now our prius is the family gas guzzler too.

Is this something he could do with his bad back? No heavy lifting involved?

 

First off, let me be very clear this is not a criticism of your choice. I just believe in making sure all the info is out there, so that the choices we make are based on all available data. On a small scale, the use of WVO in diesel vehicles is a great way to be carbon neutral, and reduce your transportation costs. You should just be aware that the emissions penalty is pretty severe, particularly the older a vehicle you use. Whether that is a fair trade is up to you, and I will admit that I have been tempted to go this route.

1985 Mercedes 300d vs. 2006 VW Jetta TDI
CO2 (g/mi): 480.19 vs. 305.58 (57% higher) Greenhouse/Global Warming Gas
CO (g/mi): 1.6 vs. 0.04 (3900% or 40X higher) Poison / Toxic
NOx (g/mi): 0.82 vs. 0.55 (49% higher) Smog / Acid Rain
HC (g/mi): 0.34 vs. 0.438 (~even, not same measurement) hydrocarbons, water pollution, ground ozone, smog
PM (g/mi): 0.5 vs. 0.069 (625% or 7.25X higher) asthma, lung development problems in children, cancer?

1985 Mercedes 300d vs. 2006 Toyota Prius
CO2 (g/mi): 480.19 vs. 191.04 (151% or 2.5X higher) Greenhouse/Global Warming Gas
CO (g/mi): 1.6 vs. 0.1 (1500% or 16X higher) Poison / Toxic
NOx (g/mi): 0.82 vs. 0.01 (8100% or 82X higher) Smog / Acid Rain
HC (g/mi): 0.34 vs. 0.02 (~17X higher, not same measurement) hydrocarbons, water pollution, ground ozone, smog
PM (g/mi): 0.5 vs. 0.0 (inf (>12.5X) higher) asthma, lung development problems in children, cancer?

Running WVO will more or less negate the CO2 and SO2 (big acid rain contributor) but doesn't really affect other emissions. Running BD made from WVO will also mostly negate CO2 (some energy used to convert WVO->BD) and SO2, as well as reduce other emissions by about 1/2 except NOx which will be unchanged. Arguments for BD from unused oil sources get a lot more expensive and complicated with regards to environmental impact.

Personally I still think plugins provide a more easily scalable solution to near zero emissions/pollution transportation, but the upfront cost is clearly much higher at the current time.

Here is an example, setting the upfront cost issue aside for the moment:
In the Phoenix area, a 3kW solar system costs ~$21,000 installed gross, or about $9,000 net after rebates and credits. Over its 20 year warrantied life, it would be expected to put out ~97 MWh (PVWATTS v. 1). This translates to an average kWh price of ~9.3c. Taking charging efficiency into account a Prius in electric mode should cruise at about 300 AC Wh/mile, or a little over 44 EV miles per day on a solar system of this capacity. This would result in an equivalent fuel cost of ~2.8c/mile. At the current average price of gasoline ($3.259) in gas mode the Prius at 50mpg costs 6.5c/mile to run. Nearly full zero emissions/pollution at less than half the operating costs of gasoline sounds pretty nice to me!

Of course the small matter of the $9,000 up front for the solar system, and ~$20-30k for a 40-50 mile plugin conversion make this less economically practical at the current time. Which is why we need these technologies to be brought into high volume production to reduce cost!

Rob

 

Hang in there!

 

I had not seen info on PM reduction for WVO, just BD. If you have a source for that I'd love to see it.

Again, no criticism intended. We all do what we can with what we have. You guys are obviously making much better choices than most, despite your tight circumstance and you should be commended for it!

Rob

 

maybe the vacuum system on the 300D is leaking, leading to loss of power.
i have no experience with diesels, but usually when my car bogs down on highway, it would have to do with air, either in fuel line or problems with air intake.

i really dont know much about diesels, but i would think it has something to do with air intake and the fuel injection of the oil into the engine, maybe the plugs or something.


just guessing here, i want one of those cholesterol burning machines too, i was looking at a older toyota hilux diesel, i owned a 85 hilux gasoline version, im sure it would be nice to have a pickup truck fueled by some good deep fryers

 

Do you keep excess WVO on hand, and how long are you willing to let it it sit? You might be able to get a little more life out of your filters by giving anything in the oil a chance to settle to the bottom of the barrel, and skimming the cleaner stuff from the top.

 

Interesting article in Friday's NY Times about the rise in restaurant grease thefts:

As Oil Prices Soar, Restaurant Grease Thefts Rise - NYTimes.com

 

Weird. But not surprising.

 

Hello Galaxee, I know of a rather wealthy individual in Germany who gets all of his waste oil for nothing. He actually has a large surplus and has storage problems. He has been doing this for years. Unfortunately I can't give you any details as he plays it pretty close. Europeans are not quite as open as we are and I do not blame them. Keep us informed on your progress. Andy.

 

On the road, you can fill up at any MacDonalds. Big Mac, fries and used oil, please.

 

sorry to hear about your repair issues, gal... but you need to factor the noncost of gas, purchase price of a newer vehicle, etc....

i believe you are still way ahead... the hopes of having it all for next to nothing these days aint gonna happen...

in my case (which does not work for most) i now pay an average of $12 a month for "gas" in my Zenn...which is great and all, but it was over $16,000 after taxes, license, etc...and the upgraded motor did not work, so had to send it in to be replaced with standard motor (with software upgrade still does 35 which is all i really cared about... just not quiet as much oomph)

so i currently have the cost of the motor ($1200) in limbo since the provider of the motor just wants to replace it with another motor, but this is the 3rd of recent installations that have had the same issue, so both me and my dealer are hesitant to do that. so now the dealer is talking with motor provider to determine what i can get back...(at least they hope so. they are ready said if it comes down to it, they will eat the cost)

another thing you need to look at when repairs are needed. think of what it would cost if you did not have a personal mechanic....