HONDO250

Recently in my travels to Maine there was a Fuel Pump listed Ultra Biodiesel.
Today, I received a copy of Truck Trend: There was a very short article about
DIESEL(HPR BIODIESEL : High Performance Renewable Market: California.
and article ebunking the Biodiesel Myth
I have used biodiesel with extreme caution in the past :
I have visited fueling stations selling Biodiesel B20, B100, & the ULTRA LOW SULFUR...
I proceed with caution looking for the word diesel not the color of the pump nozzle.
I am driving a Mercedes GLK250BT not a Ford Power Stroke Diesel 6.7 liter tagged B-20 .
Being a newbie, I play it safe I read the MB manual
and have had one incident of bad diesel at below 20 degrees .

Perhaps another Mercedes Benz Diesel Vehicle owner can provide further insight?Pro & cons beyond the advertised product promise???

Diabolis

The GLK 250 requires ultra low sulphur diesel, and only allows up to B5 biodiesel if you're in a bind (and they recommend against it). Anything higher than that will void your warranty at the very least.

Just because a magazine article touts the pros of a particular fuel, it doesn't mean that it's comatible with or safe to use in engines that weren't designed for it.

HONDO250

I downloaded the Official Mercedes Benz Biodiesel Brochure after I wrote my MB WORLD Inquiry.
They state Diesel fuel with up to B5 content according to ULSD specification
ASTM D975 meets Mercedes -Benz approved fuel standards and will not void coverage under Mercedes-Benz New Vehicle Limited Warranty...

further stated diesel fuels between B6 and B20 or higher pose risks of engine &fuel system damage
B5 maximum
Fuel with biodiesel content greater than 20% including B100 is not approved by Mercedes Benz.Mercedes -Benz always says " NAME BRAND PRODUCT" SHELL< HESS< MOBIL<EXXON???
Point: about Magazine Advertisement
This is a PROPEL CEO ADVERTISEMENT
In Northern California,Propel Fuels is producing Diesel HPR High Performance Renewable BioDiesel STATEWIDE roll-out & hope of Nationwide .
It is doubtful ,I will be in California and if it does go Nationwide,I will stay clear...This might be a research issue for Mercedes-Benz Owners in California.

Diabolis

Correct. ASTM D975 allows up to B5 (5% biodiesel) and is what the GLK engine requires in addition to ULSD.

Biodiesel is a solvent and can damage engine components if used in an engine that's not designed for it. Google or search on MBWorld for "AdBlue warning" and you'll get a bunch of hits. The B20 is not approved for use in the GLK motor - which is somewhat unfortunate as in the US some states now mandate an increase in the biodiesel percentage requirement seasonally to B20 and you may not be even able to get anything less (it's a similar story with Ethanol in gasoline, which for example kills the auxilliary submerged fuel pumps in some of the older Porsches - the pump uses gasoline for lubrication, which the alcohol conveniently strips off).

All diesel in Europe is a maximum of B5, so that's the market the engine is developed for. If you live in the US and can't get ULSD diesel that's a maximum B5, don't get a BlueTec.

HONDO250

Yes,most assured that with changes in Policy and availability of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel . What is seeming good for nature with the developments of alternative Diesel Fuel...somehow there is a loss in the mix with the possible damage to a Bluetec Mercedes Benz.
In my travels, I have not had difficulty in getting the right diesel fuel for my MB GLK250. I have gotten excellent mileage on my trips...
There seems to be an excuse why diesel fuel can be expensive mostly due to individual State Fuel Tax and i tend to refuel where the fuel cost is lower as I pass through a particular STATE.In the part of Pennsylvania I reside there can be a difference in price of 30 cents depending the source station.
The prices have risen already because of Memorial Day ...some of it is fuzzy logic why....Demand?yet,I do not travel 15 miles out-of-my way to save a few pennies...but on the road in another State ,it is hard to predict the price...
GAS-BUDDY APP does help in saving time in my search for diesel.
I suppose that there is a risk always of getting some bad diesel...Winter mix/Summer mix & in between
As a consumer, It is important to be sure to put the right diesel in my car.a new
F250 FORD can burn B20 but I do not....
WE HAVE A FEW "BLACK THUNDER " diesel truck owners who modify their truck in order to belch black smoke...as a form of a protest..some States have outlawed & ticket some drivers...

Bamboozle

So I recently switched over from Diesel #2 to Diesel GOT (NexBTL) and I have to say I am really happy with the decision. Not only am creating less pollution and reducing my carbon footprint, my GLK seems to be running much better. I'm noticing increased power and better gas mileage to the tune of about 2 mpg. The difference in power is significant as well. Using Diesel HPR on E mode feels almost as peppy as Diesel #2 on S. I also notice considerably less engine noise and smoother acceleration. I was really nervous about making the switch, but after reading some articles about MB's fleet testing and the fact that it won't void your warranty, I thought I might as well give it a shot, being the eco nut that I am. Hopefully more people switch to this stuff. It's really amazing. So far I'm on my third tank. I'll update if there are any issues, but for bitter I'm loving this stuff. Even called the company and asked them to send me a bumper sticker to promote it.

formerjeepguy

Good luck with your biodiesel experiment. If these were older diesel engines without the EGR, DPF, and urea injection I would expect you to be completely safe. However these engines do have the emissions gear and given the number of failures I have read about on this forum as well as the VW and Audi forums I would not even consider even a slight variation from the manufacturers recommedation. Replacing the Diesel Particulate Filter or cleaning the blocked EGR passages are NOT inexpensive repairs. These emission systems are far from being bulletproof and playing around with them is asking for expensive trouble.

Have a look at the latest VW fiasco where it is clear that they cheated on their 4cyl diesel emissions testing. Why would they do that if the emissions systems are sufficiently robust? Perhaps their testing revealed that constant use of the emissions systems resulted in early failures? Maybe they found that actually using the emissions systems causes a bad driving experience due to lower power and reduced fuel economy? I suppose we will find out in the coming months as the story comes out.

I put 18k miles on a glk 250 with recommended maintenance and to my knowledge I always used the correct grade diesel fuel. I say that because there is always a small chance that a supply truck put the wrong fuel in the storage tank at the station. Still the DPF failed at 18k miles. I have no idea why the DPF failed and the dealer service center offered no suggestions. In fact they didn't even look for a cause and just started replacing parts. Had this been outside of warranty the bill would have been in the thousands and without finding the root cause there is a good chance it could occur again.

These emissions systems fail often enough when you are doing everything by the book so why tempt fate?

Bamboozle

Diesel HPR meets the ASTM standard of Diesel #2, burns cleaner, and has been tested on Mercedes fleet vehicles. It is not the same as Biodiesel, and has a higher cetane rating than regular diesel. I'll take my chances, but so far it seems like a drastic improvement over the dinosaur fuel.

Diabolis

NEXBTL does not have the usual drawbacks associated with traditional biodiesel and can be mixed with petro-diesel in any proportion without adverse side-effects on the DPF and the rest of the exhaust after-treatment system. The only drawback is that it's only available in a select few European countries - AFAIK ALL of the biodiesel content in North America is of the fatty acid ester kind (usually made from corn -> Ethanol) which does damage the exhaust after-treatment system.

P.S. All other things being equal, NEXBTL is not an imrovement over petro-diesel from a performance standpoint and furthermore our engines neither need nor can benefit from the higher cetane number (it only changes the ignition delay - the pressure and/or temperature at which the diesel mixture spontanelously combusts), but unlike biodiesel, NEXBTL is safe to use in all diesel engines with an exhaust after-treatment system and does not increase fuel deterioration, deposit formation, microbial growth and water absorbtion.

Bamboozle

Diesel HPR is a blend of 98% NexBTL and 2% Diesel #2 now available in California from Propel Fuels. I definitely feel a performance difference and seem to be getting better gas mileage. It is also about 50 cents cheaper a gallon thanks to the carbon offset market. I'm so pleased with this product.

Diabolis

Glad to hear you can get it in California. As for the engine running better, it's quite possible that whatever you were getting before didin't have enough cetane additives to begin with and/or had too much biodiesel to start with, hence the improvement. And, you are definitely doing the environment a favour - NEXBTL cuts CO2 emissions by half over regular diesel, plus it contains no sulphur.

HONDO250

Good to hear that Propel Product has been found to be positive,cost effective.
I assume that this type diesel is more available in the California Market.
Pollution Concerns ...

Prior Articles , in Truck Trend stated that the supplier will increase availability of this Diesel Fuel Product in other USA Markets...as yet I have not seen this product Formulation in my area ,...

I wonder if the lower cost of diesel fuel is a factor...at some fuel stations iesel Ultra low Sulfur is the same price as gasoline. 87 octane.

Time will tell , the diesel fuel in my area will begin Cold Weather Formulation .
I have been using Ultra low Sulfur fuel purchased at SPEEDWAY *(MARATHON OIL) at Stations that were previously HESS *was purchased by Marathon Oil
within certain markets)
I previously had an incident 12 months ago with fuel purchased from UnBranded Diesel Fuel from a convenience store outlet.
On my travels , I usually purchase Diesel Fuel that is branded...

tigerdog

It's hit a tipping point here in the last 4 months; nearly all available fuel is classified as "renewable". Several refiners are differentiating renewable diesel from biodiesel, a couple of web articles talk about the hydrogenation process making "R" fuels different from "B" biodiesel.) So far, I've seen nothing from MBUSA one way or the other. My latest email exchange only addressed biodiesel and ignored the whole question of a difference between the two fuels.

In the meantime, I've found at least one refiner (Finland company with refineries in the US) that list Mercedes Benz as given OEM approval (Neste OEM approvals) but I haven't corroborated this independently.

If anyone else is reading/researching this issue, please let's keep the community updated.