I couldn't wait!
After I got home from my soccer game tonight (we won, thank you!), I got in the VW Golf TDI and drove the 24 miles to Manchester, home of the closest (as far as I know) biodiesel dealer. I still had about half a tank of petrodiesel from the previous owner, but I topped it off with eight gallons of B100 biodiesel--that is, 100% of the new fuel was biodiesel, made from soybeans, not from 19-year-old soldiers in Iraq.
With about 50% biodiesel in the tank, I drove back home. The car ran just as smoothly and with just as much power as it had going out. Presumably, the exhaust was substantially less toxic as well.
The downside? The B100 is currently more expensive than petrodiesel or gasoline. I paid $2.71 per gallon. The B20 (20% bio, 80% petro) was $1.79, I think. That will probably be the better choice in the winter, since the B100 reportedly doesn't work well in cold weather. My guess is that biodiesel will come down in price while petrodiesel continues up along with gasoline, probably crossing over in the next year or two. If not, I'm still willing to pay more for cleaner, more sustainable fuel. I'm getting great mileage anyway!
After I got home from my soccer game tonight (we won, thank you!), I got in the VW Golf TDI and drove the 24 miles to Manchester, home of the closest (as far as I know) biodiesel dealer. I still had about half a tank of petrodiesel from the previous owner, but I topped it off with eight gallons of B100 biodiesel--that is, 100% of the new fuel was biodiesel, made from soybeans, not from 19-year-old soldiers in Iraq.
With about 50% biodiesel in the tank, I drove back home. The car ran just as smoothly and with just as much power as it had going out. Presumably, the exhaust was substantially less toxic as well.
The downside? The B100 is currently more expensive than petrodiesel or gasoline. I paid $2.71 per gallon. The B20 (20% bio, 80% petro) was $1.79, I think. That will probably be the better choice in the winter, since the B100 reportedly doesn't work well in cold weather. My guess is that biodiesel will come down in price while petrodiesel continues up along with gasoline, probably crossing over in the next year or two. If not, I'm still willing to pay more for cleaner, more sustainable fuel. I'm getting great mileage anyway!
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