Is TDR Too Conservative On Biodiesel?

[Lube Man]

With very few exceptions, I have found TDR postings to be quite favorable toward the use of biodiesel up to and including B100. Yet, in reviewing my present and past TDR magazines I have found most of the staff writers to be overly cautious concerning any use of biodiesel.

To be sure, one has to be cautious about the source of the biodiesel as it is being made anywhere from a backyard shop to a large commercial refinery.

Cummins obviously has been caught with their pants down. The use of biodiesel has grown rapidly and they have not done the testing required before they can make an endorsement. (Forget Dodge, Cummins calls the shots.)

But let's look at common sense. The diesel engine was originally designed by Otto Diesel with the intent to run on vegetable oil. Biodiesel offers more lubricity than petro and burns a lot cleaner. When you run it in a Cumminms it quiets the engine and gives cleaner exhaust emissions.

The only concern that has generally been raised is that biodiesel acts as a solvent and can destroy rubber and other organic comp[ounds over time. So can petro and gasoline to a lesser extent. Last time I checked, our engines were made out of metal. From various posts on the TDR I am lead to believe that at least the VP44 has Viton flexible parts. Viton is not affected by biodiesel.

If you check online forums for Mercedes and VW's you also find overwhelming encouragement to use biodiesel.

It appears to me that the introduction of ULSF poses far more challenge than using biodiesel. I remember the early 90's in CA when they changed the petro diesel mix resulting in major costly problems.