Any thoughts on going Veggi Fuel ?

[Hartley]

Very Well said  John and Charles.

We thank you for your participation in these discussions and hope that by sharing the knowledge that many can learn from your experiences and those from people that work through all the issues in their own fashion.

I don't have an agenda and like I have declared so many times, What works for me does not represent what will work for others.
My use of the SVO is limited to fuel backup operations and when I am too broke to buy pump diesel ( which is pretty much all the time lately!) at the current fuel costs I mix 50/50 so that my wallet thinks I am paying $1.50 a gallon. Well it makes me feel better anyway.

Thanks Guys, Enjoy....

[belfert]

Is there really enough WVO available to make a conversion practical?  On a trip where I have to fuel three times, would I spend half my trip looking for restaurants to get WVO?

Around here, a lot of restaurants are locked into contracts with companies that either remove the WVO for free or even pay for it.  As fuel prices continue to increase and more and more folks look to do WVO conversions, will there be enough supply to go around?

[tekebird]

interestingly enough....I had the same question....of course you could always just stop at Costco and get SVO....and spend hours pouring it into your tank.

The company that bought my 04   wants to run B100 exclusively.....but between Luke's and St Louis where the interior will be reworked.....there are only two B100 location...both in Eastern PA......so somewhere along that trip it will get a blend or Dino....

Additioanlly between St Loius and CA there are none

[Chaz]

As fuel prices continue to increase and more and more folks look to do WVO conversions, will there be enough supply to go around?

  Exactly why I quit promoting it. I'm ALL ABOUT doing what I can for the earth, but I want to keep as much of the veggie oil for me!!!!!!!  Why try to convince others who don't want to do it? I just assume keep it for me if they aren't interested. They're loss. I'm cool with it.

On a trip where I have to fuel three times, would I spend half my trip looking for restaurants to get WVO?

  I hate to say it, but, DUH!!! It's a duel fuel setup as you HAVE to start out on Dino. So if I start out with a full tank of wvo, depending on how much fuel you need, you have cut your cost of the trip by that much!!! Then if you have the time and inclination to harvest some on the way, all the better.

and spend hours pouring it into your tank.

Do you really think that is all that big of a deal??? I usually have time to putz with various stuff at stops anyway. You can put it in your tank there or at your leisure.

there are only two B100 location...both in Eastern PA......so somewhere along that trip it will get a blend or Dino....

  Did I mention "Duel Tanks"

  Oh, well, there I go again trying to help people. It's a personality flaw. Forget what I said above. My bad.

  Caring too much again,
              Chaz

[Hartley]

My aux tank is 100 gallons of pure SVO, It will last way longer than I can sit in the seat before I have to stop.

That's 550 miles for $12 of fuel. I went from Daytona to Charlotte NC on that alone, Bought cheaper pump diesel and came
home. If I figure on only ever using 100 of the 140 gallons in the main tank and add the 100 of SVO, I have a 1,100 mile
range before I have to fill up. So if all is well with the world and I have to pay retail @3.00 a gallon, I have cut my fuel costs
by at least a third for 2,200 miles. That's $300 ... Money for other stuff...

If I carry 200 gallons then it's 1/2 savings. Worry about topping off the svo tank when you get home. Or get lucky...

[MC6#95]

John,
Thanks for the kind words.  I enjoyed the bus gathering a few years back, and if you have another one, let me know, i can actually show up in a Bus now!

Fuel availability is always one of the first things people ask about.  The good news is that there is more good oil out there than you can imagine, and even though this is catching on, we haven't even put a dent in the supply.  There are an estimated 4 billion gallons of waste oil produced annually that never even get recycled.  Most of it ends up in land fill or the back 40.
There is a knack to finding the oil, but once you get into the groove it is easy.
A few examples.  While my bus has been my project the last few years, I didn't want to miss out on the travel/camping experience so i bought a travel trailer and have spent at least 1 month a year( for the past 3 years) "on tour" with my family.
The first year we took off from Missouri, and went "out West"  Put on about 5,500 miles, never bought diesel once.  I have a 20 gallon auxiliary tank for diesel on my excursion and only used 10 gallons for start up and shut down fuel.
The next year we went out east, up the coast into Canada and made a big loop.   About 6,500 miles.  Then the next year we went to Florida and played/ worked  around there for a month, only about 4,000 on that trip.  now these are just the family trips, not counting the business trips.  All in all Over the years I have been to every corner of the country  Mexico and Canada, California to Florida, and never was there a situation where I couldn't find oil.  Most of the time i would find oil within 15 minutes of starting to look, and then there would be more than I could haul off.  The average oil score is 100 to 250 gallons per stop.  I just got back from a trip to Kentucky 2 days ago, where i went to get a vehicle.  First stop I scored 80 gallons, filled my 44 gallon main tank and put the rest in a barrel.  (this was a gas station, ironically enough, that fried chickenstrips)  Comming back I stooped at a Chinese buffet that had 250 gallons they said i could have.  Filled the 44 gallon tank, filled a barrel, topped of the other barrel, and left well over 100 gallons of liquid gold sitting there.  Both of these places were the first places i stoped when i decided it was time to gather.
I remember on our trip out east that we got permission from a Chinese place that had 2 bins absolute full, and they were begging us to take some.  The service that they had to pay for had not come yet and they were overflowing.  There was 600 gallons plus there, and one of the sadest days in my life, because i could only take about 60 gallons.  Another time in Wyoming, a restaurant had about 500 gallons in a big 300 gallon tote, and a bunch of barrels, same story, collection service they pay for wasn't comming out and they were desperate to get the oil gone.  Once you get out of the big cities, it is a common problem for the outlying towns, that not only do they have to pay for the service, they do not come out often enough and there is an overflow problem.  I have even got free meals they were so happy.
It takes a bit to get the hang of it, but once you do, you spend very little extra time at this.  I average about $400 an hour when I gather oil. 
And like others have pointed out, you can always put petrol in if you need to.   

Charles Anderson