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  #1  
Old 09-23-2009, 03:16 PM
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Tried B20 for the first time. Didnt' like it.

The exhaust definitely smells different. Almost like burning leaves. I was surprised that the price per gallon was the same as B zero diesel.

I didn't like the biodiesel. Part of the appeal of diesel to me is the smell of the exhaust. It's full bodied flavor!

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  #2  
Old 09-23-2009, 04:04 PM
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It also will eat your rubber fuel lines.

If they aren't in an almost brand new condition they will deteriorate very rapidly.
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  #3  
Old 09-23-2009, 04:44 PM
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So you don't like it because it smells different. I'll take biodiesel fumes over diesel fumes any day. Did you happen to notice any change in engine noise?


Quote:
Originally Posted by i-osprey View Post
It also will eat your rubber fuel lines.

If they aren't in an almost brand new condition they will deteriorate very rapidly.
It all depends on what kind of shape they are in when you start running biodiesel. I changed my hoses out after ~1year(over 20kmiles) of B100 and they weren't leaking and looked just fine.
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  #4  
Old 09-23-2009, 04:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by i-osprey View Post
It also will eat your rubber fuel lines.

If they aren't in an almost brand new condition they will deteriorate very rapidly.
By "very rapidly" do you mean 2 years and 50k miles on my 97, or 3 years and 38k miles on my 83?...all on B100 or WVO/RUG blends.

I haven't changed a fuel line yet.
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  #5  
Old 09-23-2009, 04:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by benhogan View Post
The exhaust definitely smells different. Almost like burning leaves. I was surprised that the price per gallon was the same as B zero diesel.

I didn't like the biodiesel. Part of the appeal of diesel to me is the smell of the exhaust. It's full bodied flavor!
I have to agree, although I like the VO and Bio exhaust just fine, I have grown quite fond of the diesel fumes. I will miss them when we run out.
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  #6  
Old 09-23-2009, 05:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by benhogan View Post
The exhaust definitely smells different. Almost like burning leaves. I was surprised that the price per gallon was the same as B zero diesel.

I didn't like the biodiesel. Part of the appeal of diesel to me is the smell of the exhaust. It's full bodied flavor!
I've used it a couple of times. It works (with slightly less energy content), but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it. It does smell funky and you have to keep an eye on your fuel filters. Last time I bought some, the price was about the same as petro-diesel, but I think it was a tad cheaper when the price of oil was high. If BD was available at every highway exit and priced below petro-diesel it might be worth the trouble (but that's unlikely to happen with cheap oil).
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  #7  
Old 09-23-2009, 05:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by i-osprey View Post
It also will eat your rubber fuel lines.

If they aren't in an almost brand new condition they will deteriorate very rapidly.
LMAO who told you that? Switching from B0 to B100 can cause rubber gaskets and hoses to leak. So will switching from LSD to ULSD. Same principles at work. It has nothing to do with the fuel. It has to do with *switching* from one fuel type to another. It's the *change* that causes the rubber to expand or contract causing a leak. If you had been using B100 from day one, and then 20 years later decided to change to regular diesel, it would have the same effect, and the regular diesel will "cause your hoses to leak".

B20 is such a low percentage you will not notice any difference in performance, energy content, or miles per gallon. and it will have no effect on your gaskets and hoses. It will not clog your fuel filters. Anyone who says otherwise is blowing smoke up your .... These are all things that B100 can potentially do, but not B20.

I will say that "smell" is a rather funny reason for not liking it though!
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  #8  
Old 09-23-2009, 05:51 PM
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I just wish Biodiesel was more available here (Nebraska). I've only been able to get it a couple of places. My diesels all run quieter with even B5. This includes my '85 300cd, '93 300d, '02 Ford Excursion PSD, '92 Dodge CTD, wifes '06 TDI Jetta PD, Lenar tractor. The different exhaust smell is VERY noticeable with the Excursion running in the garage (door open!). I buy it any time I can, and I pay more for it than reg dsl. I burn a lot of fuel every year, and figure 5% or 20% less going to the arabs is worth it. I also use ethanol in my gassers. To each his own, I guess.
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  #9  
Old 09-23-2009, 07:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lupin..the..3rd View Post
LMAO who told you that? Switching from B0 to B100 can cause rubber gaskets and hoses to leak. So will switching from LSD to ULSD. Same principles at work. It has nothing to do with the fuel. It has to do with *switching* from one fuel type to another. It's the *change* that causes the rubber to expand or contract causing a leak. If you had been using B100 from day one, and then 20 years later decided to change to regular diesel, it would have the same effect, and the regular diesel will "cause your hoses to leak".

B20 is such a low percentage you will not notice any difference in performance, energy content, or miles per gallon. and it will have no effect on your gaskets and hoses. It will not clog your fuel filters. Anyone who says otherwise is blowing smoke up your .... These are all things that B100 can potentially do, but not B20.

I will say that "smell" is a rather funny reason for not liking it though!
Those old Benz hoses will literally come apart if you switch to B100 or any high percentage blend. It's a completely different mechanism than the ULSD switch. You are correct about B20; in my experience it's too low to create an immediate problem.

With my 240D, I slammed it from the get-go with B100 after replacing all the old line with Viton. I never got a plugged filter or leak.

Oh, and diesel exhaust makes me retch. If I couldn't burn biodiesel I wouldn't drive a diesel.
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  #10  
Old 09-23-2009, 08:09 PM
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I've got nothing to contribute to this one except a positive vote for the smell of diesel over bio. They run the local bus fleet on bio and it smells... just wrong. And not that pleasant. One of my favorite memories from back as far as when I was a kid is riding the tractor with my dad and smelling the diesel exhaust mixed with plowed dirt or mowed grass, whichever we were doing. That's one of the reasons I got interested in diesels in the first place.
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  #11  
Old 09-23-2009, 08:34 PM
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Blendzall

Funny thing about smells. They are the most powerfully anchoring memories
in any human life. I find certain smells that set off lengthy cascades of feelings and memories unlike any other trigger.
When I was around 10 years old, I rode mini-bikes. The bigger kids had
"real" dirt bikes like Hodaka 90cc bikes. They used a fuel mix based on castor oil called Blendzall (sic), at least that is what I recall. It had a very
distinctive odor, that I connected with the excitement of being out riding.
Decades passed. Then one day I was out riding my R100RS and got behind
a 300SD, THAT smell again!? Took me back a million years. I stopped the guy at the next light. Biodiesel. I loved that smell. I like the dino diesel
smell now that I own one, but being a life long biker, I HATED getting stuck
behind any diesel. It used to make me really sick. Funny how the mind works. Now that I'm in love with a TD, how tolerant I've become of that diesel smell I used to about puke over.
I do though, still get that nostalgic feeling smelling bio, anchored in dirt bike Blendzall smell. Kind of like something cooking.
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  #12  
Old 09-23-2009, 08:50 PM
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Most rubber these days (post 1980's) used in automotive applications is EPDM - a very oil-resistant material. Some bio-burners switch to Viton (brand name of a fluoroelastomer) which IMHO is overkill. The EPDM with give about the same lifespan, which by the way is not as long as with burning #2 ULSD - but only slightly worse. Its the lye in the biodiesel that is so hard on materials - whatever their content. B99 will strip the pinstripe off of your quarter-panel adjacent to the fuel filler.

If you run your OEM rubber hoses in 1986 or newer cars past 150K miles (or 12 years) you are pushing the threshold of any synthetic rubber material. A good rule of thumb is if any of the hoses are swollen at the connections replace them all. For me, the big concern was not so much for fuel leaking out, but air getting in.
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Last edited by sasquatchgeoff; 09-23-2009 at 08:58 PM.
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  #13  
Old 09-23-2009, 10:12 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lupin..the..3rd View Post
LMAO who told you that? Switching from B0 to B100 can cause rubber gaskets and hoses to leak. So will switching from LSD to ULSD. Same principles at work. It has nothing to do with the fuel. It has to do with *switching* from one fuel type to another. It's the *change* that causes the rubber to expand or contract causing a leak. If you had been using B100 from day one, and then 20 years later decided to change to regular diesel, it would have the same effect, and the regular diesel will "cause your hoses to leak".

B20 is such a low percentage you will not notice any difference in performance, energy content, or miles per gallon. and it will have no effect on your gaskets and hoses. It will not clog your fuel filters. Anyone who says otherwise is blowing smoke up your .... These are all things that B100 can potentially do, but not B20.

I will say that "smell" is a rather funny reason for not liking it though!
I started using B20 on l my 1981 300D and within a month I had to replace all the injector return lines and the line that comes out of the fuel tank.

Nobody told me that.

I experienced it.

I can tell by the vigor in your post that you are high on the Bio kool-aid so I will let you lie.
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  #14  
Old 09-23-2009, 10:40 PM
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Gotta put in my $.02 worth. I've driven 10's of thousands of miles on B100 in old Mercedes and have yet to change a fuel line. It's well washed, so no residual lye. Also same story with a couple of diesel Fords. No injector problems either.
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  #15  
Old 09-23-2009, 10:48 PM
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Well my second cousin on my aunts side who is blood relative to my third uncle on my great grandmothers side knew a guy who heard from another guy that remembers hearing from his cousin twice removed on his aunts side that Biodiesel will probably , maybe definitely, make you sterile if you sniff the fumes.Seriously though,run what you want to, but my Bio cost me 50 cents a gallon to make, smells like French fries,or Chinese food.And if I have to change filters or fuel lines then it is what it is.Run what twist your wick the most.

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