Just came from a "John Deere Day" session at the local dealership, and in
their company video, came back with the following info in regard to usage of
BioDiesel:
1. John Deere only recommends B2 and B5 without qualifications, but also
states that use of any higher concentration is OK as far as warranty is
concerned.
2. Use of any mix higher than B5 for the first time might lead to leakage
as there is some cleaning action of the Bio product. They recommend careful
checking for a while when using a higher percentage blend.
3. For equipment that may be not run for a while, say 6 months, they
recommend filling the system with pure petroleum fuel, as the Bio mix will
sequester more water. That concern for water contamination also applies to
storage facilities - be careful to keep as much moisture as possible out of
the tank.
All of the above assumes BioDiesel fuel that conforms to the current
standards - not home-brew fry oil leftovers. It is also interesting that JD
(and Cummins, etc) appears to be more tolerant of BioDiesel use than D-C (in
Germany) was in 2005. At that time, the D-C engineers from Stuttgart stated
that they did not recommend the use of other than petroleum fuels. Wonder
if they have softened their attitudes yet? (The Chrysler part of D-C has
been shipping Jeep Diesels with a low percentage mix of BioDiesel for some
time!)
Werner
