Another automaker going in the wrong direction!

[ChuckD]

growth in the world today of resource consuming societies in China & India

BUY YUKON!

 

[Lawn Cher']

Even the manufacturers are starting to take notice finally - VW of America just recently announced that B5 (5% bio, 95% petro) is acceptable in all their diesel models in NA, and they are now studying B20.

The only good thing about the Jeep Liberty is that the CRD model comes with B5 from the factory! A smart move on DC's part.

And its funny you mention greasel conversions, Rob. They are located out here in MO and I first read about them in a newspaper distributed by the electricity coop I get my power from. It seemed appealing to me except for the valve selecting part and the oil collecting part and the vehicle modifying part and still needing some petroleum diesel and the cost of it for a bunch of stuff I could source myself. Alright, so maybe it wasn't all that appealing. But the idea of a recycled fuel stuck in my head and I researched biodiesel and found a loosely formed home-brewing coop in my local area. Myself, along with some engineering & business types, eventually came to the conclusion that bigger is better with economy of scale. Without spilling the beans, we are within months of opening a major operation in St Louis.

 

[Ivan]

Wait till some moron fills his rig up, in his house, while smoking, and BOOM!...

Or if you leave the PUMP on all night...who's gonna get it? THe NG company, Honda, or Both?

The connection is sealed, so no NG escapes. More safe than some moron smoking while filling up his gasoline tank...

The NG fuel source shuts off on its own when full...it's that simple.

We've been running NG vechicles at work for over 15 years now without incident. The filling process has been figured out....

 

[Citat3962]

Even the manufacturers are starting to take notice finally - VW of America just recently announced that B5 (5% bio, 95% petro) is acceptable in all their diesel models in NA, and they are now studying B20.

WOW that's good news.. previously TDI owners were having their warranty voided if they used ANY form of biodiesel during the warranty..

they would go so far as to void the entire powetrain warranty!!

this would be the main reason I didn't look any further into trying the bioD in her TDI golf.

 

[w_howey]

The only good thing about the Jeep Liberty is that the CRD model comes with B5 from the factory! A smart move on DC's part.

And its funny you mention greasel conversions, Rob. They are located out here in MO and I first read about them in a newspaper distributed by the electricity coop I get my power from. It seemed appealing to me except for the valve selecting part and the oil collecting part and the vehicle modifying part and still needing some petroleum diesel and the cost of it for a bunch of stuff I could source myself. Alright, so maybe it wasn't all that appealing. But the idea of a recycled fuel stuck in my head and I researched biodiesel and found a loosely formed home-brewing coop in my local area. Myself, along with some engineering & business types, eventually came to the conclusion that bigger is better with economy of scale. Without spilling the beans, we are within months of opening a major operation in St Louis.

Speaking of beans, we have bio available from farm services. In bulk or in drums/pails. They have it anywhere from B2 to B100. I just competely forgot where the heck I was going with this....

 

[8Mud]

They have been experimenting with Bio Diesel a long time here in Europe. Main problem is lack of land to grow enough, to make it profitable over other crops.
Canola, seems to be a ready source, good news for northern climates. It´s got to be economically feasable at todays prices, the lack of infa structure refining capacity and having to go head to head against the establish fossil fuel refiners, is probably the biggest obstical.
Just saw a local program, about a farmer who has been producing enough Canola oil for the last ten years to power all of his own farm equiement.
Like anything else, the processing people and/or the manufacturers that produce the equipement for processing crops into oil, are gonna price there products so close to the margin, that making your own doesn´t win you much.
I´ve reversed priced many alternative energy sources, the middle man cuts the margin so close, to the current established energy prices, that it often doesn´t really pay to switch. Many of the hardware investments, pay for themselves, at just about the time there life expectancy is up or sometimes even before. Really no substantial incentive to change, except social conscience.
Governemnt isn´t doing a very good job of encouraging alternative energy, many of the Lobbiest and political donators are the established energy providers.
Governments solution to promoting energy conservation is usually to tax energy more to promote more energy efficiency. People who live on the margin, with little disposable income, can´t afford to upgrade to energy efficientant cars or heating, because of higher energy costs (much of it taxes). Catch 22, they got you by the XXXXs.
There will be a time, if you don´t earn 6 figures you won´t be able to drive, but I bet your taxes will still be paying for road repair and improvement.

 

[Yucca-Man]

I just do not get why soo many Americans are anti-diesel. The only thing that comes to mind is to blame GM for their crap they put out when they tried to cut corners and put diesels in cars and trucks...

I firmly believe most Americans over the age of 30 are anti-diesel because they remember two fine German diesel examples. VW made a diesel pickup (can't remember the name) but most of them that I remember were tan or yellowish...fading to a sooty black as you neared the exhaust. More common were the Mercedes diesel sedans that seemed to come with the same paint scheme. The sooty exhaust is excusable to a degree on a large truck, because Joe and Jane Yuppy know they aren't going to park one of those in their garage - but a dirty, soot-covered car is a different matter and is what keeps the sale from happening.

 

[Ludakris]

The only good thing about the Jeep Liberty is that the CRD model comes with B5 from the factory! A smart move on DC's part.

And its funny you mention greasel conversions, Rob. They are located out here in MO and I first read about them in a newspaper distributed by the electricity coop I get my power from. It seemed appealing to me except for the valve selecting part and the oil collecting part and the vehicle modifying part and still needing some petroleum diesel and the cost of it for a bunch of stuff I could source myself. Alright, so maybe it wasn't all that appealing. But the idea of a recycled fuel stuck in my head and I researched biodiesel and found a loosely formed home-brewing coop in my local area. Myself, along with some engineering & business types, eventually came to the conclusion that bigger is better with economy of scale. Without spilling the beans, we are within months of opening a major operation in St Louis.

Thats cool.. I have been looking into BD, but I have yet to see any retailers in my area.. with the number of cars and trucks i see on my 1hr+ (30 mile) commute, I would think it would be benificial.. Its good to hear someone taking the initiative to get it done....I would think Fleet operations would be a good area to tap into..especially local gov...

VW made a diesel pickup (can't remember the name) but most of them that I remember were tan or yellowish...fading to a sooty black as you neared the

Is this the Rabbit p/u? ... I agree there is a bad stigma of diesels.. but europe has embraced them.. why not us?

On a somewhat related story, I saw a thing on expandable spray insulation, made from soy.. looks like soy is getting into everything.. I think I will become a Soy Farmer/ Bamboo farmer/ fish hatchery/ Lama herder.... oh and I hear worm farms are hot... rambling over..

 

[Rob Mayercik]

WOW that's good news.. previously TDI owners were having their warranty voided if they used ANY form of biodiesel during the warranty..

they would go so far as to void the entire powetrain warranty!!

this would be the main reason I didn't look any further into trying the bioD in her TDI golf.

Yeah, VWOA's warranty-voiding policy seems to be legendary - almost makes DC look charitable. I think I may have even heard of one dealer trying to deny warranty because the owner changed his own oil! This shift to accepting B5 is a big step - there's a lot of guys over on TDIClub.com watching with it great interest, particularly the fact that they've moved on to study B20.

Mark - Greasel happened to be the first example I could think of, but it's a good one. I don't think I'd do the conversion (don't care for removing the spare tire in favor of the WVO tank), but maybe sometime I'll find some biodiesel to try.

8Mud - I have heard some interesting things about producing biodiesel from some sort of algae. What I read indicated that the yield from that far exceeds other agro-stocks, but it's been a while since I looked at it. They still use mostly rapeseed over in Europe for BD these days, right?

 

[Lawn Cher']

There are strains of algae that yield more oil per acre than soy, which in and of itself is not really the best agro-crop either but is already established. Jatropha plants also look promising for growth in arid areas.

Lots of good discussion on these subjects in the forums at www.biodieselnow.com

 

[BruteXJ]

Will this algae grow in brackish or salt water? I've got some real estate in Florida to develope!:laugh3:

This sounds like great stuff, now I nead a TDI/XJ conversion write-up!

 

[casm]

VW made a diesel pickup (can't remember the name) but most of them that I remember were tan or yellowish...fading to a sooty black as you neared the exhaust.

That would be the VW Caddy AKA the Rabbit / Golf pickup. Still see them running around here from time to time.

More common were the Mercedes diesel sedans that seemed to come with the same paint scheme.

And the Peugeots of the era as well, not to mention Isuzu. Seems like everyone was jumping on that bandwagon in the late '70s up to the mid-'80s.

As for XJ diesel conversions, I've been eyeing up Mercedes 300 turbodiesels in the junkyards lately and think one could be made to fit under an XJ's hood. This would probably be the best candidate (outside of a CRD) for a swap since they're relatively plentiful and have good parts availability.

 

[What Rd]

I use BD at every opportunity, but sadly there are very few opportunities around here. I keep asking for it and go to the stations along my frequently traveled routes where I know I can get it.
The modern common-rail injection diesels like my Duramax are so much more efficient than those old sooty monsters. Between the vastly higher injection pressures, the elimination of pre-ignition chambers, reductions in static compression ratio, and modern NVH reduction design, diesels are so much quieter, easier to start, efficient and powerful than they used to be.
The exhaust on my truck is not visible except when I stand on it real hard, and even then it's not the black sooty smoke of days gone by but rather a thin grey that looks a lot like a rich-running gas engine.

 

[copperhead]

The connection is sealed, so no NG escapes. More safe than some moron smoking while filling up his gasoline tank...

The NG fuel source shuts off on its own when full...it's that simple.

We've been running NG vechicles at work for over 15 years now without incident. The filling process has been figured out....

My neighbor in Atlanta worked for the DOE. He ran a commuter car on NG for many years. The filling tank was built on a concrete slab next to his garage. It was a pretty good system from what I understand.

 

[theslacker]

80 bucks a month plus $1500 for install! I don't spend $80 a month on 89 octane at 100.9(about $4 a gallon).

 

[Beej]

Biodiesel is much friendlier... it makes the engine run smoother due to better lubricity, it reduces particulate emissions (the black soot,) has no stink (from the sulfur in petroleum diesel) and is biodegradeable. The new VW's and the MB E320 are fine examples of how a modern diesel can be integrated into a comfortable user friendly package.

Lubricity? :laugh3: Holy lexical obfuscation Batman! Isn't that 'the property or state of being lubricious'? Typically associated with a visit to the 'lubritorium'? aperwork

There are strains of algae that yield more oil per acre than soy, which in and of itself is not really the best agro-crop either but is already established. Jatropha plants also look promising for growth in arid areas.

Three words...Hemp seed oil...

 

[Lawn Cher']

Three words...Hemp seed oil...

There were quite a few hippies in one of the local BD advocacy groups that I met about a year ago when I first looked into this that actively campaigned for use of hemp seed oil. I'm for any oil crop that isn't an existing commodity controlled by the agro-giants like ADM.

 

[Beej]

...existing commodity controlled by the agro-giants like ADM.

or Darth Monsanto...

 

[Yucca-Man]

The modern common-rail injection diesels like my Duramax are so much more efficient than those old sooty monsters. Between the vastly higher injection pressures, the elimination of pre-ignition chambers, reductions in static compression ratio, and modern NVH reduction design, diesels are so much quieter, easier to start, efficient and powerful than they used to be.

I actually think that's why those older diesels hurt today's diesel market. While today's CRD is super-efficient especially compared to the old ones, when you say "shopping for a diesel" people think of the old smoky beasts or a Ford Stupid-Duty ... not a 49mpg VW. They just don't realize the benefits of the new diesels.

 

[CRASH]

I use BD at every opportunity, but sadly there are very few opportunities around here. I keep asking for it and go to the stations along my frequently traveled routes where I know I can get it.
The modern common-rail injection diesels like my Duramax are so much more efficient than those old sooty monsters. Between the vastly higher injection pressures, the elimination of pre-ignition chambers, reductions in static compression ratio, and modern NVH reduction design, diesels are so much quieter, easier to start, efficient and powerful than they used to be.
The exhaust on my truck is not visible except when I stand on it real hard, and even then it's not the black sooty smoke of days gone by but rather a thin grey that looks a lot like a rich-running gas engine.

Hey, my old sooty monster resembles your remarks.

CRASH.

P.S. Though my well tuned fuel delivery and copious amounts of boost help my old 6.9 make Duramax, Powerstroke and Cummins drivers feel slightly bad about laying down $45,000 for their pickups.

P.S.S. Working on assembling BD parts and a shop to house them in now. I still think to make a home operation successful for a pickup driver, you need at least 100 gallon batches. 250 would be better.