Cold and creamy oil

Well winter is here and my filtered wvo is pretty creamy. I filled up yesterday and the oil was coming out of the hose pretty slowly. I have had no problems starting up. I am using the glow-three-times winter strategy that a mechanic taught me. I turn the key so the preglow light goes on, then off. I turn off the key and do it again. Then I do it one more time before starting the engine. It has worked like a charm even on a 20-something degree morning last week.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! Thanks for reading my blog. I have really enjoyed writing this blog for the past couple of years, thanks mainly to all of you who read it!

I have some ideas that I hope will make the blog more informative. One involves opening it up to multiple contributors - all of you! I am looking at different software solutions that accommodate a collaborative or group blog. If you have any expertise in this area, please let me know. In the mean time, if you would like to submit any posts, email them to me and I will post them on the site. Your post can be about your vegcar, your desire for a vegcar, or some other aspect of alternative fueled vehicles.

May 2008 be a year of Peace and Happiness for all beings!

The Car Hacker

This is an interesting article about Jonathan Goodwin, a 37-year old "car hacker", showing Detroit that fuel efficiency and large muscle cars (SUVs) are not mutually exclusive. Personally, I think GM's Hummer vehicles epitomize the excess and waste at which American automakers excel. They are unsafe, gas-guzzling behemoths that are more about making militarism more family-friendly, than about getting your 9 kids to their baseball game. These vehicles do however, help Mr. Goodwin make his point, and Detroit, it seems, may actually be getting the message.

He [Johnathan Goodwin] aims to use the turbine to turn the Hummer into a tricked-out electric hybrid. Like most hybrids, it'll have two engines, including an electric motor. But in this case, the second will be the turbine, Goodwin's secret ingredient. Whenever the truck's juice runs low, the turbine will roar into action for a few seconds, powering a generator with such gusto that it'll recharge a set of "supercapacitor" batteries in seconds. This means the H3's electric motor will be able to perform awesome feats of acceleration and power over and over again, like a Prius on steroids. What's more, the turbine will burn biodiesel, a renewable fuel with much lower emissions than normal diesel; a hydrogen-injection system will then cut those low emissions in half. And when it's time to fill the tank, he'll be able to just pull up to the back of a diner and dump in its excess french-fry grease--as he does with his many other Hummers. Oh, yeah, he adds, the horsepower will double--from 300 to 600.

[...]

This is more than a mere American Chopper--style makeover. Goodwin's experiments point to a radically cleaner and cheaper future for the American car. The numbers are simple: With a $5,000 bolt-on kit he co-engineered--the poor man's version of a Goodwin conversion--he can immediately transform any diesel vehicle to burn 50% less fuel and produce 80% fewer emissions. On a full-size gas-guzzler, he figures the kit earns its money back in about a year--or, on a regular car, two--while hitting an emissions target from the outset that's more stringent than any regulation we're likely to see in our lifetime. "Johnathan's in a league of his own," says Martin Tobias, CEO of Imperium Renewables, the nation's largest producer of biodiesel. "Nobody out there is doing experiments like he is."

Nobody--particularly not Detroit. Indeed, Goodwin is doing precisely what the big American automakers have always insisted is impossible. They have long argued that fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel cars are a hard sell because they're too cramped and meek for our market. They've lobbied aggressively against raising fuel-efficiency and emissions standards, insisting that either would doom the domestic industry.

[...]

The Department of Transportation estimated in 2004 that if we converted merely one-third of America's passenger cars and light trucks to diesel, we'd reduce our oil consumption by up to 1.4 million barrels of oil per day--precisely the amount we import from Saudi Arabia.)

Read the article.

Fleetguard Filter FS19761

I received the following email today from a vegcar.net reader.

I've used your guide to changing filters for a year now, Thank you! I have a question. I am trying to figure out what number the filter is from Fleetguard so I can purchase them in greater number.

I was happy to hear that he has been using our step-by-step filter change guide to change the filter in his Davco 234 heat exchanger. The filter that goes in the Davco is a Fleetguard FS19761 filter (2 microns). I just bought a case of 6 from the Kenworth Dealer in Fresno, CA for $92 including tax.

CNN Story

Here is a story from CNN on vegcars.

More environmental benefits of wvo

I was thinking yesterday. I realized that in all of the information I have seen on the environmental benefits of running a car on vegetable oil, no one includes the added benefit of reducing the number of petro-diesel powered vehicles on the road by one.

I have posted previously on the benefits of wvo, trying to consider the whole picture - from the oil well (for petroleum) and the soybean or rapeseed plant (for veg oil) to the exhaust pipe.

Here is a synopsis of the carbon cycle, in an intentionally simple example:

The process of growing plants removes carbon from the air. Some of that carbon goes back into the air when it is burned in a vegcar. This cycle reduces the amount of airborne carbon. Petroleum takes 100% of the carbon out of the ground where it is sequestered. Then, when it is burned in a diesel or gasoline powered vehicle, a great deal of that carbon is released into the air. This increases the amount of airborne carbon.

The net effect is that vegetable oil has a much smaller impact (even a net reduction) on airborne carbon than diesel or gasoline. The benefit is even greater when you consider that the vegetable oil has already been used once to make onion rings or french fries.

There is however one more benefit that I have never heard mentioned. The diesel vehicle that was converted removes one petro-diesel powered vehicle from the road. So, in addition to the fact that the "new" vehicle burns cleaner (total cycle) than a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle, one less vehicle is out there burning petro-diesel.

Have you seen this mentioned? Am I double counting? I would appreciate your comments.

Vegtruck blog

As many of you may know, a couple years ago, I named this blog Vegcar because the domain was available. I had heard the term used a couple of times but it wasn't (and still isn't) part of the lexicon.
Today, I became acquainted with a blog called Vegtruck that started up at the end of May 2007. Clearly a cousin of this blog, it has some good information and stories. Kudos to its author Clayton (pictured in photo)!

Fuel tax story on ABC

CBS did a story on Sunday on a vegcar converter in North Carolina that got a visit from the IRS to try to collect the federal road tax from him. They say in the story that North Carolina (and three other states) passed laws exempting vegcar drivers from paying the road tax. If the road tax is a federal tax, how can states exempt anyone from paying it? Any thoughts or information?

VW Beetle Conversion in Process

A Vegcar.net reader sent in this link to a new blog documenting the conversion of a Volkswagon Beetle TDI. They are using a kit from Frybrid. Good luck guys!

WVO Home Delivery - Slideshow

Here is a slideshow from the delivery of 1,000 gallons of SVO we received in May from Sphere Energy out of San Luis Obispo, CA. A

MPG and power running on veg oil

A vegcar.net reader asks:

I [am] interested in running a diesel pickup (Ford F-250) on WVO. What kind of performance-MPG, HP can I expect? could you tow a small boat or plow snow effectively? I realize the engine size,vehicle weight, climate, altitude etc. can make a difference. can you give me some guidence with these issues?

I'll try. To the best of my knowledge, diesels running on vegetable oil usually get just about the same mpg as when the run on diesel. As far as power, I have seen Ford diesel trucks running on veg oil pull a trailer with 1,000 gallons of veg oil on the back. Together with the trailer, this is over 9,000 lbs. I have heard some folks claim that there is a 5-10% loss in power when running on veg oil but I haven't seen any data on that. If anyone out there has some information on this, please send it my way and I'll post it.

What is the whole story?

I received the following comment on my April 29th post. She wrote:

What happens to your mileage (miles per gallon) and net emissions when you figure in the energy expended (fossil fuel or otherwise) to deliver the filtered WVO to your door?

It is a great question. I don't have an exact answer as far as net emissions and my mileage, adjusted for the delivery. But how many Americans really know their true efficiency or pollution for any fuel? How much energy is consumed extracting the oil, delivering it half-way around the world, refining it, delivering it to the stations etc. And how many deaths and injustices are committed in the process of bringing petroleum to our gas tank?

In my case, the guy who delivers the oil, runs his truck on biodiesel. He trades filtered wvo to the biodiesel makers for the fuel. Ian drove approximately 350 miles round-trip in his Powerstroke Diesel. I'm guessing (conservatively) that he got an average of 10 miles per gallon on the trip. That means that he used 35 gallons to deliver 1,000 gallons to us.

It is difficult to calculate exactly how much energy and emissions are attributable to producing and burning one gallon of diesel fuel or vegetable oil. The information that I have read, indicates that it isn't even close. The process of growing plants removes carbon from the air. Some of that carbon goes back into the air when it is burned in a vegcar. Petroleum takes 100 of the carbon out of the ground where it is sequestered. Then, when it is burned, a good deal of carbon is released into the air. The net effect is that vegetable oil has a much smaller impact on the airborne carbon.

I read something else recently that was very interesting. The energy required to build a new car is tremendous. This guy's assertion was that to save the energy that went into producing a new Prius, one would have to drive that prius several hundred thousand miles compared to buying a used car that had mileage in the mid 20's. I love Prius's and am not knocking them. I am just pointing out that the whole story is a big and complicated one.

If anyone has seen any data on this, please send it along.

High School Students Converting a Vegcar

Documentary filmmaker Trish Dalton has made a spot about how, "Students at The Automotive High School in Brooklyn convert a diesel car into one that runs on grease from their cafeteria."



Check out her site here.

Heartland Festival Tomorrow

I know this is late notice, but any of you who are within a couple of hours of Livingston, CA (in the central valley near Turlock) come on out to the Heartland Festival. There will be music, food, great information on organic farming and swimming in the Merced River. Click here for directions.

There will be at least 2 or 3 vegcars there.

Stickers for your vegcar

I get questions from time to time from people asking about where to get good decals for their vegcar. I never found the "right" stickers for me so I had a company make them for me. It wasn't too expensive and I got just what I wanted. For more information see this vegcar.net post from December 6, 2005.

Filling a tote

Here are a couple more photos of us filling our totes with the filtered WVO from Sphere Energy. I just returned from a 400 mile roundtrip to the Bay Area on the new fuel. The car ran great.

Great souce for filtered WVO

I get emails from time to time from people asking where they can buy filtered wvo for their vegcar. Today we got our second delivery from a company out of San Luis Obispo, CA called Sphere Energy. The owner, 23 year old Ian Hoover, is a very bright mechanical engineer who is devoted to alternative fuels an wvo in particular. I have a short video interview I made today that I will post to the blog soon.

He separates the oil after heating and filtering it. The "sludge" is picked up by another renderer. The creamy stuff is sold to a biodiesel plant and the "amber" is sold to vegcar drivers like me. We purchased three 330 gallon "totes" filled with 5 micron filtered wvo for $1.75/gallon (delivered 200 miles!).

I recommend Ian highly. I have already run 165 gallons of his oil through my car (a previous test order). The oil performed perfectly, even through the 20 degree winter weather.

Fuse box connections

Like many 300D owners, I have experienced jealousy of the 300SD fuse box. The SD has a fuse box that allows very easy access to the underside, to connect wires for various components added to the car. In my 300D, a 1984 W123, accessing the underside of the box has been impossible so far. So, I have had to connect wires to the top. I have done so primarily by using a ring terminal and connecting it with a screw to one of the threaded holes beneath one of the fuses. It was necessary however, that the screw in that hole, from the underside be missing. I had a couple of these but not enough.

I saw this photo on the fattywagons site today and I think it is a brilliant solution. I never connecting them in this way. So simple. I am curious however, how they plan to replace the cover to the fuse box without pinching these wires. Any ideas out there?

$4 per Gallon

ABC News reports that gasoline prices in San Francisco topped $4.00 per gallon this week.

The article notes that,

Gas prices often shoot up in the spring, as refineries make the switch to summer-blend gasolines, creating glitches in supply. But the standoff with Iran has inflicted a double whammy on prices.

This is great news! Let's hope for $5 per gallon by the end of the year.

Watcha got in the truck?

Here is my truck (yes, it runs on gasoline!) full of cubies of wvo and a couple of new barrels. When I collect oil I do so in my vegcar. On this day my friends and I were divying up the 330 gallons of filtered wvo we purchased. I could haul more in the truck.

For those out there who haven't started collecting wvo from restaurants here are a couple of truths:

1. Unless you are incredibly fastidious, everything gets a little sticky and starts to smell like old, used cooking oil. I recommend having some clothes just for collecting oil and wearing rubber gloves.
2. Collecting oil is fun (at least I think so)
3. Be gracious to the restaurant staff
4. Leave the area as clean or cleaner than when you arrived

Injector heaters are certainly hot

A friend (and vegcar owner) recently got a laser thermometer thingy. I measured the temperature of my injector lines, after driving about 4 miles with the injector line heaters on. The temperature varied depending on my aim, but 173 was the highest.

I haven't been using the heaters much. I sometimes switch them on for 10-15 minutes after starting on a cold day. I am concerned that for longer periods they might be too hot.

If anyone out there has any information or thoughts about these injector line heaters (from fattywagons), please let me know. Use the contact us link at the top of the page or submit a comment on this post.

330 Gallon Totes

We have started using 330 gallon "totes" to store and dispense wvo. Here I am with the 660 gallons we purchased a couple of months back. As the season warms up, I will likely get back to collecting and filtering my own. Filtering in the winter is just too slow with my current setup. I am still reluctant to put additional energy into heating the oil to facilitate filtering.

Winter snow

This was taken on February 27 of this year. It is hard to believe it since it has been in the 70's and 80's all week! I got the car started a couple hours after this photo was taken. the only problem was I couldn't get up the driveway (it gets pretty steep beyond the view in the photo). I have chains but blew off my meeting and worked at home.

Lovecraft Commercial

Check this out. I think some friends of Lovecraft made this commercial. I don't think it actually runs on TV.

Pouring jelly into the tank

It has been pretty cold here, dipping below freezing at night and rising to the 40's and 50's during the day. As I filled my tank yesterday with wvo, as has happened repeatedly this winter, the bottom half of the cubie was kind of like jelly. New veg oil from Costco had the same consistency.

I have been using a 3 to 1 wvo to diesel mix and it has been performing very well. I have had no bogging lately. I don't have a tank heater, nor a heated fuel line from the tank. I do have a booster pump that draws the wvo forward from the tank, taking some of the strain off of my injector pump. As I wrote in an earlier post, I purchased that booster pump from LovecraftBiofuels in LA.

A couple hundred more miles on veg oil

I drove to the Bay Area yesterday - about 190 miles. I put 5 gallons of diesel on top of 13 gallons of wvo. The car ran great all the way. I had the injector line heaters on for a good portion of the trip. I don't know how to tell if they are doing any good but it still makes sense to me to heat the oil as close to the injectors as possible. My tank is showing slightly over half full now. I'm looking forward to the drive back home tomorrow.

Davco Filter / Water - Separator / Heater

This is the fuel filter/heater that I have in my 1984 Mercedes 300D. This is the description from the Davco Technology, LLC website.

The Model 234 is the first Fuel Filter, Water- Separator, Heater of its kind developed for the Alternative Diesel Fuel Market.

This unique system uses heat drawn from the cooling system, or the automatic transmission, and routed through an internal radiator to provide the maximum amount of heat during operation and maximum life with its Plus sized filter.

My experience has been excellent with this system. I especially appreciate the transparent dome on the unit. This allows me to easily see when the filter is dirty and ready to be changed. When the car is cold and the fuel level in the unit is still near the top, it is time to change the filter.