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  #1  
Old 02-23-2007, 05:45 AM
RichC's Avatar
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Wink BioDiesel WVO SVO Stop hijacking others threads! Come here and rant if you want to !!

.
Hello Everyone

Welcome back my friends !
I am so glad you could attend !
Come inside, come inside.

Be careful as you pass,
there is a real blade of grass.
Move along, move along.

Come and see the show !!!


Lets rant about biodiesel, and vegetable oils here.
Not on other peoples threads about biodiesel, tractors and Marti Grass.

Flame suits on ? :fork_off:

Do you have any experience with biodiesel or vegetable oils as alternative fuels ?

Well do you ?
Have you ever ran any of them in any vehicle ?
Have you or anyone you know kept any records about running these fuels ?
Do you have any experience, or knowledge about this area at all ?
Well do you ?

Lets here it !
We are all waiting to hear from you !
This is the chance to get the attention you think you need !



Trudging the road of happy destiny.
RichC


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  #2  
Old 02-23-2007, 06:10 AM
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I don't consider myself as a hijacker......

I'll chime in here.....

I have attended seminars relating to bio-diesel production.

I have, and am still experimenting with bio-diesel blending.

I do purchase my bio-diesel from a source up in Pennsylvania, so far 110 gallons at a time.....and I drive a bit over 100 miles each way to purchase it. (presently in the F-150, but am looking for a good VW Caddy)

I am collecting up materials, tanks and heat exchangers to build my own personal bio-diesel plant.

My intent is to purchase non food grade vegetable oil, and then convert it into bio-diesel for use in my tractor and Benz (and future small diesel pickup).....am still in process of switching as many of my prime movers to diesel as practical.....just found out that dieselizing a Gravely will be very difficult......but not impossible!!!

I am doing my best to change my lifestyle into a sustainable one!!! This is no easy task...trust me....

But, if fuel prices rise to $3.50-$4.00 per gallon....or Hugo Chavez and friends decide to cut the USA off from petroleum, and thus cause fuel shortages.....I will begin to grow my own crops for personal bio-diesel production. Also, am/have been looking into oil production from Black Walnuts....we have an abundance of those around here (American Black Walnut, not the Persian variety that y'all find in the grocery)......the local walnuts have a very tough husk and are not economically easily turned into edible nuts.....but they do taste better.

SB
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  #3  
Old 02-23-2007, 09:47 AM
Diesel newbie ;-)
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shorebilly View Post
Also, am/have been looking into oil production from Black Walnuts....we have an abundance of those around here (American Black Walnut, not the Persian variety that y'all find in the grocery)......the local walnuts have a very tough husk and are not economically easily turned into edible nuts.....but they do taste better.
I'm interested in this as well.
I have one black walnut tree and man those are hard to eat (but yummy). The trunk also makes an excellent base to graft an English walnut onto as English walnuts are susceptible to fungal rot at the dirt line. If walnuts turn out to be a viable fuel source, Amer Black will grow like weeds in CA if you let them. Use mostly fallow land and plant a bunch of trees. Should need minimal care till harvest. I'm also working with someone local to get "thirds" of their olive oil press. The first pressing is awesome stuff that sells for ~80/gal the second pressing is vastly cheaper, but bitterer (still better than generic super market stuff). There is enough oil for a third pressing, but he's found that it's too bitter to sell. Figure I'll burn it instead.

On the BD/Oil note, I got my car for a buck on the condition that I run as sustainable a fuel mix as reasonable. Currently that means diesel, but this summer I'll be burning a diesel/veg oil blend at about 80/20 or so (4 gal/tank oil). I'm working on a homebrew two tank system that needs no coolant jacket all the way back to the trunk (gear pump to move oil to front of car, mini tank in front heated by coolant). Should allow for quicker changeover to veg oil.
-nB
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  #4  
Old 02-23-2007, 10:28 AM
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Personally, I think that Forced has a couple of good points.

I have three diesels, one of them carries up to 300gallons of diesel, none are currently on alternative fuels. Why? Partially ignorance, partially availability. I've been into "Camp Caterpillar" having my injection system replaced at a cost of around $5k, failed roller destroyed the IP. I know that failures can be expensive and since this is one of two diesel injection failures that has stranded me (nearly 1,000miles from home) it makes me very cautious about making changes.

Another reason is because there is no local source of biodiesel. I've looked, but no joy. I would probably be running bioblend in one car if it were available, for the reason of buying US vs buying Middle-East. I don't have the desire to convert to WVO etc. since my car burns around 5-10gallons/week at nearly 40mpg.

However, back to the ignorance and its relationship to Forced's comments:
Many people, myself included, have heard that bio can cause degradation of rubber parts in the fuel system. That and the great unknown make me more inclined to buy a vehicle that has run on good diesel vs an identical vehicle that has run on bio (or VWO etc.). I'm not saying this is a correct decision, but most people out here in the real world don't know enough about alternative fuels and the little that they do know affects their decision. In the west, people are excited about doing their part, and even bio20 makes them feel like they're superior. The rest of the country: if it's even available, many of us would rather run diesel until we know more about alternative fuels and their affect on diesel engines, which for many of us is never.

My opinion, and yes, I'd pay less for a car that says Biodiesel or has a WVO etc. conversion because I don't know what's been done and what experimentation might have taken place. Call me ignorant if you wish, but I'm a buyer and that validates Forced's claim.
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  #5  
Old 02-23-2007, 11:03 AM
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Location: Buford, GA
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BioD and WVO are NOT the same at all. There is no conversion necessary for BioD other than replacement of fuel lines on the real old vehicles. Fuel line since the early nineties should handle Bio-D without any problem.
Considering the massive reduction in every emission except NOx, which does have a slight increase.
In Georgia, all Bio-D that is for sale does have to pass the quality standard. I do not know how it is handled in other states.
Last year, I ran close to 8000 miles on straight Bio-D, with absolutely no problem. I can't wait for the weather to warm a little to restart production. The fuel I made was so much better than #2. Car sounded better, ran better and quieter, and smelled better. My Powerstroke was the same way.
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  #6  
Old 02-23-2007, 11:09 AM
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Location: Denver, CO
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RichC View Post
.
...
Flame suits on ? :fork_off:

Do you have any experience with biodiesel or vegetable oils as alternative fuels ?

Well do you ?
Have you ever ran any of them in any vehicle ?
Have you or anyone you know kept any records about running these fuels ?
Do you have any experience, or knowledge about this area at all ?
Well do you ?

Lets here it !
We are all waiting to hear from you !
This is the chance to get the attention you think you need !



Trudging the road of happy destiny.
RichC
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, all of them.
What kind of records?
Yes, I have 3 years of experience.
Yes, I do.

Anything else??
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  #7  
Old 02-23-2007, 11:16 AM
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This takes all the fun out of hijacking threads.
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  #8  
Old 02-23-2007, 12:29 PM
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17,200 miles over the last 8 months running no less than 20% biodiesel, up to 92% biodiesel.
In the winter I typically I run 75% biodiesel at the beginning of a road trip. When I get to where I am going I dilute with diesel down to about 50%. I will run higher percentages once the warm weather returns.

In the summer, when I am leaving on LONG trips, I get the engine hot with the tank 1/4 full of diesel then fill the tank up with filtered WVO. I have a flat plate heat exchanger in the engine compartment to get the oil nice and hot before it goes in. When I get to where I am going I dilute down with biodiesel and diesel.

17,200 miles on biodiesel, 234K+ miles on the original car/engine/transmission and counting.

I ordered a blackstone kit yesterday. Let's see how the old girl is holding up.

-Jim
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Last edited by Jadavis; 02-23-2007 at 12:52 PM.
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  #9  
Old 02-23-2007, 12:38 PM
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Hey, what kind of motor oil do you guys think is best?














(Speaking of hijacking threads!)
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  #10  
Old 02-23-2007, 12:47 PM
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'91 350SD GreaseCar
 
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Location: Las Vegas, NV
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Just kidding!

My wife and I have 2 diesels - a VW Beetle and Mercedes 350SD.
Both are running on B20/WVO with GreaseCar system.
About 7000 miles on the VW on WVO.
About 7000 miles on the Benz on WVO.

The VW runs great, the Benz runs really good, but still needs some fine tuning.

We also hope to live a sustainable lifestyle, and BioD and WVO are a significant part of that right now.
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Autos:
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Horns:
1955 Selmer Mark VI Alto (55,xxx)
1958 Selmer Mark VI Tenor (85,xxx)
1964 Selmer Mark VI Tenor (125,xxx)
1967 King Super-20 Tenor (430,xxx)
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  #11  
Old 02-23-2007, 01:01 PM
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I've been running B100 (B50-B80 in winter) in my diesels for the last two years. I had 4 diesels at one point all on bio, but now I only have two.
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  #12  
Old 02-23-2007, 01:05 PM
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I converted my (now sold) 240D to WVO using a self designed 2 tank system. It worked, but was messy and a hassle to deal with. Now that I have a job (and more $$) and live in an area where Biodiesel is available I run B99.
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  #13  
Old 02-23-2007, 01:19 PM
Craig
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You know guys, this whole conversation is academic until/unless commercial bio-diesel becomes widely available (like every second or third interstate highway exit in the country). It's fine to use BD to putt around near home if you happen to have a local supplier, but you're not using very much fuel anyway.

On Sunday, I'm driving my 300D about 1200 miles from CO to MI, than back again on Friday night. If I could hop off the interstate at any random exit and fill up with BD, I would probably do so. As it is, I will stop and get about 3 tanks of petro-diesel each way. The following week, I'll be in Dallas; and the two weeks after that I'll be in Phoenix. The point is, unless BD is available out in the real world, it's not useful and it will not make a noticeable difference in U.S. consumption of imported oil.

As far as homemade BD, WVO, SVO, etc. how many people do you think have enough free time to play with that stuff? Not me. Most of us are going to buy whatever is commercially available and reasonably priced.

If you want to make a difference, try talking major commercial carriers into using BD, and get major truck stops to carry it. Try getting diesel engine manufactures to endorse the use of BD. This will require the involvement of major oil companies, and probably some tax incentives for those oil companies. I understand that it's fun to "screw big oil" by using alternative fuels, but in practice you are going to need them if you ever want these fuels to become mainstream. Take a lesson from the backers of E85; they are miles ahead of the BD folks, and they still have a long way to go.

What you folks are doing now is the equivalent of growing your own vegetables because you don't like the local food store. It may make you feel better, but no one else is going to notice. If you guys are serious about this, quit dumpster diving for used oil and start writing letters.
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  #14  
Old 02-23-2007, 01:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig View Post
You know guys, this whole conversation is academic until/unless commercial bio-diesel becomes widely available (like every second or third interstate highway exit in the country). It's fine to use BD to putt around near home if you happen to have a local supplier, but you're not using very much fuel anyway.

On Sunday, I'm driving my 300D about 1200 miles from CO to MI, than back again on Friday night. If I could hop off the interstate at any random exit and fill up with BD, I would probably do so. As it is, I will stop and get about 3 tanks of petro-diesel each way. The following week, I'll be in Dallas; and the two weeks after that I'll be in Phoenix. The point is, unless BD is available out in the real world, it's not useful and it will not make a noticeable difference in U.S. consumption of imported oil.

As far as homemade BD, WVO, SVO, etc. how many people do you think have enough free time to play with that stuff? Not me. Most of us are going to buy whatever is commercially available and reasonably priced.

If you want to make a difference, try talking major commercial carriers into using BD, and get major truck stops to carry it. Try getting diesel engine manufactures to endorse the use of BD. This will require the involvement of major oil companies, and probably some tax incentives for those oil companies. I understand that it's fun to "screw big oil" by using alternative fuels, but in practice you are going to need them if you ever want these fuels to become mainstream. Take a lesson from the backers of E85; they are miles ahead of the BD folks, and they still have a long way to go.

What you folks are doing now is the equivalent of growing your own vegetables because you don't like the local food store. It may make you feel better, but no one else is going to notice. If you guys are serious about this, quit dumpster diving for used oil and start writing letters.
For every person filling up their tank on BD instead of petro, that's one less customer for big oil. The more BD users, the more it impacts big oil. That's how change happens.

As for not affecting much because we're only using BD for in-town driving, what are you talking about? Isn't in-town driving what most people do? Don't people typically put 12,000 miles a year on their cars just doing a daily commute?

I use about 35 gallons of BD every two weeks (two diesel cars), for 99% in-town driving. Over the entire year, that equates to a hell of a lot of fuel.

BTW, I'm pretty sure BD is available in every major city in the US in one way or another. Sure it's not as easy to find as petro, but it's there. Many Shell stations are selling B20 too. The real world spreads wider than the borders of the US, and you know what Craig? Europe is a big consumer of BD.
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  #15  
Old 02-23-2007, 01:34 PM
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Kind of harsh Craig, but you make lots of sense.

Where are you going in MI? You might pass within a mile of my house & shop, PM if you want my number in case there's a problem.

I also have about a dozen empty 2.5gal wide-mouth kero jugs for free, anyone wants to stop in Holland Michigan to pick them up, ... they're translucent and have a large screw-top and handle (great for storing oil for fuel). I'd keep them for making my own fuel if I were smart enough.

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