Greetings,
I didn't call myself a newbie in the title, although I am freshly arrived here at this site. I've been, well, not literally
saving gas, but trying to use less to get a task accomplished for years. Now I'm in the position of reducing my consumption of other fuels as well.
I changed my automotive motive power of choice to diesel engines about 10 years ago, not so much for fuel consumption reduction, but for the longer driving range between fuel stops. At that time my 1984 Volvo 760 with an 11 gallon
tank would barely go 200 miles between fuel stops. I replaced it with a 1996 VW Passat TDI sedan with a 19 gallon tank that regularly went 800 to 900 miles per tank.
In October of 2001 I found a supplier of biodiesel, vegetable oil converted into a near diesel equivalent by catalytic removal of the glycerin from the combustible ester, not far from my home. I've been using biodiesel since, mostly in pure B100 form, but blending it down for use during cold New England winters. My annual blend ratio works out to about a B90. In effect I've reduced my Volvo fuel use rate from 20 miles per gallon of gasoline to 500 miles per gallon of petroleum diesel fuel (50 mpg on an annual average mix of 90% biodiesel, 10% petroleum diesel).
I've now had four diesel VW. Two were sold with more than 280,000 miles on each, the other two were insurance writeoffs (neither my fault). My amazement with the fuel economy potential of these, and with the superior performance compared to the gasoline powered models, enticed me to enter the three day Tour de Sol in 2003 and to enter the Tour's one day "Monte Carlo Rally" in 2005. My fuel economy in 2003 (with a sedan) was 82.3 mpg over 250+ miles, and in 2005, with a substitute team doing the driving in my wagon, a mark of 77.2 mpg over a 500+ mile course. I also set a new record in 2003 for the lowest net emissions per mile ever seen at a TdS event. The record of 33 grams per mile (which includes net CO2 emissions) wasn't broken until 2005 by a single place, stand-up battery electric scooter re-charged from the power grid.
My present project is to take the engine from the most recently wrecked 96 Passat wagon (the fuel tank is nearly 10 gallons larger than the sedan model) and transplant it into a wagon recipient which presently has a 2.7 liter gasoline V6. (28.3 mpg on the drive home from the seller's place according to the dash readout).
My diesel affliction has gone so far as to prompt me to buy a diesel garden tractor/mower/snowthrower to supplement my battery electric mower. That old technology diesel beast runs on a 50/50 mix of veg oil and biodiesel in the summer and a 50/50 mix of petrodiesel and biodiesel in the winter. I get about 2 mpg while mowing, undoubtedly less when snowthrowing.
I'm also accustomed to spark ignition engines. My 1969 Saab Sonett 1.5 liter V4 was originally estimated (pre-EPA standardized test) at about 20 mpg, yet I regularly average 450 miles on each 12 gallon filling, or 35 to 40 mpg. The engine in that one is hardly stock with a race cam, oversized valves, hardened seats, bored .040 over, dual barrel carb, electronic ignition, electric fuel pump, and a boost in power from the original 65 to the present 85. It pulls hard up to 6400 rpm versus the original 5200 rpm red line. It has never been driven for economy, purely for the grin factor.
My home's heat is from an oil fired burner. That one is next for the alternative fuel diet. I had a new burner installed a year ago with an outside make-up air supply. (Why take warmed air from inside the house and send it up the chimney?) I also had some glycol added to the baseboard water loop to allow lower night time thermostat setback settings without the problem of freezing in the pipes.
Enough already. Get to know the next newcomer by reading their intro post.
Lug_Nut
Linear Mode
