Biodiesel Bad To Mix With ULSD?

[BigGreen06]

I read an article in the latest *Diesel Power* magazine on Biodiesel and one thing it said in it, was that you should never mix Biodiesel with the new ULSD, because it supposedly breaks down the biodiesel and cause the fuel to corrode your injectors, heads, and filter. Now a Biodiesel supplier I just talked to, denies this, and says ULSD will have no ill effect on it. I just wanted to find out from the more senior diesel guys what the deal is.
Thanks.

-BG06.

[Clay Henry]

This is not true. Sulfer content or lack of it in Bio-D has no effect.
Just another conjected myth about Bio-D from someone who heard something else from someone and took it as the gospel.
Bad Bio-D that has not been washed correctly will still contain some Noh (Sodium Hydroxide) and that is what will eat your injectors (rapidly). Home brewers do it all too often.
Good Bio-D will actually put the lubricicity back in the ULSD.

[rufushusky]

Originally Posted by CHenry

This is not true. Sulfer content or lack of it in Bio-D has no effect.
Just another conjected myth about Bio-D from someone who heard something else from someone and took it as the gospel.
Bad Bio-D that has not been washed correctly will still contain some Noh (Sodium Hydroxide) and that is what will eat your injectors (rapidly). Home brewers do it all too often.
Good Bio-D will actually put the lubricicity back in the ULSD.

He speak the truth!!! Also apparently the 7.3 likes bio more than other engines so i have heard....interesting

[BigGreen06]

All I care about is being able to run Bio once in a while to clean out the fuel system, lube everything up, and bring back the fuel efficiency and performance.

-BG06.

[ipz2222]

What do you mean, washed??

[Badfish740]

Originally Posted by ipz2222

What do you mean, washed??

Washing is the next to last step of producing biodiesel. Once you react vegetable oil with methanol/sodium hydroxide what you are left with is "dirty" biodiesel and free glycerin. The glycerin sinks to the bottom and can be drained off. However, there are still bits of glycerin floating in the fuel, along with unreacted methanol/sodium hydroxide and any miscellaneous junk that may have been in the oil to start. There are many ways of washing, but generally it involves gently circulating water through it such as misting water onto the oil and letting it sink to the bottom. As the water droplets sink through the oil they attract the gunk that you don't want in your fuel and carry it to the bottom. Once the water has collected at the bottom it can be drained off. Generally fuel needs to be washed about three times-once the water comes through crystal clear you know that there is no junk left in the fuel.

After washing though the fuel now has dissolved water in it. The fuel now needs to be "dried" which can also be done a variety of ways, but most involve heating the fuel and circulating it through open air (pumping it out of a pipe so that it falls some distance through the air into a barrel) so that the air simply evaporates. This is all a very oversimplified explanation, so check out the link in the know your fuels sticky to learn more.

[Badfish740]

Oh and btw the not mixing ULSD diesel and biodiesel thing couldn't be further from the truth. Mixing bio with ULSD is about the best thing you can do for your engine. Even bio in concentrations as low as 5% will more than exceed your lubricity requirements, not to mention cetane. Plus, it will help with the lack of aromatics in ULSD and keep your fuel system rubber parts from drying out.

[sldghamr]

listen up guys, i have a 96er 7.3. i have put nearly 30k miles worth of Biodiesel blend thru my engine in the last four years. 20k of that in the last year. my engine doesn't like pure ULSD. bad engine idle and doesn't shift nearly as well. in the last year, i have had an average of 20% Bio in my tank at all times. if there are any problems, it's all long term.

[frenchfryburner]

Thought I was the only one crazy enouph difrent stuff through my engine.Oil change, In the tank It goes. freinds with resturants fryilater oil strained through a cloth In it goes too.never thought of atf though!

[Stroker7.3]

A buddy of mine just went through Kansas were he bought Bio diesel for his 6.0 and said he dropped in fuel mileage! I dont really understand the bio diesel thing.