20250407 Monday, April 7, 2025. Prepping for Heading Home

20250407 Monday, April 7, 2025. Prepping for Heading Home

When we were driving down to Los Altos from Chico, we had bypassed a planned refueling stop because the station we had stopped at only had what is called B20 Diesel, which contains 20% biodiesel. Our RV has a Mercedes-Benz diesel motor and there is a sticker on the fuel door saying “Use Ultra Low Sulfur Highway Diesel Only. Max B5 (Max 5% biodiesel allowed). Otherwise, the emission control system will be damaged”.  We initially thought that was a fluke and assumed we’d just get some normal #2 Diesel in the city.  We had planned filling up the RV today so we wouldn’t have to do it with the Bronco hitched when we started our return trip.  But when we got to a nearby Chevron station, the sign said #2 Diesel, but it also had a sticker on the pump saying it was also B20, or contained up to 20% biodiesel.  We then drove a bit further and found a Shell station with a high posted diesel price ($5.75/gal) and figured it was probably good old-fashioned petroleum diesel.  

The pump was also labeled #2 Diesel, but with a new twist, the pump was labeled “Renewable Diesel” and a sticker on the pump declared “95% Biomass-Based Diesel Blend- Contains more than 20% Biomass-Based Diesel or Biodiesel”.  So it appears that the State of California requires B20 or greater in its highway diesel.  So what to do?  Ben had to pull over and hit the internet.  Obviously, there are tens of thousands of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based commercial delivery vehicles on California’s roads, and California has the world’s most stringent vehicle emissions standards.  Where do they fill all of them up?  

There is a lot of confusion and contradictory pronouncements on the several internet Sprinter forums.  Now looking back at our refueling stop in Redding, all I saw was Top Tier approved Diesel, but now looking back at the pictures I took of the pump, there was a sticker saying “99% Biomass-Based Diesel Blend- Contains more than 20% biomass-based diesel or biodiesel” but another sticker immediately below that saying “Biomass-Based Diesel Blend Is Renewable Diesel- NOT BIODIESEL. Meets ASTM D975 and CARB ULSD Specifications for Diesel Fuel.”

As if things couldn’t be more confusing.  So a search on Renewable Diesel and Shell Renewable Diesel turned up more information about the differences between biodiesel and renewable diesel.  Biodiesel is essentially vegetable oil.  Renewable diesel starts with vegetable oil and hydrotreats it so that it has the same chemical and mechanical qualities as petroleum-derived diesel.  

B20 Biodiesel meets ASTM D7467.  Mercedes-Benz says it should only be used if you have no other alternatives, and regular use will increase maintenance requirements.  Anything higher than B20 will violate warranty coverage.  But B5 is allowable.

Now to make things even more confusing, Chevron is selling a renewable diesel blend that is 80% renewable and 20% biodiesel.  The 20% biodiesel content restricts it to the ASTM D7467 specification.  Shell, however, is selling a 95% renewable, 5% biodiesel blend, as well as a 99% renewable, which is what Costco was probably selling.  

So we got lucky when we filled up at the Costco in Redding, which was selling R99 (Renewable 99%), which is chemically identical to old-school petroleum diesel.  But the Shell R95 (95% renewable, 5% biodiesel blend) is allowable.  So we just have to be careful to read the specs on the pump, and not just the posted prices.  After all the teeth gnashing, we went back to the Shell and filled up with R95B5 diesel.  Since Shell is selling both R99 and R95 in California, we’ll try to stick to Shell stations.  It did help that Shell’s Fuel Rewards membership program dropped our cost from the $5.75 on the street side sign to $5.16/gal.  

After getting that done, we set back up in Eileen’s driveway and then got in a walk around Eileen’s neighborhood.  There are lots of interesting plants growing here, including several we have seen in places like Bottle Brush trees we have seen in New Zealand and Australia, and Bird of Paradise plants in full bloom, which we have seen throughout the tropics.  And, of course, there are plenty of citrus trees full of lemons, oranges, and even kumquats.  Janet had her eyes on several large fig trees.  

While Bay Area residents were worried about the overcast weather forecast, we thought conditions were perfect for walking.  

Teslas are now by far the most common vehicle on the roads here, outnumbering even Toyotas, Hondas, Kias, and Hyundais.  Because of that, the anti-Musk backlash has been tempered by a majority of car owners having one in their driveway.  But perhaps, more Rivians will be showing up in more driveways now that they are an alternative to Tesla.

Another noticeable phenomenon is that housekeepers, landscapers, and construction workers encountered all over the neighborhood all look like immigrant laborers.  It’s no wonder California is a blue state.  It is highly dependent on immigrant labor.  

We had earlier reached out to a cousin, Xiaowen, whose brother, Daqing, had met us in China in 2006.  We had invited her to the dinner at Chef Chu’s but hadn’t checked the email until just yesterday.  Ironically, she said Daqing was flying in from China this evening.  So we are modifying our return plans to make a stop in San Ramon, where she lives, to visit and spend Tuesday night after we pick up our China visas in the morning.  We will see about arranging a dinner near San Ramon for a mini reunion with Eileen and Dave if possible.

We did get through our last Costco rotisserie chicken breast cooking it with Mac and Cheese and green beans.  More camp cuisine.  We capped off the night watching The Matrix, from Eileen and Tony's DVD collection.