Introduction, why B100, our setup

We decided to use 100% biodiesel in our home heating system this year. We buy our fuel from a local refiner who converts waste or used vegetable oil into biodiesel (B100). Lots of people burn B5 (meaning 95% fossil fuel, 5% biodiesel). Some people think they are doing good with B20. We decided to go all out and burn B100.

Why?

1. Shell Oil and Exxon-Mobil do not operate refineries in our state. Burning B100 puts jobs here.

2. There are lots of studies and anecdotal evidence to show burning B100 is cleaner/better than fossil fuel (carbon in the air, particulates, renewable, recycle used oil, etc).

3. It is about 20% less expensive then fossil fuel. We just bought 110 gallons for $2.80 a gallon. Cash price in the New York metro area (cheaper than what we could buy it for) is $3.40 a gallon.

There are problems with B100. I hope to share our experience and perhaps inspire you to burn B100 instead of fossil fuel.

Our setup:

We use our boiler to provide space and domestic hot water heating. The domestic is not hooked up yet, but sometime this winter it will be (we have an Ergomax water heater). The house is divided into seven zones (two zones are off, they are the basement and the garage).

The boiler is in the garage, next to the oil tank. We have no chimney (we have a sideshot induced draft fan). Currently we use indoor air for combustion, the future hope is to use outside air, after the boiler room wall is built.

We have a Burnham V8 boiler with a Beckett AFG burner. The "design" nozzle for this unit is 1.1 GPH, 60 degree, B at 140 psig. I believe this is too big, espicially considering our tiny zones (all zones never, ever call at once). We have a "V1" combustion head.

We currently are running a 0.65 GPH, 60 degree, semi-solid at 180 psig. Our B100 refiner believes increasing the pump pressure is important (B100 is about two times as viscous as #2 oil at any temperature) to decrease droplet size.

Bill N.