Charles Bursey , Sr .

BIO :

Charlie Bursey began his long career in the oil heating industry in 1963 . He has delivered coal , kerosene and oil and serviced heating and cooling equipment . He has also managed service departments , worked for a manufacturer and currently works with F . W . Webb , Warwick , R . I . He is a recipient of the Association of Oil & Energy Service Professionals ’ prestigious Hugh McKee Award for making an outstanding contribution to the fuel oil industry ; having had an understanding and cooperation with his fellow man ; and having unselfishly aided the industry in education and related activities .

CONTACT : ChasBursey @ aol . com

I would think by now that all tradesmen have heard the term “ biofuel .” In my travels it seems to be becoming part of the everyday discussion about heating oil . For those of you who may be wondering , biofuel is a blend of two products : biodiesel and our standard home heating oil . You will also hear that there are several different blends , such as B2 , B5 , B20 , and B100 .

For example , B2 is 2 % pure bio , B20 is 20 % pure bio and B100 is 100 % pure biodiesel .

In 2008 , ASTM D396 provided specs for both # 1 and # 2 home heating oil and approved up to 5 % bio blend for home heating oil . So , 95 % mineral oil blended with 5 % bio is classified as B5 .

Much of the biofuel testing has been conducted at The Brookhaven National Laboratory with the support of NORA — the National Oilheat Research Alliance — and the National Biodiesel Board , with one of the goals being to move heating oil to a lower sulfur level , along with lowering the greenhouse gas emissions . Biofuel can be used in standard oil-heating equipment , requiring little to no specific changes .

I learned from a dealer who tracked service on customers ’ heating equipment that , compared to conventional heating oil , biofuel burns cleaner , resulting in less required maintenance . This same dealer saved a year ’ s worth of oil filter cartridges and pump strainers from equipment that had burned biofuel . He showed them to me , and I was amazed how clean they were . When bio was first tested , it

There are some who have contemplated blending their own fuel . My suggestion is to leave that to the expert companies that can produce and back up the quality and remove any potential liabilities .

was discovered that in some cases standard oil pump seals , gaskets and valve seats failed when exposed to biodiesel blends . The new bio pumps have Viton , a synthetic material that has proven compatible with biofuels and appears to have minimized pump failures .

I ’ ve been advised by some of the chemical companies that fuel oil stabilizers can help to extend the shelf life of the fuel . Today , as many of you know , fuel oil additives come with many chemical configurations , and I cannot recommend anything other than to suggest looking at the specification to see if it is compatible with biofuel .

I was recently introduced to a new biodiesel oil pump retrofit kit that has a special biofuel oil pump with a special label rated for use with up to B20 . The kit is designed to help remove copper , brass and other metals that are in constant contact with the fuel . These pumps feature stainless steel components and will not negatively interact with the biofuels .

In the area of accessories , I recently spoke with a service manager , who stated he will be installing the new biofuel oil pumps in place of the standard units along with the bio-rated Tigerloop , a deaerator .

In closing , I have heard there are some who have contemplated blending their own fuel . My suggestion is to leave that to the expert companies that can produce and back up the quality and remove any potential liabilities . l FON

50 APRIL 2019 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com