I'm pleased to announce our first stab at a Biodiesel Cooperative web site here. (www.novabiodiesel.org)
Some of the people who showed up are real movers and shakers and as a result we're going forward to incorporate as a either a 501(c)3 and/or a 501(c)12 (Virginia Cooperative). Of everyone who showed up (was it 25 or more?) there was so much enthusiasm, that they we stayed past the 3 hour point and I had to adjourn the meeting at 4 hours just because many were so hungry.
There's certainly a great amount of synergy happening from that meeting. Now we have a steering committee forming (4 of us) and a web development/design team forming (5 of us so far).
I think before I know it, we're gonna need a few teams too keep from expanding too quickly and becoming too big and losing our agility. That's a great problem to have! Mike Weaver and I recently talked about forming smaller spin-off coops with their own structure inside a "family of coops umbrella" -- if we grow too fast!
People are really connecting. I love this stuff... it's like the epitome of "me." Movements and activism... I love it! I shoulda been born in he 60s!
If any of you would like to actually become part of the cooperative, please email me or Jerome (jerome@dieselsprout.com) to join us. We may have to close membership within a certain geographic area or within a certain size soon. So the sooner you contact us, the more opportunity you'll have to get in early. Be warned, we're discussing a fee to ensure a serious membership group. So if you're ready for that, please email one of us.
And I want to hardily thank Kevin Gregg for being the impetus behind me and Jerome trying this biodiesel momentum and consensus building effort again! Kevin, I had given up... thanks for pushing me to give it another try!
Israel Kloss
Steering Committee Member
NovaBiodiesel.org
P.S. We want to partner as much as possible with our fellows in Maryland (and Winchester, VA), so please don't write us off because of our URL. We're cheering on Adam Schwartz of Green Guild Biodiesel right now and hoping he can be our Maryland counterpart. Don't forget his upcoming meeting:
March 12th @ 6pm
Center for Educational Partnership
6200 Sheridan Street
Riverdale, MD 20737
And don't forget to keep in touch with the happenings over at the Cleaner Greener Foundation in Winchester, VA. I even read about their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) project on their web site. I'm a part of a CSA, but since they're doing biodiesel, I would like to support them and move over to their CSA. Anyone interested in going in together on fresh Virginia-farmed vegetables?
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
My Vegetable Oil Conversion Story
Until 3 weeks ago, I was 4-year owner of a 2000 Honda Insight (the highest mpg *petroleum* car on the freeway in America-- 50MPG). Unfortunately, I leaned that every 100,000-120,000 miles, the IMA (integrated motor assist) battery (which gives the otherwise normal honda its 50MPGs) dies. I bought the car at 70K and at 105,000 (5K over my warranty), the battery died. It's a $4,000 battery. Fortunately, I got a tip that Honda Corporate will sometimes give what's called a "good will warranty" and cover the expense for you. And I wrote Corporate and asked for a good will warranty and they gave it to me! So I lucked out and got a recharged $4000 battery *and* a new $2,000 catalytic converter that they wanted to throw in for *FREE*.
Unfortunately, I didn't want to go through that again at 200,000 miles so while reading about gas alternatives (I'm a big alternative fuels person) in Fast Company magazine, I learned that a lot of Hollywood stars are having their diesel vehicles converted to vegetable oil cars by this famous "green mechanic" in Kansas... he's doing some amazing things...
So after doing about 1 month of research, I learned that there are diesels that actually get 50MPGs-- they're called standard-transmission Jettas and you can burn biodiesel in them all over the USA (even if you don't get them converted to straight vegetable oil, you can still burn "b100" -- which stands for "100% biodiesel" as opposed to "b20" which stands for "80% petroleum diesel & 20% biodiesel").
But after filling up with 1 tank of b20 at $3.80/gallon here in the Arlington, VA area, it didn't make economic sense to me anymore to be buying b20 biodiesel... considering it only costs $.70/gallon to make yourself b100 with *free* vegetable oil from restaurants nationwide.
So I started researching something called the "greasecar" and found out that there are some really great mechanics out there who can convert most diesel engines to burn straight vegetable oil. So I found a *really great* mechanic in Lancaster, PA named Fred Burgess who has been doing greasecar conversions for something like 15 years.
I'm blown away with the results... and so are my coworkers and the people I've shown my car to... in fact 2 of my coworkers saw the clean work he did on my Jetta and they are now shopping for their own diesels and thinking of contacting Fred to convert them to burn vegetable oil.
After the conversion, I still have all the original equipment on my car... it's still a diesel engine... still runs petro-diesel fuel (or biodiesel if I want)... it just has an additional tank in the trunk (taking up about 1/4 of the trunk) that I can switch over to in order to burn my *free* vegetable oil... yes... it's free because I have a restaurant supplier in DC who gives me their excess grease and I have a guy who filters it all for me because I'm building a web site for the filtering product he's selling... and my landlord says it's no problem for me to store the vegetable oil in our shed(it's totally non-flammable).
Unfortunately, I didn't want to go through that again at 200,000 miles so while reading about gas alternatives (I'm a big alternative fuels person) in Fast Company magazine, I learned that a lot of Hollywood stars are having their diesel vehicles converted to vegetable oil cars by this famous "green mechanic" in Kansas... he's doing some amazing things...
So after doing about 1 month of research, I learned that there are diesels that actually get 50MPGs-- they're called standard-transmission Jettas and you can burn biodiesel in them all over the USA (even if you don't get them converted to straight vegetable oil, you can still burn "b100" -- which stands for "100% biodiesel" as opposed to "b20" which stands for "80% petroleum diesel & 20% biodiesel").
But after filling up with 1 tank of b20 at $3.80/gallon here in the Arlington, VA area, it didn't make economic sense to me anymore to be buying b20 biodiesel... considering it only costs $.70/gallon to make yourself b100 with *free* vegetable oil from restaurants nationwide.
So I started researching something called the "greasecar" and found out that there are some really great mechanics out there who can convert most diesel engines to burn straight vegetable oil. So I found a *really great* mechanic in Lancaster, PA named Fred Burgess who has been doing greasecar conversions for something like 15 years.
I'm blown away with the results... and so are my coworkers and the people I've shown my car to... in fact 2 of my coworkers saw the clean work he did on my Jetta and they are now shopping for their own diesels and thinking of contacting Fred to convert them to burn vegetable oil.
After the conversion, I still have all the original equipment on my car... it's still a diesel engine... still runs petro-diesel fuel (or biodiesel if I want)... it just has an additional tank in the trunk (taking up about 1/4 of the trunk) that I can switch over to in order to burn my *free* vegetable oil... yes... it's free because I have a restaurant supplier in DC who gives me their excess grease and I have a guy who filters it all for me because I'm building a web site for the filtering product he's selling... and my landlord says it's no problem for me to store the vegetable oil in our shed(it's totally non-flammable).
People's Questions about my Vegetable-oil car
1) How much did the conversion cost you?
Answer: $1,950 (fully installed).
2) Who did the conversion and how many years experience do they have?
Fred Burgess of Greenwrench did the conversion at his home near Lancaster, PA. He has 8 year experience and has completed conversions on the cars of about 60 very satisfied customers.
3) Where do you get vegetable oil? And why should I hassle myself by going to restaurants to collect oil?
Answer: I currently have 3 sources of vegetable oil:
a) a DC restaurant
b) a 30 cent/gallon supplier out of Mt. Airy, MD
c) A guy in Triangle, VA who also collects from restaurants.
If all that failed, I could still buy bulk soy oil from Costco or just fill up with regular petroleum-diesel (yes, I can do that).
And I've also read a couple good explanations of how easily and why you should be able to get your free fuel from restaurants: here:
"Waste vegetable oil is a very economical fuel to use. It is recycling something that was used up. Restaurants pay to have it removed, so they give it to me gladly. I’m accustomed to smelling fast food—now I smell free renewable fuel! It’s like manna from heaven."
4) What kinds of emissions come from biodiesel and Waste Vegetable Oil and what is the energy balance ratio (or Net Energy Gain)?
Answer(s): Some of the answers can be found here and here.
But here are some excerpts:
"The production of biodiesel has a 1 to 3.2 energy balance ratio. In other words, for every 1 unit of energy that goes into producing biodiesel, 3.2 units of energy are produced. Biodiesel also results in significantly lower emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, toxic contaminants, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, visible smoke and noxious odors than petroleum diesel. Depending on the feed source, biodiesel can result in a 75% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions over the entire production process." [From Hampton Roads Clean Cities Coalitions].
According to Wikipedia, Biodiesel's "emissions of smog forming hydrocarbon are 65% less, although the Nitrogen Oxide emissions are about 10% greater than those from petroleum-based diesel."
And here's more about waste vegetable oil emissions from here:
"These oils burn much cleaner in a diesel engine than diesel fuel. They emit no sulfur, and thus do not contribute to acid rain. The carbon released is what would have been released naturally from the decay of the plant matter used. Therefore it is carbon-neutral, releasing carbon that was captured a year or two ago, and that carbon will be again absorbed in next year's crop. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, release carbon captured millions of years ago, upsetting the atmospheric balance and causing global warming. Another benefit is that the particulate matter emitted from running on vegetable oil is way lower than diesel fuel. Gone is the obnoxious diesel smell and black smoke, replaced with the smell of cooking oil. So if you are following me as I tool around town and suddenly get hungry for fish and chips, that’s why. Also, any veggie oil spills are biodegradable."
5) What if you run out of vegetable oil on a long trip somewhere?
Answer:
Switch over to my second tank which has biodiesel (or fill up somewhere if both tanks are empty).
6) What is your MPG on Vegetable Oil?
Answer: About 50MPG
7)What is your MPG on Biodiesel?
Answer: About 50MPG
8) What is your MPG on Petroleum-Diesel?
Answer: About 50 MPG
9) Why aren't more people doing this if it's so great?
Answer(s): I think it takes research, consideration, extra time to do it yourself or an extra $2000 to pay for the conversion (although my '97 Jetta TDI only cost $4750 and the sale of my 2000 Honda Insight paid for my Jetta and the complete conversion and then some).
It takes research to find the highest MPG diesel vehicle (requires a standard transmission). It takes time to get the DMV to complete the licensing of your new diesel and then you might be without your car for a week if you have a home-mechanic do the veggie-conversion like I did.
It just takes commitment. Oh, and most people don't know anyone who has done the veggie-oil conversion. And most people don't want to be early adopters because many of us are the forerunners who work out the kinks for the middle and late adopters. It's more risky to be an early adopter.
Answer: $1,950 (fully installed).
2) Who did the conversion and how many years experience do they have?
Fred Burgess of Greenwrench did the conversion at his home near Lancaster, PA. He has 8 year experience and has completed conversions on the cars of about 60 very satisfied customers.
3) Where do you get vegetable oil? And why should I hassle myself by going to restaurants to collect oil?
Answer: I currently have 3 sources of vegetable oil:
a) a DC restaurant
b) a 30 cent/gallon supplier out of Mt. Airy, MD
c) A guy in Triangle, VA who also collects from restaurants.
If all that failed, I could still buy bulk soy oil from Costco or just fill up with regular petroleum-diesel (yes, I can do that).
And I've also read a couple good explanations of how easily and why you should be able to get your free fuel from restaurants: here:
"Waste vegetable oil is a very economical fuel to use. It is recycling something that was used up. Restaurants pay to have it removed, so they give it to me gladly. I’m accustomed to smelling fast food—now I smell free renewable fuel! It’s like manna from heaven."
4) What kinds of emissions come from biodiesel and Waste Vegetable Oil and what is the energy balance ratio (or Net Energy Gain)?
Answer(s): Some of the answers can be found here and here.
But here are some excerpts:
"The production of biodiesel has a 1 to 3.2 energy balance ratio. In other words, for every 1 unit of energy that goes into producing biodiesel, 3.2 units of energy are produced. Biodiesel also results in significantly lower emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, toxic contaminants, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, visible smoke and noxious odors than petroleum diesel. Depending on the feed source, biodiesel can result in a 75% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions over the entire production process." [From Hampton Roads Clean Cities Coalitions].
According to Wikipedia, Biodiesel's "emissions of smog forming hydrocarbon are 65% less, although the Nitrogen Oxide emissions are about 10% greater than those from petroleum-based diesel."
And here's more about waste vegetable oil emissions from here:
"These oils burn much cleaner in a diesel engine than diesel fuel. They emit no sulfur, and thus do not contribute to acid rain. The carbon released is what would have been released naturally from the decay of the plant matter used. Therefore it is carbon-neutral, releasing carbon that was captured a year or two ago, and that carbon will be again absorbed in next year's crop. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, release carbon captured millions of years ago, upsetting the atmospheric balance and causing global warming. Another benefit is that the particulate matter emitted from running on vegetable oil is way lower than diesel fuel. Gone is the obnoxious diesel smell and black smoke, replaced with the smell of cooking oil. So if you are following me as I tool around town and suddenly get hungry for fish and chips, that’s why. Also, any veggie oil spills are biodegradable."
5) What if you run out of vegetable oil on a long trip somewhere?
Answer:
Switch over to my second tank which has biodiesel (or fill up somewhere if both tanks are empty).
6) What is your MPG on Vegetable Oil?
Answer: About 50MPG
7)What is your MPG on Biodiesel?
Answer: About 50MPG
8) What is your MPG on Petroleum-Diesel?
Answer: About 50 MPG
9) Why aren't more people doing this if it's so great?
Answer(s): I think it takes research, consideration, extra time to do it yourself or an extra $2000 to pay for the conversion (although my '97 Jetta TDI only cost $4750 and the sale of my 2000 Honda Insight paid for my Jetta and the complete conversion and then some).
It takes research to find the highest MPG diesel vehicle (requires a standard transmission). It takes time to get the DMV to complete the licensing of your new diesel and then you might be without your car for a week if you have a home-mechanic do the veggie-conversion like I did.
It just takes commitment. Oh, and most people don't know anyone who has done the veggie-oil conversion. And most people don't want to be early adopters because many of us are the forerunners who work out the kinks for the middle and late adopters. It's more risky to be an early adopter.
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