Bad Biodiesel?
 

The city of Berkeley tried Biodiesel in its fleet of trucks two years ago and the mechanics claim it caused the engines to blow up! So now the city goverment wants to use Biodiesel again and the mechanics are all upset. This was a big article in the local newspaper today. What is the real story? I have been using 100% Biodiesel in my 1982 300D for over a year without any problems. Now I am worried that maybe my engine is next.

Their truck engines are different from your engine. Theirs are probably direct injection with unit injectors or common rail injection.

As long as you do not use it in cold weather you will be fine.

Eight years here, no problems. It's all in the fuel quality.

Right, you need to ready onward. The neglect to mention the fact that they didn't clean out their storage tank on site before filling it with the biodiesel. So basically it washed all the crap out of the tank and into the trucks. They also didn't have adequate water separaters on the pumps or any of the vehicles either. Live and learn i guess.

100,000 miles on homebrew and no probs.

Berkeley is very much into Bio Coop's, etc.

I suspect a lot of their problems were associated with inconsistencies in local brews.