Residual Forces

How about that, Bio-diesel sucks. Well, it freezes. just 2% mix is enough to freeze up and shut down some trucks.

(AP) St. Paul Truckers will get a three-week reprieve from the state’s 2-month-old biodiesel mandate after complaints that the soybean-based fuel is clogging some fuel filters — particularly in cold weather.

The state Department of Commerce on Friday temporarily suspended a requirement to blend 2 percent biodiesel into diesel fuel, giving biodiesel makers and distributors time to fix the problem. During the 21-day variance, stations can sell unblended diesel fuel.

Freezing fuel filters is a big problem in trucking. Just about every trucker out there has probably had it happen to them at least once. When it does happen, you are SOL. unless you happen to have a spare filter, the tools to change it, along with the luck of stalling in a safe enough place to make the repair.

“We have members that are going ballistic over this,” said John Hausladen, president of the Minnesota Trucking Association. “Now, we do not know for certain that it is the biodiesel causing the problem, and we are trying to make sure that we have our data. But all the evidence we have gathered points to biodiesel being the culprit.”

You mean to tell me that the bio-diesel isn’t really ready for mass consumption yet? Jeez, it is almost like it was done by pure mandate rather than as the markets desire. Actually it was railroaded into use by the legislature, at the strong armed tactics of various lobbies.

Bruce Gordon, with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, said there’s not an obvious cause to the problem. The state is conducting tests — initial results on 18 samples showed “four samples that failed a cold-weather test, but it does not say what is the cause of that failure,” he said Thursday.

“We have received complaints that fuel filters are reportedly clogging, especially in colder weather, and we know that not everyone is experiencing the problem,” he said.

So, better hope you make it. Maybe you’ll be lucky to get that load to its destination. Typical CYA by a state official.

The state’s trucking group said that in a survey of 90 members, 56 reported problems with plugged fuel filters, Hausladen said.

Maybe you should plan on it happening. I would. (junk science in my opinion.)

The clogging has stunned Minnesota’s soybean growers, who envisioned biodiesel as a clean alternative fuel. They worked to make Minnesota the first — and only — state to require a biodiesel blend in every gallon of diesel sold.

Gee I wonder why no one else did it? Maybe because it is crap?

But now, farm groups are willing to have state officials waive the law temporarily,

Gee thanks, I sure hope your subsidy checks don’t rely on bio-diesel to get to you. (That was uncalled for, I apologize.) But these green fuels are crap. They are based on junk science and hysteria.