Bioblend and my basement

[Cameron]

I recently switched the heating of my house from oil to natrual gas and now have a fairly new unused 300gls oil tank in my basement. My plan is to fill it with a B50 mixture. That amount of fuel should last me almost a year. I do have a couple of questions though.

Any reason I should go higher or lower with the blend? Although I live in balmy Rhode Island...I'm going to need anti-gel no matter what.

Will a B50 blend eventually seperate out? I don't want to end up pumping diesel for half the year and Bio for the other half.

Would I have any quality issues with fuel sitting that long?

My basement is plenty warm, so I'm not worried about geling in the tank. And although the diesel that I am mixing with the bio is not winterized I'm sure it will push the gel point much lower then 40f. How cold can it get before I start putting a little anti-gel in with my fill ups?

Any other reasons that this might be stupid idea?

 

[Slave2school]

I would think hard about an anti algae additive if it is going to hang around for more than 6 months.

 

[Murphy2000]

I would think hard about an anti algae additive if it is going to hang around for more than 6 months.

Why would that matter? Its a furnace not an engine.

I've never actually seen algae growing in a fuel tank so I'm at a bit of a loss..
However, unless this algae grows in huge valve-clogging clumps, I don't think a bit extra particulate matter is going to make any difference to a furnace that just sprays and burns it.

I could be wrong but that's my first-thoughts on the subject.

 

[Slave2school]

He's using the tank for his car's fuel storage, not for the furnace. I have seen a fair bit of clear white goopy algae in my car's own fuel tank using additives, so I would think that fuel sitting in a nice warm place might have the oportunity to do the same, especial being biodiesel.

Call me paranoid if you want lol.

 

[RC]

Go with the antigel, and you're gonna have to blend in some of the Devil's Tea in the winter so you won't gel up.

If you are going to have to add petro in the winter anyway, I'd put as much B100 in the storage tank that would last one year and run neet biodiesel whenever weather allowed.

 

[canolajetta]

Just my 2 cents, but I'm a newbie....

I'd talk to actual BD vendors and ask what they think.

I know the Navy won't keep BD any longer than they have to (standard blend for the Navy is 20%, their research shows problems w/ fuel stored longer than 2 years, they use soybean based BD), and I personally wouldn't store more than 3-4 months, particularly if you aren't knowledgable about it (what type of BD? what's the FFA content?) The problem isn't just gelling, or microbes, but also simply that the fuel can degrade over time, just like jet fuel degrades, but more slowly.

How are you going to get the fuel from your basement into your car? In gas cans? You may get tired of that after awhile.....

 

[Cameron]

I was thinging about the microbe thing. It wouldn't hurt to have some BioBor in the tank to stop that. I was also planning on running the fuel through a Racor as it is pumped into my tank. The basement and drivway are right next to each other so a pump and fuel nozzle right on the tank will reach the car just fine. As far as the degridation of the fuel...maybe I fill the tank up only half way with the blend. That way I'll use it up quicker without having to worry about the stuff going bad. I would like to keep the car on a standard blend and add some additives as the weather dictates rather then run straight...blend...dino...etc.

 

[Murphy2000]

You should be able to prevent growth in biodiesel by simply heating it to 160 degF to kill off anything living.

I think most algae bites the dust around 130 or so but I could be wrong.

 

[naturist]

I think, Murphy, that his problem with the heat bit is the difficulty in heating the TANK.

 

[Cameron]

Yeah, I'm trying to make this as simple as possible. Fill the storage tank with a good blend, fill the car with the good blend, no more gas stations, happy car...

 

[Murphy2000]

Well then,
BioDiesel will keep just fine in your basement for about 1 to 1.5 years or so. Keep oxygen out of the tank if you can.. keep it as cool as you can and dark.

Keeping the tank full will last longer than leaving it 1/4 full.


Also, if keeping it warm in the winter is a problem, drop in a large fish tank heater or even two (one at each side).. they have a built in thermostat.

 

[WDP]

Don't forget about the already present cr*p in the tank. Heating fuel is notorious for leaving stuff on the bottom. Clean it out before you ruin your biodiesel and your car.

WDP