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 Post subject: Is BioDiesel worth the cost?
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:06 pm 
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Location: Green Cove Springs FL
The nearest BioDiesel retailer is about 65 miles away in Lake City.
For the hell of it I drove there and filled up my tank + another 20 gal in
fuel cans (35 gal total). The only grade they sold was B20 at $2.70/gal.
So far, I've noticed my MPG drop from 26 to 23.

It just doesn't seem worth the cost when regular diesel is $2.55/gal and
only five miles from home. Especially when I can get more miles on a tank.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:22 pm 
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Location: Scottsdale, AZ
It depends.

BD is cheaper than #2 here at the moment. It's B99 ATSM WVO though it used to be virgin soy. Many find their MPG decrease because of the fewer BTU's in BD compared to dino. Some claim an increase with various percentages of BD perhaps owing to the increased lubricity?

To me, MPG and $$$ are only half of the equation. The other half is flipping the bird to the Mideast (jihadist in particular), Venezuela, the "drill baby drill" fanatics, Big Oil, etc.

Pick your poison.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:44 pm 
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I get "some b20" and the rest reg diesel for a b5 combination.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:36 pm 
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Location: Somewhere between Heaven and Hell... But it is really hot here on Earth...
In Savannah recently, I've noticed a lot of the pumps with "contains 5% biodiesel" stickers on them now. I'm not sure why the switch, but I like the move to offering the stuff. Now if there was only a place where I could get higher blends (or pure) so I could mix my own...

Part of the problem with biodiesel lowering your mileage is that you don't know what the feedstock is going to be from one source to the next. Oil is already WELL mixed by the time it hits the pump, so the BTU values have stabilized to an average. I personally prefer biodiesel made from chicken fat, because the BTU value is considerably higher than waste soy oil or virgin soy oil. Soy is a lousy BTU source, but if it is plentiful... Use it. The downside to animal fat bio is that it can have a much higher cloud / gel point, so it has to be blended with dino diesel to keep your CRD running in even moderate cold weather.

Like the others said: Giving the finger to OPEC and employing Americans is a nice feeling, so you have to balance that with the MPG difference for yourself. For me, getting something produced in the USA is more important than the minor cost difference. And I'm a dirt-poor graduate student, so money is a HUGE thing for me normally.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:19 am 
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Location: Green Cove Springs FL
I like the idea of giving OPEC the finger, but since all I can get is B20,
thats barely a knuckle. :wink:

I dont think I'll be making that that trip for B20 again. Maybe if there was
a place closer.

BTW...
Those of you who "homebrew," what is your approximate cost?
The VP dealer at Gainseville Raceway told me a 50 gallon drum of MeOH
sells for $300.
At approx 1 qt per gallon of Bio + NaOH and other materials, I figure my
cost to be ~$2.00 a gallon.

What do you guys think?

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 5:27 pm 
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Location: Colorado USA
flash7210 wrote:
I like the idea of giving OPEC the finger, but since all I can get is B20,
thats barely a knuckle. :wink:

I dont think I'll be making that that trip for B20 again. Maybe if there was
a place closer.

BTW...
Those of you who "homebrew," what is your approximate cost?
The VP dealer at Gainseville Raceway told me a 50 gallon drum of MeOH
sells for $300.
At approx 1 qt per gallon of Bio + NaOH and other materials, I figure my
cost to be ~$2.00 a gallon.

What do you guys think?
I get methanol for $110 a drum, and KOH for $2 a pound. At .18 methanol and titration of 1 giving a 96% yield, the materials cost is $0.54 per gallon. Of course time and resources used and their associated costs should be considered as well; they can be substantial.

I like giving OPEC the full finger. :twisted:

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 6:44 pm 
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I have been running B-100 for about 2 years, from about March 15Th thru Oct 15Th then this dealer only sells the lower blends for the winter months. The B-100 off road is the same as the highway B-100 since they can not put any dye in the off road only when you buy the B-20 or lower blends does it have any color to it. They offer B-2 B-5
B-10 B-20 and the B-100


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:54 pm 
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Location: ashland N.H.
You can not put a priceon the bloodshed bio-d eliminates..........................out of my 15 friends who were over there 10 are either wvo or bio-d people.3 are not,2 are in a vegatative state.

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