Bio Fuel - Diesel

[ajmoir36]

Right I was filling up at Morrisons the other day and I noticed on the pump it states that there is up to 7% bio-fuel in the diesel.  Now on the fuel flap it has a No Bio-Fuel sticker.?? Is all diesel like this ? Surely not good for the Golf?

[p3asa]

Esso has 8% in its diesel 
I asked the same question here http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=200523.msg1867841#msg1867841 and the consensus was it would be fine.

[dieseldunc]

I think it's an EU Directive (Law?) thing, in that all diesel has to have a small % of bio in it. It only becomes called 'Bio Fuel Diesel' at a higher % and it's that that VW are saying stay away from.

Someone can prob elaborate / find actual details - this from my early morning memory 

[Agreeable Slick]

As above.

All injection systems are now designed to cope with up to ~15% "biodiesel" from standard with fittings like viton etc to resist the corrosive properties of the "bio" parts of the mixture.

[ajmoir36]

What about performance? better or worse with bio-fuel any ideas?

[TJD]

I was reading my manual whilst waiting for the lovely wife yesterday and came across this :

"Caution - Your vehicle is not suitable for use with biodiesel and must not be filled up or driven with biodiesel. If you use biodiesel fuel, the engine and fuel system could be damaged. Some diesel manufacturers blend biodiesel with diesel fuel in compliance with European Standard 590. This diesel is suitable for use in your vehicle and will not damage the engine and fuel system."
tips & maintenance book P38

As a result was curious!

The web says - http://www.biofuelsforum.com/using_biodiesel/4425-what_exactly_en_590_a.html
EN590 (actually EN590:2000) describes the physical properties that all diesel fuel must meet if it is to be sold in the EU, Czech Republic, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland.  It allows the blending of up to 5% Biodiesel with 'normal' DERV - a 95/5 mix.  In some countries such as France, all diesel sold routinely contains this 95/5 mix.

Wikipedia says - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_590
EN590 describes the physical properties that all automotive diesel fuel must meet if it is to be sold in the European Union, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
It allows the blending of up to 7% fatty acid methyl ester with 'conventional' diesel - a 93/7 mix.

I will be checking the diesel spec at my local pump next time!
Hope this helps

[ajmoir36]

I think texaco uses the british standard which doesn't contain biofuel