Went by Austin Biofuels yesterday and dumped 3 gallons of B-100 on top of a half tank of dino diesel. It may be a placebo effect but, I swear that Marlene has never run so well. Almost no smoke (even when starting in 2nd gear—which guarantees a black fog with dino) at various throttle settings; noticeably less clutch slipping to start off when the a/c is running; better off-idle response; decreased klatta-klatta too.

According to Kurt at Autin Biofuels, their ASTM-rated B-100 has a cetane rating of about 60 and the majority of diesel sold in and around Austin is about 40-42.

At $3.40/gal it is no bargain as a stright fuel but, as a cetane improving additive, it is doggone cheap.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

A little of both. The biodiesel has less energy per gallon than dino diesel, so if you used it straight then the car would actually be slower. But in every other area, it far outshines dino stuff. The engine will run smoother and quieter, and with very little smoke. A 15% to 20% mix gives you the best of both worlds.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Ditto to the above. Normal B100 has a cetane rating of around 55 (60 is rare), pump diesel is about 45.

http://biodiesel.port5.com

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol

Rick is spot-on with his observations.

I normally run B20 - my car is smoother and more responsive than straight petro diesel. I've run two tanks of B100 and it was astonishing how quiet and smooth the car was.

MPG with B100 was down about 2-3 MPG over straight diesel, I see no significant MPG changes with B20.

It's good stuff.

Put a gallon of peanut oil in a nearly full tank of dino and your car will be much more quiet. It runs great and lubes the IP, and your exhaust smells good. IDI engines are the best to do this with; like the 616 and 617. Dont do it in the dead of winter, however. Sam's / Costco and other discounters can sell veg oil at near $2 buck a gallon.

works wonders in my wagon when i use 15% bio-d. lessens the klakatta.. as well as makes the engine run smoother..

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Mike

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1975 200 - Sold (no pix);
1978 200 - Sold - http://www.pbase.com/hboy/redbaron
1979 300TD - Sold
http://www.pbase.com/hboy/greenwagon
http://www.geocities.com/hboy726/300TD.html
1985 230E - now my daily driver...

I added 5 gallons of BioDiesel to about 20 gallons of dinoDiesel in the tank of a '79 300SD and I couldn't tell any difference.

P E H

You sure about that? I bought a 5-gallon jug of grease at my local Smart & Final to test in my tank and it cost me ~$20, or about $4 a gallon. I'll have to start shopping around, check my local Costco and others for a better deal! Cause $2 a gallon would be cheaper than even regular dino diesel at the pump, at least in my area.

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'81 300TD turbo <<sold 12/05 to another diesel nut

I have found less expensive veg. oil at places that do grocery salvage, about $1/gal. Some of these place will give you an even better break if you buy about 20+ gallons. (I usually tell them I am having a turkey fry! )

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

She's back on straight dino diesel now and I can tell that there is a distinct decrease in performance.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I have been running my 85 300 sd on biodiesel for about 3 months now. It was the reason I bought the car as a matter of fact. It definately runs smoother, quieter, and with more power than when running on regular diesel.
I started by running ever increasing mixes until now I am running 100%. It ran noticebley better on as little as 10%.

I hate to bust a few bubbles here, B100/VO will have about 10% less BTU's on average then dino diesel and there fore will not make as much power or have as good as fuel economy. The only reason you have what seems like more power is because the bio has cleaned your injection/fuel system. Once cleaned you can switch back to dino fuel and notice an increase in fuel economy and power. Been there and done that for the last 4 years with my VW TDI diesels.

I will say that in my 240D there doesn't seem to be as big a difference when switched off B100 as the new VW's have had. Last time I saw my '00 NB TDI the guy was running B100 since he bought it, and it was clocked at a 135 MPH at a GTG in MI. It was running oversized injectors and and a Stage II Rocket Chip. I had seen 130 mph without the chip and running oversized injectors and 53 cetane dino diesel, I probably could have gone 140 but the radar detector went off. All speeds verified by GPS.

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'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

You are probably right, but I can tolerate a little less power and fuel milage for something that is costing me about $00.72/gal to produce. The old benz does run noticably smoother, quieter, with much less smoke than with regular diesel.

I've never heard of "grocery salvage." How do I locate such a place? This is useful information for me because there is no retail biodiesel supplier in my area (yet), and until I can start making my own, I'm using SVO/WVO whenever I can get it. Thanks!

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'81 300TD turbo <<sold 12/05 to another diesel nut

Wish you were close to me. I have a 55gal bbl full of filtered WVO I need to get out of the yard!

Have a 55gal bbl of B100 too, but you can't have that one!

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol