from what I have read-biodiesel won't be a cheaper alternative to regualr diesel, like all fuels made from corn or soy, its more expesive to produce than conventional fuel. This is assume fairly normal times rather than the exceptional circumstances we are seeing now.
It might not be cheaper "at the pump", but for the time being at least it doesn't necessitate foreign wars.
Think "other costs".
Posted 2005-08-31 11:06 PM (#29857 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Expert
Posts: 1723 Location: michigan
yes but thats what its come down too- dollars and cents. if a company can't make a buck or two ( or a few million) its hard to raise the capitol necessary to build the production facilites. For the most part, people buy what is less expensive but does the samething- get us from one place to another. Oil has a clear advantage in that it has production and distribution. bio fuels does not. Its coming,slowly and needs to be subsidised- another bad sign that is cannot yet compete head to head with oil.
Posted 2005-09-01 8:38 AM (#29863 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Elite Veteran
Posts: 634 Location: Tipton, IN
The reason soy-diesel will work here vs. other places like say Texas or Florida, is that the folks producing the soybeans are helping support themselves. I am a part of a large agricultural community, and gladly will pay an extra $0.10 a gallon to support my local economy rather than someone elses. Pretty simple reason for me. The only time I don't buy bio-diesel is when I'm away from home on a trip. Another reason I want to help support my local farmers, I don't want them to go under and have to live next door to people who complain to the county that our animals "smell" and they band together and pass an ordinanace that no animals within some such distance of some stupid ass sub-division, that was built a hundred and ten years after my place, and I get the shaft. I have watched it happen in the next county over, and people that had hog farms for 3 generations were forced out of business. Bull puckey! You want to live in the country, get used to the country, don't make us get used to you! That's my rant for the day.
Posted 2005-09-01 10:59 AM (#29866 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Elite Veteran
Posts: 1160 Location: Denver Colorado
There are alot of buses in Colorado running on 20% bio. The Cummins dragster out here of Benzs sponsored by Lucas oil runs on 100 % bio. We'll see more canola planted this year. I would have thought that renewable energy like biofuel diesel and ethenal on the gas side from corn would be a big part of the new energy bill. Food is too cheap in this country, and it makes more sense to help our farmers instead of the Middle East and South America.
I suppose paying oil companies billions to drill more holes makes more sense than paying farmers to make us independent. I remember the seventies when we were told the Alaskan oil pipeline was going to save us from foreign oil. Not too long after is was finished, the oil was shipped to Japan, so something went wrong with that plan.
During the oil crisis of the seventies, several of my friend were in the oil business in Colorado and they told me they were shutting wells down. Alot of the oil battery tanks at the wells were full. So instead of helping the country and pumping more, there were controlling the market and shipping less oil. And I heard of a lot of oil wells were capped in Texas and Oklahoma, so some of that oil crisis was created by those wonderful marketing wizards.
I saw an interview with Prince Yabba Dabba Doo, (can't remember his real name) of Saudi Arabia and he was blaming the US oil companies for the price increases because of no new refineries in the US. So this may well be a refinery issue that will take years to fix. Why in the world would 25 years go by without new refineries, I know the EPA is tough, but 25 years.
Posted 2005-09-01 3:22 PM (#29887 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489 Location: CA
I love this site! I logged on today to post questions about biodiesel, and lo and behold, the topic is already on here! Anyway, my understanding of the biodiesel fuels is that you can get different %'s of biodiesel. Some are only 2% while others are up to 100%. If that's the case, we're not supporting American farmers too much with only 2%. Every little bit counts, though. Does anyone know whether the different %'s act differently in our trucks....more or less power, engine longevity, gas mileage, etc.? Also, I was told by friends who use biodiesel(100%) in their autos that you need to replace your fuel filter a couple of times when you first switch....Is that true of only the 100% biodiesel?
Posted 2005-09-01 9:53 PM (#29905 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Member
Posts: 15
Location: Tucson AZ
biodiesel.org list the sites that sell biod. By the way I have a Ford 01 PSD. Been running 100% for quite a while and no problems. Getting ready to start brewing my own. Cost will be about .75 a gallon!
Posted 2005-09-02 11:28 AM (#29921 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489 Location: CA
There's a course being given up in No. Cal. this fall that teaches you how to "brew your own" that I'm interested in. Sounds like prohibition, doesn't it? Just imagine not having to wait in gas station lines or pay widely varying prices each time you go to the pump....Sounds better every minute. I paid $3.15/gal last time I filled up the truck!
Posted 2005-09-02 8:09 PM (#29934 - in reply to #29887) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by gemm on 2005-09-01 3:22 PM
I love this site! I logged on today to post questions about biodiesel, and lo and behold, the topic is already on here! Anyway, my understanding of the biodiesel fuels is that you can get different %'s of biodiesel. Some are only 2% while others are up to 100%. If that's the case, we're not supporting American farmers too much with only 2%. Every little bit counts, though. Does anyone know whether the different %'s act differently in our trucks....more or less power, engine longevity, gas mileage, etc.? Also, I was told by friends who use biodiesel(100%) in their autos that you need to replace your fuel filter a couple of times when you first switch....Is that true of only the 100% biodiesel?
Yes, sort of...
It isn't the biodiesel itself that clogs the filters, it is the residues that the mineral diesel has been depositing in your tank since the vehicle was new. If you have a VERY NEW truck the chances are good that there won't be a lot of deposits to get washed to the filter. The BioD doesn't exactly disolve the junk, but it does break it loose and the next place for it to stop is at the filter. It is generally a good idea to carry around a spare filter ANYWAY and the tools to change it at the roadside if needed.
BTW, a couple of things before you get too carried away with this;
1) The US gummint regards BioD as a fuel supplement, not a "fuel". This has some consequences and conspiracy theorists believe the oil companies have made input to this policy...
2) It won't replace mineral diesel oil, there will still be a LOT of demand for that for a long time to come. Do the arithmetic and you'll quickly conclude that there just isn't enough crop land for BioD to ever 'replace' mineralD.
Posted 2005-09-06 5:05 PM (#29990 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Location: KY
As Mr. Truck so eloquently pointed out; its been 25plus years since the other gas/oil crisis and yet no federal policy promoting alternatives exists. I would dearly love to become unattached from the electric company and to brew my own biodiesel!!!! I wonder who benefits from keeping the status quo on fuels? (that was a purely rhetorical question)
Posted 2005-09-06 8:39 PM (#29994 - in reply to #29990) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by rose on 2005-09-06 5:05 PM
As Mr. Truck so eloquently pointed out; its been 25plus years since the other gas/oil crisis and yet no federal policy promoting alternatives exists. I would dearly love to become unattached from the electric company and to brew my own biodiesel!!!! I wonder who benefits from keeping the status quo on fuels? (that was a purely rhetorical question)
There were some tax incentives the last time around, people cut back, there was an oil glut, the 55 limit went away, import quotas went on to help out the big 3, SUVs "happened", gee I wonder who/what the driving forces were THAT time...
The bio diesel process isn't as simple/easy as some people would have you believe.
The "fool proof method" isn't. You just about have to titrate a sample for every batch due to variations in just about everything. Collecting waste oil and stockpiling it until you have a batch sized quantity isn't exactly FUN either, it involves the back door of kitchens at places you might not want to eat at again. There is methanol to buy and store, glycerol to dispose of (or convert to soap and somehow use or sell), lye to handle, etc.
Sure, the liter bottle demo looks fine, but try thinking about what it takes to do 20 or 50 gallon batches - it isn't worth it below 20 and I don't think the price of pump fuel affects that.
B'sides, you become dependant on restaurant owners (and folk who eat there) instead of oil companies, which is worse ? (-:
Posted 2005-09-07 12:11 PM (#30018 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489 Location: CA
I think making my own bio diesel would be a problem, but there's a company near here that will deliver it to your house so you can pump at home. The price was ~$3.25/gal last time I checked, about the same as I currently pay for diesel2 at the pump. You're right, going around the back doors of restaurants for their old cooking oil doesn't appeal to me......However, I'll clean out putrid(sp?) gross wounds on my horses, muck stalls and get leather cleaner all over my hands any ol' time!
Posted 2005-09-09 10:00 PM (#30149 - in reply to #29822) Subject: RE: Biodiesel...
New User
Posts: 2
Location: Campbell, NY (upstate)
Originally written by cracly on 2005-08-31 11:03 AM
Greetings to all... I've been lurking for a while and finally decided to register and post! With the rising cost of fuel, and the shrinking gap between the price of traditional diesel and biodiesel... does anyone out there use it? I have a 2001 F250 PSD... can I run it without modification??? It just scares me to pump it the first time! Thanks for the input! Happy trails Catherine
Biodiesel...
biodiesel will become more readily available. I would be happy to pay high prices for a while if we actually started using more alternative fuels. BTW, try to buy your fuel at only the stations that rely only on American sources for oil, Sunoco, BP/Amoco, Phillips 66, and Conoco. That way we aren't giving money to the terrorists to use against us.
