Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 10:38 am Post subject: Changing Cars and Hoarding Fuel
Hi,
anyone plan to change their car to something more economical?
Just bought a diesel car which does about 40-50mpg as a main car
I recon having a choice of petrol or diesel is a good idea
Plus you can run vegetable oil instead of diesel
As a second car I'm planning on getting a Citroen 2cv!!!
They have a tiny 0.6 litre engine and mpg is around 45-55
Here in England we had a petrol freak out last time the prices went high and all the truck drivers blockaded the oil refineries
To avoid this I have an old VW camper fuel tank which I plan to fill with diesel and keep about 5 gallons of petrol
My own strategic petroleum reserve!
A few predictions.....
all second hand cars which do over 40mpg will be sought after and go up in price
all cars under 30mpg will become pretty much worthless
there will be a lot more motorbikes and bicycles on the roads!
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:29 am Post subject: Yes I did
Quote:
anyone plan to change their car to something more economical?
Yes, I did. After we reached around $5 per Gallon here in Germany I sold my car and got an old Mercedes Diesel to run it on vegetable oil. Which worked fine. BAd luck then it had some other problems which cost me a lot of money.
So two days ago I sold even that car, and I am now happily riding my bike which doesn't cost me anything. Believe me, I have never felt so free.
cheers
Dan
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:32 am Post subject: Stabilize your hoard
Hi Martin;
You might want to get a 'stabilizer' additive for storing your fuel. For gasoline, here in the States, there is a product called 'Stabil' and there are several others that work well for diesel. Don't know what it is they do but they are supposed to increase the storage life of fuels. There is also a pretty cool home bio-diesel still out for sale now but, it costs about 3000USD and you'll need a supply of oil(fish n' chips shops?), lye and methanol? I think.
I fear we are all on our way to hell in a handbasket but, it's fun to think of stuff to keep us busy on the way. . . lol
Did you get a VW TDI?
When you say run on vegetable oil do you mean veg. oil made into bio-diesel or do you mean just straight veg. oil- is that possible?
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 6604 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:48 am Post subject:
I wish we had better diesel alternatives in the US. I want a small diesel 4wd car-size wagon.
Diesel is much better to store – just keep it dry. Stabil is available for gas (petrol) and diesel, but its pretty expensive. I find it’s much cheaper to just pour the gas in the tank every month or so and refill the can – I have about 15 gals about a tank full. You can always keep the tank at least half full.
Of course, be careful storing gas, diesel is much safer to have around, I built a small (2’ x 8’ x 2.5’ high) lidded box with lots of venting on the bottom and sides for anything that might explode – gas, thinners, propane bottles, etc. It’s outside away from buildings. _________________ Make a plan and work it:
Joined: May 24, 2004 Posts: 1932 Location: Richland Center, Wisconsin
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:48 am Post subject: Grease Car
A gentleman from the Michigan UP at theMREA Fairgave me some literature to follow up on. He converted his car over for about $600 and sweat equity.
He pointed me to:www.greasecar.com _________________ --------------------------------
| Whose reality is this anyway!? |
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(-------< Temet Nosce >-------)
____________________________
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: changing cars and hoarding fuel
Anonymous wrote:
Hi,
anyone plan to change their car to something more economical?
Already did it. We used to have two SUVs. 17 mpg and 19 mpg. I got rid of mine about 3 months ago and got a used 2001 VW Jetta. I get about 30 mpg now. We have the other SUV on lease until Jan 2006. I am hoping that hybrids are more common, more models out, etc. I plan on getting a hybrid as soon as they stop charging such large markups over sticker price.
In 2006 there are new diesel fuel standards starting for the USA. VW and Mercedes are planning to bring back diesel cars and start selling them again in the USA. I am hoping that they develop a diesel hybrid. Something like that could easily hit 70 mpg.
The way I look at it, my family is going from an average of 18 mpg to an average of 50 mpg within two years. An improvement of 177% in fuel efficiency.
Anonymous wrote:
To avoid this I have an old VW camper fuel tank which I plan to fill with diesel and keep about 5 gallons of petrol
My own strategic petroleum reserve!
Be careful storing fuel for long periods of time. I think it goes bad after a few months.
Anonymous wrote:
A few predictions.....
all second hand cars which do over 40mpg will be sought after and go up in price
all cars under 30mpg will become pretty much worthless
We are already seeing that trend in the USA. The automakers are having to offer HUGE incentives to sell SUVs now. Cars with good mpg are being sold with much fewer incentives. A Toyota Prius has a sticker price of $21,000 but it is in such demand that you have to wait 6 to 9 months and pay $5,000 over the sticker price.
Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2004 6:21 pm Post subject: back to the future
What I don't understand is I used to have a Honda civic hatchback, and not the one with the funky engine the base model w/ac, and I put serious miles on it hwy and city over four years from 93-97 and it consistantly got ABOVE40 MPG and has broken 50 on long trips . . .there was nothing special about it there seems no reason we couldn't have such mileage right now?
Also, in High School I had a SAAB 96?- the one that looks like a dead fish- three cylinder two-stroke. But it had freewheel- the engine would disengage from the tranny when the car could maintain speed w/o power, like downhill. This also got good mileage. But I rolled it bad.
>When you say run on vegetable oil do you mean veg. oil made into bio-diesel or do you mean just straight veg. oil- is that possible?
Its possible to run a diesel on straight vegetable oil
Making a bio petrol like ethanol is difficult and seems to lose energy
But plants make sugar, sugar ferments into alchohol... nice idea
Getting oil from plants is even easier, just crush up the seeds (which are 30-40% oil) and put oil into gas tank!
I researched this and a 'heck of a lot' of plants could make a few million barrels a year. Since I recon 95% of oil is simply wasted, yeah we can live on that!
I too wonder why MPG figures are so low, because of high tax here in UK most cars are small and get about 30mpg
But the Citroen 2cv does 55 and it was designed in 1935
Crazy cars but very light, the aim was to make the cheapest car possible for French peasents as a replacement for the horse and cart! The design spec called for being able to drive over a ploughed field without breaking any eggs so they could get to the market
It also had a high roof so they could drive to church wearing a hat!
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 5:00 am Post subject: notes on 2cv
Hi,
Some notes on the 2cv.
The original production model had an engine size of 300 ish cc and did 55 - 60 mpg, the later models had 602 cc engines and these get 45 -50 mpg and will do 70mph, although this is their top speed, because of the engine design ( air cooled oil ) you can safely do this speed for prolonged periods.
The cars are very reliable when looked after, there is very little to go wrong. Gas flowed heads will set you back around £400 for the pair and I am told will lower fuel consumption to 60 -65 mpg. If you were going to do this you really want a Dyane 6, which is the same chassis and running gear with a more modern, think '60s instead of '40s, streamlined body and a 'semi-supercharged' engine! Which gives you a bit more poke.
Interestingly, from my own experience, economy doesn't seeem to vary much if you thrash seven shades of the brown stuff out of the engine ( great fun) or just chill out and watch the loonies in their tanks over take you, to prove that their sexual organs are bigger than yours.
(Goodness me that turned into a bit of a rant )
Also the engine is very efficient when idling so doesn't use much more in stop start traffic than on the open road .
What really gets me is that the engine design is around 60 years old and it still enables me to compete in modern traffic. Where are the 200 mpg cars? ( A rhetorical question, industrial politics etc ...)
Just a warning about storage of fuels. Many countries have laws on whether you can store fuel and how much you can have around at any one time.
Also, diesel will tend to go very bad quite quickly - when I fill my diesel car I always avoid underused stations because you don't know how long they've had the fuel.
If you get any water in the diesel (I think it get's contaminated quite easily) then it's as good as junk.
Petrol also tends to go stale.
I have'nt had any experience with fuel stabilisers to test their usefulness though.
Be aware that evaporation is also an issue for long term storage. _________________ Burning the midnight oil, whilst I still can.
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 9:02 am Post subject: Re: notes on 2cv
still wrote:
Hi,
Some notes on the 2cv.
The original production model had an engine size of 300 ish cc and did 55 - 60 mpg, the later models had 602 cc engines and these get 45 -50 mpg and will do 70mph, although this is their top speed, because of the engine design ( air cooled oil ) you can safely do this speed for prolonged periods.
The cars are very reliable when looked after, there is very little to go wrong. Gas flowed heads will set you back around £400 for the pair and I am told will lower fuel consumption to 60 -65 mpg. If you were going to do this you really want a Dyane 6, which is the same chassis and running gear with a more modern, think '60s instead of '40s, streamlined body and a 'semi-supercharged' engine! Which gives you a bit more poke.
Interestingly, from my own experience, economy doesn't seeem to vary much if you thrash seven shades of the brown stuff out of the engine ( great fun) or just chill out and watch the loonies in their tanks over take you, to prove that their sexual organs are bigger than yours.
(Goodness me that turned into a bit of a rant )
Also the engine is very efficient when idling so doesn't use much more in stop start traffic than on the open road .
What really gets me is that the engine design is around 60 years old and it still enables me to compete in modern traffic. Where are the 200 mpg cars? ( A rhetorical question, industrial politics etc ...)
respect
The deux-chevaux threw up their hooves when unleaded petrol became the norm. They could not be persuaded to comply with emissions regulations and a catalytic pot would double the cost of the car (well, almost! )
In Switzerland, we used to say that the deuxchie was a leader: you had to follow it at 10 km/h up all the alpine roads!
And that gear-change! :D :D _________________ Devil
Joined: Jul 18, 2004 Posts: 198 Location: S. Yorkshire, UK
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 12:23 pm Post subject:
Caution is needed when storing fuel. Many countries, as already pointed out, have laws regarding the maximum amount that can be stored, and the type of containers that may be used.
There is a serious fire hazard if large quantities of fuel, particularly petrol are stored in one place. Potentially an explosion hazard if petrol is stored in sub-standard containers in a poorly ventilated place (e.g. a domestic garage).
There were several very serious fires, during the UK fuel protests after members of the general public hoarded petrol at their homes.
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