Pump Failures (information)

The following is information the Rich found on biofueloasis.com

full link here: http://www.biofueloasis.com/html/basics.html#ulsd


Possible Fuel Pump Failure in VW TDIs, post '99 Mercedes SDs, or any diesel with an injector pump lubricated with fuel - We've seen a sharp rise in injector pump failures, a previously rare occurrence, since California switched to Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) in October 2006. ULSD is causing problems in all types of diesel engines around the country because of its lack of lubricity and seal-shrinking properties. After surveying our customers and talking to diesel engineers and mechanics we've reached the following conclusions:

How could ULSD cause fuel pump failure?
Injector pump seals: The original formulation of petroleum diesel caused pump seals to swell, and biodiesel swells seals even more. ULSD causes the seals to shrink and harden. Too many changes can damage the seals and the pump will leak fuel and/or suck in air. Most of the failures due to damaged seals have occurred in cars that have run on all three types of fuel. Three or four fuel changes are simply too many. Injector pump seals that are only exposed to two types of fuel, biodiesel and ULSD, are apparently not failing. It is likely that injector pump seals that have never been exposed to the pre-'06 blend of diesel will be OK.

Mechanical wear: ULSD is very low in lubricity, which is not good for pumps lubricated with fuel.
Both biodiesel and ULSD attract water, and water causes rust, which is abrasive.

Recommendations:
Cars that have run on pre-'06 diesel:

* Avoid running ULSD after switching to biodiesel. If you cannot get biodiesel when you are on the road, add the ULSD when you've still got at least 1/4 tank of biodiesel so that you are running a blend and not making an abrupt switch.
* Use a diesel fuel conditioner, such as Stanadyne, when you do not have access to biodiesel. 3 oz. of conditioner per tank of ULSD will replace the lubricity properties of biodiesel.
* Consider a preemptive injector pump rebuild, especially before a road trip that will take you away from biodiesel sources. A planned repair is a lot less expensive and inconvenient than an unplanned one. The new seals that have never been exposed to pre '06 sulfured diesel will theoretically be less likely to fail


Cars that have not run on pre-'06 diesel, or had injector pump rebuilds after October 2006:

* Current evidence shows no problems with switching back and forth between biodiesel and ULSD, but be cautious anyway. Avoid abrupt switches in fuel types whenever possible; blend fuel types between changes. Biodiesel swells seals and ULSD shrinks them, so switching back and forth can theoretically strain seals. ULSD has only been around for a year - It may simply take more time for problems caused by fuel changes to surface.
* Use a fuel conditioner when running ULSD.


All diesels running either biodiesel or ULSD -- avoid rust:

* Keep your tank full overnight when the days are warm and the nights are cold. Less air in the tank means less water condensation.
* Use a fuel conditioner.
* Add a water separator to your fuel system .

Don't get ripped off If your injector pump does fail!

* First, try switching back to biodiesel. Several people have reported that running at least 30% biodiesel re-swells the injector pump seals and stops the leaking. Let the injector pump absorb the biodiesel for 24 hours or more before giving up.
* Avoid the dealer unless you can get the repair done under warranty. VW dealers typically charge $3k to replace your injector pump and fuel injectors and purge your entire fuel system. The same repair done at an independent garage typically costs half or less of what VW charges. Dealers are also notorious for diagnosing all fuel system problems in cars with biodiesel stickers as injector pump failures, and have recommended $3k repairs when they simply failed to bleed the air out of a new fuel filter.
* If something doesn't feel right always get a second opinion before agreeing to an expensive repair.

Fuel Sourcing

Discussion of how to ensure local supply of fuel explored several options:
1.Make biodiesel from waste vegetable oil (WVO).
This option requires testing for every batch made, to reach ASTM6751 specification.

2.Canadian biodiesel
This is K50/veggie oil 50 and is not approved for on road use. American Independence fuels has been offering this blend for months, at very competitive prices, below $3.00 per gallon. The secret? Illegally providing untaxed kerosene as fuel. Good intentions aside, American has been fined heftily by Maryland Transportation Authority.

3.Fuel from October.
Our B100 that gelled upon delivery to our main tank has been transported off site and will be offered for sale when the weather warms up. 'New' price will be $3.26 per gallon for those couple hundred gallons of fuel, in the spring.

4.Small truck purchase
Trucks under 26000 pounds operating weight do not require the driver to have a commercial driver's license (CDL). Piedmont Biofuels (in North Carolina) ran their coop out of a 1500 gallon truck before the creation of their biodiesel corridor. They now have 7 fueling stations across NC. A truck would lower coop operation costs because we could buy fuel in larger batches, directly from the suppliers. Currently delivery charges of $0.80 per gallon ($320 per 400 galon batch) are incurred every three weeks or less.

Fuel Crisis

Every member that filled up on 10/13/2007 has been affected by bad fuel performance. Ilya Goldberg reported his first problem occurred the week before the meeting (week of December 1st), many weeks after filling up with questionable fuel. Ilya used an off the shelf 'Gel Melter' to unplug his fuel filter-he washed the fuel filter with it and was able to drive home.
A word of caution to all members that filled up the weekend of 10/13- if you have not run your tank down, close to empty, you may have a very high gel point plug waiting to leave your tank and plug up your fuel filter. Once warm weather hits (somewhere in the 70's) the plug should melt. This fuel is fine for your engine, it just hardens at ridiculously high temperatures (in the 50's). Keeping your tank above 1/'4 full should avoid any problems this winter.

The coop has required a certificate of ASTM6751 specification for each batch of fuel we have sold since November.
We have tested for water, glycerol, proper pH, as well.

The fleet of public buses in Harrisburg, PA has been plagued by similar fuel issues, using a B5 blend. Apparently the high gel point fuel can be traced to B100 made from palm oil and barged into the Baltimore port. B100 from palm oil has a cloud point of 11C (degrees centigrade) or higher and will not be accepted as a source by the coop. We will ensure smooth running by requiring gel point below 4C.

Volunteering

1.Please email Mare Cromwell to enhance our contact list;
marecrom@gmail.com

2.Include special skills you can offer the coop, e.g., marketing, technical, organizational

December Meeting

8 December 2007
6 members and Greg Hanscom (the Urbanite) in attendance.

-Volunteering
-Fuel crisis
-Fuel sourcing
-Tech Committee report

See separate posts above for commentary or to start a thread.

NY TIMES article

Nice read. Now if we can get the city to do the same.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/us/02diesel.html?

Winter Blend For Sale

Is anybody out there? Just kidding, folks, I know Andrew reads this blog once in a while.
Mare Cromwell requested an update for Baltimore Biodiesel Cooperative members, so here it is:
The technical committee has requested K50B50 (soy) be sold as the winter blend.
Fuel liaison Mark Eckley was unable to secure this blend from McComas Fuel Company and had to go to Taylor Oil for the blend.

We'll be selling it Friday and Saturday, November 30 and December 1, 2007.
Price will reflect huge uptick in K1 and B100 prices: $4.30 per gallon.

See you out there at Mill Valley!
Renewal of membership dues is due as the anniversary date has passed... just a friendly reminder ;-))