Jeep CRD in Massachusetts

Do you have a friend in Nashua or Salem, NH?

I have family in Ohio

Why is it a problem owning a CRD in Massachusetts?

I bought one just a few weeks ago and love it. Not as nearly as roomy as my Expedition that I traded in on it, but almost three times the mileage is great.

Another nice thing. This weekend on the way home from a friends I found a gas station with B11. $2.72/gallon while at home gas is going $3.09.

They also had B26 there. I should have g> All,

I think you need to re-read the article.

It does not cost 2.24 to produce biodiesel and that cost/benefit of ethanol is very debatable.

L.W.(ßill) Hughes III wrote:

In all states they have to license Federal "49" state vehicles if they are bought as used cars with a certain mileage on them. So just look for a used one.

Billshit! like usual.

Making biodiesel does not use rubbing alcohol, it uses wood alcohol which is methanol. B100 requires about thirty to forty cents worth of methanol and lye per finished gallon.

Isopropyl alcohol is rubbing alcohol but that's not what is used. Methanol, which is wood alcohol or "wood spirit" or "methylated spirit", is. Methanol is toxic which is why it is not used for rubbing alcohol.

You have been told this before and you don't pay attention.

Making biodiesel is well documented but you insist on blowing ass and printing crap rather than reading the precise, simple instructions.

I saw two vehicles running on homemade biodiesel this weekend-a VW Rabbit and a sixties short bed Chevy truck with a 4-53 Detroit. They ran just fine.

From:

and:

Biodiesel runs in any unmodified diesel engine. There is no "engine conversion" typical of other alternative fuels. The diesel engine can run on biodiesel because it operates on the principle of compression ignition whereby air is compressed and then fuel is sprayed into the ultra-hot, ultra-pressured combustion chamber. Unlike gasoline engines, which use a spark to ignite the fuel/air mixture, diesel engines actually use fuel to ignite hot air. This simple process allows the diesel engine to run on thick fuels. Since biodiesel is chemically similar to petroleum diesel fuel, you can pour biodiesel right into the fuel tank of any diesel vehicle. Biodiesel has many advantages as a transport fuel. Biodiesel has lower emissions, it is made domestically (which increases national security), it does not affect engine performance and biodiesel is produced from plants. Since plants are a product of solar energy, biodiesel is "liquid solar fuel."

1) Biodiesel runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. No engine modifications are necessary to use biodiesel and there is no "engine conversion." In other words, "you just pour it into the fuel tank."

2) Biodiesel can be stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is stored. All diesel fueling infrastructure including pumps, tanks and transport trucks can use biodiesel without modifications.

3) Biodiesel reduces Carbon Dioxide emissions, the primary cause of the Greenhouse Effect, by up to 100%. Since biodiesel comes from plants and plants breathe carbon dioxide, there is no net gain in carbon dioxide from using biodiesel.

4) Biodiesel can be used alone or mixed in any amount with petroleum diesel fuel. A 20% blend of biodiesel with diesel fuel is called "B20," a 5% blend is called "B5" and so on.

5) Biodiesel is more lubricating than diesel fuel, it increases the engine life and it can be used to replace sulfur, a lubricating agent that, when burned, produces sulfur dioxide - the primary component in acid rain. Instead of sulfur, all diesel fuel sold in France contains 5% biodiesel.

6) Biodiesel is safe to handle because it is biodegradable and non-toxic. According to the National Biodiesel Board, "neat biodiesel is as biodegradable as sugar and less toxic than salt."

7) Biodiesel is safe to transport. Biodiesel has a high flash point, or ignition temperature, of about 300 deg. F compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point of 125 deg. F.

8) Engines running on biodiesel run normally and have similar fuel mileage to engines running on diesel fuel. Auto ignition, fuel consumption, power output, and engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel.

9) Biodiesel has a pleasant aroma similar to popcorn popping in comparison to the all-too-familiar stench of petroleum diesel fuel.Make Biodiesel

The process of converting vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel is called transesterification and is luckily less complex than it sounds. Chemically, transesterification means taking a triglyceride molecule, or a complex fatty acid, neutralizing the free fatty acids, removing the glycerin, and creating an alcohol ester. This is accomplished by mixing methanol (wood alcohol) with lye (sodium hydroxide) to make sodium methoxide. This dangerous liquid is then mixed into vegetable oil. The entire mixture then settles. Glycerin is left on the bottom and methyl esters, or biodiesel, is left on top. The glycerin can be used to make soap (or any one of 1,600 other products) and the methyl esters is washed and filtered. The resulting biodiesel fuel when used directly in a Diesel engine will burn up to 75% cleaner than petroleum diesel fuel.

Transesterification was conducted as early as 1853. One of the first uses of biodiesel (transesterified vegetable oil) was powering heavy vehicles in South Africa before World War II.

Why make biodiesel? Vegetable is a much more dense substance than diesel but biodiesel is very similar to diesel fuel. Biodiesel benefits from a viscosity that is twice that of diesel fuel and a molecular weight is roughly 1/3 of vegetable oil. Most Diesel engines were designed to use highly lubricating, high sulfur content fuel. Recent environmental legislature has forced diesel fuel to contain only a minimum amount of sulfur for lubricating purposes. Thus, the high viscosity of biodiesel makes it a perfect fuel of choice for diesel engines.

To learn more about making biodiesel read:

Joshua Tickell's book, From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank (Now available as a 15meg, downloadable, printable and transferable PDF).

Q

What type of alcohol is used to produce biodiesel, where you get the alcohol, and what is the cost of the alcohol?

A

? Methanol alcohol is typically used but ethanol alcohol can also be used. Methanol costs between $1.50 and $2.00 a gallons in 55 gallon drums in the United States. Methanol sells for about US $0.60 per gallon on the open market. It is an alcohol used for racing cars. We buy it at race tracks and transport it in plastic, red, 5-gallon fuel containers. We do not recommend storing it. More information on methanol can be found in

Q How much does a gallon of home-made biodiesel fuel cost?

A

About 50 cents.

I thought that running your diesel on fryer oil works ok on old diesels, but is not a good idea for the modern turbo-charged common rail diesel engine. Not surprised therefore if it does work on your VW rabbit or 60s Chevy, but I would like to see it working in someone elses modern diesel for a couple of hundred thousand miles before I would be tempted to go down that route.

More information on methanol can be found in From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank.

"Trucks" on Spike TV ran a show two weeks ago, where they made bio-diesel from french fry oil, methanol, and red devile lye. They then put it in a 2K something Dodge ram pickup. They said it got better mileage, same amount of power and cost less. They said the only downside is they had to stop and get something to eat every few miles, due to smelling the french fry exhaust. They said total cost was around $0.70 US. That was with the used vegitable oil being given by the local hamburger place. The said most fast food restaurants will give it away so they don't have to pay a company to come pick it up.

Patrick ?Ô

.. that's how the revenue guys caught some enterprising chaps last year.

From a technical point of view 'Rubbing Alcohol" can be any of a number of non-potable alcohols that are generally poisonous by their nature or rendered undrinkable by addition of a small amount of another chemical (s) commonly Benzene. Oil of Wintergreen is sometimes added for its vasodilatation effect and aroma.

Rubbing alcohols in the US are most usually Isopropyl or Ethyl Alcohol (Lavacol) but I know of no reason methanol (wood alcohol) could not be used.