[madmancm]

Propel fuels has a new diesel called High Performance Renewable. I don't know if Propel is the only one who carries something like this, but it's the first I've heard of it. They claim it has a 75 cetane rating and is made out of animal fats and oils.

I use B20 almost every fill up and I've always thought my truck runs way smoother on the Bio. I drove about 10 minutes north to Elk Grove to fill up with HPR. Right now I've got about 25% bio and 75% HPR. I paid $2.85/gallon for it, which is about $0.30 cheaper than what I usually pay for B20. The cheapest I've seen ULSD near me is $2.79, so this HPR is very reasonable.

When I was filling up, a guy with an older Duramax on the other side of the pump was telling me he has been getting great mileage and way more power running the HPR. He said it doesn't even give off the normal diesel smell.

I think Propel only has stations in California and I don't know if this stuff is available anywhere else. I hope this fuel turns out to be as great as it sounds.

Locations | Propel Diesel HPR

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

I'm on my second tank of the HPR. I get mine in Roseville, not too far from my house. So far, I like it. It does seem to have more power, the engine seems to run quieter and as you mentioned, the exhaust doesn't smell like ULSD. My first tank I had ULSD in there and put in about 2/3 of a tank of HPR. The tank I'm on, I put in about 30 gals so it should be almost all HPR. Up here HPR is at 2.69. USLD, even at ARCO is 2.79.

I'll keep running it to see how it affects mileage and such. A couple of tanks isn't quite enough to tell yet.

 

[skkele]

HPR is $2.65 at the Propel/Chevron down here in San Jose (on Capitol). USLD is about $3.20 at Rotten Robbie. I just filled up Saturday with 1/2 tank of HPR on top of 1/2 tank of B20. Truck seemed to run much smoother earlier and had better power. Placebo effect, I hope not!

 

[skkele]

great writeup...

Biomass based diesel vs biodiesel - PeachParts Mercedes ShopForum

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

Been trying to read up on this - an article I found interesting:
http://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/11-0307-Biodiesel-vs-Renewable_Final-_3_-JJY-formatting-FINAL.pdf

I do like the fact there is no petroleum diesel in it. It will be interesting how much this stuff catches on.

 

[skkele]

^^ great resource! Thanks!

Long term effects is definitely the elephant in the room.

But this is a little comforting, no?


"Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petrodiesel, but it is made of recently living biomass."

 

[CrazyS0b]

My question is how the newer common rail diesels run on it... 6.4's and 6.7's are VERY picky with fuel. I am always second guessing myself running B20 (only thing we have here in Minnesota during the summer), I would be curious to see the long term effects.

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

^^ great resource! Thanks!

Long term effects is definitely the elephant in the room.

But this is a little comforting, no?


"Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petrodiesel, but it is made of recently living biomass."

I agree - Not burning oil products, supposedly lower emissions. A good thing.

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

Filled up this morning again with HPR ($2.699/gal). My MPG this morning was 11.1. A bit low, but....................

I was in a hurry last fill-up to get to work (don't know why - :dunno: ) so I only went a couple of clicks at 'full' and was on my way. So...not 100% sure how much fuel was actually on-board when I rolled away. There was some hot-rodding on that tank which didn't help either.

This morning, I pumped until fuel was at the top of the filler neck as I should do every time so I'm close to having the same amount of on-board fuel each time. Hopefully, at the next fill up in two weeks, I'll have an accurate comparative MPG.

Another thing I did this week is confirm with a GPS that my speedo / odo are accurate. I recently bought new tires. I went from LT265/75R16 --> LT285/75R16. My programmer allows me to change tire size. I wanted to make sure that my truck is seeing the same thing as a GPS. I'm confident I'm recording the correct miles traveled.

Still impressed with how smooth and quiet the engine seems to run. Since I've had mostly HPR in the tank, I've also noticed it doesn't smell as much either. It still did when I had my mixed tank of ULSD and HPR.

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

Filled up again - This time hit 12.2 MPG, 95% was in town.
Still cheaper than petroleum diesel.

 

[madmancm]

I'm had 3 tanks of HPR so far, with a couple of B20 fills and ULSD fills between. The only strange thing I have noticed is that my truck is harder to cold start on the HPR. I crank it up, it'll fire then die, then I have to do it again a few times. The injectors don't have stiction and it only does this when I have HPR in the tank.

The price per gallon is now $2.69 in Elk Grove and I haven't seen diesel anywhere in the area for less than $2.79. I'll keep using it, I just wish there was a Propel station closer to me.

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

I'm had 3 tanks of HPR so far, with a couple of B20 fills and ULSD fills between. The only strange thing I have noticed is that my truck is harder to cold start on the HPR. I crank it up, it'll fire then die, then I have to do it again a few times. The injectors don't have stiction and it only does this when I have HPR in the tank.

The price per gallon is now $2.69 in Elk Grove and I haven't seen diesel anywhere in the area for less than $2.79. I'll keep using it, I just wish there was a Propel station closer to me.

Huh...interesting. I haven't had that happen. Once it fires, it stays running. I was even out of town for 4 days and hadn't driven it. It lit right up this morning.
HPR hit $2.75 up here in Roseville, but regular diesel is at $2.79.

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

Took a road trip today with the HPR in the tank. Went 405.6 miles on the tank. Some of my speed was around 70, some as high as 80. Filled up with petro-diesel. MPG was 14.2. I was a bit dissapointed in that, but I was pushing the truck kind of hard. (Long story)

Interestingly, even with regular diesel in it, the engine still runs quietly. I've gone 165 miles on this tank. Maybe the HPR cleaned things out. I'll see how the MPG goes on this tank of regular diesel.

 

[MattHatchett]

Possibly a stupid question and I should use the search button but I'm already here. Can anybody run these fuels? I'm not knowledgable on bio so any info helps. I have a stock 2003 6.0...


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[madmancm]

You can run it without any problems. I've run it in my 2006 and overall it's been smoother than the ULSD and B20 Biodiesel.

 

[SuperCrutyPS]

Possibly a stupid question and I should use the search button but I'm already here. Can anybody run these fuels? I'm not knowledgable on bio so any info helps. I have a stock 2003 6.0...

Yes, this HPR stuff is made to be chemically the same as ULSD. So it can be run in any diesel engine without restrictions to a certain blend, like B20 (20% Bio / 80% ULSD)....according to the seller. Right now, the company that sells it only has stations in CA (and one in WA) and, of those, only the Northern CA stations carry it. You may want to check in your area to see if any 'alternative' fuel companies exist and what they carry.

 

[MattHatchett]

Looks like we have B20 here in Indiana but that's it. I'm not sure where but I haven't looked either. On the website it says it aids in cleaning as well as being a good sulfur free lubricant. Has anyone seen those benefits? What are the key reasons you guys try alternative fuels?


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[SuperCrutyPS]

It is supposed to help lubricate and clean. Some have reported having to change filters more often at first.

I'm trying this new stuff because 1) it's cheaper than ULSD, 2) the truck runs smoother/quieter than on ULSD, 3) if I can help with making the environment better - That works for me too.

 

[MattHatchett]

It is supposed to help lubricate and clean. Some have reported having to change filters more often at first.

I'm trying this new stuff because 1) it's cheaper than ULSD, 2) the truck runs smoother/quieter than on ULSD, 3) if I can help with making the environment better - That works for me too.

Thanks for the reply. If it's better for my truck then I'm willing to try it. I'm gonna look for some B20 and see how she does on that.


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[SuperCrutyPS]

Filled up on Friday with HPR again. I got 11.9 this time. I seem to be getting lower mpg with HPR than I do with ULSD. I still like that the engine runs quieter/smoother. The price this fill up was $3.099, which was equal to what I could get ULSD at one station I go by. But, several other places are up to $3.15 or higher.

I've read that this stuff has lower BTU so fuel mileage could be lower. I'm still finding info about it.