BioDieselNow - Renewable biodiesel fuel

How many miles have you run biodiesel?

What % do you run?

Any issues/problems?

Any mods(filters etc.)?

I would hope to see some folks with over 60,000 miles on it by now. Really interested in how well the injectors hold up....

 

Thanks!

 I have a 05 and I run a Racor R90P 30 micron water seperator  and a 2 micron fuel filter to get the fuel as clean as I can.  I have been running 20% but now that I am  working on making my own I will be running 100% I believe the problem with the common rails is fuel polymerisation. Our fuel systems have extremely tight clearances and I can see where it could be a issue. If you use good, fresh fuel the effects will be minimal. If you are worried about your warranty, Dodge says only 5% max. biodiesel. 

I've put over 10k on my stock 07 Dodge Megacab 5.9L on B20-B100.  The last 5K miles all on homebrew.  I winterize my homebrew with 30% kerosene to drop the gel point near zero.  otherwise I run B100.  Truck runs great on B100.  I plugged my original fuel filter at 10K miles due to B100 at 22 degrees.

 

I purchased an 07 cummins with the 5.9. I ran certified B99 for about 13,000 miles until the engine went kaput on the freeway (lots of white smoke and knocking). One month and two mechanics later (didnt trust the first mechanic, it was the "towed to the closest dealer" issue so I covinced Dodge to tow me to my own dealer/mechanic whom I trust), the final diagnosis " two ruined injectors, the other four fouled and possibly ready to fail". I looked at the injectors and they were gummed up and not working properly. The whole issue was blamed/caused by biofuel and no warranty coverage. Six injectors replaced, drained fuel ect plus labor around six thousand bucks (injectors run around $600 each).

 My mechanic that works on my truck is not against bio and would run it in his own cummins diesel if he thougt it was safe, he said he's seen a few of the new dodge comman rail trucks coming in with issues from bio diesel.

 I'm heart broken about this as I bought the truck to run bio, I run bio in two of my other trucks (05 ford, 02 ford) and they run fine--so far. If I thought adding filtration would take care of potential issues I'd be on it, if I cant run bio in the dodge, I'll sell it and buy and older 7.3 ford. If anyone has advise regarding better filtration set up I'm all ears.

 I'm not sending this post to frighten anyone, only want to share my experience in case its helpful.

stonebreaker,

 

whoa, what a crushing story.  Do you know if the biodiesel was off spec?  I remember reading a article regarding poor fuel from retail biodiesel pumps...something like 50% of retail biodiesel pumps in the nation had off spec fuel last year.  A few drops of water getting passed the fuel filter, and the injectors are blown.  Was the fuel tested after it was removed from your tank?

 I've witnessed off-spec biodiesel from Pacific Biofuels in Santa Cruz this January.  As a homebrewer, I test every batch using the pHlip test, so I know my fuel is good quality.  This pHlip test adds 16 cents to the gallon, but I figure its well worth it.  I think the 05-07 Dodge Cummins (w/o particulate burners) are the same, and a number of them have had over 50K miles on high blends of biodiesel without fuel related problems.

An 05 Dodge survived the Baja 1000 on B100. 

Anyone else out there with newer Dodges on higher blends of bioD?

i am just now starting to deal with the same issue as stonebreaker described, with my '06 cummins 5.9. i have been running blend for the last year (10,000 miles) since i bought it used & the truck had not run on any biodiesel prior to my purchase. my issue is a progressive decreasing of turbo power over the months of feb/march/april...ultimately the truck couldn't be coaxed above 30mph and the turbo would rev way up and the engine would actually DECELERATE if i keep the accelerator substantially engaged in any way. fanning the accelerator is the only thing that keeps the truck moving at all. aside from that, truck starts and idles perfectly, and no substantial smoking while underway. after lots of headscratching and "solving" (NOT) the problem by reseting a fault code in some module of the computer, my inept dealership drained my $175 topped-off tank and came back at me with a $10k estimate to replace my fuel delivery system supposedly loused up by the "contaminants" i had introduced by using biodiesel. dealership says to file a claim and let my insurance sort it out. dealership laughs in my face when i request before we go any further to please replace fuel filter, bleed the line, reset the fault code again, and see what it gets us. my biodiesel fueling station wants to have a look at a fuel sample as well as the old fuel filter, which i am now in the process of wresting from the dealership. grrrr!

ramster,

i feel your pain. 

My 07 Dodge Megacab (5.9L) loves my homebrew biodiesel.  I test every batch now with the 3/27 test and pHLip test, so I know I'm using high quality fuel.  If you are using high quality biodiesel, there is nothing chemically about the fuel, in comparison to diesel, that would cause any damage to your Cummins engine. If the stealership says the problem was contaminated fuel, then, yea, you should get a sample of that and have it independently tested.  Many retail biodiesel pumping stations are not serving ASTM spec fuel.  A recent report found that nearly 50% of retail pumps across the nation were serving up off spec biodiesel.  If you drove for a long period with a clogged fuel filter, you probably damaged your injection pump severely.  Even poor diesel fuel, with water, rust, sand, sludge etc. can wipe out your injection pump.  So before you go blaming biodiesel in general for this tragedy, check the quality of your fuel.

 

Diesel in Cedarville, CA on May 23 '08 is $5.50 !!!!!

 Ramster,

 

I filed a claim with my insurance company and they covered it as a vandalism claim. Thank God, the bill was around 6k for new injectors and labor etc. My problem was definatly due to off spec bio which was claimed ASCM. Now my 05 Ford 6.0 is in the shop experiencing the same problems.

 -Dang it