now our prius is the family gas guzzler too.

daniel · 12-25-2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by galaxee

... greasecar ...

That's really a rather unappetizing name for an otherwise environmentally-conscious vehicle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rae Vynn

Actually, one of the larger coal-fired power plants is in the Tri-Cities areas, and there is a Nuclear plant there, as well, that our local PUD draws from.
Yes, Hydro is a significant source, but our electricity comes from pretty diverse sources... I just wish it really were mostly Hydro!

I called my local electric utility, and was told that my electricity comes almost entirely from the Bonneville dam, and the remainder is wind power. They don't even have a program to let you pay extra for renewable energy, since it's all renewable already.

Rae Vynn · 12-25-2007, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel

I called my local electric utility, and was told that my electricity comes almost entirely from the Bonneville dam, and the remainder is wind power. They don't even have a program to let you pay extra for renewable energy, since it's all renewable already.

That's great...
We do pay a little extra... voluntary program to buy "green power blocks"... we bought as much as we were allowed to... like $5 a month or something.

Apparently there are 37 of us in the entire GHPUD area that has done this. One of the PUD commissioners calls them "Green stamps" and thinks that the whole program was a little nutty, as so much does come from hydro and wind.

galaxee · 12-25-2007, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel

That's really a rather unappetizing name for an otherwise environmentally-conscious vehicle.

we're not making that up, either!

daniel · 12-26-2007, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by galaxee

we're not making that up, either!

Yeah, I know. I've heard the term before. I just don't like it. I'd prefer a cleaner-sounding name.

galaxee · 02-08-2008, 10:38 PM

we officially conclude that mercedes suck to fix. they way they're put together is ridiculous after fixing toyotas, and we will never own another one.

we knew it had a bad brake caliper, so we parked it while DH did some studying. went to fix it, found a big wet spot under the car and no brake fluid. another caliper went while it was parked.

ooooookay...

decided it was best to just suck it up and do pads, rotors, calipers, fluid flush, all that. paid big bucks for parts, pulled the front end apart, found bad bearings. WTF

got bearings. started putting things back together. THIRD caliper starts spewing fluid.

it's all back together now except for the last caliper, which is going to be here tomorrow morning. we finally got the final heat exchanger for the wvo system. DH has to rearrange some stuff to put it under the hood, but will be doing that soon.

meanwhile we have no license plates for it anyway. should be here soon though. can't wait, it's about time we get some freakin' benefits from this car... i'm glad we got it so cheap but now we know why.

sparkyAZ · 02-09-2008, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by galaxee

we officially conclude that mercedes suck to fix. they way they're put together is ridiculous after fixing toyotas, and we will never own another one.

Makes you wonder why anyone would want to be an M-B mechanic, right? It's funny how most people don't notice the construction of a vehicle since most people don't work on their cars. I've worked on Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Mazda vehicles for family and friends, and it's interesting to compare the way they assemble the cars and how the design is organized. Such as the bolt size was used for certain applications. Could they get away with an smaller bolt but chose a larger one to make it more reliable? Or WTF was GM thinking locating non-platinum spark plugs practically against the firewall on a transverse engine??? My experience has been that Honda, Toyota, and BMW's are pretty well organized and constructed with attention to the little mechanical details.

Anyways, if you're going to keep the m-b, you might want to bookmark Auto Parts Fast at RockAuto I've found they have pretty good prices on parts, not that you're going to need any now that you've rebuilt the thing.

galaxee · 03-07-2008, 09:29 PM

finally... after lots of work! this car is ready to hit the road.

the wvo delivery system was optimized by DH using a part from the frybrid system and a coil of copper tubing- delivery temp was in the 120 degrees range when we brought it home, but he's got it up to 190. basically, it needed to be 160 or higher. whoever installed it did a lazy job too, so he of course redid it his way.

just about the entire brake system is brand new. all fluids and filters and etc are brand new.

we have a filtering system set up to 1 micron, which will extend the life of the wvo inline filter. and finally, we have secured a source of waste oil from a really quality italian place.

the car probably needs a radiator- now that it builds coolant pressure it leaks a little. but he's going to start driving it next week. we can't really afford to pay for gas (even in the prius) for that commute anymore.

the great thing is that we picked up a used toyota we can turn around quickly and profit enough to break us even on the expenses from the wvo car.

toyota never fails us!

daniel · 03-08-2008, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by galaxee

... and finally, we have secured a source of waste oil from a really quality italian place.

Good to know your waste oil will be coming from a quality restaurant.

galaxee · 03-12-2008, 09:05 PM

update report:

filtering system is worked out nicely for medium volume processing. filtered all the oil that was given to us with the purchase of the car. it was disgusting and full of water. and contained hydrogenated oils. but came out looking nice enough.

[the previous owner would just let this stuff settle, did not filter or dewater. ick.]

made first collection of ~55 gal of nice clean soybean oil/extra virgin olive oil from maggiano's. everyone there was really nice, no hassles at all in collection. have not filtered this yet, we currently have a full tank in the car plus another 5 gallons ready. will last until the weekend.

haven't worked out mpg on wvo yet- he's calculating the mpg on the stuff he's already got, and will re-work when he starts running on the good stuff. diesel is only needed to get the engine warm- takes under 5 min idling. he will also calculate mi/gal diesel on the next tank. he's still getting used to the system right now.

car smells like french fries. but the new oil smells like fried calamari- a maggiano's specialty.

diesels are hard to get used to. and the thing isn't all that powerful. but it runs just fine.

daniel · 03-13-2008, 12:14 AM

Cool! Keep us posted.

02-08-2008, 10:38 PM	#25
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: south of lake Michigan Posts: 9,736 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 130 Times in 53 Posts Friends: 26	Re: now our prius is the family gas guzzler too. we officially conclude that mercedes suck to fix. they way they're put together is ridiculous after fixing toyotas, and we will never own another one. we knew it had a bad brake caliper, so we parked it while DH did some studying. went to fix it, found a big wet spot under the car and no brake fluid. another caliper went while it was parked. ooooookay... decided it was best to just suck it up and do pads, rotors, calipers, fluid flush, all that. paid big bucks for parts, pulled the front end apart, found bad bearings. WTF got bearings. started putting things back together. THIRD caliper starts spewing fluid. it's all back together now except for the last caliper, which is going to be here tomorrow morning. we finally got the final heat exchanger for the wvo system. DH has to rearrange some stuff to put it under the hood, but will be doing that soon. meanwhile we have no license plates for it anyway. should be here soon though. can't wait, it's about time we get some freakin' benefits from this car... i'm glad we got it so cheap but now we know why. __________________ black 2005 prius, a few mods that make me happy data don't collect themselves- that's my job, and it keeps me very busy.

03-07-2008, 09:29 PM	#27
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: south of lake Michigan Posts: 9,736 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 130 Times in 53 Posts Friends: 26	Re: now our prius is the family gas guzzler too. finally... after lots of work! this car is ready to hit the road. the wvo delivery system was optimized by DH using a part from the frybrid system and a coil of copper tubing- delivery temp was in the 120 degrees range when we brought it home, but he's got it up to 190. basically, it needed to be 160 or higher. whoever installed it did a lazy job too, so he of course redid it his way. just about the entire brake system is brand new. all fluids and filters and etc are brand new. we have a filtering system set up to 1 micron, which will extend the life of the wvo inline filter. and finally, we have secured a source of waste oil from a really quality italian place. the car probably needs a radiator- now that it builds coolant pressure it leaks a little. but he's going to start driving it next week. we can't really afford to pay for gas (even in the prius) for that commute anymore. the great thing is that we picked up a used toyota we can turn around quickly and profit enough to break us even on the expenses from the wvo car. toyota never fails us!

03-12-2008, 09:05 PM	#29
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: south of lake Michigan Posts: 9,736 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 130 Times in 53 Posts Friends: 26	Re: now our prius is the family gas guzzler too. update report: filtering system is worked out nicely for medium volume processing. filtered all the oil that was given to us with the purchase of the car. it was disgusting and full of water. and contained hydrogenated oils. but came out looking nice enough. [the previous owner would just let this stuff settle, did not filter or dewater. ick.] made first collection of ~55 gal of nice clean soybean oil/extra virgin olive oil from maggiano's. everyone there was really nice, no hassles at all in collection. have not filtered this yet, we currently have a full tank in the car plus another 5 gallons ready. will last until the weekend. haven't worked out mpg on wvo yet- he's calculating the mpg on the stuff he's already got, and will re-work when he starts running on the good stuff. diesel is only needed to get the engine warm- takes under 5 min idling. he will also calculate mi/gal diesel on the next tank. he's still getting used to the system right now. car smells like french fries. but the new oil smells like fried calamari- a maggiano's specialty. diesels are hard to get used to. and the thing isn't all that powerful. but it runs just fine.

03-13-2008, 12:14 AM	#30
daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 11,775 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #6 Thanks: 76 Thanked 288 Times in 181 Posts Friends: 0	Re: now our prius is the family gas guzzler too. Cool! Keep us posted.