Biodiesel

[Stu Jackson]

Based on a search on "Biodiesel" it's been over a year and a half since we revisited this subject.  It came up on the co.com website yesterday and I thought you'd be interested in the discussion and some of the links, especially the one in Steve Dion's reply #8 with a link to a "Biodiesel Handbook," produced close by here in Pt. Richmond, California.

See:  http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=585442#post585442

I haven't tried it yet, even given my proximity to Berkeley because I still have to replace my old fuel lines.

[Ron Hill]

From everything I've read and the reports that I've heard, Biodiesel is great stuff.  The problems that I've encountered are :
1.  It is very hard to find.
2.  Biodiesel assessable to a waterway is nearly non existant
3.  The cost is very high (ie. $4 to $5 per gal while diesel was $1.50 per gal

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

One of my concerns is that I believe it has a shorter storage life than regular diesel and even though my boat is in the water all year I usually only put in about five gallons every two months. My question is, how much fuel would you have to turn around to keep it fresh and would you use five percent or twenty percent formula?

Mike

[Ted Pounds]

My guess is that as long as you put biocide and stabilizer in with every fill-up it should keep OK.  Of course once you add that stuff to the bio-diesel then you can't use it for making french-fries.