I am in the Bay Area now. I drove here on Thursday night. I traveled a total of 193 miles on 8 gallons of wvo (waste vegetable oil). That translates to around 24 miles per gallon.

It is funny to me how one of the first questions people ask when they first hear about my vegcar is how many miles per gallon does it get. I understand why they ask the question but I think that after “getting” what a vegcar is really about – especially one running on wvo – they realize it really doesn’t matter that much.

I I brought along the usual 15 extra gallons of filtered oil in my trunk for the trip home. The 18 gallon tank plus 15 extra gallons provides enough fuel to travel a total of nearly 800 miles. I’m only going 400 this weekend.

For those going on longer trips… I routinely carry 50 gallons of oil in my trunk when collecting oil from a restaurant. Actually, I have carried as much as 60 gallons but didn’t like how low my car was riding with the tremendous weight in the trunk. (Vegetable oil weighs around 7.6 lbs. per gallon.) With 50 gallons of filtered oil plus the 18 in the fuel tank my car has a range of 1,632 miles! That would allow me to drive from Los Angeles to Kansas City, Missouri without picking up or purchasing any additional fuel!

In an interview with a conservative talk radio host, Vice President Dick Cheney admitted that the U.S. has used water-boarding and doesn’t consider it torture. The graphic illustrates what water-boarding is. It was good enough for the Spanish Inquisition so it is good enough for Bush/Cheney.

Impeachment is far to good for these two war criminals.

Watch this video of Bush imitating a weasel…

UPDATE 1-17-08: This video was removed for use violation. This is scary folks. videos like this, of the president of the US speaking to the public, are and should be in the public domain.

This post is for all of you out there who have considered converting a vegcar but think that it is too complicated for you to do yourself. Think again. A year ago, I had pratically no experience working on cars. Really. An oil change was the most complicated “repair” I had ever undertaken. Now, I have two conversions under my belt. I know how simple it really is.

A single-tank conversion is basically a plumbing job. You mount the heater/filter, cut and join coolant lines, cut and join fuel lines, wire up the electric heater and voila. It took us 4.5 hours on the first conversion and around 3.5 on the second. In both cases, we spent a good amount of time talking, laughing, and searching for tools. We had a great time. If I kept my head down and worked steadily, alone, I think I could do the job in 2 hours.

Believe me… you can do it. Email me for a confidence boost (use the Contact Us link in site header).

Technorati Tags: do-it-yourself, wvo, svo, biofuel, conversion, mercedes, benz, 300d, diesel, biodiesel, filter, vegetable oil, vegcar, grease

Installing the heat exchanger from Lovecraft Biofuels in my 1984 300D proved to be extremely simple. The heat exchanger replaces the standard fuel filter that comes with the Mercedes 300 series car. It doesn’t filter the fuel, rather, it uses engine coolant/water to heat the fuel. The two fittings that you see in the photo are for the coolant hoses.

Here are the steps required to install the heat exchanger:

1. Drain the coolant/water from the radiator
2. Disconnect the coolant line where it goes into the heater/filter (mine is a Davco 234)
3. Connect that coolant line to one of the fittings on the new heat exchanger (I shortened the hose by 8 inches or so)
4. Use another piece of coolant hose to connect the other fitting on the heat exchanger with the heater/filter
5. Replace the radiator drain plug and refill the coolant/water

That’s it.

Technorati Tags: lovecraft, biofuels, heat, exchanger, parts, wvo, svo, biofuel, conversion, mercedes, benz, 300d, diesel, biodiesel, filter, vegetable oil, vegcar, grease

Yesterday, we converted a friend’s car, my second conversion. This one was a 1984 300SD and the conversion went smoothly except for one missing part. The car owner will pick up that part today and we’ll finish it up this afternoon.

Several people have asked for a complete parts list for this standard, simple single-tank conversion. I created this list right after finishing the conversion. I’ll add to it later if I discover that I omitted anything. Note: there are fancier tools that would make the job even easier. I don’t have an extensive automotive tool collection.

Parts

• Heater/Filter (we used a Davco 234 with 12v heater) with harness kit – you can wire it yourself but this $11 kit is very converient)
  • 2 fittings for fuel in and out
  • 2 fittings for coolant in and out
• 2 ‘T’ joints for the 5/8 inch coolant line
• 5/8 inch coolant hose (8 feet is more than enough)
• Hose clamps for 5/8 inch coolant hose (8)
• Fuel line (5 feet is more than enough)
• Fuse or circuit breaker for Davco (I don’t know the amperage but will update when I have it)
• Crimp ring terminals (3)
• Bolts and nuts to secure Davco to chassis (2 of each)
  • Washers (4)
• Clear tubing for Davco cleanout (18 inches) – I don’t know the diameter – will add later
• Fitting to connect clear tubing to bottom of Davco

Tools

• Screwdrivers
• A Quarter (the coin) – handy for opening the radiator drain plug
• Crimp Tool
• Serrated knife – or a cutting device to cut coolant hose
• Portable light(s)
• Drill with assorted bits
• Hammer and nail – to make pilot holes in chasis
• Funnel – for pouring the coolant/water back into the radiator

Technorati Tags: 300SD, tools, parts, list, wvo, svo, biofuel, conversion, mercedes benz, 300d, diesel, biodiesel, filter, vegetable oil, vegcar, grease

For those readers out there who might be concerned about what catastrophe might befall the nation if the Democrats won control of even one house of Congress, watch this segment from the Daily Show. Bush is clearly delusional, an idiot or an android programmed to be a delusional idiot. Wouldn’t it be smart that at least one branch of government be controlled by the opposing party?

UPDATE 1-17-08: This video was removed for use violation. This is scary folks. videos like this, of the president of the US speaking to the public, are and should be in the public domain.

Technorati Tags: art, wvo, svo, biofuel, mercedes, benz, 300d, diesel, vegetable oil, vegcar, grease

According to a recent CBS/NY Times poll, Bush’s approval rating has reached an all-time low of 34%. Perhaps even more significantly (emphasis added):

Mr. Bush clearly faces constraints as he seeks to address the public concerns about Iraq that have shrouded this midterm election: 83 percent of respondents thought that Mr. Bush was either hiding something or mostly lying when he discussed how the war in Iraq was going. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said Mr. Bush was personally aware of pre-9/11 intelligence reports that warned of possible domestic terrorist attacks using airplanes.

83%!! America is finally waking up to this administrations lies, distortions and manipulations.

If the oil industry hadn’t decided to reduce gasoline prices in the lead-up to this election, his approval rating would certainly be even lower. And Foley-gate is still alive and well. I hear a giant sucking sound of an administration imploding.

Technorati Tags: gasoline, foley, gate, bush, approval, iraq, liar, lies, lying, wvo, svo, biofuel, conversion, mercedes, benz, 300d, diesel, biodiesel, filter, vegetable oil, vegcar, grease

From the Contra Costa Times on September 2, 2006:

In a major step toward reducing smog — and public health risks from soot — all new diesel fuel sold in California starting Friday must be a new, dramatically cleaner-burning blend, required under state and federal rules that have been in the works for more than five years.Air pollution officials are comparing the landmark fuel changeover to regulations that required lead to be removed from gasoline a generation ago. The new diesel contains 97 percent less sulfur than traditional diesel.

The new fuel’s health benefit partly comes from its chemical makeup, but mainly from the fact that it will be combined with dramatically cleaner truck and bus-engine standards that take effect nationally for new diesel engines starting with the 2007 model year. Running on the clean fuel, the engines will put out 90 percent less soot and nitrogen oxides than current engines.

It is worth noting that straight vegetable oil burned as a fuel emits no sulphur. See this post on svo emissions versus gasoline engines. I don’t have statistics on particulate emissions for svo. If you have any sources please forward them to me.

Technorati Tags: emissions, sulphur, soot, california, wvo, svo, biofuel, conversion, mercedes benz, 300d, diesel, biodiesel, filter, vegetable oil, vegcar, grease