BioDiesel dispensing 76 stations in CA

[the_jeepeo]

I'm in Southern CA

Whenever I go to a 76 station they dispense BioDiesel which is fine except the nozzles are too big for the filler hole.

The first time I noticed the station had pumps with both sizes but you don't know until park, get out and pull the nozzle from the pump which size it is.

Yesterday, instead of hunting for an appropriate sized nozzle, I decided to pull out the special Mopar funnel in the ziptop bag stored with the jack. What I soon found out is that filling in this fashion disables the back pressure auto shutoff which resulted in a small spill. Silver lining is that BioDiesel is nearly odorless compared to diesel so putting the funnel back in the bag and the Jeep was not a big deal.

Does anyone else have these kinds of issues? I saved over a dollar per gallon this last fill up compared to my normal filling station but the hassle is almost not worth it.

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[GtX]

Manual says a maximum amount of biodiesel is 20%.

 

[the_jeepeo]

Manual says a maximum amount of biodiesel is 20%.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was labeled as B20 diesel. Which means it ranges from 6% to 20% biodiesel.

 

[wnorton]

Before response let me explain, I retired after 30 years in the HD equipment business. I entered the business as a technician and retired as a senior officer. As an employee of a global Diesel engine manufacturer I was unable to share this information publicly.

manufacturers hate biodiesel fuels. Bio fuels are NOT stable snd from the time you add fuel to your tank to the time of combustion the fuel is going rancid. Thus changing composition.

industry pressure forced all engine companies to engineer capability to consume up to B20 and later B25. But behind closed doors engine manufacturers hate the product.

in my personal 1 ton pickup I only use bio if I’m going to burn it all in 48 hours or less. I never let it sit in my tank.

this won’t be a popular opinion, but I would advise NOT using bio if at all possible.

good luck.

 

[brewski]

I'm in Southern CA

Whenever I go to a 76 station they dispense BioDiesel which is fine except the nozzles are too big for the filler hole.

The first time I noticed the station had pumps with both sizes but you don't know until park, get out and pull the nozzle from the pump which size it is.

Yesterday, instead of hunting for an appropriate sized nozzle, I decided to pull out the special Mopar funnel in the ziptop bag stored with the jack. What I soon found out is that filling in this fashion disables the back pressure auto shutoff which resulted in a small spill. Silver lining is that BioDiesel is nearly odorless compared to diesel so putting the funnel back in the bag and the Jeep was not a big deal.

Does anyone else have these kinds of issues? I saved over a dollar per gallon this last fill up compared to my normal filling station but the hassle is almost not worth it.

There is a whole thread about removing the little gate keeper which will make it easier if you use jerry cans or if you want to use the large nozzle pumps. Using the large nozzle pumps may flow faster than your filler neck will allow so use caution when selecting speed/flow rate of the diesel.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...e-filler-neck-for-large-diesel-nozzles.48252/

 

[GSLSE21B]

I used the “76 renewable diesel” in Monterey California . Tanked my mpg compared to the usual Costco #2 diesel

 

[Bohica]

Before response let me explain, I retired after 30 years in the HD equipment business. I entered the business as a technician and retired as a senior officer. As an employee of a global Diesel engine manufacturer I was unable to share this information publicly.

manufacturers hate biodiesel fuels. Bio fuels are NOT stable snd from the time you add fuel to your tank to the time of combustion the fuel is going rancid. Thus changing composition.

industry pressure forced all engine companies to engineer capability to consume up to B20 and later B25. But behind closed doors engine manufacturers hate the product.

in my personal 1 ton pickup I only use bio if I’m going to burn it all in 48 hours or less. I never let it sit in my tank.

this won’t be a popular opinion, but I would advise NOT using bio if at all possible.

good luck.

Thanks for the info...good to know, especially from someone in the business.

 

[Sydwaiz]

I used the “76 renewable diesel” in Monterey California . Tanked my mpg compared to the usual Costco #2 diesel

That was probably their "biomass diesel". My Costco doesn't carry #2, only the "biomass" stuff.

 

[the_jeepeo]

Thanks everyone. I've seen enough to decide I won't be retrofitting my filler nor get in the habit of using B20.

 

[GtX]

Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was labeled as B20 diesel. Which means it ranges from 6% to 20% biodiesel.

Gotcha. I assumed when you said "BioDiesel" you were referring to B100.
Most stations around me B20 is the only option.

 

[Rangemaster]

I would stay away from that fuel, back in 2008 when I had a diesel truck it was hard on the engine. Made it run hot. The exhaust smell was not bad and didn‘t smoke as much but I really had issues pulling my toy hauler on hot days as I would over heat on most all mountain and hills. I only will run #2 diesel in my Jeep and nothing else.

 

[StarkJL]

I stay away from B20 and minimize my pumps of B6-B20. B5 or Costco R99 is the way to go imo. I got 27500 miles and no issues.

76 Renewable Diesel is labeled over 20% biomass based diesel blend or biodiesel, so I'd stay away from it since it can be B99 (label says 99% renewable blend), or at the very least likely >B20. The manual says to stay away from anything greater than B20 so you run a risk.

Some Costcos have their diesel labeled as 99% renewable and specifically no biodiesel. This fuel should be safe to use and perhaps better since it has higher cetane. Costco claims it can have long term benefit to the injectors and overall fuel system.

 

[zouch]

title of this thread might not be accurate; there's some confusion here, understandably.

for starters, it helps to know that BioDiesel and Renewable Diesel are both Biomass-based fuels, but Renewable Diesel is not BioDiesel.

to add to the confusion, BioDiesel used to mean a Methyl Ester based on Vegetable oils (either Used VO or Virgin VO). now it's been redefined by the Gov to mean any combination of PetroDiesel and BioDiesel up to 99% (B99).

Renewable Diesel is actually a completely different thing supposedly chemically almost identical to PetroDiesel, but is made from a very non-vegetarian stock (including "renderings") through a completely different process.
confusing enough?

more to the topic, the 76s near me seem to be pumping straight Renewable Diesel, which J**pCares has told me only that is "not recommended", though nobody has ever been able to tell me why.

what's called "BioDiesel" now seems to be limited to some mixture of regular PetroDiesel and between 2 and 20% actual veggie-based BioDiesel. it is possible to buy straight BioDiesel in some places, but i don't think anywhere is allowed to dispense it directly as fuel any longer (at least in our area here).

part of the bad rap that BioDiesel got is the result of the poor standards that the US has (compared to the requirements for BioDiesel in some countries in Europe that were much more stringent).
the nail in the coffin for BioD here in Calif was when it was determined (rightly or not) that while BioD reduced emissions of almost all types, it allegedly created more NOx in *some* engines.

that said, i still like the idea of the additional lubricity that BioDiesel has compared to the 'dry' ULSD that we have to use here in the US now, and may be part of the reason why our Bosch CP4 pumps are failing at so much of a higher rate in the US than everywhere else in the world.

I stay away from B20 and minimize my pumps of B6-B20. B5 or Costco R99 is the way to go imo. I got 27500 miles and no issues.

76 Renewable Diesel is labeled over 20% biomass based diesel blend or biodiesel, so I'd stay away from it since it can be B99 (label says 99% renewable blend), or at the very least likely >B20. The manual says to stay away from anything greater than B20 so you run a risk.

Some Costcos have their diesel labeled as 99% renewable and specifically no biodiesel. This fuel should be safe to use and perhaps better since it has higher cetane. Costco claims it can have long term benefit to the injectors and overall fuel system.

 

[ChuckQue]

Living in the LA basin of Southern California, it seems like all I can find is B20 anymore. I only know of one station that has #2 and it’s a truck stop. It’s out of the way but I’ll have to bite the bullet.

 

[StarkJL]

title of this thread might not be accurate; there's some confusion here, understandably.

for starters, it helps to know that BioDiesel and Renewable Diesel are both Biomass-based fuels, but Renewable Diesel is not BioDiesel.

to add to the confusion, BioDiesel used to mean a Methyl Ester based on Vegetable oils (either Used VO or Virgin VO). now it's been redefined by the Gov to mean any combination of PetroDiesel and BioDiesel up to 99% (B99).

Renewable Diesel is actually a completely different thing supposedly chemically almost identical to PetroDiesel, but is made from a very non-vegetarian stock (including "renderings") through a completely different process.
confusing enough?

more to the topic, the 76s near me seem to be pumping straight Renewable Diesel, which J**pCares has told me only that is "not recommended", though nobody has ever been able to tell me why.

what's called "BioDiesel" now seems to be limited to some mixture of regular PetroDiesel and between 2 and 20% actual veggie-based BioDiesel. it is possible to buy straight BioDiesel in some places, but i don't think anywhere is allowed to dispense it directly as fuel any longer (at least in our area here).

part of the bad rap that BioDiesel got is the result of the poor standards that the US has (compared to the requirements for BioDiesel in some countries in Europe that were much more stringent).
the nail in the coffin for BioD here in Calif was when it was determined (rightly or not) that while BioD reduced emissions of almost all types, it allegedly created more NOx in *some* engines.

that said, i still like the idea of the additional lubricity that BioDiesel has compared to the 'dry' ULSD that we have to use here in the US now, and may be part of the reason why our Bosch CP4 pumps are failing at so much of a higher rate in the US than everywhere else in the world.

So would B6-B20 be best of both worlds? As someone who is hesitant on straight B20...

I often read conflicting perspectives. Some say B20s added lubricity is a good thing, while others say it can do some damage to the fuel system. But then there's concern over the lack of lubricity in B5.

The tagging is also silly imo. Blue label is guaranteed Biodiesel but the orange label can be either or.

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