Biodiesel price check?

[hazmat]

Nearest place (Burke Oil) wants $209 + sales tax for 55 gallons of offroad B20 = $3.80 per gallon delivered. They charge you a $20 drum deposit & will exchange old for new. Hand crank Pump is $30. Last week, On road diesel was just south of $3 a gallon including the road taxes.

I'd like to promote the "industry" but also don't want to get too ripped off. I like the convenience of not having to go to the gas station with my jerry cans as well... I estimate I'll use 75-100 gallons per year (slighlty under 1 gallon per hour). The new B3030 is more of a fuel hog than my TC18...

I can also get B100 in 5 gallon pails for $25 to "mix my own" but that seems difficult. and requires that I pick it up as well... DIY price would be $3.40 per gallon.

Any issues with the fire marshal storing 55 gallons of fuel at my residence???

 

[Ford850]

I paid $2.82 last week for Biodiesel at the pump.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I have only two nearby stations with bio. One sells B2 for about the same price that other stations sell petrodiesel and also sells B20 for 10-20 cents more/gallon. Other station is farther away and usually has B20 for the same price to 10 cents LESS than petrodiesel.

I haven't bought diesel in drums before so I don't know how much of a factor that is. Also don't know what taxes you might be paying. Does your use qualify as agricultural?

I would not "mix my own" from B100 because various tests by the fuel industry have shown that casual mixing methods ("splash blending") are unreliable and your bio percentage in any given drop or cup could be anywhere from 0 to 100.

I'm a big fan of biodiesel but at present time I don't go past B20 in my trucks. I would put B20 in my tractor but am not doing so based on specific advice from my JD dealer; he didn't threaten the warranty, just said it was likely to cause problems. Bio is reasonably available in my area, especially at fuel companies that cater to farmers, so he probably has some reason for this advice. I have had zero (0.0) problems using B20 in my 2005 Jeep CRD and 2006 Dodge Ram/Cummins. I would not be surprised if the ag issue is storage - I burn an entire tank of fuel in either truck every 1-2 weeks, but a tractor or combine might get stored with B20 or more in the tank for an entire winter. Some tests have indicated that biodiesel just plain goes bad after 6-12 months, and it also attracts more water than petrodiesel, either of which is an issue for storage.

 

[hazmat]

Thanks guys,

I'll call back and ask how much it is at the pump to determine the premium for the drum & delivery. The problem is that the pump is ~35 miles from my house (which for New Englanders might as well be on a different continent ). I'm not interested in making a "pilgrimage" to get fuel...

 

[hazmat]

OK found B5 offroad for $2.55/gallon delivered or B20 On road (same supplier) for $2.93 delivered out of NH.

55 gallon drum (didn't want to deal with cleaning a used one), hand pump, filter & dolly. $300

Not having to lug 5 gallon jerry cans - priceless

Renewable fuel - added bonus

 

[Kendrick]

The problem you will have with b20+ are 2 part 1 if you ran B0 for a while there will be deposets of crud in your tank etc... when you start adding B5+ it starts removing that crud the more B the quicker it gets cleaned out. ie cloging of fuel filters and fuel lines. this bad thing is not because bio is harming your system it is because you used dirty fuels prevous. petrol just cant help it.

2 IF you have old natural rubber? fuel lines and old fuel pumps that have not been worked on and updated to the new synthetic materials you may have a speed up of rubber decay. there were claims of the aluminum in the fuel pump being eaten up. from what i read that was due to incomplete reaction of home made bio.

home maid bio costs .70 a gal plus any appropriate state taxes. b100 was costing about 1$ above petral diesel and was expected to start breaking eaven at 3.50 a gal. that information is a year or two out of date price wise for the pump but should probably hold true today. homemade was expected to cost 2.25 after taxes state taxes are ofte 1-1.50 a gal some states offer credits for using bio though so it depends on locality.

Most manufacturers want a scape goat to keep from repairing your tractor or truck. kioti has no bio clause. cummins will not waranty above B20 gm i think doesnt allow any b.

homemaid can be just as safe as the pump if you are willing to put in the effort. most home brewers dont feal it neccessary to bubble wash the bio as the dot requires for it to be to be sold. the bubble washing gets out the unreacted methonol soap and waxes. it just takes time and effort.

 

[RalphVa]

There's only one biodiesel place in town here in Charlottesville. Its price is about the same as regular diesel. They require you to pay a $25 filing fee to get a charge card. Need the charge card because it's unmanned.

I didn't file for the card because I get 10% off the untaxed part of Exxon diesel, about 25 cents/gallon.

Still waiting for another source.

Ralph

 

[dmccarty]

A local station is selling biodiesel for 2.89. Regular diesel is 2.89 at the same station. This was onroad fuel.

We have a biodiesel plant in town. It and the local community college are very active in promoting biodiesel. The plant is in big trouble since it was dumping the wash water down the drain which did two things. It killed the wee bacteria in the waste water treatment plant as well as coated the pipes at the plant clogging up the works. The state fined them 10K. And the town said its going to cost the plant up to 20K to unclog the pipes.

No word on what is happening to the wastewater in the meantime. But the treated water is dumped into a creek which runs into a major lake that is used by other cities for drinking water.

Later,
Dan

 

[MrJimi]

Have you tried
GasBuddy.com - Find Low Gas Prices in the USA and Canada
and click on diesel prices ? These are ours here in jacksonville,Fl.
http://www.jacksonvillegasprices.com/index.aspx?s=Y&fuel=D&tme_limit=48
this biodiesel sounds like more trouble than it's worth when I can drive up to the pump and just fill it up for less.