Bio-deisel - who's doing it?

[calmloki]

A friend wants some help putting together a bio-deisel operation - he drives a '95 crewcab getting 15-18mpg at a moderate pace. Anyone here doing it?

> http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/
> http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums
> http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/appleseedprocessor/
> http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/
> http://www.biodiesel.org/
> http://www.b100supply.com
> http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/tutorialvideos.php
> http://www.biodieselnow.com/

Put the touch on a plumbing company i do business with and picked up a sound water heater that had a wiring short to start with, found a bunch of barrels for sale. Anyone have real world experience?

 

[BoutDone]

Why not just advise your friend to dump the truck. He'll save a lot of money on gas and won't get french fry grease all over himself.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I think I asked this question sometime last year and got more or less talked out of it. I'll try to find the thread.

Ask Marshac, he has some great stories about bio diesel! Something about dog vomit....
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/where-next-crash-will-come-22515-2.html

 

[calmloki]

Why not just advise your friend to dump the truck. He'll save a lot of money on gas and won't get french fry grease all over himself.

big camper, big boat, 3 big dogs, young couple, they use their toys and get out camping a whole bunch. Not convinced their lifestyle is worse than my hunkered down style. Actually admire their drive - if he didn't use the truck i'd agree with you. They still have her VW Westfalia, which has a lot of use on it, but he hated that bus.

I'd have to be burning a lot of fuel for the time/effort/$ to be worth it. Think he said after buying the methanol and other chemical the fuel cost was $1.50/gallon. Then there's collecting the grease, brewing and storing the stuff, etc.

 

[cantlogin]

Isn't there some concern about fuel tax issues?

newsobserver.com | Driver ticketed for using biofuelhttp://newsite.appalachianpromotions.com/Default.aspx?tabid=58

 

[calmloki]

Isn't there some concern about fuel tax issues?

newsobserver.com | Driver ticketed for using biofuel

I've read this: "I made biodiesel about 5 yrs ago, and stored the fuel in a shop. Ran 100% in the summer and about 20% all winter, without a heated tank. In a rural setting there aren't any laws against making it yourself. If you use the fuel on public roads and highways, you would need to get a fuel card that allows them to audit your fuel use in order to collect the fuel tax. If you sell it, weights and measures dept. checks the metering for accuracy. If you use it off road, or sell for offroad then the rules aren't as strict.

There is a site called Biodiesel.org where they have all kinds of answers and links".

But also this: "Individual consumers of biofuels are eligible for the Biofuel Consumer Income Tax Credit ("BCITC"), which allows an income tax credit of $0.50 per gallon of biodiesel (B99) or ethanol (E85) blended fuel up to a maximum of $200 per year for each Oregon registered vehicle owned or leased by the taxpayer. Individual taxpayers may also receive a BCITC of up to $200 per year for their purchase of biosolids prepared from forest, rangeland, or agriculture waste or residue. The BCITC is also available to consumers who purchase certain biodiesel blend fuels for home heating".

Looks like Oregon is acting smart: "On June 20, the Oregon legislature passed one of the most aggressive biofuels incentive packages in the United States. It sets renewable fuel standards and provides major tax and production incentives for fuel retailers and processors to produce and sell biofuels and biomass. When combined with Oregon’s existing Business Energy Tax Credit, the new legislation will result in one of the most robust incentive packages in the nation for the development of ethanol and biodiesel". Biofuels Law Alert: Oregon Set to Adopt Aggressive Biofuels Incentives

Kinda looks to me like it might be the new moonshine.

 

[yakers]

I don't make it but I use it when I can find it which is not often in Southern California. Running a blend is a good idea for modern diesels, older ones could run on a lot of strange fuels. Not worth the work for me but bio makes a lot more sense than E85.