39. What could I see in a Diesel Fuel Filter? Diesel Oxidation or Aphaltenes Diesel Fuel Paraffin wax
40. What could I see in a Diesel Fuel Filter? Water saturated filter paper Other contaminants like water and sediment or microbial contamination
41. What could I see that’s different than normal Diesel Fuel Filters? Partial reaction products from off specification biodiesel or imposter biodiesel
So what is biodiesel? It is not your hillbilly in Kentucky with a still (that’s ethanol, not biodiesel). It’s not pouring Mazola into your engine (that’s raw vegetable oil which has a much higher viscosity and will cause a variety of engine problems). It IS “Bio-Willie”. I’m sure you’ve heard of Willie Nelson and Neil Young (pictured), and what they do is biodiesel, as long as its not from marijuana oil….at least until marijuana is legalized!
One thing that should be emphasized throughout this training, is the difference between ethanol and biodiesel. Ethanol is NOT biodiesel. Ethanol is made from fermenting the whole corn kernel to ethanol. It is only intended for spark-ignited or gasoline applications since ethanol has good octane, but poor cetane and zero lubricity. A term that some people are using in the industry regarding ethanol is “drink the best and burn the rest”!. Raw ethanol in diesel fuel can severely damage diesel engines due to its poor lubricity and lack of blending with diesel fuel. So—ethanol is NOT biodiesel. When you are thinking about biodiesel, put ethanol out of your mind. This is one of the points we would like to bring across with this training.