Well, at the time of this posting I understand that presently there are no bowsers pumping biodiesel.

Hopefully we can all change that soon.

In the mean time, we'd welcome any commercial, would be commercial or home enthusiasts placing any information here that may assist people to get biodiesel easily.

Presently I understand that there are 2 places in NSW that will be selling commercial biodiesel, one in Rutherford and the other soon to be opening in Gosford. There are rumours that the Gosford plant may be supplying to a bowser in Rozelle.

Any posts offering information would be most welcome here.

Our first meeting last night was told that the Gosford plant should be supplying to Sydney Waterways Construction by the end of September 05. They will have a tanker on site with a bowser to fill your vehicle from.
No prices have been set, but it is intended to compete with fossil diesel.
More info will be posted here and on the sydneybiodiesel main site when available.
In the mean time, please discuss this in this thread here: Supplier - Sydney Waterways Constructions in Rozelle.

__________________
Robert Fyvie
Site Admin
Sydney Biodiesel Users' Group and Australian Biofuel Users


......................................................
2007 Mazda 6 Diesel ..................................2000 Peugeot 306..........................2001 Landrover (retired)
2L Turbo charged (Common Rail) ...................XTdt 1.9L Turbo ............................Freelander TD4 (Common Rail)
on B100.................................................. ...on B100.......................................on B100

I have just been informed by Andrew Hill of Biodiesel Industries Australia, that his plant in Rutherford is producing to Australian Standards.


While they have no strategy for distribution to enthusiasts in Sydney (as they focus on large fleet supply), they will put it into 205L drums if requested, or sell it in larger quantities direct from the plant.

If anyone would like any more info on this, or has any comments, concerns or information to offer, please post them here.

Hi All,

I have a relatively new Land rover with a td5. I know that the plumbing
is all ok as there are plenty of these in Europe running biodiesel.

But as I am new to this should I swap over to 100% Biodiesel straight up
or try 20% bio --> then 50% bio --> then 100% bio?

Or should I go straight to 100%?

I have heard that the biodiesel has a higher detergent action and
can shake loose deposits that may be left behind by fossil Diesel.
Is this true and should I change the fuel filter before I fill up?

I work in Balmain so Waterways at Rozelle would be a great place
to pick up a tank full.

Let me know when you are open for business and I'll wander down.

I'd be happy to run the fuel economy comparison, I have records that
go back a few years.

regards
Matthew

Matthew,

landrover use plastic fuel tanks, and synthetic rubber fuel lines so there is little, if any corrosion, in the tanks themselves, or corrosion of the fuel lines.... and yes - biodiesel is a mild solvent, so it will "clean" fuel lines, etc...

I started using biodiesel in my landrover about a year ago, and have not changed any fuel filters... I am notaware of any adverse effects on the engine..

regards,

biodiesel bob.

I did have my fuel filter block up after my first tank of BD.
One solution suggested to me is to clean the filter before your first fill, and fit a small cheap petrol filter before the main filter. ie disconnect the inlet pipe from the existing fuel filter, insert the extra fuel filter filter plus an extra little piece of pipe but don't modify the exising pipe. That way when it clogs up (and the car starts to lose power) you can pull over, remove/replace the extra filter and keep going. Better than having to clean or replace an expensive diesel filter.

After the first tank I did not have further problems with the BD cleaning the tar from petrodiesel out of the tank.
After I changed BD suppliers, I have used some BD which clogged up the filter a bit.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the posts. Good to see some good conversation starting. I put up this site with the idea “if you build it they will come”, so I’m glad that it seems to be working so far. I hope that soon we will be a thriving community.

What I now realise is that I will have to start setting up some better structure in here so that the topics can be better organised. I’d be eager to hear your ideas and suggestions too.

Now that I’m seeing the topics that you guys are posting, I might start trying to organise them better into topic areas and new threads rather than one big long one.

@ Matthew: Good point re blending. Initially, I’d doubt that our friends at Sydney Waterways Construction would be well set up to do this, but it is an interesting thing to consider, especially if we can find/coerce other locations to storing and retailing biodiesel.
Glad to hear that you’ve got some good records as well for economy comparison. I have good records too, so I’ll be posting them up as soon as I get myself organised.

@ biodieselbob: Thanks and welcome. Glad to hear that Land Rovers are “ready to go”. That’s a better answer than I’ve managed to get officially from LR in Australia!

@ jcaley. Good point re the filters. Perhaps it might be a good idea to build some sort of welcome to biodiesel guide for newbies that any potential new user should read before their first tank from Rozelle. I might put up some FAQs with this sort of stuff as well, based on the info that you are all contributing here.

Hi, very new to biodiesel but from what I've seen it all looks good for the vehicle and greenhouse friendly. I'm not really into making my own (although i don't really know what's involved) but I am interested to find out if I can buy it somehow. I'm in the Blue Mountains (Leura) so a trip to Rozelle isn't practical for my weekly fill but I wondered about the option of buying in bulk and storing in say a 1500 litre tank somewhere local. I can easily get half a dozen friends to share the costs but with freight this may not be practical? Does anyone know if any of the suppliers mentioned on this forum sell in bulk and will deliver to my tank? Approx cost/litre? And what the tax implications are (ie; I'd hope that when I buy in bulk I pay the excise and then if I share it among friends they just pay me and there's no excise to worry about - or is that wishful thinking?). Any info or advice most welcome!
Lucas.

Hi, Lucas and welcome to the forum.
How much Biodiesel do you and your friends need? I live in Lithgow and would pass by Leura on my way to collect fuel in Sydney. If you only need a 200Litre drum's worth from each collection day, we could share the delivery. The fuel tanker that Waterways has is their own yard vehicle and does not "Do the rounds" delivering bulk fuel to customers. We have to go to them and pick it up in our own bulk containers. We're hoping (Aren't we, Robert?) to organise another bulk pick-up day in mid December.
As far as the excise goes, that only applies to anyone making Biodiesel, wether as a small backyard batch or as a large commercial plant. The fuel Waterways has is made in a large plant on the Central Coast and the plant has paid the excise already. Waterways, or yourself, or any other end user does not have to pay the excise again. GST is a different matter, and should be applied to each sale by a registered ABN user. If you don't have an ABN, you can't claim the GST charged by Waterways, but then again, you don't need to charge it to anyone else you sell the fuel to, such as your friends.

Thanks Gunner,
good info - and thanks for the offer to share delivery - that could work out well if you are passing thru. I'd be interested in looking into getting a 200 litre drum, what do you think it'd cost all up? and how does it work with the drums? I suppose we need to supply a drum? And I'll need to get hold of a hand pump from somewhere or maybe I'll just start off by syphoning from the 44 into a 20 litre container for easier pouring into the vehicle. Everyone I know who has a diesel is interested in trying it out so i think what'll happen is I'll get the 44 and will probably divide it up among 5 or 6 of us and then we'll drive around and decide we like and will try and get more! It'll depend a bit on cost of course but as long as it's close to fossil diesel we'll all probably use it regularly. What is the bloke at the Waterways charging per litre? or are you buying from Rutherford? And what would be a fair thing to pay you to share the cost of fuel and running costs for your trip down and back? Keen to talk more.
Cheers,
Lucas