[V8] Diesels, hybrids, continued!

[Professor GT gmail]

The concept that holds real promise is the plug-in electric, at least until the utility companies figure out how to rape us on the charging rates!

I was seriously interested in the Chevy Volt, at least until the price announcement was made. At $15 to 20K I believe it would be a hit. At the current price only those who have more money than they know what to do with are buyers. As the technology (battery) improves and the price comes down, I believe we'll see more and more vehicles of this type on the road.

With the range of the Volt I would have been able to drive to work on battery power, and then drive home on generator power using the inboard IC engine. When home charge it up and repeat the process the next day.

I looked into building my own electric, it's amazing what you can find on the subject online), but with only about a 40 mile range, no onboard generator, and a cost of about $10K to convert an S10 pickup, this project is not quite ready for prime time yet.

At just over an hour commute each way, I was spending over $600/month in fuel costs, so my decision was to convert a Mercedes 300D to run on WVO (waste veg oil), which I have done successfully for the past 3 years. The vehicle has a dual fuel "Greasecar" system, so it starts on diesel and once the fryer is up to temp ;>) I switch it over to veg. In doing so, instead of having to fill the diesel tank three times per week, now I fill it once every 2 to 3 weeks depending upon how many short trips (running on diesel only) I take on the weekends. Yes it involves some work collecting and filtering the oil, but my fuel bill has gone from over $600-650/mo to around $150-200/ mo., and that's a significant savings. There's also the added benefit of making good use of a waste product, AND reducing both pollution and my carbon footprint!
The hardest part is finding a source of oil. Once that's done, the rest is easy. My next project is to acquire a diesel truck to convert, so I can have the versatility of this type of vehicle and not have to worry about MPG & fuel costs.

The brilliance behind the two-tank system is that when shutting down the engine you initiate a "purge" cycle which flushes out the veg with diesel. This is done so that the next cold start is no problem (veg is too viscous when cold), AND the other benefit which some folks don't realize: Even though veg oil has better lubricity than diesel, it, much like brake fluid, is hygroscopic, which means it has an affinity for moisture. So, if left in a diesel injection pump for extended periods, it will cause problems. With a two-tank system this is a non-issue. Another added benefit is that if you get any nasties in your veg fuel that clog the final filter, you just switch back to diesel till you get a chance to correct it.

Oh yea, one last benefit is that while driving in traffic the smell from the tailpipe helps local restaurant sales because it makes you HUNGRY! 

If anyone here is interested in learning more about this, let me know. I can help with the process, and help you avoid some of the pitfalls of being unfamiliar with the details. I've also written a short book on the subject (130+ pages) which explains quite a bit.

Old Mercedes diesels are the best choice (inline Bosch pump with poppet style nozzles and pre-chambers), and old V-Dub diesels are good too.

Veg On!

Thanks,

ProfessorGT
(Sent from my iPhone4)