TDI guys- how abundant is biodiesel?

[thummmper]

I'm curious. people try to shoot it down saying it draws on our food supply- although we have never had a larger surplus of genmod corn-
this one feature makes the diesel worth keeping-
so, how about viability? availability?

[buildyourown]

In the NW, it's easy to find. I was buying B100 at 3 different places a few years ago. Now B20 and B5 are very common.
In my regular diesel truck, I think B50 is the best compromise.

[MarkWard]

Todd, I have seen it every now and then on the last couple cross country trips we have made. Not being sure of how my pump seals and hoses could be affected so far from home, I opted to purchase plain ole fossil fuel diesel. At our last fill up, the station was selling diesel fuel with 10% bio mixed. Similar to how gasoline is up to 10% alchohol. That was the only option, so I went ahead and filled up. When bio becomes more available, I would be more than glad to start using it. Just not up to jumping back and forth between both types. mark
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[Sir Sam]

It's pretty hit or miss, very hard to find in socal.

If you plan to buy biodiesel in socal you will need to get a special card that will allow you to buy it.

Most biodiesel suppliers in socal are coops too, meaning you have to join them and cannot just be a once in a while customer, or someone passing through.

Otherwise its pretty scattered across the US. I lucked out and found some on the way to dallas in Amarillo once, just happened to stop for diesel and found the bio.

Other times when you find biodiesel it will be B2.....thats right 2%. Studies show that B2 offers the benefits of the added lubricity without the loss of energy, so its really just an additive at that point.


Most other times you will find B5 or B20, its getting harder and harder to find high concentrations such as B100/99.

You'll also find that getting a good comprehensive list of Biodiesel suppliers is hard, stations that do show up on listing dissappear or no longer carry bio, and then other stations don't show up either.

The most frustrating is finding a listing for a bio station, going out of your way to get there, and then finding its a cardlock bio pump. Grrrr.


Point being, don't count on Bio to be your only source of fuel, and don't count on it being available commercially when other fuels are not. Best way to ensure a supply of BioD for your own use is to make it yourself, though you will find that hard to do in California as haulers of waste oil from resturants are required to have a special license to do so, meaning resturant owners are not supposed to let anyone other than a license haulers remove it.

California, the "squeeze the last drop of joy of out life" state.
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'91 Carat Westy

87' Syncro + '87 Westy conversion coming soon

[DAIZEE]

It seems that you are inferring that you can switch back and forth being bio and reg. Is this so? I did not know that. When I was selling my Westy a not so young chap said he'd buy it if it was a diesel because he wanted to run biofuel. I've read that a lot of hollywood type people are committed to it.

I've never seen it for sale altho I have seen big bins of used cooking oils sitting behind restaurants and I'd suppose that someone picks it up. In this area of Canada diesel is a few cents less than reg gas and I suppose that is a factor but diesel is not big in personally owned vehicles but I'd say that Vanagoners are trying to change that.

Can you run biofuel straight from the cooker into the diesels? I guess it would have to have some filters and I'd wonder what it would smell like and would it smoke?
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[MarkWard]

Daizee, There might be some confusion on this topic. You can run a diesel on waste cooking oil, but it requires a seperate tank and a heater system to heat the waste oil so it flows and yes, a quality filtration system. You also need a change over valve so that you can start the engine and get it to operating temperature before switching to grease. The process for shutting off the engine is the same. You switch back to diesel and run the engine for 5 mins or so before you shut it off.

You can also with specialize equipment, refine waste grease in to a true biofuel, but is a bit of work. The last still I saw that could do a decent batch was close to $10K. You also have lie as a waste product from the process I believe. This refined bio can be run in the stock fuel tank.

You can also purchase biodiesel already made. It could come from many renewable sources. I have also seen as mentioned above mixes of bio and fossil diesel for sale.

Going back and forth should be fine, but I have read accounts where the pump seals have changed size and started to leak. I have read accounts where the rubber supply lines are affected, and of deposits being loosened by the bio only to cause pump problems. That is why I did not experment 3500 miles for home with fuels. Hope that helps.
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[jerrydog411]

start here: call around and check restrictions (co op , cardlock etc.) first.

I have traveled from BC to SoCal a few times with print outs of the appropriate state's lists and have found them very helpful.
I do generally call first ... just in case.

what part of NA are you in?

Cheers,

John
1982 1.9TD Westy

http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites/biomaps/biomaps.shtm#

[DAIZEE]

Thanks for clarifying (no pun intended)
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[Zeitgeist 13]

I buy mine from the local commercial fueling joint, in both B20 and B99 pumps. B99 will turn pure rubber into goop in short order. I've found that the combination of heat and bio will degrade even the good German cloth-wrapped injector return fuel lines, so I always swap in viton tubing when running a diesel car on the stuff.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Sir Sam]

[supersooner]

I'm sure it's heretical to mention a gm product here, but it's the only vehicle which I have other than a farm tractor that has used bio diesel

When you first change from regular diesel to biodiesel have a spare fuel filter on hand. The biodiesel has some sort of cleaning, scrubbing, or dissolving action on the fuel supply lines and will clog a filter. After that first change - no problem. I have gone back and forth and even mixed bio diesel with the diesel in the tank. Can't tell the difference other than smell. Not the french fry smell like from straight veg oil burners. It was very popular with local farmers here when diesel was up at $4.00 /gallon. The local producer was selling it for $2.00. Said it cost him 65 cents to make. He had a route with different restaurants and picked up the oil and converted it himself. I looked into it, but was a little afraid of the chemicals - and then diesel went back down in price. We can buy off road diesel for use in our farm machinery and save 45 cents or so per gallon. I don't see service stations that sell the bio diesel here in central Oklahoma, but I haven't really looked. I've seen it in Texas along I-35 South of Dallas. I think it was B85.
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71 tintop westy
82 Diesel westy
75 westy
76 westy

[MarkWard]

Sir Sam, much better information. thank you
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[jackbombay]

[westyventures]

More information here and a locator for finding fuel (although likely to be out of date last I checked):

http://biodiesel.org/

[DAIZEE]

I'll be sticking to diesel but that is excellent information I always wondered about. thanks
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[wildenbeast]

[purplepeopleeater]

Just collect WVO and make yer own, you can make a 5 gallon reactor and brew your own bio diesel.

I use to have a 55 gallon reactor and brewed my own, and I also washed my bio and had a collector on both to recover my methenol.


Heated my house with this for 5 years....I thought long and hard about doing a TDI swap but deciced that life was too busy right now to be messin with bio again.

I might make a 5 gallon reactor and mess around with it again just to stay sharp.

[vannygun]

Don't expect to save any money with it. B20 here in the portland area is always alot more per gallon than regular gas. This is a local company here in Portland and the story says it all.

http://www.sqbiofuels.com/


http://sqbiofuels.blogspot.com/2008/05/high-prices-are-bad-for-business.html


http://sqbiofuels.blogspot.com/2008/02/price-of-biodiesel.html
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definition-Vanagon, "a ideal breeding ground for gremlins"
2000 jeep Cherokee sport (DD)
1990 vanagon gl 2.2 subaru(sold)
2006 jeep commander

[thummmper]

I had plans to make a bitchen potbellied heater from a water heater tank,
fuelled with grease. the combustion dish had to be a certain shape to avoid soot buildup. free, lowtech space heat.
caustic soda ash is required in refining grease. if you spill water on caustic, it will explode.

[ianstone]

there are a bunch of places in the bay area to get biodiesel

a friend of mine owns and runs a biodiesel production facility about an hour north of Truckee, CA