Old biodiesel

[tokarev]

I just bought a Hyster forklift powered by a Isuzu diesel from the govt.(scl - The lift has a sticker above the fuel cap that reads Biodiesel. Now heres the question. Does the biodels go bad, when it does go bad does it look like fudge? Anyone have one of these engines?

 

[GottaHaveOne]

Biodiesel is just like normal petrodiesel, it does not go bad per say, but it does grow allgee(green plant), why it looks like fudge is unknown to me. Any of the biodiesel I have ever made has a yellowish tint to it, even starting with some nasty looking brown waste vegetable oil. I probably would not run the fudge looking stuff. Petrodiesel and biodiesel are completely interchangeable, mixable at any concentrations. Your gelling(freezeing point) is higher with biodiesel than with petrodiesel. I ran some of this new ULSD stuff and froze up last winter, a first for me and when i took the filters off to replace them, it looked like a black slime, havent had any problem this year and we have been down to -25(without windchill) over nightand highs in the single digits above 0 for a few days straight. Good luck, Hope this helps some.

 

[cranetruck]

I agree with previous poster. Biodiesel by itself better be good for a year or more (got some stored in the basement and it smells and looks like fresh after a year or so).
Water is a problem with any fuel, since algae may get a foothold.
Biodiesel in B100 concentartion is not good below freezing, or even below 40 degrees in my experience.
Flush your system and run clean diesel and if you want to use biodiesel, add it in small proportions depending on ambient temp.

Edit: You may want to add some store bought veggie oil for lubricity.

 

[tokarev]

I dont really know how long the lift sat before they sold it. All I know its some nasty stuff that was on the pickup tube and fuel fill strainer. Hope the injector pump doesnt look the same.

 

[tokarev]

Its alive!!!!!

Today we (my dad mostly) cleaned all the sludge out of the bottom of the forklifts fuel tank - then we tried to start it using a jerry can as the fuel tank. Didnt work - fuel pump wasnt moving any fuel to the injector pump. Removed the pickup pump - cleaned more crud out of it. Reinstalled pump and new fuel filter. Started cranking and bleeding injector lines. Slowly it came back to life. Before long it was purring like a kitten. Used it to move 2000 pounds of .50 cal rifle barrels that Roadway delivered today into my shop. A forklift is a nice tool