If our local biofuels companies would get off their duffs and find a few more accessible places to sell biodiesel from, then there probably wouldn't be much interest in Lovecraft conversions around here -- B99 you can run nearly year round, WVO/SVO you can't.

Also, if I read the new state law tax statute correctly, OR will allow those running biofuels to write off $0.50/gal, which makes commercial bioD cheaper than D#2 right now (even with the recent $0.20/gal price hike).

At least the cars that get destroyed will be in pretty good condition as parts sources -- we don't salt the roads in OR so we're not part of the rust belt.

Sorry about the rant. There's only a few bioD pumps around the area, and none clsoe to where I live. I work in the Pearl district, which is probably the center of Lovecraft's potential consumers, but the nearest pump is 10 miles out of town. One right in the thick of this area would pretty much yank the legs out from under Lovecraft.

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'83 300DTurbo http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/318559.png

Broadband: more lies faster.

Smart idea. Something to be said for the old cliche that "...if it ain't broke, don't 'fix' it."

I've got a couple issues with this one. B99 can gel much more easily than D2 -- that's well-known. I know a guy whose Cummins truck non-started when the temp fell below 45F, and he had to abandon it until things warmed up a day or two later. This was running commercial B99 made from palm oil, in spring, in Texas. So even commercial biodiesel may need to be blended down to be cold-resistant.

Second, if you're doing WVO/SVO correctly in a two-tank heated system, you can sure as heck use it year-round. Warm-up might take a little longer, but the tank will heat right up with a good coolant-driven heat exchanger, and then you're off to the races.

I'm a fan of the perfect world -- run B99 in the main tank, uber-filtered WVO in the secondary tank with both coolant and electric heat.

Cheers, John

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'98 E300TD (W210) | Sold 6/09 with 205k and counting
'04 VW Touareg V10TDI

None of the distributors around here even carry anything over B5 in the winter because they fear gelling. Not that I can buy it by the car or truck tankfull yet anyway, but I'm still looking out for it. Gelling could be a source problem or even a quality control problem, but as ASTM standards get implemented the quality and uniformity should improve and more manufacturers would probably approve use over B5 and cover usage under warranty. As soon as International and Ford give the green light for B20+ use I'll be ordering it by the toteful and we'll go from there.

I seriously looked at two-tank systems, but my daily driving just isn't conducive to it and the collection and storage would be difficult for me right now. Grease Car also has a good looking system. I came across them because they're somewhat local (MA).

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

You are, of course right. I forgot to add that I was talking about the general vicinity of Portland city, and some parts west of it. In the extra enviro-concious [sp] Pearl District, wihch is part of downtown Portland and where I could see a lot of those Lovecraft conversions living, the temps are just about right for running B99 through a significant portion of the winter, and B50 through almost all of the rest of it.

Even if Lovecraft puts one of their electrically powered fuel heaters in there, there's going to be a slug of cold SVO/WVO in the IP & injectors that the car's going to have to start and run on for a couple of minutes which won't be doing it any favors.

My rant was that if the BioD sellers would put a B99 pump smack dab in the middle of the Pearl District, I think there's a good chance all those owners of MB diesels around here (and there's a ton) would run it instead of paying more for a Lovecraft conversion... thus saving a bunch of engines

Thanks for calling me on that. I was in full rant mode and not paying close attention to how others elsewhere might interpret my posting

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'83 300DTurbo http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/318559.png

Broadband: more lies faster.

No worries, patbob -- you're right, too. Doing WVO/SVO *wrong* (the Lovecraft way) and doing it *right* are two very different ballgames. Heck, the jury's even still out on doing it right -- but we definitely know what not to do. Too bad people are still buying the Lovecraft stuff and learning the hard way. As for biodiesel, I'll probably continue buying B99 through the winter here, and blend in something myself to make sure I don't run into a gelling problem. Luckily I have a garage most places I spend significant amounts of time, and it's Houston...not often all that cold!

Cheers, John

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'98 E300TD (W210) | Sold 6/09 with 205k and counting
'04 VW Touareg V10TDI

There is a thread on the LoveCrap site asking for documented proof that their system kills cars. I know of the R class CDI, because I got banned lots of times over there for bringing that up...

Here is the link...http://www.lovecraftbiofuels.com/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=40&func=view&id=3508&catid=2

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Any pointers to this one? I wasn't able to find any info...

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1985 MBZ 300DT
1969 MBZ 220d
1984 MBZ 300TDT
1981 VW Vanagon

Part of the reason he gelled up at 45F is becuase it's plam oil based biodiesel. Palm oil makes horrible biodiesel it has a much higher gel point that other biodiesel. I have used soy biodiesel down below 32F with out problems. But if the temps stay below freezing much I change to a blend.


One major difference for the new Lovecraft station is going to be the temperatures. It stays pretty warm down there in LA. Portland is still pretty mild but it does get fairly cold in the winter. It will be interesting to see and hear what happens through the winter. I really don't think there system will work well at all in the winter in Portland.

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Lol.

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'83 240D with 617.952 and 2.88
'01 VW Beetle TDI
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD
'89 Toyota 4x4, needs 2L-T
'78 280Z with L28ET - 12.86@110
Oil Burner Kartel #35

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oD/bioclip.jpg

I see two sides of conversation about Lovecraft. One side says "I have X miles on my Lovecraft conversion with no problems." The other side says "Lovecraft is killing these cars." What I haven't seen is anyone posting firsthand knowledge of the Lovecraft system causing problems. Has this happened to anyone here?

Thanks.

Anyone think the Greasecar kits are okay? I'm planning to buy one of those for my 240D.

You have to heat the fuel before it gets to the IP. You have to make sure its filtered really well.

And honestly folks? WTF is the point? If you dont want to pay for fuel then get a bicycle. Otherwise you are breaking the law and costing me money by not paying your fair share of the taxes....

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

Here we go with this again -- it's really kind of a hijack of the thread. What do you say to plug-in electric cars or plug-in hybrids? Or for that matter, standard hybrids? I guess they aren't carrying their fair share of the road tax either. A dual-tank SVO system is nothing more than another type of hybrid -- and is far less popular, so decide for yourself where to focus this tax angst.

For those that wish to stay legal, the forms are readily available and not that hard to figure out. Varies by state as well, so do your homework.

Cheers, John

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'98 E300TD (W210) | Sold 6/09 with 205k and counting
'04 VW Touareg V10TDI

The topic of the thread is LoveCraft Green Machines. Stick to the discussion of LoveCraft or suffer the ignominity of having your post deleted.