Well you'll get no argument from me. I think it's mostly a B.S. market, like buying diamonds. But If you read the link I provivded, you can get the industry mumbo jumbo. Trust me it's going to go up, just look at the trend, and it has nothing to do with B.S. supply and demand. BTW gasoline has had it's sulphur reduced also.

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1999 E300DT (131,800) 154,000 Black on Black SOLD

2006 CLK 500 coupe Capri Blue on Grey (zoom,zoom)
47,000mi

04 VW TDI Passat 80,000mi
(Techno)

How to eliminate oil dependency through market-driven approaches.
“We could cut oil use in half by 2025, and by 2040, oil use could be zero,”
The Sound of Diesel Speed
Ode to MB

I tried to make response earlier and it does not seem to have come thru.

re: gasifier. This system was used to run race cars. It is still being designed and used worldwide to generate electricity.

The Dept of Agriculture has reference to the design history and function for this powerplant.

pmari,

Truck is a DI.

I've also been running the RUG blend over the summer. Have not filtered to 1 micron. Maybe thats my problem. I've been settling for weeks then filtering through a bed sheet folded 4 x. Did the freezer test and, like I said, got peanut butter.I've had clogged tank screen, clogged prefilter and clogged spin on filter. Then the return lines that are on the injectors started leaking profusely. You can also see in the prefilter little particles of rubber fuel line so I need to change my fuel lines to viton. Then there is the collection pump issues. Have bought a couple pumps. The mechanical one worked 3 or 4 times before it just plain quit and the electric one which won't keep the prime even though I've got the backflow preventer. Driven maybe 5K miles after going through all that and now that cool weather is here I've quit using WVO. Sheesh. Can't win.

Rob the mod....correct. Being so worn out last night my brain wasn't working right when I was asked so whats the beef. You nailed it. Gas is dropping like a rock and diesel is hanging tough. I just do NOT get it. I grew up on diesel. Coming from a farm we had all diesel because diesel was so cheap. Been driving diesels since '84 when i bought a 6.2 Suburban. Diesel over the years was always way cheaper than gas. Now, heres a question that I've asked many, many times and have never gotten an answer to. In '97 gas was $1.25 and diesel was .82 then, by the end of that summer, diesel was suddenly the same price as gas. What the heck happened??? It just is not right that diesel should be higher than RUG let alone premium. After all diesel is the first thing you come to in the refining process. Then you put additives and more refining to get gas. So if there's such a shortage of diesel there should be a low supply of gas which there doesn't seem to be. If there was a low supply the oil companies would impose rationing. Its been done many times before. Jacking the price doesn't make people slow down or shorten/combine trips. They won't do that unless forced. So supply doesn't justify the high cost. And you can't tell me that demand has dropped for gas. The traffic is just as thick as it ever was. 4 a.m. on I-95 today there was plenty of traffic!

Bottom line is I am dead dog tired of getting the pee gouged out of me and would like to find some way to force the oil companies to rethink their pricing. They're playing games with us and I am not one to sit back and take it. But, looks like thats what I'll have to do along with everybody else. Man this irks the hell outta me. Irks me enough that I am going to keep pushing and trying/experimenting with WVO even though I've had a ton of problems with that! There has got to be a way around these high fuel costs that don't make a lick of sense and somehow I"ll find it. I'm a persistent-wife calls it hardheaded- old cuss that just won't lay down for anybody.

Cheers,

Bill

Folks,

I live in the wilds of West Virginia, and if you are near an Interstate the prices yesterday were 2.95 - 3.00 / gal......but the Exxon Station on old Rt 50 was 2.55.......I think folks are getting soaked by the individual stations that are close to the more well traveled areas......

Also, I can get off road (red) diesel at 2 locations within 15 miles of here.....but have to travel another 5 - 10 miles to get the on road (greenish) stuff.....

So far I have not seen the newest version, Ultra Low Sulphur stuff yet.....going to the races in Dover next week...will see what's happinin' in the real world on that trip......

SB

__________________

Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

Shorebilly,

You'll see ULSD on that trip. Funny thing though that here in Pa. diesel is $2.85 or so but you'll find it in Md. for $2.69 and most likely less now.

have a great time at Dover. Thats a real nice track/facilities they have there. We're not too far from I-95. Stop by if you get the chance.

Cheers,

Bill

This topic comes up every time the price of diesel climbs. Reality is that a gasser version of our MB's gets pretty terrible mileage compared to ours. I am guessing that there would have to be better than a dollar difference before the gasser starts pulling even with costs. So how do you fight it?

1 Blending-get your hands on some clean WVO and filter to 1 micron pour in tank up to 30%WVO with petrodiesel to lower your costs. I have been blending in my work truck like this all summer and it has worked very well. No issues so far and no plugged filters.

2 Make your own-build or buy a biodiesel processor and make your own fuel. Sure, its a PITA. What do you expect? There is no free lunch.

3 Purchase a VW TDI-they easily get 48mpg and IMHO are a more solid car than the other econo japanese cars that get close to their mileage.

4 Buy a Prius-I hate the F*#%ing things but some people love them and while they may not get the mileage advertized in the real world they do pretty well.

5 Buy a used econo beater-many japanese cars will easily get 30+mpg. But do you want to be seen in one? If you purchase it as a second car remember that the cost to own, maintain, insure, etc. can often offset any gains in mpg.

To me the best possible thing about diesel is their ability to burn many different fuels. Our old MB's and other diesels as well can burn kerosese, used oil, used atf, WVO, biodiesel, etc. Sure, there can be some difficulty in using alternative fuels but at least you have a choice. What choice do you have if all of a sudden gasoline is $5 a gallon? How about $10 a gallon? Diesels are true multifuel engines. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

Yes MB did this during the war when fuel was simply not availible for the general public. It was a horrible system that people dumped as fast as they could. They burned coal which was a mess, and it took forever to raise the temp to get the wood to out gas. Range was like 50 miles or something like that. Why not a steam engine then?


Compared to what I spend on other things fuel is cheap!

I'm just a bit disapointed that my car gets about the same mileage as say a 330I. The 330I has like 100hp on me to. The whole point of buying a diesel is to be able to save fuel money, it just doesn't work that way in practice it seems.

MB's cost a fortune to run unless you drive them into the ground.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Dude, that SDL is pushing a bit more weight than those 330I's

Anyone even thinking about burning wood or coal in a vehicle should first attempt to heat their home with wood first....then coal!!! My backup heat is wood/coal fired......one winter a few years ago, when my "free" Natural Gas was shut down because a local compressor station had an explosion that damaged some stuff......no gas for me, for 45 days or so.....I learned that wood requires way more volume per BTU than coal.......although I can cut and split all of the hardwood that I want, or will ever need on my land.....it is far easier to buy a ton of coal....and that llasts me several years.....

If you must use a gassifier......coal is the way to go.....regardless of the mess......

SB

Friend of Coal

__________________

Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

What to do about rediculous diesel prices?

Just fill up and forget that you just spend $62 to fill up your CAR!

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1989 300E 144K

the private use of diesel (us daily drivers) is small compared to the amount of commercial users, (big rigs, contractors, fleets) .. the oil companys view is, well if we can gouge the hell out of the commercial users they can offest the cost by pushing prices up, and so will we, screw the little guy... i bought a diesel because i do rember the days of 80 cent diesel and when i got my 300D it was still cheaper than gasy by 75 cents.. now is a fcukn shame...