Just a question from a newbie to the group. I see some discussion on
bio-diesel in the group and it causes me to think -Why cannot bio
diesel be used for home heating oil?
It can be, and it is. You can run a 10%Bio + 90% Fuel oil mix without any
harm to your system (there is a company in Maine that's delivering that
now), and many claim you can do a 20/80 mixture safely.
Beyond that, you take a risk of a leak, as a certain seal (I don't know
which, I'm recalling this lecture where this guy had done it, and installed
systems for others). degrading.
You can replace the seal with a seal made of another material, the only 2
problems being that a) the new type of seal is hard to find (although
cheap), and b), having it installed is fairly expensive.
OTOH, the lecturer mentioned several clients that went 100% bio, with no
mods to their system, and after 5 years, still no problems. YMMV, and the
lecturer did NOT recommend this.
In short, bio can be used to replace #2 Fuel Oil.
