Vegetable Oil Road Trip

I just got an email from a band asking for a good place to get biofuels in the southwest US (I pointed them towards our friends at the Denver Biodiesel and Boulder Biodiesel CoOps, natch).

The band is Them Damned Young Livers, and they’re on tour right now in a vegetable oil powered bus. I took a listen to their MySpace page – and they put out some pretty decent driving tunes (nearly makes me wish I had a car again) about hard drinking.

Good luck, out there guys.

Ive been struggling to do grocery runs with just a backpack, plus I’m getting tired of having a completely soaked back everywhere I go. So, I’ve decided to splurge on some load-bearing equipment for the bike.

As soon as I stop by the hardware store for some bungee cords, I’m looking forward to hauling a 25 lb sack of rice on my new rack.

Just arrived:
Planet Bike Eco Rack ($17.00 + $4.50 s/h)
Incredibell ($7.65) – it’s louder than I can yell

On the way:
Wald 542 Rear Folding basket ($17.00 + $4.50 s/h)

Other commuting costs:
$10 for the CTA

Total commuting cost since April 2008: $171.06

Time magazine has an excellent discussion of the plus sides to high fuel prices – jobs that went overseas are coming back, less pollution, fewer traffic deaths (1000 fewer deaths per month!), and less obesity.
Time Magazine: 10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas

Since moving here, I have truly fallen in love with this city – everything is so convenient to my apartment – shopping, work, entertainment are all but moments away.

Recently a friend came to visit with her car. She wanted to explore and join me for some errands (plus, I’d been dying to make a run to Costco). So, we hopped into her car and took off for (I thought) a quick round of shopping followed by some sightseeing and dinner. We quickly slammed into a different Chicago – gridlocked traffic, terrible drivers. Everything suddenly appeared inconvenient and far away from my apartment.

“Why are all the shops in the opposite direction of where we want to end up?” my companion groaned. I was frustrated and annoyed. What happened to my easy-to-get-around city, where miles slide away beneath my wheels? Why is my blood pressure so high?

Every time a bicycle slid effortlessly through traffic, I followed them jealously with my eyes.

Is this what Chicago looks like to people with cars? I don’t think I could handle it.

I can’t believe how different my attitude is after only a few months without owning a car.

image: wikimedia commons gridlock.svg

I recently received the following questions from Scott via email:

Hello:
I am thinking of going with a WVO system in my 2000 Jetta TDI. I would like to know what kind of storage container (metal or plastic) I should get? Is one better than the other?

Also, I live in an area that gets very hot and humid in the summer. Should this be a concern?

What should I do for long term storage of filtered and de-watered WVO?

I have also been told that burning WVO (filtered and de-watered) causes Sulfuric Acid to be created and that will damage the valve train and exhaust system. Is this true? How can it be prevented? Thank you very much.

Best regards,
Scott H.

Hi Scott,

Thanks for your message!

As far as storage goes, I always used the standard 4.5 gallon plastic “cubies” that restaurants purchase their oil in. They’re light weight, (usually) free, and recyclable.

The downside is that they aren’t as strong as other storage containers. I never had a problem, but I was always careful to store them on a cloth tarp instead of bare concrete (to prevent punctures), and I never stacked them.

Despite my personal practice, I really like Lovecraft Biofuels’ home fueling station/storage container (they don’t seem to have them in stock at the moment). It’s just a barrel, wheels (for the barrel), a hand pump, and a sock filter (link). You could probably remake one of these with parts from Harbor Freight and McMaster for pretty cheap.

Hot and Humid Climate: While I owned Minnie, we traveled through many hot and humid environments (including a swamp), and I didn’t have many issues. My advice is pretty standard: keep your fuel in a dark place, keep a lid on your fuel, remove fuel from the top or middle, never the bottom (that’s where water settles!), if you’re worried or if you see stuff growing in your fuel, use a biocide in the summer to treat your fuel (ask your local diesel mechanic or farmer’s supply).

Sulfuric Acid: I wonder where you heard that rumor about sulfuric acid coming from veggie oil because there is zero sulfur in vegetable oil, so no sulfuric acid can possibly be produced when it is burned.

On the other hand, petroleum does contain sulfur, so sulfur oxides are produced when you burn petroleum diesel. When those sulfur oxides react with atmospheric water, sulfuric acid and acid rain are formed. Notice that none of that acid is formed in your valve train or exhaust system. Note: in 2007, new ultra-low sulfur fuel was introduced in the US, but there is still some sulfur present in all petroleum diesel fuel.

There are (of course) other issues with burning veggie oil, but sulfur isn’t one of them. Religiously change your engine oil every 3,000 miles and give your engine a few doses of diesel purge every once in a while and you’ll probably be fine.

I hope this helps, and good luck with converting that Jetta!

The New York Times has a touching and hilarious story (written and illustrated) by Christophe Niemann, a father whose two sons (5 and 3) are obsessed with the New York Subway system:

When your child cries in public, it is usually an uncomfortable situation. Once, we needed to get home quickly from Chambers Street, and I told Gustav that we had to take whichever blue train came next. The A train pulled in, and Gustav (who had been hoping for the C) started throwing a fit. However, the other passengers in the car gave me warm smiles. I guess they hadn’t seen that many 3-year-olds sobbing, “Local…I want the local.”

Link