Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

[Gary Wright Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close Gary Wright]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

Does anyone know of a Biodiesel supplier on the Northern Beaches??

[Robert Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Robert]

21 stations now selling B50?

I've just got some inoformation this morning on the mystery stations around Sydney that are selling biodiesel - You can find the info in the industry forum under this thread
Once I've got some confirmations about it all, then I'll fix up the list at the start of this thread. Any other reports that anyone else has would be welcome.

[shaker Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shaker]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

Biodiesel in the South Coast,

Most of what has been said so far seems true, my local 'Volume Plus' servo up at Milton, near Ulladulla, does not advertise this but they are selling a 40 Blend (the owner called it)??. There is a very small notice on the only diesel bowser that says this diesel is a biodiesel blend, the owner said all 'Volume plus' Diesel is a blend at the moment. He didn't really know anything more about it. I was wondering...would this be similar to, or is it the same as B40?? 'Rumours' are it is made from canola, so it has no WVO, Ideally i would like to use some sort of mix like B80 throughout winter but i am happy using something close to B50?? Does anyone have anything else to add on this issue

cheers

Darren

[Robert Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Robert]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

Hi Darren, glad to hear that you can still get some biodiesel down south in some form...

I'd heard that they were selling B50, but it is all rumours still. Check out the Future Fuels thread in the Industry section.

There have been mixed reports of the Volume Plus servos, from no biodiesel to some biodiesel. Hopefully we can all nut out a definative list between ourselves. When I get some time during the day, I might try and call someone in charge @ Volume Plus and see if I can get some real answers. If anyone else feels like doing this and reporting back - please do.

[smokey2 Member Find all posts View Profile Close smokey2]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

I fill with B50 at Volume plus just North of Holbrook on H31 when travelling between Melb to Canberra. Open approx 7:00 am to 7:00 pm which is not what their website says. The owner has a string of outlets in Southern NSW and a processing plant at Moama using Canola. My little Daihatsu Rocky loves the stuff. Their web site is www.volumeplus.com.au. Not sure where to post this as it could be of use to NSW, Victorian and Canberra travellers. Would love them to open an outlet accessible to Canberra.

[shaker Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shaker]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

Thanks Smokey and Robert,

I just wanted to know if it was legit biodiesel, i have checked out all the links and can't really find much more, i'll guess i'll just see what else i pick up from here. Pretty encouraging though.

Darren

[smokey2 Member Find all posts View Profile Close smokey2]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

Probably legit as Volumeplus label their pumps 'biodiesel' and I would assume they would not label it if it was on the sly from the ATO. The operator at Holbrook says it is a poofteenth less than 50% ie 49.9% Does that make it B40 or B50? Operator also said it is quality checked to conform with government regulations so they can the rebate. The fuel is yellow in colour and the presence of canola is obvious. Hopefully it is refined enough not to cause problems.

[Ben Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close Ben]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

I've been hoping to get a second tank of bio from my local volume plus (Forestville) but it seems their diesel pump hasn't been working for about a week now so I popped into Forestville Ethanol, on the opposite side of warringah rd and about 2k's closer to the beach, 'cause I figured if anybody else would have bio it would be them. THEY DO .
They guy behind the counter seemed to think that they didn't have it yet but would be getting it around september but it looked and smelled like bio, so I guess they just haven't kept the staff up to date.
There was no signage on the pump but their petrol pumps are clearly labled e10 and I can't find a web site for them but I do know that they have other stores in Sydney.
Cheers, Ben.

[peter the pilot Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close peter the pilot]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

Biodiesel and cold weather.

Picked up a load of biodiesel from the VP on Great Western highway at Wentworthville/ Prospect the week before last. Sign clearly said ( well almost clearly ) said biodiesel. Looking at the stuff coming out the end of the nozzle it looked like the B100 I used to buy at Marickville and smelt pretty much the same.

It was interesting to leap into the truck on the two really cold mornings last week. After scraping the ice off the windscreen it started alright but was definitely not happy until had done about 15km and warmed up.

Am currently running disposable fuel filters ie the cheap clear ones at the tank outlet, just in case the BD shook some rubbish loose. The BD was quite thick in the canister. Temp at the time was well below zero. Fixed the problem for the next day by cutting it with about 20 % kero.

The limit on B50 in cold climates is a good idea unless you can readily cut it with winter dinodiesel or kero.

Cheers.

[Gunner Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gunner]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

The issues with Biodiesel and cold temperatures can't be resolved by cutting with kero, or limiting to B50, etc. Irrespective of the ratio of BD with a mix of Petrodiesel, Kero or Avtur, the Biodiesel will behave exactly the same, just proportionally less.
If the BD you're using will gel at 10deg and you mix it to B50 with diesel, then it will still go cloudy, but half as much. If the Bio will solidify at -2deg, mixing it to B50 and adding Kero will mean that only 40% of your fuel will solidify. However, 60% will still be liquid and this might be sufficient to start the engine and bring it up to operating temps before the solid bits clog the filter or fuel pipes and stop fuel flow. I have found (like Peter the Pilot) that once the car has warmed up, the temps in the engine bay are enough to heat the filter and injector pump to melt the solidified BD. Rather than cutting the BD with Kero, I have dual tanks on my vehicle and start the car on winter-spec diesel, and change over to BD once warmed up. No worries!
See some pics of my solidified BD in this thread.

[jcaley Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jcaley]

Re: Cold Weather Running

A friend suggested fitting a heat exchanger which uses engine coolant to preheat the fuel before the fuel filter. He has sourced some very nice neat units. He suggested the heated fuel would be less likely to clog the fuel filter. Obviously it won't help with the cold start, unless it results in a less clogged filter when the engine is turned off. I don't think a separate tank would work for me because so many trips are too short.

By the way, I recently was able to stop cutting my BD100 after I replaced my totally dead glow plugs. see my post in Using Biodiesel Thread, titled Re: Toyota Hilux cold start problems? check your glowplugs

[Cameron Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Cameron]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

Hi John,
I have one of those heat exchangers in my possession and am planning to fit it as soon as I can. I just need to source some appropriate t-joiners and a step down fitting so that the water and fuel lines are actually the same as those in my defender.

I am going to Capertee Valley this weekend planting trees and was hoping to get it in before I go because it is going to be damn cold but I may be out of luck and have to run on a much higher percentage of dino than I would like.

Once it is in I will load up some photos of the installation and finished product so people can see what is involved and what they look like.

[frogger2 Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close frogger2]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

I've been hoping to get a second tank of bio from my local volume plus (Forestville) but it seems their diesel pump hasn't been working for about a week now so I popped into Forestville Ethanol, on the opposite side of warringah rd and about 2k's closer to the beach, 'cause I figured if anybody else would have bio it would be them. THEY DO .
They guy behind the counter seemed to think that they didn't have it yet but would be getting it around september but it looked and smelled like bio, so I guess they just haven't kept the staff up to date.
There was no signage on the pump but their petrol pumps are clearly labled e10 and I can't find a web site for them but I do know that they have other stores in Sydney.
Cheers, Ben.

Email today from Dib Group Metro Petroleum :- quote

"Thank you for your enquiry, currently, we do not provide any Bio-diesel "
I guess they must have run out. Makes it difficult if you are touring, and you want predictability of supply. I guess this advice applies to the Forrestville outlet as much as anywhere else. I wonder if Volume + are having the same problem.

[ARKH Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ARKH]

Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney - Metro Forestville

I have been using a B20 Blend from Metro Petroleum at Forestville for about 3 month and 4,000 km. They say their fuel is from Caltex and that the Biodiesel is from ABG and that they have been selling it for over 1 year.

I am trying to find out who blends it and how.

Their pumps are labelled B 20 (small sign under the pump nozzle).

I had the car serviced 3 weeks ago and Citroen say everything was fine.

I will keep you posted on any news.

[morris Member Find all posts View Profile Close morris]

Re: Current Biodiesel Suppliers in Sydney

The Biodiesel Station is pleased to announce that for the first time in Australia, TBS is offering soy-based B100 from its Marrickville location. The Soybiodiesel® is purchased from National Biodiesel. Ray Adams, Sales Manager for National Biodiesel, says he is “excited about getting Soybiodiesel® into the retail market, and confident that Customers will be very pleased with the winter performance of soy-based Biodiesel”.

The B100 lab analysis shows a Cold Filter Plug Point (CFPP) of -4, and generally, for the Sydney market, this should be perfect. Obviously, if you are venturing into climatic conditions below “0” it is advisable to top-up with some fossil-diesel.

Although the Soybiodiesel® is imported from the USA, the journey that National Biofuels Pty Ltd is embarking upon could eventually transform the company from Australia’s largest importer of Biodiesel into Australia’s biggest producer of Biodiesel and Soybean Meal.