To B100 or not to B100? That is the question

8 MinutesBy NZ Trucking magazineJune 26, 2020

The experiences of a campervan owner who wanted to get off fossil fuels.


Photo: It doesn‘t get much better than this.

Deciding to sell my campervan in 2015 was driven by a stark choice. Like so many people, I had long-dreamed of owning a mobile home, a dream that came true four years earlier when I bought a 2004 ex-Maui VW LT35 3-berth. I‘d already had wonderful trips in it with family and friends, my grandkids adored our expeditions away, and to my surprise I grew to like it even more during the year it was my home while my ‘real‘ house was being built. But with that functional phase over, I couldn‘t escape a reality that had been gnawing at me: I work on climate change initiatives and know fossil fuels are the arch-villain of global overheating, yet I was driving my diesel van around just for fun. It‘s one thing to run diesel trucks, currently almost as crucial to society as blood in our veins, but burning diesel for recreation was something I couldn‘t live with. So, in spring 2015, with a heavy heart, I prepared my second home for sale. I‘d even drafted the Trade Me ad when a fluke meeting with Duncan Abrey of The Natural House Company dealt me a get-out-of-jailfree card, and brought a grin to my face and a reprieve for my camper. “We run our van on 100% biodiesel,” Duncan announced. “It‘s refined right here in Motueka.” I could hardly believe my ears: for months I‘d agonised over a problem, while a solution was just a short drive from my home in Nelson.

A call to Matthew Lady at Ethical Fuels reassured me – his product was made from re-refined cooking oil and didn‘t need special storage; and a call to VW reassured me my LT35 was okay to run on 100% biodiesel. I bought a suitable 12V pump and ordered a drum from Matthew. The first sign biodiesel was more biofriendly came as Matthew dropped it off, and bumble bees started cruising around, drawn by the smell. Four years later, this ecofriendliness was confirmed when I moved the drum: instead of the sterile bare patch normally associated with diesel tanks, plants were thriving all around. And the transition couldn‘t have been easier – no modifications, no new equipment. “Just run a tankful at 50/50, then a tankful of straight biodiesel, then change your fuel filter,” were Matthew‘s simple instructions. The filter replacement is required because mineral diesel leaves deposits in the fuel system that biodiesel strips off. On my model the filter change needed a snake that could use a wrench but, once done, the switch to biodiesel was complete. Naturally, I was curious about the van‘s performance, especially as biodiesel supposedly brings a slight loss of power, but I couldn‘t pick up the difference: the power held up fine and fuel consumption seemed the same.


Photo: The grandkids love our adventures in the campervan.

But of course campervans invite longer trips, and that raised the challenge of filling up away from home. I first struck that problem on a trip to Christchurch, knowing I wouldn‘t make it back to Nelson on a single fill. Happily, Fulton Hogan‘s Green Fuels depot came to the rescue, and I made it home without resorting to mineral diesel. Then came a bigger challenge, in the form of a trip to Northland. Z Energy was just introducing biodiesel and a phone call was promising, I could fill with B100 (100% biodiesel) at every Truck Stop. That was soon revised down to B10 or B5 and then, on the ferry to Wellington, I got a phone call… “Sorry, we made a mistake. There isn‘t yet any biodiesel on your route.” Clearly, I‘d tapped right into their teething problems! Naturally I was miffed, but I‘d done my best, and was committed to the trip.


Photo: The site of the drum in the yard.

However, the problem quickly morphed into an opportunity, because the return trip let me compare the performance of biodiesel and mineral diesel on exactly the same route (albeit in opposite directions). Heading north, I made Tokoroa on a single tank of B100, filled with 64 litres of mineral diesel, then southbound, two weeks later, filled again at the same pump. Naturally, a truckie‘s instincts might pick a difference, but even though I was alert for changes in performance, I couldn‘t detect any. And on the last leg to Nelson, I watched, intrigued, as the fuel gauge descended towards zero. I made it home okay. The dipstick on my 200-litre drum is calibrated at 10-litre intervals, so isn‘t that precise, but I reckoned almost 65 litres to top right up again. Amazing! No perceptible difference in performance or in fuel economy. But a neighbour had picked a difference. “There‘s that fish and chip shop again!” he often quipped. Which is true: a slight whiff of cooking oil is the only tangible difference, apart from filling being less convenient. But those downsides are minute compared with the massive benefit of avoiding almost all the awful emissions that come from mineral diesel – and that was the real game changer that breathed new life into my enjoyment of my wonderful campervan. Disclaimer: This personal account of using B100 biodiesel in a campervan should not be taken as confirmation that such use is always okay. The chemistry of biodiesel is complex, as are its potential effects on engines, and people interested in trying this should make their own enquiries before doing so.

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