Hi all I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience of running a truck on 100% bio diesel.
On paper the price looks pretty good certainly when compared to conventional diesel, but was just wondering are their any drawbacks & would it be worthwhile looking into.
Thanks
saw one being run by a bio diesel firm in devon - emissions could be a problem as far as I could see !!!
looked like a foggy day when you followed it 
Been there, done that.
Now waiting for the unit to go in for the 3rd time for injector change, and a new cat.
It’s a 6 month old MAN TGA, with 67000km on the clock.
Stick with road diesel, it’s cheaper in the long run.
Oh, and I have a black cloud following me about too. 
VOSA can spot me a mile off. 
I have never ran a truck on BIO DIESEL but ran my car on it for a while.
I was’nt over impressed with it, my car ran on it but that was about it.
Although I did not measure correctly the amount it used I am quite sure that it used more fuel. I was also down on power and was forever changing fuel filters on the car. The car by the way was a 1994 Citroen Zantia 1.9td so there was no real technology to fall out with.
With the price differential that there was I am sure that lots of people would have been running there vehicles on it had it been as good as normal diesel.
At the moment the price is no longer a good selling point as it’s only about 8p per litre less than Normal diesel so taking into account the time and possibly extra mileage of finding a Bio Diesel retailer and the extra servicing costs and if you suffer similar problems to Kate you really are onto a loser.
There was a discussion on the Jeremy Vine show a while back about bio fuel, and a guy ‘in the know’ reckoned that it shouldn’t be used, at 100% in any vehicle with a common rail engine. This would apply the most vehicles post 1992ish.
Modification to the engines would be needed in a big way to accommodate pure bio.
Having said all this, there were two Renault Premiums on 08reg plates in our local dealer, painted green, with sign-writing to state, they ran on pure bio fuel.
They were bound for Simmonds Transport at Telford, and I think they already have a similar vehicle on their fleet already.
Hope it helps.
we ran 2 axors on a bio trial for a few months.the trucks were double shifted on various work, at the end of each journey the trucks were emisson tested which showed no improvement at all against normal fuel.also the mpg got slightly worse.so the whole idea of using biofuels was dropted.
According to Commercial Motor this week a firm from Shropshire with 15trucks have gone onto 100% biodiesel across the fleet. Rapeseed oil I think. 
They seem to think they will see their money inside a year.
Thank’s for all the replies, from what I have read on here it seems that it is not worth going for, certainly not at the moment anyway.
hammer:
According to Commercial Motor this week a firm from Shropshire with 15trucks have gone onto 100% biodiesel across the fleet. Rapeseed oil I think.They seem to think they will see their money inside a year.
My guess would be Simmonds Transport in Telford, although I haven’t seen the comic yet.
As I said in a previous post they have some new Renaults painted with their 100% biofuel logo.
Kate:
hammer:
According to Commercial Motor this week a firm from Shropshire with 15trucks have gone onto 100% biodiesel across the fleet. Rapeseed oil I think.They seem to think they will see their money inside a year.
My guess would be Simmonds Transport in Telford, although I haven’t seen the comic yet.
As I said in a previous post they have some new Renaults painted with their 100% biofuel logo.
No it’s H WRAGG TPT from little Hereford.
There was a big spread on them in TRUCKING mag.
volvo hand book says night heater will need alot more maintenance and will not last as long.so what it does to engine well■■?