Fuel Prices Set to Rocket - Start Making your Own Fuel!

Looking at the news I'm afraid its all bad as far as fuel prices go.

The USA has not allowed the drilling and pumping to start again single the disaster in the bay and cancelled 70+ exploratory drilling operations on land.

That can only result in less tax income for the government and less capacity at the pump - even Saudi Arabia cannot increase output enough to cover the deficit.

That all adds up to a price hike for joe average. Want my prediction? I predict that prices in the USA will hit $7 a gallon early this year. The UK is already there and they need to brace themselves for at least a 10% non tax based rise this year just because of the fall in supply.

2011 will see the highest prices for fuel in living memory. Don't wait any longer, go out invest in the equipment and start making your own biodiesel at home this month. With these price hikes the return on investment can be measured in months - and that means more money in your pockets for the things you love.

How to Winter-Proof Your Biodiesel

Once again the leaves are turning brown and the temperatures are dropping which means that it’s time to start thinking about the impact on your biodiesel. I’m going to show you the quick, cheap and easy ways to stay out of trouble with biodiesel this winter.

As you know oils and fats gel and eventually solidify as the temperature falls. The more saturated the fat the worse it is. So animal based fats (tallows) are going to fur up pretty quickly, and any gelling means that you won’t be able to drive until you raise the temperature of the fuel.

Our fellows in the veg-oil camp have gotten round this for years with a simple in line heater to raise the temperature around their secondary veg oil tank and fuel line. For sure you can do this if you are running on biodiesel and those of you in the coldest states will already have access to plug-in systems that keep your auto warm when the snow is good and thick on the ground.

For the rest of us I offer the following strategies:

1. Start by making your biodiesel from canola oil (sometimes called rape-seed oil) as canola has a much better gel point than any other oil.
2. DON’T mess about with methanol or paraffin as an additive, it’s just not worth the risk. I have tried concentrations up to 25% in the past with very patchy results at best.
3. Start by adding 20% regular diesel to your fuel (if you normally run B100) as the temperature drops increasing steadily to 50% if it gets really cold.
4. Use the soda bottle n jerry can trick below.
5. Use a proprietary additive.

OK this may sound a little childish but this is the trick that I have used to stay out of trouble over winter. Every time I put a batch of biodiesel in my auto I half fill a clear soda bottle with the same batch and leave it by the drivers door. When I come out in the morning I take a look at the soda bottle and if there is any gelling in the bottle I know I need to take action.

In the trunk I keep a 2 gallon jerry can of the best petro diesel money can buy which I simply add to the tank if there is any sign of gel in the soda bottle. So far this has kept me running BUT if the gelling in the soda bottle is severe then simply adding any additive won’t solve the problem – so you have been warned start blending early in the season and watch those weather forecasts!

A number of good commercial additives exist including the following:

· Wintron Synergy (I have seen this one in action and can vouch that it works well down to -10C)

· Arctic Express Biodiesel Antigel – good for treating B20 down to -40F

Only you can decide whether the cost and fuss of mixing these in is worth the hassle to you – as always I will continue to take the easy route and just add regular diesel!

I wish you a happy fall and winter motoring season.

Making Biodiesel Isn't Boring if you Have a Diesel Motorbike

Despite vast improvements in diesel engines over the years I still here people saying that they wouldn't have a diesel because they are so boring (i.e. slow and low performance) to drive.

Of course I have to take exception to that (a) because these days it simply isn't true and (b) of course I want people and society to reap the benefits of making biodiesel at home.

So I was delighted when quite by accident I discovered a whole new world of diesel motoring in the form of diesel motorcycles - yes you read that right, motorcycles with diesel engines. I quickly found dozens of suppliers of these fine machines :

This is the Sommer, but Diesel Bikes lists dozens of suppliers of diesel bikes of every shape and size your heart could desire.


And yes of course these bikes will run on biodiesel blends as high as 80%. Typically the bikes run Yanmar diesels displacing just over 400cc which means a power output of around 8kw or upto 15 bhp although some 1 litre examples are available and options such as inter-cooled turbochargers add even more fund to the mix.

If you make your own biodiesel then you'll find your $1 a gallon home-made fuel goes a very long way indeed with bikes demonstrating well over 100mpg! The Somer above delivers 117mpg on average along with classic looks that will leave most weak at the knees.

OK on a standard bike you may not ever win a MotoGP or even come close but then again with the sun on your face, the wind in your hair and 117+ miles to the gallon under your right hand - do you really care?

Why “The cost of fuel will continue to rise” is a lie – and why it means you must start making your own fuel at home.

It seems like every day now I read or here somewhere some luminary saying that no matter what the cost of fuel will continue to rise. The fact is that’s a lie. Let me qualify that; I can say for certain that the cost of fuel does not have to rise, it’s a choice.

Since the summer the fuel you buy at the pump whether gasoline or diesel is blended 5% with biofuel – ethanol in the case of gasoline and biodiesel in the case of diesel. As part of the governments plan this will be progressively increased over the coming years to 20%.

Simply put that means that 20% of the fuel that goes into your tank will not be dependant on the price of fossil oil. But will that mean that the cost of the fuel you put in your tank goes down by 20%. Sadly no. In fact you’ll be lucky if it just stays the same.

Why? Afterall biofuel is cheap and easy to make. It can be made locally from local waste products removing transpostation costs and waste processing costs. Duty on biofuel is discounted – so why won’t the price of fuel go down like it should?

Your government has a vested intrest in maintaining the cost of fuel – it is one of the highest reliable tax earners in the governments arsenal. They know that after a century of promoting private car ownership and use they have created a captive market of fuel users. We have followed their advice and built our career choices, social lives and family lives around the automobile and the fuel it runs on.

Fuel Duty in the UK is £0.5035 per litre (2.2890/imperial gal or £1.91/US gal). Value Added Tax (VAT), currently at 17.5%, is also charged on the price of the fuel and on the duty. At a pump price of 128.8p/litre (typical for diesel as at May 2008), this would put the combined tax at 69.53p/litre, or approximately USD$5.20 per US gallon. Thus without tax, the retail price would be 59.26p per litre, making a combined tax rate of 117%. Fuel taxes in the United States vary by state. For the first quarter of 2008, the average state gasoline tax was 28.6 cents per US gallon, plus 18.4 cents per US gallon federal tax making the total 47 cents per US gallon (56 ¢/imperia gal; 12.4 ¢/L). For diesel, the average state tax is 29.2 cents per US gallon plus an additional 24.4 cents per US gallon federal tax making the total 53.6 cents US per gallon (64.3 ¢/imperial gal; 14.2 ¢/L).

Why else do you imagine with two viable, long range performance electric cars now available from two manufacturers (the UK Lightning and the US Tesla) that the government hasn’t leapt into action to promote the technologies they have developed, to subsidise their manufacture to ensure that we all drive clean green machines? Because with your garage roof covered in solar cells and a usable electric car in the garage you don’t have to pay them a bean!

So instead the government will continue to charge up to 117% tax on fuel - regardless of what actually goes into your tank.

Fortunately whatever side of the atlantic you are on there IS something you can do about it. You can make biodiesel at home, you can even make ethanol at home. All the equipment you need can be purchased or assembled from £200/$400 upwards, the consumable supplies easily ordered online and the process in each case takes no more than a couple of hours in the weekend. The government even sanctions home production tax free (because they know most people won’t bother).

However unless you make biodiesel or make ethanol at home you are surrendering your self to a future or spiralling fuel costs, 85% of which will be government tax.

And consider this; the average cost of homemade biodiesel and ethanol is around £1/$2 per gallon, which if you do some simple napkin maths means Joe Average could easily save £2000 / $4000 per year, every year, and that’s just the average value.

Crazy European Biodiesel Race

Hey there Biodiesel fans. I'm delighted to announce that a crazy Brit and his girlfriend have just announced a crazy biodiesel fuelled rally across Europe from the UK to Greece (..or is that grease...?)

Up to 20 entrants so far (and if you hurry you can still join them) will be driving 10+ year old diesels, many of them with 100,000+ miles on the clock from one side of the continent to the other.

But here's the thing - THEY MAKE THEIR OWN FUEL AS THEY GO!!!



No I'm serious! Each team has their own biodiesel processor in the back of the car/van/whatever; when they stop at the end of the day they go scavenging for used oil set up their processor and let it run overnight so they can refuel in the morning for the next days rallying!

Follow the greenest and grubbiest banger challenge ever. Start your diesel engines for the summer drive to the beaches of Greece, powered by waste cooking fat scavengened from restaurants and burger bars en-route.

Yes, they’ll be filling the tanks from chip fryers and schnitzel shops all the way down through Europe.

The challenge is to "Fat-Find" your way from the UK to the Mediterranean without using fossil fuels, and The Golden Lard Award awaits those that make it all the way on waste vegetable oil. Some teams will be running on pure grease, while others will be brewing up biodiesel from they fat they find on the way.

The 2-week trip, departs on August 16th: Diesel cars don't need to be converted to take part but it will be an advantage if they are.

2008 is the first time this has been attempted, and all fat-finding novices and pioneers are welcome.

If you can't join them for the entire trip then go and see them off from the Ace Cafe, North London on the 16th at 4pm and join us for the Sausage Smoke Cruise, through London following the Thames.

Or follow their insanity at www.fatfinding.com

I don't know about you but I'M IMPRESSED! Look if these guys can pull it off making biodiesel on the road then ANYONE can start making biodiesel at home, right??

Till next time.

Mike

Making Biodiesel is Better & Cheaper than Using the Train

So I'm in the UK for a while as most of you know - and why not, it's one country where the government sure does like to tax the hell out of the automobile owner and especially their fuel.

Heck did you know that in the UK a US Gallon of Gas would cost $3.41 for the gas itself, plus $4.92 in government "fuel duty" (a tax), PLUS 17.5% sales tax on top!! What's that, about $10 a US gallon?!

Oh and that's just Gas by the way, Diesel is nearly 20% more expensive!!!!!

Anyhoo, I digress from my origonal story. I'm also a motorbike nut (and with the cost of gas in the UK you need to be......ok ok I know enough already) so I've been scouting around for a particular British bike I want, a Triumph.

I was lucky enough to find one, but at the other end of the country about 180 miles away according to my UK mapping software. So I jumped in the car which as it happens was empty, as an experiment I went to the local gas station and filled up. The total cost of the diesel was $150 or there abouts.

Driving the 180 miles (pretty fast I'll admit) used less than half a tank. I bought the bike ( a real piece of sex on two wheels I might add) and rode it home.



So the next day of course I have to take the train to collect the car. The cost of the simple, cheapest, 1 way ticket for the journey? Can you believe this? $125!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then of course I have to shell out $10 in cab fare from the station, so $130 in all for the same journey using public transportation. That's damn nearly $1 a mile.

Now the simple fact is WORST case scenario I can make my own biodiesel for $3 a US Gallon and BEST case I can get it down to just $1. My car will hold 10 UK Gallons thats 8.3 US Gallons, so a full tank of home made fuel will cost me between $8 and $25 and take me 440 miles.

Now I know I end most of my posts with the same childish rant these days but it's only because I want to save you guys from yourselves - BUY a biodiesel guide, MAKE a simple processor using a tea urn like I showed you last time - START MAKING BIODIESEL AT HOME.

Till next time.

How to Make Biodiesel at Home with a simple Machine you can put together for less tha $200!

This is an excerpt from the Ultimate Biodiesel Guide 2008 (www.ultimate-biodiesel-guide.com):

One of the main objections I get from people when I talk to then about making biodiesel at home is that it takes a lot of fancy equipment and that it's expensive to get started. They've usually had a look on the web and found biodiesel processors like the FuelMeister and so on which cost upwards of $2000 dollars.

Now I know that with gas getting more expensive it's easier to justify spending money to make your own fuel but even so $2000 is $2000 bucks.

But what if you could put together a small processor for home use for less than $200, one that was small enough to run in your workshop? What if it required no welding, no mechanical skill, was safe reliable and easy to use? (..and this works for any country by the way..)

The good news is that I faced the same challenges when I started out. I'm no DIY exert I can tell you, and I sure as heck didn't have $2000 to spend. In the end the solution was simple....and here it is:



What the heck is it?

For the uninitiated this is called a "catering urn" - enter that into your search engine or ebay and you'll find you can pick these up for about $100 or less! Basically catering operations use these to keep up to 60 litres of water hot for tea and coffee at big events.


What's so Good about it?

To make biodiesel you need a reaction chamber that you can heat the oil in and add the methoxide to. That's exactly what this Urn is! It has a built in heating element, it even has a tap for easy draining!

Add to that it's stainless steel so it will handle the temperature and it's easy to clean. It's discreet, it's compact, it comes in a variety of capacities from 5 litres to 60 litres. It's just as safe as a "store bought" processor (maybe more safe....it's not plastic so it can't melt for a start).

Of course you will need some extra bits and pieces to complete your setup, a thermometer, something to stir the oil, some jerry cans for oil, biodiesel and methoxide etc etc. However there is no reason why you can't put together everything you need for $200 MAX.

So.........what's your excuse now for not making biodiesel at home?

All the best


Mike

Is Making Biodiesel Better than Public Transport?

Well here I am in the UK. This is a country that really taxes the car owner and tries to brow beat the general public into using public transport - especially in major cities. It's a growing trend accross modern western socieites.

But is it right? Should you be looking to sell your car and take the bus?

Maybe my own experience in one of the UKs biggest cities will help provide the answer. I was in Birmingham, to watch a game of cricket (well it IS England). I should emphasise that this was a match scheduled months in advance, the numbers of attendees were known in advance, and the city itself spends over $240 Million each year on Transport.

After the match I joined the thousands of fans seeking a way back to the centre of town to catch trains etc home.The stadium sits at the cross roads of two major roads each with bus stops every few hundred yards.

So I stood at the nearest stop with about 100 other people, in the pouring rain (well it IS England) and watched in horror as not 1, not 2, not even 3 but 4 double decked buses passed right by with "out of service" signs. Then a 5th went through the intersection north/south also marked out of service.

So let me ask you this; if a major city with $240M to spend on transport can't organise enough buses at a known location at a known time for a known number of people - what chance is there for any town?

When you consider that the alternative is to jump into your own warm, comfortable car, parked just round the corner, and drive straight home on clean fuel that you made your self for a few dollars a tankfull - what are you going to do?

Join the Biodiesel Revolution...

With the price at the pump rising by nearly a penny a week now is the time for ordinary people to join the biodiesel revolution - and I don't mean buying the stuff!

For just $200 in second hand parts and with no assembly required (so no mechanical skill needed....) you can put together a simple but effective biodiesel processor that you can operate from home making 30-40 litres of clean cheap fuel at a time.

I took a look at the VW Bluemotion2 this week. Ok I know it's not many peoples idea of a hot auto BUT....it looks good, it sounds good, it drives really nicely, and best of all - it gives a genuine 70 miles to the gallon of diesel. I'm guessing based on past experience that that will equate to between 65 and 75 miles to the allon of biodiesel.

So.....if you put together my little biodiesel processor (I can say build or assemble even because there is none of that to do) and had one of these VW Polo BlueMotion cars you could make enough fuel at home to travel 1950 miles every week.

Viva the revolution people!

Mike C

www.ultimate-biodiesel-guide.com

Biodiesel - Whether you Want it or Not!

From April something new will be appearing in your fuel pump. There will be no visible difference to the eye, there has only been limited publicity and the chances are your local petrol station will not even be inclined to tell you what is happening.

In a bid to tackle carbon emissions from cars, the EU has introduced the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. It stipulates that all petrol sold in the UK must include at least 2.5 per cent biofuels, rising to 5 per cent by 2010.

What are biofuels?

Biofuels are a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. To classify, the fuel must be made from biological materials, for example biodiesel is made from processed vegetable oils such as soya bean oil.

They are renewable fuels because in the case of plants they absorb carbon dioxide during their growth. So when burnt they are merely releasing what they have already absorbed. In effect, they are carbon neutral.

• Learn more about making biodiesel

All cars can cope with a blend of up to 5 per cent biofuels without any modifications to the engine. Some specially designed models on the market can now take a blend containing up to 85 per cent biofuel.

Production of biofuels has soared in recent years as countries look for alternatives to oil, which has become increasingly expensive and whose supply is heavily dependent on politically unstable regions, such as the Middle East.

However, as countries like the United States and Brazil have turned from growing corn or sugar for food to using it to produce ethanol, it has had a devastating side effect; food prices have been going up.

Food wars

The more land farmers give over to producing energy crops the more food prices are pushed up by falling supplies of key crops. The issue is particularly acute in the Americas where at least a quarter of the US corn crop and more than half of Brazil's sugar cane crop is used for ethanol production.

However, European officials insist the continent is not contributing to the problem, with only 2 per cent of cereal production used for biofuels. But, there is no guarantee where the biofuels used in your petrol will come from. In addition, it’s not just instability in the food markets that is being blamed on biofuels.

Deforestation

The biggest concern of environmentalists is that as crops such as palm or soya bean become the new oil so more Asian and South American countries will be tempted to clear rainforests to grow them. Then not only would biodiversity-rich landscape be lost but also trees that absorbed vast quantities of carbon dioxide and helped reduce global carbon emissions.

Although recognising the benefits biofuels offer as an alternative to fossil fuels, many environmentalists now question whether we should be pushing ahead with adding them to our petrol just yet.

Friends of the Earth claim a recent poll found that almost 9 out of 10 Britons had no idea that biofuels were about to be added to their petrol. They argue that more resources should be put into making vehicles more fuel efficient and improving public transport.

“Most people will be horrified to know the Government is putting biofuels in our petrol when the damage they do to forests could make climate change worse,” said Friends of the Earth biofuels campaigner, Kenneth Richter. “People want to see real green transport solutions that will make a difference to their lives - like better public transport and smarter cars that burn less fuel,” he added.

Will the cost of Fuel go Down Then?

Absolutely not! Despite that fact that biodiesel can be mass produced cheaply from industrial waste and ethanol can be cheaply imported or produced locally you, the consumer, will not see one penny reduction in cost. So just as I predicted previously, it's not about the cost of oil at all, it's about the government putting their hand in your pocket for tax revenue on commodities they know you cannot live without.

Conclusion

The ONLY and I repeat ONLY way to escape this taxation trap is to make your own fuel! For a modest investment you can quietly make your own fuel in your shed for a few pennies a litre. You have been warned, stay keen stay green!