biodiesel in our boats???

[mike hennessy]

has anyone tried adding biodiesel to their diesel engines to be more green groovy?

i heard you have to start at 5% then you can use up to as much as 50% as burns cleaner, first tank smells like french fries but then all the smell goes away

any thoughts

ps yesterday wide open bug tunas if the porpoise school, over 500 spinner dolphins and 50-200lb tunas going nuts on the bait balls

we fought 1 on 30lb for 40min. and broke it off we got to see the fish since it stayed on the surface with the porpoise, over 200lbs looked like a monster

we ended up with some in the 80lb range good fun

thanks

mike

[gradywhite273]

mike , ill check when i go down tomorrow, but at the state run marina where we are at, i think that is the only thing we can get. Ill check and let ya know.

[Proheat]

Mike- the french fry smell is the secret!!!..kinda like a chum slick!!

Grady- last year your marina had both- bio and regular. I'm not sure about this year.
Last year they were selling both for the same price to introduce it to the locals. The attendant said that some boats were running on it, but that the majority were using regular diesel.

[Ironwoodtuna]

BE CAREFUL!
BE CAREFUL!
BE CAREFUL!

I don't know if it is true but, after looking into it ,I am not interested in trying. THe Bio Diesel fuel can be a real problem in a boat because your fuel cell in a boat is probably cooler that a car, the fuel quagulates and boom! Your DOA in the water.

Going to get free McD's french fries and a bucket of goo to go please. Just htink what a mess you tank becomes during the colder winter months during storage. You could spend more time trying to get back in the water than fishing...! Capt. Mty

[LuckyDrew]

has anyone tried adding biodiesel to their diesel engines to be more green groovy?

You first

[mike hennessy]

in the tropics it could work i am in costa rica so no greasy fry's here i wouldnt think

a local hotel put is in there gen. and they say it runs better and alot quiter

not sure but like the input thanks guys, good luck fishin

big tunas yesterday they werer raising the bait ball out of the water 2 ft. and 200lbers all over the place wish i had a video camera

www.cabo-matapalo.com

mike

[southshore30]

I don't remember what magazine did the article but they did a test on two brand new identical carolina classics or rampages with CATS. Filled one with diesel and the other one with biodiesel. The biodiesel had more pickup and better fuel econemy than the diesel. I thought that was interesting. Don't remember any specificss or which magazine. Was out in Jan. or Feb I think.

[mike hennessy]

think i will shoot them a letter and ask

mike

[Avenger]

The biggest problem with Bio-Diesel is getting high quality Bio-Diesel. If you are getting it from a refiner who is doing their homework it works pretty much like Petro-Diesel.

Just to clarify: Bio-Diesel is not vegetable oil. Real Bio-Diesel uses a catalytic cracking process to separate the esters from the glycerin in vegetable oil. Real Bio-Diesel flows well at temperatures above 40°, has high cetane, excellent lubricity and contains no sulfur. I have a number of customers using it in a variety of applications up here in the northeast, so it should work fine in your boat.

That being said, there are some concerns.
*Bio has excellent solvent properties, so your fuel tank will be really clean when you are done. Unfortunately I can't say the same for your filters. So your idea of starting with B5 (5% Bio / 95% Petro) and working your way up is a good one. Have plenty of spare filters on hand just in case.
*Some rubber components are not compatible with Bio-Diesel so you may find yourself replacing some hoses and/or O-rings. Most USCG accepted fuel hose should have no difficulty, but there are lots of other bits of plumbing on the engine that you'll need to keep an eye on.
*Methanol is used in the cracking process, and if the refiner doesn't do their job well there could be some left in the fuel which is hard on everything in the fuel system.
*The last and biggest concern is that Bio-Diesel is much more prone to absorbing water than Petro-Diesel, so if your boat sits a lot like mine does it could become a problem. However, if your fuel turnover is reasonably fast you should be okay.

Hope this helps.

[Younger]

I am running B10 in all my trucks (mostly C7's and 3406's) and have had zero problems.