Denver Area School District drops Biodiesel

Nate how cold has your winter been "up" there? as I wonder if that's not part of their filter plugging problem. The other thing I wonder if they tried a fuel pre-heater on the inlet of the filter. Still wouldn't get rid of the plugging/gelling in the filter at shutdown in cold weather but would allow them to a least get it into the filter in a un-gelled condition.

 

The diesel engines were probably full of residue. Biodiesel tends to dissolve and breakup the residue and that can clog the filter.

Here's some more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel#Two...se_of_biodiesel

 

diesel is also prone to getting microbal growth in it. Happens here on the coast in fish boats after they sit at dock all winter. But you wouldn't think that would be a problem where your buses get used all the time. Unless the supplier is contaminated. Well at least they tried it. The city works dept here uses it in all their equipement and so far I've heard nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Trouble is some people will pull this isolated incident and use it to say, "See, it doesn't work!!!"

 

Not true in this case. This is another example of the same problem.

The entire state of Minnesota switch to B2 last September. There were so many reports of filter clogging after repeated replacements that the mandate was suspended.

By the way, ethanol is not an agent which thickens under any conditions... a clear advantage over biodiesel.

 

I'll place my bet on this as well. There are a number of people using bio in my area, the locol co-op sells B100. The results around here are that if they start with a new vehicle (VW dealer in the Twin Cities advises their customers to go to Belle Plaine for bio from the start if they wnat to use it), they have no problems. If they have been using dino diesal on the other hand, they will have filter problems untill the fuel system is cleaned out, then the problems end.

There is a farmer in the area that runs his old John Deere 820 on B100, says he bought a whole s***load of filters, even carried one or two on the tractor with him at first. After the first season of spring plowing though, the system has cleaned itself out and has been fine since.

John, are you sure MN dropped the B2 mandate? A local state plow operator (that's snow plow for those of you in the tropics), still talks about using the bio fuel.

 

Yeah, I think that it's probably the case. High mileage vehicles. Tonnes of use over the years and a sudden change in fuel chemistry. It's too bad.

In a totally unrelated but similar scenario Tucson Water had the same probelm when they switched from using ground water to colorado river water. All of the scale that had built up in the pipes over 80 years sudden started flaking off and coming out of peoples' taps. Gave the river water a really bad wrap even though it had nothing to do with the water. I fear a similar thing is going on here. It's too bad, really.

 

biodiesel has been perfected, and they just made up a story because they have a backdoor businees agreement with an oil company <_< so they went from B20, to B10, to Bwhatever, and eventually back to regular diesel. when bush said he was trying to get alternative fuel in the US, he was just trying to please some idiot tree huggers who will belive anything........this has made me think about a lot of things

 

It's not the fuel that's the problem. It's operator head space and timing (ie operator error) that's the problem. DPS isn't involved in some conspiracy and it's not W's fault (in this case). The fault lies with people not understanding the issues of introducing biodiesel into fleets that have no experience with it.

This is just a speed bump in the introduction of alt fuels.

 

I think we may have uncovered here one thing in the attitude of us Americans (at least US based Americans anyway) and our engines.
When we discovered the lead in gas was causing environmental problems and had it removed, the gearheads go and we heard stories of horror and distruction everywhere. Next the country started adding ethanol to the gas and we were hearing of cars stalling everywhere and premature death to everything on four wheels. While there were some early cases of clogged fuel filters, much like the biodiesel problems mentioned here, everyone here in Minnesota and several other states are using E10 with no problems.

Now, even before the whole country is converted to ethanol in the gas, we're starting to put soybean oil in the diesel fuel

Well, I think once all the wives tales have run the course, we will probably adapt to B-watever and E10, (MN is moving to E15) with no more ill effects than lead free gas. Then with adjustments we can move to E85 in the gas engines, and B100 alreadyworks in the diesels.

 

I agree. As the ignorance and hersay fades alt fuels will just become part of the norm.

 

Yes, and until the "masses" understand and the fix does not take a lot of work, it wil go mainstream.

Personally, I don't want to worry about filters and gum being dissolved, etc, etc. So, until I don't have to worry about that, I don't want biodesel. Lok at the Prius, I don't have to "think" too much about any of it and it goes...and saves...

 

Better yet, someone should (probably is) developing some sorta one-time degunker. Clean the bloody engine once and be done with it. That's really what this is about. Befouled engines. Clean the thing and move on. I bet that people will care because if diesel stays as expensive or goes higher then there's a strong financial interest in swithching to some kinda biodiesel blend.