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Old 10-19-2014, 04:07 AM   #9
Tom S.
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Waterford
Posts: 3,693
M.O.C. #7500
There's been a ton of information passed back and forth on bio fuel at the DieselPlace.com forum I help mod. Here's what I've gleaned over the years.

Pros: Bio fuel is cleaner and adds lubricity to the fuel. That means it will keep your fuel system cleaner and will help lube the system which includes your fuel pump and injectors. In a lubricity study done a few years back of fuel additives, a 5% bio mix out performed nearly everything on the market other than Opti-Lube. Because of the added lubricity, owners often report their engines run quieter. In theory, biodiesel should also be cheaper but again, that's theory.

Cons: Bio fuel will gel at higher temps than straight diesel. However sellers know this and either switch to winter blend diesel or add additives (kerosene for one) to prevent gelling. Bio fuel can negatively affects mileage too as it doesn't burn as hot as diesel, however most users will not notice a significant difference. As a side note, winter blend diesel does effect mileage by a fairly significant amount. As mentioned, kerosene is added to prevent gelling and kerosene does not burn as effectively as diesel, hence the mileage decline. There have also been warning issued about effects on fuel systems, but these are unfounded or based on misinformation. For example, GM gas powered rigs issued warnings about ethanol in vehicles that weren't designed to run it. For some reason, people carried this over to the diesel world. Perhaps they are confusing ethanol with biodiesel, even though they are two entirely different fuels. Alcohol will cause damage to diesel fuel system seals and is warned about in most owner's manuals. This includes additives that include alcohol, so read the label closely if you are going to use an additive. But the bottom line on biodiesel is it will NOT harm your fuel system.
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