B20 bio-diesel at the pump

Bobalos

Bobalos

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Folks, I went to fill up the aux tank with fuel for my upcoming glamis trip and saw these 2 stickers on the diesel pump.  

They seem to be contradictory if B20 is anything like E85 is for gas.  

So...

do any of you run B20?  

Does it hurt your mileage? I'm already tight on one tank....

Is it OK to use in an old Cummins with a VP44?  

Is B20, 20% Bio or 20% Dino? 

Thanks

Bob

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The people on 7.3L Ford forums say its not the best for older diesels. If the only choice its ok to run it. 

I add archoil to my fuel most the time for my 7.3L. Trucks stops in socal seem to have switched to B20 a couple years old. Regular stations are swapping over. My cheapest diesel was a 76 and they switched to B20 about 2 months ago. 

 
B20 is 20% biomass diesel. I believe all of the diesel mfrs have signed off on it being ok in their fuel systems. However, the biodiesel is good at cleaning out your fuel tank, so if your fuel tank has yrs of crud in it, it might loosen that up and clog your fuel filter with it.

If you're looking for the lowest priced regular diesel in San Diego, I believe the Costco down in Chula Vista is cheapest.

 
Typical Diesel can contain a small percentage of Bio (white/black sticker).  B20 is 20% Bio (green sticker).  Looks like that one is B80, 80% Bio (orange/black).

IIRC, the mileage was slightly less on BIO.  Contrary to what Wopachop posted about the 7.3 buys, Cummins guys loved it. 2x on the cleaning power.  Bring an extra fuel filter.

 
I put it in then realized that the green sticker was different... :lmao:

But I'll tell you what, I can now tow 48,000,000,000 LBS at 237 MPH uphill and I get 9 Bazilion miles to the gallon.

I may never need to fill up again!

:bag:

:laugh1:

Ok, I stretched that just a bit...My truck won't go 237 mph! :simrak:

:dbart:

 
dbart said:
I put it in then realized that the green sticker was different... :lmao:

But I'll tell you what, I can now tow 48,000,000,000 LBS at 237 MPH uphill and I get 9 Bazilion miles to the gallon.

I may never need to fill up again!

:bag:

:laugh1:

Ok, I stretched that just a bit...My truck won't go 237 mph! :simrak:

:dbart:
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You bought the wrong tires, didn't you?

:lol:

 
OK... now you Ph.u.ckers are confusing me. 

the handle on the pump clearly says B20.  which Im assuming means 20% Bio  (80% Dino), but why the hell would they put the sticker orange sticker up on the top of the pump that says 80% Biomass-based blend contains more than 20% bio-mass based diesel.  Well no sheet, 80% is higher than 20%.  by my calculations its in fact 60% more..... 

or the black & white sticker that says "biodiesel blend" may contain between 5 and 20% biomass.  is that something different than B20?

View attachment 23004

I found this in a search.  this is kind of what I expected based on the B20 & what I know of E85..

B20 fuel is a blend of 20-percent biodiesel and 80-percent conventional diesel.
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and this is kind of intersting.  its good, because i use just about every gallon getting back home.....

Engines operating on B20 have similar fuel consumption, horsepower, and torque to engines running on petroleum diesel. B20 with 20% biodiesel content will have 1% to 2% less energy per gallon than petroleum diesel, but many B20 users report no noticeable difference in performance or fuel economy. Biodiesel also has some emissions benefits, especially for engines manufactured before 2010. For engines equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, the air quality benefits are the same whether running on biodiesel or petroleum diesel.
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I trust you guys over a 7.3L facebook group. If you owned a 7.3L what would you run? Ive been avoiding the B20. 

If you buy B20, is the cetane rating typically higher or lower? Do you add more or less archoil? (for those that use it)

 
From what I’ve gathered about b20 and straight biodiesel is that it is slightly less energy dense by a few percent, is more lubricating and is a stronger solvent than regular diesel. More lubrication is always a plus but the issues people seem to run into with it is in the first few tanks when it knocks all the crud off the inside of your tank and fuel lines. It’s probably best to change fuel filters a few tanks after making the change bio. The extra lubrication alone would make me opt for b20 over standard diesel. 

 
I can tell you that in my semi there is a noticeable difference. I get worse economy/mpg the higher the bio in the fuel. I also have a non wastegated turbo and my max boost pressure is also lower with the high bio fuel

 
The ultra low sulfur fuel that started back on 07 was bad for really old diesel engines because it would dry out the seals it came in contact with that were made out of actual rubber. By the mid 90s tho i think most seals were made of composites

 
I drove by a station the other side of my house and they had normal diesel over there.  For the time being I'm going to avoid the B20.  Maybe when desert season is over and I will try it, don't need to rely on mileage. 

Fwiw, my tank is spotless.   I've been in it a few times swapping out the lift pump.  It was shocking how clean it was.  

I use 2 stroke oil with my fill ups for lubrication.   I buy it online from Walmart.  LOL 

And this crap is no cheaper than the normal diesel I get.  

 
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I've run B20 and the new R99 in my 2006 LLY, 2014 LML Duramax and my son's 2006 LBZ. The fuel is fine. 

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Bobalos said:
I drove by a station the other side of my house and they had normal diesel over there.  For the time being I'm going to avoid the B20.  Maybe when desert season is over and I will try it, don't need to rely on mileage. 

Fwiw, my tank is spotless.   I've been in it a few times swapping out the lift pump.  It was shocking how clean it was.  

I use 2 stroke oil with my fill ups for lubrication.   I buy it online from Walmart.  LOL 
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I have a 26 gal factory tank and a 60 gal aux tank. When I need to fill up in San Diego, I'll go to Costco on H st in Bonita and if I'm near Glamis, I'll just cruise over to Yuma, fill up there and grab dinner.

 
Glossary Terms » Renewable Diesel (R99) Often called “green diesel” or “second generation diesel,” refers to petrodiesel-like fuels derived from biological sources that are chemically not esters and thus distinct from biodiesel.

Interesting.....  never heard of this stuff before.  The difference is the r99 is all made from the recycled stuff and the B20 is a blend 

 
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