B100 as Cleaning Solvent
 

I was reading a thread about fixing GP's on a 603. Anyway, there was some talk about the cleaning properties of B100. Would B100 be good to use in a cleaning solvent tank? Would it be a good cleaner for soaking carbs, valve covers etc? Basically I am wondering if B100 can substitute for some pretty strong chemical degreasers.

Thanks Much.

I've heard this too and even used it on occasion to try and 'degrease' something nasty but I didn't think it worked all that well as a degreaser.

I've also heard that it WILL remove the paint from your degreaser, leaving behind bare metal (I haven't worked up the nerve to dump it into my power degreaser yet).

OTOH, I think it works daggone well as a motor fuel — bought another 10 gallons last night.

YMMV of course, but we are actually giving some of our washed B100 to a mechanic friend who uses it in his parts washer. He says it works better than their normal parts washing solution, and he doesn't feel so bad about sticking his hands into it. ;)

If you have some around, give it a try.

peace,
sam

If you just want to be ecological.. I found this site the other day. I was planning on ordering some stuff from them just to try it out.

http://www.soyclean.biz/

I'd like to know how long B100 would last as a solvent before it broke down and went rancid. I have a Harbor Freight parts washer that I just converted to a separate tank and filter setup. I'd love to fill the "new" tank with B100, but I worry that it would only last for a short amount of time before my investment went south. I might try some in a little carb cleaner tank to see how it holds up first.

We've been mucking around with samples of biodiesel for a long time that haven't gone noticably rancid. However, trying it out in a small cleaner first is always prudent.

How much does your normal degreaser cost, and how long does a fill-up usually last before it has to be refilled?

peace,
sam

It's really hard to say how long the HF bio-cleaner I currently use will last, because the design of their parts washer has the solvent permanently sitting unfiltered in sediment and oily goo that's constantly stirred up each time the pump runs. With the separate tank and filtration setup, I should be able to extend the lifespan of any solvent I use, assuming it doesn't go rancid. I think B100 runs around $3.40/gal, while the HF stuff is closer to $4/gal. I recently ran a gallon of B100 that had been sitting for ~6months in my little tractor and it purred just fine...of course, I also mixed it with some used pre-filtered ATF as well, so that purring may have had some contributing factors ;)

FWIW, I had some commercial B100 in a 5gal jug that had been sitting for 2-3 months and it developed some soaps in the botom of the jug.

Do you remember who you bought that commercial B100 from, leo? There have been problems with commercial users producing 'less than stellar' fuel. You may have been seeing soap precipitating out, or tallow precipitating out. Some low conversion fuel has been known to have junk settle out many weeks or months later, but this isn't typical of good biodiesel.

peace,
sam

I believe that it comes from a commercial producer in Houston. Supposedly, it is ASTM cert fuel but, you and I both know that only means the batch they had tested passed the exam. The retailer found out later that there was a problem with some of the fuel.

Normally, I burn it fast enough that it isn't much of a problem but this jug got lost behind a bunch of junk stacked up in the shop and didn't see the light of day for about three months.

according to the nbb
 

bd is good for about 6 months and then it needs to be tested.

Then the "commercial" BD wasn't good fuel. The reaction had not completed and/or they didn't wash it properly.