Any diesel lovers out there? I have had several diesels in the past and always run bio-diesel when I get the chance. There is only one station in the Denver area that has it though. :(

I had a diesel VW Jetta that got over 50MPG on average, a Dodge diesel pickup that got around 17MPG on average, and I presently have a newer dodge pickup that gets around 19MPG on average. On the highway, I often see 24MPG on my truck. However, I only use it to run the dogs around, bad weather days, and to haul my bike in. I use my bike for everything else and it averages around 60MPG, however it is gas. I would love to have a diesel motorcycle. The ones I know of have mileage claims of 150MPG+. If I could run straight bio-diesel I would.

The best bio-diesel product I have heard of is hemp-based fuel. It is the fastest growing and has a high yield per acre. I have read that if only a portion of the empty farmland currently subsidized by the government was used to grow hemp, we could eliminate our foreign dependency on oil. I don't know if this is true, but I think it would be a good reason to start making hemp fuel if it is. If I had the money, I would design and build a diesel-electric hybrid motorcycle. I think 300+MPG is possible.

don't they made bio-diesel from soy too?

don't they made bio-diesel from soy too?

Yes, they can make bio-diesel from anything that they can make an oil from. Rudolph Diesel demonstrated his prototype using peanut oil.

I remember hearing about the veggiemobile that runs on used french fry grease... that was so cool! They made their own biodiesel and apparently it's pretty easy with a few basic chemical ingredients and a supply of used vegetable oil.

But I am not convinced that growing crops specifically to produce biodiesel is a good idea. It's too bad Ludi's not posting anymore-- she used to post all kinds of statistics showing that the efficiency of the crops grown for biodiesel was not high enough to offset the fossil fuel emissions involved in growing, harvesting, and converting the crops, and thus it has a net positive effect on emissions. It might be more accurate to call them a cash crop for the companies behind it, like Archer Daniels Midland and Monsanto. In fact, the thread where she posted them is probably still floating around. I don't know if she had stats on hemp-- the big push right now is corn, and I think most of her info related to that.

Here are all the threads on it:
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/search.php?searchid=1189831

Any diesel lovers out there? I have had several diesels in the past and always run bio-diesel when I get the chance. There is only one station in the Denver area that has it though. :(

I had a diesel VW Jetta that got over 50MPG on average,

I had a friend in military "A" school in 1999 with a VW Golf that he also said got 50 mpg diesel. I don't understand why today's VW diesels are only 30 - 35 mpg!!! Was your VW Jetta advertised as Estimated MPG 50 or was it advertised with 30 something, but actually drove the 50 or are the newer vehicles just not made as well????

I'd love to trade in my gas engine vehicle for a VW diesel, but this data kind of bugs me. I want the 50 mpg... not 35.

As far as stations carrying biodiesel.. have you checked here?
http://www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/retailfuelingsites/default.shtm

Looks like there are more on the eastern side of the US. Tess, I'm definitely against the corn... but I do think the soy and maybe the hemp will be good. The thing that will really determine the cost effective / environmental impact is how many people actually convert.

Yes, I have heard corn isn't very efficient for use as an alternative fuel. Hemp has a much higher output per input.

The New Jettas are 35 to 42. This is probably because they have increased the weight and the horsepower. However, I imagine you can still get close to 50 if you drive conservatively. I would do 65 instead of 70 on the highway. This is what gets me the 24MPG in my 8,000 pound pickup. If I do 70, I am down around 19.

My son wants us to get a veggie oil car, but for now I'm stuck with a Corrolla...

In New Zealand they're planning to introduce a bio-fuel in the next few years which from what I can tell will be a petrol/animal product mix. This is obviously a problem for me, I'm all for using less fossil fuels but I don't much like the idea of running my car on dead cows (or any other animal). Does anyone know anything more about this? It's possible I'm just completely confused about the whole thing.

In New Zealand they're planning to introduce a bio-fuel in the next few years which from what I can tell will be a petrol/animal product mix. This is obviously a problem for me, I'm all for using less fossil fuels but I don't much like the idea of running my car on dead cows (or any other animal). Does anyone know anything more about this? It's possible I'm just completely confused about the whole thing.

There is an article that I talked a little bit about in another thread, from Discover magazine, that discusses the creation of oil from most organic materials. They essentially speed up the natural processes of the Earth by superheating and compressing the material until it turns to oil. The bulk of what they use is feathers, bones, and internal organs from the poultry processing plant nearby. It is officially known as "renewable diesel" and may be what you heard about.