[skasner]

no sign of an upswing yet that i've seen... at least not in my area. we have been hovering around $3/gal for quite awhile now.

yesterday i got 30gal of gas for like 2 cents at Get Go using my discounts from shopping at Giant Eagle. i filled up the cage and x3 5gal gas cans.

[Kat-A-Tonic]

...I'll do the math (yes I do how to do that even tho I am a woman)

[JoeCool]

I ride my Kat to work everyday, and it's still breaking in...but I have been getting around 43mpg, so I don't get hit too hard.

I did get my wife a 2006 VW Jetta Diesel about 5 months ago...it gets about 41mpg city, and 49mpg highway. The best part is that I make my own BioDiesel for it...takes about 3-4 days to make a batch, but only cost's me about $.80 a gallon to make
The car runs so quiet, and smooth with the BioDiesel...and it's very clean.

Her Jetta hasn't been to the gas station for 4 months

So I have been telling everyone I can about BioDiesel...BioDiesel rocks! Go out to the net, and you'll find some really cool stuff on it. It will work in any 1993+ diesel vehicle...

Oh and if you don't want to make BioDiesel, even normal #2 diesel here in So California is $.10-.40 cheaper than unleaded per gallon...

I would be willing to bet that unleaded gas will be $4 a gallon or more by the end of the year

and it's just going to keep getting worse...
Take action...we did, and we are laughing all the way to the bank...

Wishing everyone on KR the very best

[The CyberPoet]

Oh and if you don't want to make BioDiesel, even normal #2 diesel here in So California is $.10-.40 cheaper than unleaded per gallon...

Not to mention is packs substancially more power-per-gallon, making it even more cost-effective.

Way to go, JoeCool

PS - where are you getting your oil from to make the Bio-diesel?

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[JoeCool]

Thanks Cyber...

Maybe it's the mad scientist coming out in me...but I actually have a lot of fun making it too...which always helps

At first I was getting the oil from Costco for $4.50 a gallon...this was so I could get used to making the BioDiesel with having to do a titration, which I thought would be hard...and was kind of afraid to mess something up...but then after making some batch's, and doing a titration (which was actually very easy after you do a few times)...I moved on the WVO (waste vegetable oil).

I am very fortunate because I was telling my brother in law about the BioDiesel (he has a Ford F350 diesel truck), and he told me how he was leasing a building to a guy who's business is to go and pick up WVO from restaurants. How is that for luck
So I went down, talked to the guy and he was more than happy to sell me all the WVO oil I can use for $.52 a gallon.
Also I joined some Yahoo BioDiesel groups...met a local guy, and became friends with him...he collects WVO from three Chinese restaurants, and can't always use all of it...he gave me 30 gallons for free He also clued me into a place that sells Methanol for $2.08 a gallon...which I was buying for $3.78 a gallon before.

If anyone wants a good overall book on the subject, go to your local bookstore and get "From the fryer to the fuel tank" by Joshua Tickell (ISBN 0-9707227-0-2). I found this book early on, and it really helped me out a lot...picked it up at Barnes & Noble for $24.95.

Well I wish everyone on KR the very best...
A big thanks to CyberPoet and MD86 for all of your good advice and wisdom on the bike we know and love...The Katana...

Keep the rubber side down 8)

[Mr Nice Guy]

How much does the bio diesel "still" maker thing cost? I saw a segment on Trucks about this. Very cool if you have a diesel car/truck.

[JoeCool]

Hiya Mr Nice Guy...

The "Processors" are they call them, vary on cost depending on how much you want to make at one time, and various options...usually $400-$2300...the $2300 model makes 55 gallons at a time, has timers and other things that reduce the time you have to spend in making a batch to about 2hrs...making a batch of any size takes about 2-3 days all together.

I myself bought a really cheap 5 gallon processor, sorry don't remember how much it was...and I make 4 gallons of BioDiesel every 2-3days, and then just store it. My wifes Jetta get's 41-49mpg, so it doesn't take much. I have also given away a bunch of BioDiesel to my brother in law to run in his truck...works great! BioDiesel makes the engine run 50% more quiet too.

You don't have to do this, but I also put a little over of a ounce of Power Service "Diesel Kleen+" additive per gallon of BioDiesel. This boosts the centane level by 6 (this is the same as the octane level in normal gas), extends the storage life of Biodiesel to over a year, and lowers the gel level...which it's hotter than the 7th plane of hell here in So Calif, so I don't really worry about that. It's a great additive, and with most every state switching to ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) it will be imperative to use with normal #2 Diesel if you don't won't to burn up your motor or fuel pump. So all diesel car owners will need to run some mixture of BioDiesel or put fuel additives in everytime they fill up in the future to avoid big time problems.

If anyone needs any help with any of this or advice, just pm me or post a reply here...I will be more than happy to help you

Take care 8)

[The CyberPoet]

Power Service "Diesel Kleen+"... It's a great additive, and with most every state switching to ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) it will be imperative to use with normal #2 Diesel if you don't won't to burn up your motor or fuel pump. So all diesel car owners will need to run some mixture of BioDiesel or put fuel additives in everytime they fill up in the future to avoid big time problems.

I find it dubious that the new ULSD fuels will cause any problems with existing diesels already on the market (removal of sulfer from the fuel shouldn't damage the pumps or motor in any way that I can tell)... Or do you know something I don't know (in which case, please share it!).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[SlipKid]

I think the idea of making bio-diesel is awesome, however... I can't help but think as the cost of gasoline increases and more people are driven to alternative fuels, access to waste oil will become more and more expensive. Since there aren't many people making hteir own bio-diesel at this point, I expect getting the raw material isn't too bad, but if many, many more people were trying to do it, competition for a finite amount of waste product would drive the price up until it began to approach the price of the refined product. Imagine if demand grew enough, restaurants and what-not would probably get wise pretty fast and figure they could boost their bottom-line selling the stuff rather than paying to have it taken away. At the moment though, things are favoring the early adopters.

Man, I need a diesel! I think a Mercedes wagon with a hitch...

[The CyberPoet]

Q: What do you do with the titration remains? I'm really curious on that one... ever think of dumping it back at the resteraunt?

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Anonymous]

1 man SUVs (or 1 woman in Land Rover ), empty truck beds, lifted-oversized tires...makes Jeebus cry.

[DreKat]

I am spending $1.20 a leter, so that is over 5$ a Gallon and most of our fuel comes from Alberta so where is the sence in that?

[JoeCool]

Power Service "Diesel Kleen+"... It's a great additive, and with most every state switching to ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) it will be imperative to use with normal #2 Diesel if you don't won't to burn up your motor or fuel pump. So all diesel car owners will need to run some mixture of BioDiesel or put fuel additives in everytime they fill up in the future to avoid big time problems.

I find it dubious that the new ULSD fuels will cause any problems with existing diesels already on the market (removal of sulfer from the fuel shouldn't damage the pumps or motor in any way that I can tell)... Or do you know something I don't know (in which case, please share it!).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

Hiya Cyber,
I have read from many posts on the internet this is the case with removing sulphur from Diesel. I have heard of the State of California sending out notices to large companys warning them of this effect to the reduction in sulphur. Lots of really smart people saying this is real.

Since the fuel pump in Diesel vehicles cost a lot, I think it's better to play it safe.

I listen to experts like yourself on bikes...others on BioDiesel...they all seem to have a consensus on the ill effects of the reduction of sulphur on engines and fuel pumps

[JoeCool]

Q: What do you do with the titration remains? I'm really curious on that one... ever think of dumping it back at the resteraunt?

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

Hiya Cyber,
The titration uses such a small amount of oil (1ml) and chemicals(10ml-15ml)...it can just go down the drain...your just using a small syringe for this...it takes about 30 seconds, but it's critical to do if your going to use WVO.

[JoeCool]

I think the idea of making bio-diesel is awesome, however... I can't help but think as the cost of gasoline increases and more people are driven to alternative fuels, access to waste oil will become more and more expensive. Since there aren't many people making hteir own bio-diesel at this point, I expect getting the raw material isn't too bad, but if many, many more people were trying to do it, competition for a finite amount of waste product would drive the price up until it began to approach the price of the refined product. Imagine if demand grew enough, restaurants and what-not would probably get wise pretty fast and figure they could boost their bottom-line selling the stuff rather than paying to have it taken away. At the moment though, things are favoring the early adopters.

Man, I need a diesel! I think a Mercedes wagon with a hitch...

Hi SlipKid,
I just read a huge front page article in the Orange County Register business section on BioDiesel. Your right it is picking up. In the article it states that in 2004, 25 million gallons of BioDiesel were made and used in the United States....in 2005 this number tripled to 75 million gallons.
But even with 75 million gallons of BioDiesel being made/used, over 300 million gallons of WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil) was dumped last year into landfills.
That is a heck of a lot of WVO being dumped, I think it's going to take quite a few years to out run that number.
Also, the most exciting thing is that there are dozens of ways to make BioDiesel other sources other than WVO. For example in Vietnam they just opened a BioDiesel plant that will make 30,000 gallons a year of BioDiesel from catfish remains. There are three huge Algae plants in the USA that are making oil from algae, and converting it to BioDiesel...this is the most promising source of oil to make BioDiesel. The BioDiesel made from algae is all around the best quality (highest centane level, lowest gel point, longest storage, etc...). Also there isn't enough vegetable oil to ever make enough BioDiesel to replace all of the petroleum Diesel in the USA...but there can be with algae.
I have seen pictures of these algae farms, read tons of stuff on them, and I'm just amazed.
They don't really say too much on the process of converting algae to oil, the process is kinda of a trade secret I think of sorts, but they use centrifuges of some sort.

I'm just hoping it will catch on even more...I would love having to worry about where to get WVO because so many people are making their own BioDiesel. That would rock!

By the way here is a awesome primer on BioDiesel:

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/PDF/biodiesel.pdf

So yes, I would rather pay a farmer here in the USA to power my vehicles, than some OPEC billionaire...along the way there is less oil being dumped in landfills, and I'm saving almost $3 a gallon to power our car which is getting 49mpg...and thats real world mileage.

Oh and did I mention it's fun...yeah okay I'm a little weird, but I'm having fun making BioDiesel

Wishing everyone on KR the very best 8)