Between WOT tests to log the performance of my truck with a new HPOP, collecting data for tweaking the tunes, and driving across the state to get new MPG figures - I spent $600 on diesel in two weeks (plus another $150 on gas when I drive the economy car to work instead of the truck). I'm a prime candidate for BD.

I was reading a news archive where somebody was making biodiesel and he published his production figures in the newspaper. The state said "Hey... wait a minute! Where's our $0.75 per gallon road tax?" The state sued the frugal biodiesel maker for back-taxes on every gallon he claimed he produced in the published article, and the state won. I guess the rule is keep it under the radar.

 

It does add up. Hard to escape those fuel prices. I have wondered about BD. Maybe after I move to a warmer climate.

Be careful what you say, it can all be used against you.

 

Quite a few bio brewers and greasers do pay the road tax. There are special forms used to report homemade/untaxed fuel and pay taxes on that fuel.

There was an article somewhere... I think it was in DUH! magazine... that advised fuel tax dodgers to neither put their names and activities in the the paper nor plaster their vehicle with stickers proclaiming their fuel choice.

 

*****, we were doing bio for a couple years. had our production cost down to ~$.30/gallon. then we got a new president in 2008. now, it is not economically feasible to produce bio. the cost on methanol and all other things needed has skyrocketed.

they say the reason is "DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS"


i call shenanigans.

 

The rate we are going, we will end up being a communist country. This is fricken rediculous. Our gov't is so fricken greedy its not even funny. I think its all a power trip.

Pretty soon we are going to have to call someone with the govt just to leave the house.

Thanks for sharing Tugly!

 

I tried to make bio-diesel for a few months. It's gotten almost impossible to get any used oil.

It used to be that the restuarants would pay people to take the oil away. Once Se-Quential started commercially producing BioDiesel in Salem Oregon the oil has been harder and harder to acquire.

I was able to talk with a small resturant and procure their oil... However after several attempts to make biodiesel and ending up with batches of questionable quality I discovered that there was too much water suspended in the oil. The only economical way to remove that kind of water was to heat it up to near its flash point (not a good idea with a 55 gallon barrel of methanol nearby) or run it through a centrafuge (sp). Either way it made it not cost effective. I was able to produce biodiesel but I didn't feel that the quality was good enough to run it though my truck.

In Oregon, if you produce less than 400 gallons a year (I'm going from memory here so I may be off) for personal use then you don't have to pay taxes. IF you are trying to sell any of it or make over the tax exemt threashold then you have to fill out forms and pay the MAN.

If you can get free oil of excellent quality then it can be done for a reasonable price.

In my experience, finding good quality oil is difficult. You have to pick up the oil every week or whenever they call you. It takes up some space to keep all of the equipment (about 200 quare feet). Some of the chemicals are extremely volitile or caustic.... primarily nearly pure ethanol and lye. And shouldn't be stored inside your garage or near the house.

Several years ago a local guy burned down his barn during the biodiesel conversion process.

You also end up with some by-products that are inert but still need to be dealt with...

It's a fun hobby without a doubt. If you think you are going to save a ton of money in the process I would caution you on this point.

I've got a really fancy tank, pump, storage biodiesel system that I can't sell for 10% of what I've got into it.

Just my two cents.