My question:
Is there anyone who'd strongly recommend against using it at say 5% or less with fresh diesel? I know it would burn but..

I have about 20 gallons of B99 that I salvaged from my car that went into storage 8 years ago. Filtration prior to use is pretty much a no brainer and I have an auxiliary 2 micron filtration system at my disposal but I havent uncovered any information about catalytic reactions that could create more problems. Id prefer to use up my finely aged brew even if only a quart at a time when I fill up. Public Refuse Stations consider it hazardous waste and disposal is not cheap. I'm unsure of the environmental impact B99 has but using FOR drain cleaner or weed control isn't something I'm considering.

I've been reading a lot about fuel but haven't come across any information on storage other than a generic recommendation to 'use it or lose it'. My understanding is that Petro decomposition begins as early as 90 days from distillation and should not be stored more than 1 year and B99 stored no more than 3 years. Additional sources indicate that additives and conditioners to prevent decomposition or restore fuel are of little if any use despite marketing claims. If I find the answer I'll follow up.

How valuable is the car and the injection pump to you? What is your time worth to rebuild it or clean the tank and fuel system if something goes wrong? Considering how nasty the 10 year old pump-diesel is in the tank of my SDL, I wouldn't use anything more than a year old at most.

On the other hand, if the car is a beater and you really don't care about it, not much to lose.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

I would say it's more of a beater. I'm not into showboat restorations. If I had any faith in PO's report(I don't), "Factory REMAN <50k", it might concern me.

Maybe I'll put it in an oak barrel for another 10 years and sponsor a community fish fry. ;-)

Is b99 diesel fuel?

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Home heating oil = #2 high sulfur diesel fuel ( unless you are in an area that requires low sulfur )

So, you probably could run b99 in a home heating burner but do some research first.

I've got a bunch of 3+ years old regular diesel that I'm going to be running through the furnace. The plan is to valve off the regular tank and run the old stuff in a secondary tank.

If it's still fluid, I would filter it well and burn it and not look back.

If you change your own oil, maybe dump a quart or two of it in with the waste oil you turn in? I know the public refuse stations consider it hazardous waste, but it's really NOT. Used crank case oil is far nastier.

Call around to auto shops and see who has a waste oil heater for their building and are willing to take it off your hands?

Post it free on CL and let someone else come pick it up?

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617 swapped Toyota Pickup, 22-24 MPG, 50k miles on swap

Can you be sure no little black bugs are growing it... which would be introduced to your tank ?

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1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=10414

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=156207&highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

Three problems with old fuel:

1) It may have picked up water.

2) It may have picked up debris.

3) Volatile components tend to evaporate out.

Of these, water would be the biggest concern. But you can let it settle in a glass bottle before installing. You're in good shape if you filter to two microns. Volatiles are less of a problem with diesel than gas, but it's probably a bit degraded over that time.

Biological infestation tends to be self limiting, as long as the fuel can be stored dry. The resulting debris would be removed by your filter.

You can certainly burn diesel in an oil furnace, and I wouldn't hesitate to just throw it in the heating oil tank after settling and filtering. If running it in a car, maybe add a gallon to a full tank and use it up gradually. In either case, dilution is the solution. But no guarantees.

One use for it would be to save it to use to start a bonfire or burn pile fire. If it's biodiesel (I'm assuming B99 is bio), it's probably not good to run in your car if it's old. That sounds like a clogged filter issue waiting to happen. My brother's 300SD had been run on biodiesel for years and years and while that engine is probably the best running OM617 I've ever heard, the tank and fuel hard lines suffered. We replaced the tank with one from his part's car after we had the fuel filters clog within 50 miles of replacing both of them.

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Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.

I've used really old deeze, Only difference I ever noticed was it really smells bad!

It's just a light machine type oil.

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"I applaud your elaborate system of denial"

If It is bio based I would not risk it. May have no issues but if there were even one you could regret it. I suspect it depends a lot on the bio base component used in manufacturing.

Some may rot with time is my suspicion. Old straight petro based diesel fuel usually is okay if nothing is growing in it and you make sure there is not a lot of accumulated condensation.

My short understanding is Yes.

My slightly more detailed understanding:
'Diesel' is a colloquial term for the petroleum fuel we typically use in our 'Diesel' engines.The engine he designed can operate on a wide variety of fuel oil but long term use of some fuels may result in significant damage to the injection pump and engine.

Bio-Diesel as we know is refined vegetable oil put through a process called transesterfication and esterfication which I'll not describe. B## e.g. B99, B20 refers to the percentage of biodiesel in a petroleum blend. Why 99%? My understanding is that to be sold commercially(in the state of Washington anyway), 1% petroleum is added to justify and impose Diesel Road Tax. This may be a federal mandate, I'm uncertain. I've also read the addition of 5% to petrol-Diesel will significantly improve lubricity and service life of injection pumps and engines, nearly the same energy as petro-Diesel, and significantly lower in some harmful emissions.

There are of course some drawbacks. Anyone including the operator in the vicinity of vehicle using biodieselwill experience an uncontrollable urge to consume Even more Fast food. This in a culture plagued with an obsession for Big Macs and French Fries could easily overwhelm our healthcare system, legislation for 'designated fast food consumption areas', more unenforceable laws/higher taxes, yet another social stigma, insurance rates, an over abundance and variety of diet soda, fad pharmaceuticals, etc. I can do this all day...

It's typically just under a dollar more at the pumps, and if your blood pressure increases with the scarcity of diesel at most of the pumps, detriment to your health will likely negate any benefit. It destroys, most permeable hoses and seals. Impermeable alternatives are equally if not more difficult to obtain than the fuel that creates the demand, although that's been improving. Lastly, biodiesel is not a sustainable fuel if more than 10-20% of consumers used it Globally, we're 'Dirt' poor and famine rich.

Contrary to rumor, Rudy did not design his engine to run on peanut oil but he did demonstrate its ability to do so. He is also quoted and accredited with the foresight, one day the world's petrol resources would dwindle and alternative fuel oils would become an important energy resource. Of course he was bat**** crazy for expressing that at the time.

In my opinion, if we've assigned the petroleum fuel and characteristical engine design in his namesake, any fuel used for an engine of his design could and perhaps should follow suit.

This of course is my understanding and opinion, not a statement of historical facts. I'm sure there are others who will be able to correct and elaborate which I encourage.

Excellent question. The answer is no. I could boil it for 20 minutes before usage.

I did some more research. Tank contamination is inevitable with available fuel quality but no sense in giving the bugs a running start.

I haven't read anything to support premature corrosion associated with biodiesel. Clogged filters are almost a given until the polymers from petro-diesel are dissolved. Biodiesel is a significantly stronger solvent for those types of solids and is also why it permeates, swells, and gums up many rubber compounds.

Sailboat owners use old black-slimed diesel all the time. That is why they sell biocides to kill the bio and salvage the fuel. I understand it also dissolves the stuff so it doesn't clog. Yours doesn't even sound like it is black. The Walking Dead show should have them driving around in diesels for gosh sakes. Think gas would be good sitting 4+ years? I don't run bio-diesel (just Diesel HPR bio), but I would run it thru in the summer if possible, since unlikely it could gel on our 115 F days.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans