Updates from October, 2007 Hide threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Biodiesel in the garage 

    Toni 8:41 pm on October 9, 2007 Permalink | Reply

    I am now the proud owner of a biodiesel gas pump in my garage: Two 55 gallon barrels of biodiesel with a handcrank that allows me to fill up my Landcruiser right in my driveway.

    biopump.jpg

    This came about because the SFBiofuels coop’s biodiesel pump got shut down (due to neighbors complaining), which has made getting biodiesel in San Francisco somewhat of a pain. The coop apparently has plans/permits in the works for 4 potential new locations around San Francisco, but in the meantime I decided to take matters in my own hands. I called up Peoples Fuel, they gave me a quote for a biodiesel home setup (about $400), came out to my house to install it, and filled up the barrels right from their biodiesel delivery truck. They’ll come back for refills anytime I run out. Peoples Fuel have been great to deal with. Apparently they deliver/quality monitor biodiesel for lots of places around town, including the SF Zoo (I believe they run 100% biodiesel) and the SF city buses (they’ve just switched their entire fleet to B20, 20% biodiesel).

    PS: Before Diane let me put a gas station in our house, she asked me to look into the safety issues. I’m happy to report that biodiesel has a flash point of over 200 degrees Celsius (I think that means that the garage will burn down before the biodiesel will ignite). It’s also been shown to be 10x less dangerous than table salt when ingested – I’ve no plans to try this, but apparently it’s safe to swallow.

     

    • Matt Thomas 7:35 am on October 10, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      That’s pretty cool. My XC90, which got great gas mileage back home in the country, has been getting on my nerves now that I’m constantly driving in the city. To be able to just fill up before I leave the house… nice. My roommate wants to know how it works out per gallon (after the setup costs)?

    • Toni 2:54 pm on October 10, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      It’s around $3.60 per gallon. About the same as gas station pricing.

    • Braughm 9:28 am on October 11, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Sweet!

      I think I am going to have to go the same route to make the switch to B100 in my G-Wagen. Just too hard to find stations that are easily accessible.

    • Pablo Bouvier 9:33 am on December 25, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      What dou you mean of ecological repercusion of biodiesel consume?

  • 2CV 

    Toni 1:13 pm on May 5, 2007 Permalink | Reply

    Not that this car will ever make it to the US, but take a look:

    2vc.jpg

    Apparently Citroen will release a successor to the classic 2CV. It looks great and will supposedly have an interesting sounding diesel hybrid drive train.

     

    • emalyse 6:03 am on May 10, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Oooh looks good. What no starting handle? I loved my old 2CV. I guess it’s about as far from an old 2CV as the current Volkswagen Beetles is from its predecessor.

    • tk 9:02 pm on June 5, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      I did not realise 2cv was popular in the US as well but I guess this one will help to get it known even more so…and probably upset also some fans of the old one

    • kim 2:25 am on June 8, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      GOD i hate it already..
      I has nothing in common with our beloved 2CV..Nothing..It’s just a another Peugeot with the Citroën badge on..Nothing in it that attracts me at all..
      Yes i’m upset..

    • jenny 2:10 am on September 24, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      ow what a cool car.just awesome.

    • misch 6:30 am on December 6, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      excuse for my english!Driving now for 22 years an 2 CV, this one looks so good. Thinking about ?!?!?!

    • nick 6:41 am on June 5, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      Yes, there is a small but strong cult following here in the States for Citroen, mostly for the DS or Pallas because VW dominated the market with the Beetle. The 2cv is a rare find here as with most French cars because the US fails (as usual) to recognize quality and the French (being ever so passive/agressive) refuses to argue their case to open the market. I love my black and burgundy Charleston, not just for being the only kid on the block with one, but because of the design and engineering, albeit simple, that makes the car go from 0 to 60 in 12 seconds!

    • nick 6:44 am on June 5, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      ps…the new one looks a bit like a Pluriel from the front, much like the original…love it or hate it!

  • Biodiesel progress report 

    Toni 12:59 pm on January 18, 2007 Permalink | Reply

    After a couple of months and 1000 miles running my Landcruiser on biodiesel I have the following to report:

    Pros:

    • Feels great to be driving on soybeans!
    • Getting gas at SFbiofuels has been easy (very nice people there too)
    • The car runs perfectly well and a little more quietly than on petrodiesel
    • No more puffs of black smoke when starting the car (it’s puffs of white smoke now)

    Cons:

    • The exhaust smell takes a little getting used to (smells like a french fryer, which I guess is still better than regular exhaust)
    • 10% lower gas mileage

    My next goal is to get my kids’ school to switch their 8 buses over to biodiesel (I’d love to hear from people who have done a similar project).

     

    • L-girl 5:44 pm on January 21, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Hi, thanks for your comment on my blog. I replied there.

    • rick 6:20 am on February 26, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Hopefully for the next biodiesel be a leader not gasoline . And more community use biodiesel. we hope so good for environment not hazardous. Good luck and good for future

  • Switching to biodiesel, part IV 

    Toni 2:34 pm on December 3, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    It’s taken me a while, but I have finally made my transition to biodiesel! In the last installment I talked about picking up my diesel Land Rover in Port Hueneme and then getting it ready for the road. Well, something came up while it was in the shop getting fixed up. I had originally been looking for a diesel Landcruiser as my biodiesel project car. After months of trying, I gave up and went for the Land Rover instead. Then while the Land Rover was in the shop, I found a great

    landcruiser.JPG

    Landcruiser – so now I have 2 biodiesel cars! I found the Landcruiser on eBay. It was listed by Chevrolake Motors in Canada, a car importer/exporter whose name I’d seen listed in the Landcruiser web forums as a reliable Landcruiser importer. I called them up and the car sounded promising, lots of miles (260,000!), but a straight, well maintained car with very little rust. So I headed up to Seattle to meet with Wayne Darby from Chevrolake. He picked me up at the airport and I liked the car immediately (Wayne too :) ). I bought it on the spot and drove it back to San Francisco (Wayne was nice enough to let me borrow his dealer plates for the trip). (More …)

     

    • Rob McDonald 11:29 pm on December 3, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Hi,
      I’m interested in buying your Land Rover. Can you please respond with details of the vehicle and/ or a number to contact you. I live in Napa so can easily pop down to look at the vehicle.
      Thanks Rob

    • Lloyd Budd 2:31 pm on December 4, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      I have really enjoyed reading your biodiesel tale as biodiesel is completely new to me. It seems to be a fantastic way to make a smaller impact with these great vehicles.

    • kent 11:06 am on December 5, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      it’s not just the young neighborhood kids who are in love with tony’s land rover… i live just around the corner from him and have caught a few precious glimpses of it. it’s a beauty.

    • Josh Guttman 8:49 am on January 2, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Toni – I’ve thought about doing this a few times, but its decidedly harder in NYC. Do you rely on SF BioDiesel Co-Op exclusively? Would you have done this if you had to do more of the veggie oil processing yourself?

    • Toni 10:54 pm on January 2, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      > Do you rely on SF BioDiesel Co-Op exclusively?

      So far yes. I’ve seen announcements of additional biodiesel pumps to open in San Francisco, but so far the only reliable supply I’ve found is the co-op.

      > Would you have done this if you had to do more of the veggie oil processing yourself?

      Nope :)

    • Mark In California 10:54 pm on April 15, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Hi:
      Have you sold the Rover? I went to the UK site you mentioned and have to give you credit for picking such a great car.
      You have done what I have been dreaming to do. Purchase a diesel SUV and import it.
      Do they have to be over 25 years old to get the ease of import that you did?
      For example, could I import a late model Rover?

      Thanks for your response. It’s hell getting a diesel SUV here in CA!

    • David 3:07 pm on May 5, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Hi,

      Excellent site, a friend referred me to your page and I’m glad I was able to find it.

      I was wondering if you could elaborate on your experience with the CA DMV when you registered the UK Rover. I am in the process of purchasing an ‘82 Landcruiser (over 25 years) which has already cleared customs and is registered in Georgia. I’ve read extensively online, but much of the online info relates to Canadian versions. Since your UK Rover was likely imported similarly to the soon-to-be mine Aussie LC, I am wondering if you could let me know the process you went through and any snags for which I should be ready. Feel free to email me if you like.

      Thanks!

    • Art 8:19 pm on June 17, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      wow, i love the subject.

      Thoose are BIG friendly vehicles :) .

    • Matt 10:11 pm on September 4, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Hi

      Enjoyed reading your story, just seeing if you still want to sell the Landy, im an ex Pat from England and looking for a bit of home, let me know if your interested to sell it.

      Matt

    • Stephen Asher 6:20 pm on December 7, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Toni: Nice website. I will assume the Rover is sold but, if not, please contact me as this is exactly what I am in the midst of (trying to) import from the UK. I have probably read too much of the regulatory blurb, but feel like I am walking through a minefield. Any encouraging words appreciated. I too want to run my truck on either biodiesel or WVO. Any advise re the latter? Thanks.SWA

  • Switching to biodiesel, part III 

    Toni 12:26 pm on September 11, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    I’ve gotten quite a few questions about my progress on getting my diesel Land Rover into the country and running on biodiesel. Well, some things have gone well and some haven’t :) .

    port_hueneme.jpgIn my last installment I described how I had found a diesel Land Rover from an outfit called UK LandRovers in, you guessed it, the UK. They shipped the car in early July and it arrived in Port Hueneme, just south of Santa Barbara about 5 weeks later. The UK LandRovers guys sent me all the necessary paperwork and I called the port people who recommended Soo Hoo Customs Broker to get the car through customs. The Soo Hoo people were super friendly and efficient and 10 days and $400 ($200 to Soo Hoo and $200 for import taxes) later, I got a call that my car was ready for pickup. I checked with the DMV and they said to just drive it home from the port and then bring it to the DMV to get plates (sounded surprisingly relaxed for a DMV).

    (More …)

     

    • Jeffrey 2:59 pm on September 11, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Terrific story! Since I went to college I’ve broken down on the trip from SB to SF many times…it’s definitely not fun on the weekends.

      I also used to live a few blocks from Port Hueneme. You were lucky to have gotten out of there before the vehicle started giving you trouble. :)

    • The Rover Blog 3:44 pm on October 2, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      U really r a cars lover

    • celine 5:05 am on November 13, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Awsome story- Need to know how a diesel engine can switch to biodiesel- Does it need an engineer?

    • Toni 9:42 am on November 13, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      celine: No. The great thing about biodiesel is that it works in regular diesel engines and can be mixed with standard diesel. Older diesel cars (pre-1995) may need replacement of fuel lines. More info here: http://www.berkeleybiodiesel.org/bbc/faq.html#modify_car

    • Gabe 5:38 pm on December 1, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Eagerly awaiting the rest of the story. Also, could you give your attentive readers a breakdown of your costs? That’ll either inspire us to follow in your footsteps–or a be a compelling reason why not to! Thanks!

    • JJB 9:54 am on February 28, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      I just bought a Series III from UK Land Rovers. I wish I had seen your blog before I did. You said it took 5 weeks to get your car? They told me 20 days!

      They did not tell me anything about a customs broker. Do you have to use one?

    • JJB 9:55 am on February 28, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      The series III i got has a Daihatsu Diesel. Do you recomend and modifications to run B20?

    • Jim 10:09 pm on March 7, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      I also just bought a Series III 109 from UK Land Rovers. They have been great so far, I have added on a few extras like a bush bar, roof rack, over-drive, and rear seats at extremely reasonable prices.

      My truck will arrive at Port hueneme on 4/9/2007.

      I also went through the same thought process of buying a vehicle that can run on either bio-deisel or pure vegetable oil.

      Please write me at jbutscher@go.com if you have questions or want to check in my progress. Jim

    • Erik O'Neal 5:45 pm on May 29, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      I have been thinking about swapping the 2.5 petrol motor in my Series III for a diesel and adapting it for biodiesel. Does anyone know where I might find a LR Diesel engine in good nick here in the states. I don’t want to just get another truck as my SIII is a known evil.

  • Aurora Biofuels 

    Toni 11:27 am on July 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    I’ve been wanting to mention that I am angel investor in Aurora Biofuels. From their site:

    Aurora’s proprietary technology, developed at The University of California, Berkeley, allows Aurora BioFuels to create bio-diesel with 125X higher yields and 50% lower costs than current production methods.

    They are a small, impressive team with a promising plan to use genetically modified algae to efficiently create biodiesel. Today, biodiesel is typically made from soybeans. It’s a sustainable way to create fuel, which is good, but the soybeans take 11 months to grow and the fields to grow them in are large. Aurora proposes to use algae instead, which take 10 days to grow and you can put lots of them in a small tank. I believe Aurora is interested in finding additional angel investors at this time.

     

    • Hiten Shah 12:04 pm on July 27, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Wow Tony, This is awesome, I’m excited to see what these types of new alternative entergy companies pull off. Also it’s great to hear it was developed at UC Berkeley, that place has a special place in my heart :-)

      Also, I was happy to hear about how your biodiesal project is coming along, I can’t wait to hear more about that, once you receive the Land Rover.

    • Kari Lemons 11:38 pm on August 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Hi Tony,
      Great to see your interest in Biodiesel and what a great car you found. Any idea on the mileage it gets? The Diesel Jetta’s get the best mileage of any car on the road except the Honda Insight. I was in a diesel Jetta on a road trip from Oakland Biofuel Oasis to San Diego. It got topped off at the Oasis and we did not stop for fuel at all, 585 miles on 12 gallons of B100 biodiesel, 56 miles per gallon. Was amazing, I kept looking at the fuel gauge the whole trip. I drive a 1985 mercedes wagon on B99 and wish I had got the Jetta :/ I want to invite you to check out the biodiesel education non-profit,
      I am a part of, Biodiesel Council of California. We are planning now a conference for Jan 07 with the theme “focus on the feedstock”. We are also as a fairly new 501(c)3 having our first membership drive right now. We seek people who are passionate about the environment, air quality, global warming, stimulating California’s economy, and securing/stabalizing our fuel supply, these are all of the benefits of Biodiesel.

      Also thanks for giving a idea what Aurora is working on, I had heard about thier winning the contest but the process was all hush hush. The Algae company from MIT has moved a project to southern CA and are beginning to build a commercial size facility I think in partnership with SOCAL Edison attaching the algae to the flue gas of a power plant.

      I personnally believe that the best model for efficiency and bang for the fuel bucks is a integrated ethanol/biodiesel plant with algae as the feedstock for both. My idea is a closed loop system with no waste that makes most of its own feedstocks. This same idea could be used for Jatropha feedstock as it is also oil and starch.

      thanks again
      Kari Lemons
      Outreach Director
      Biodiesel Council of California
      http://www.biodieselcouncil.org

    • Phi Vang 11:57 pm on May 7, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Hello,

      I stumbled across your website while googling the topic of biodiesel, and I thought that it would really be a good idea to get an old car that can run biodiesel. Your blogs make very interesting reading. Would also like more info about the venture by Aurora, are they still looking for investors?

      I live in Orange County, Southern California, and there are no biodiesel retailers in my area, how sad.

      Phi

    • Ron Masterson 8:37 am on May 31, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Bert,

      My son Brett and you went to school at Center High School. I am glad to see you are addressing this demanding issue for our country.
      I would like to also invest in your company. If there is anything I can do to help you.
      Our area of the country is located where they may be a chance of helping you grow algae. Please keep us in mind.

      It’s great to see you doing well.

      Ron Masterson

    • Matt 12:25 pm on June 12, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      I would _love_ to invest in aurora biofuels. I don’t have tons of money, but every little bit helps, right? If you’re interested in having me as an investor, email me. I really love what you’re doing, and I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully i’ll be driving a car with aurora biofuels fuel in it in a few years.

    • Thong Nguon, Ith 2:14 pm on July 18, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Do you have a project, that need to be funded.
      We’re looking to link investors for funding project that need fun.
      Give me a line.
      Thanks

    • Deborah Dise 1:36 pm on March 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      Good job guys. Just an idea, American Indians have land, perhaps water, and more than likely an abundance of able bodied, people to whom the future of the earth’s health is extremely important; many reservations need some sort of industry(aside from gaming/gambling which isn’t available many places)and having little are
      generally very poor indeed. So could it be possible that ABF might contract with these
      original caretakers of this land. thanks, just daydreaming in San Francisco, Deb
      P.S. If ever you have a think tank, could I get an
      invite. I have tons of ideas.

  • Switching to biodiesel, part II 

    Toni 9:18 am on July 22, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    After deciding to give biodiesel a try, I had to get a diesel car. It’s not the easiest task in the world to find a good diesel in San Francisco. Because of current regulations, you can’t buy a new diesel in California. So cars like the Jeep Liberty CRD, or the various new diesel Volkswagen’s are out unless you can find a used one – check diesels on Craigslist to see what’s available, they tend to run in the $15-30k range. If you want to spend less (like I did), you can find used Mercedes diesels (check Craigslist again or eBay). There are lots of well preserved 80s models in the $5-10k range. All of the above will work with biodiesel with either no or minimal conversion (replacement of fuel lines might be required on older models). Finally, there are also some diesel pickups and SUVs that show up in those listings. I dismissed those because they are on the large/inconvenient side for San Francisco.

    (More …)

     

    • Ella 10:47 pm on August 4, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Hi,
      Well, I have to drive a minivan (son uses wheelchair) and there are no environmentally frienly minivans. I have looked at the dodge sprinters but all I need is a MINI van so that would be overkill. I have a Mazda MPV (best minivan gasmileage) but feel that this is not much of a compromise. Europe is full of Diesel VW vans. How can I import one???

    • Administrator 6:40 pm on August 6, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      That’s going to be tough. I’ve seen a couple of 80s diesel Vanagons for sale online, but they are usually pretty old. The newer VW vans I believe are impossible to import because they were never sold in the US and they are newer than 25 years (the limit for importing cars without requiring officially approved engines and smog checks).

    • William 7:30 am on September 3, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Beware of the diesel Vanagons, though. I was looking into them for biodiesel conversion and the two years that they were offered as diesel (either ‘81/’82 or ‘82/’83, I forget whch), were lemons. Very underpowered and VW tinkerers stay away from them. I get this info from the Go Westy people.

    • Stuart 3:13 pm on September 4, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Please let us know when the Land Rover arrives.
      Thanks

    • ken 3:09 pm on January 11, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Do you suggest any particular diesel Land Rovers for Biodiesel conversion?
      How/Where do you plan to get the biodiesel from? Homekit? Pumps near you?
      I have always wanted to convert a classic LR to biodiesel.

    • Toni 3:20 pm on January 11, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Ken – all my research so far is summarized at http://toni.wordpress.com/biodiesel-info/. I use the pump at the SF Biofuels coop (http://sfbiofuels.org/). They are great. Any Land Rover diesel will work, they are just so hard to find.

    • Ken 7:58 pm on February 27, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      Hey Ella,
      I was also looking for a larger diesel vehicle. What William said is true of the older diesel Vanagons. The Green Car Company has an innovative service though. They buy an older Vanagon and restore it. Then they import a modern 1.9L turbodiesel from Europe with less than 50k miles on it and convert the Vanagon. So you get excellent power, 30-35 mpg, and they are bio-diesel ready. http://www.diamondlot.com/greencarco/green/ I have not visited them to look at their vehicles in person, but if anyone does, a review would be appreciated…
      Ken

    • Amy 2:01 am on July 17, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      I am selling a diesel land cruiser that i run on bio99 in the summer and a blend in the winter. its in awesome shape 200,000 miles 1983 great inside and out (has the typical rust but all cruisers do) heat, electric, defrost all still in great working order, new stereo, 5 speed manual, 4 wheel drive, hitch, winch, please e-mail me if you are interested leftfeet3@gmail.com posted July 2007

    • duncan 10:54 am on October 5, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      i build custom land rovers for the usa market, from england right now but looking at moving the operation to california. most of what i do is diesel though can also do propane cars too.
      any land rover will run on biodiesel yes, but some run ok on veggie oil others not so well……… email me at duncangrows@hotmail.com if you want more info on what i do :O)

  • Switching to biodiesel, part I 

    Toni 11:26 am on July 11, 2006 Permalink | Reply

    Back in February, Braughm gave me the idea to try out biodiesel. Pretty soon thereafter, I decided that I want to switch my primary car over to a renewable fuel. This has taken a little bit of research, which I’d like to share here.

    Step 1 was to pick a fuel.

    My requirements

    Replace my primary car (a 1993 Volvo Wagon) with a car that runs on a renewable fuel. I’d like to be able to get the fuel without going way out of my way. If I’m stuck somewhere without renewable fuel, I’d like to be able to use “normal” gas or diesel as a backup. And while I’m at it, I’d like to get a smaller car that’s a little bit more convenient for around San Francisco. The cost of the fuel is not a huge factor for me (because I don’t drive that much and won’t mind paying extra if it’s better for the planet). The cost of the car is a factor, because I don’t want to invest a lot in a car that might not be the best alternative fuel choice in 2-3 years.

    The requirement to be able to use widely available fuel as a backup pretty quickly narrowed my choices to ethanol or biodiesel, which can be run alongside regular gasoline or diesel respectively.

    (More …)

     

    • Weston 9:08 am on July 16, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Good for you. I’ve been thinking about doing the same. So when are you actually switching? Please keep posting about your epxerience with bio.

    • Todd 10:50 pm on July 19, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Any update on the vehicles your considering?

    • Administrator 10:06 am on July 20, 2006 Permalink | Reply

      Working on it!

    • Svend 7:12 pm on May 3, 2007 Permalink | Reply

      I met a friends friend the other day who sells natural gas for vehicles. It is hard to fill up if you are on the road a lot, but what he does is converts your car and then sets up a line in your garage so when you come home you plug in the natural gas (which you should already be using) and it fills up while you are at home or using a bike or something. When you are ready to leave, you simply unplug it and drive. It comes out of your natural gas bill and he was claiming it was the best way to go, but then again he is the salesman for the company so naturally he would say that.

    • Jeffrey 3:22 pm on May 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply

      So hey Toni, now that these MicroFueler guys are selling $10,000 ethanol refineries you can run in your garage, are you going to buy one?

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