i was just reading through some stuff on bio diesel and wondering.....
what if we had nation wide availablity and widespread use of bio-diesel....?
what if we could use that fuel when figuring emissions on diesel motors...?
what if the 7.3 could pass emissions using bio-diesel...?
could Ford have kept making and selling the super duties with the 7.3...?

 

Johnny, if all that were to happen, we'd be living in a fantasy world haha. It would definitely be great to keep the 7.3, but I don't think I'd want to have my exhaust smelling like McDonald's.

 

I donno McDonalds doesn't smell as bad as some busses I have got stuck behind.

I suspect that Ford would have stayed with the proven power plant. Given the lack luster performance of the 6.0 I suspect they would go back to it if the emissions problem could be solved.

I would like to voice my support for the concept of Bio Diesel. It would do more than help solve the emissions problems associated with all diesels. It would also significantly reduce our dependance on foreign oil and provide a much needed boost to our farmers. If you add the capability of converting natural gas (methane) to diesel, a process already available and used in South Africa, we could have an almost limitless supply of fuel that is much greener than what is available today. It could easily fill the needs for fuel while the next propulsion system (probably fuell cells) is developed and refined.

 

i hate to quote a us senator... but i was watching fox news tonight and one of the senators they showed speaking on the floor said something to the effect of "imagine being dependant on this countries farmer for our engery needs instead of some foreign oil shiek... imagine if we could grow all the fuel we need..." that is paraphrased but it is basically what he said... after all these decades of playing games with these jerks overseas just to make sure we had "cheap gas"... it's time for people to realize that we can't just "put off till tommorow" anymore... it's time to get serious about alternative fuels... and bio diesel is gonna be a big part of that....! good lord i sound like a tree hugger...! LOL..!

 

i used to hug trees right before i cut them down for firewood!!!! hows that for tree hugging?hahahahahahaha i h8 tree huggers. you are just excited we can get a cheap fuel that's all. dont be ashamed.

 

thanks man... i needed to hear that..! i was worried for a minute there..!

 

Just wait till you get to the land of the spotted owl 1997F-350!

 

i am from northern california trust me i know all about it.

 

Me too, Dixon to be exact. Moved up here 2 years ago, It's a little different from wheeln' around in the Sierras.

 

i cant wait to be in washington too. close to home and mountains. oh it is so flat here in florida. and it is snowmobile o'clock!!!!!

 

What part of WA?

 

Heard this one?

Judge: "Son, you've been convicted of the crime of killing, cooking and eating a spotted owl, an animal on the endangered species list. As deplorable as this crime may be, I'm leaning towards a suspended sentence due to your youth and inexperience. Before I pass sentence, however, I need to ask you one question; what does a spotted owl taste like?"

Man: Well, your Honor, it tastes a lot like bald eagle."

CedricR.

 

They didn't switch from the 7.3 to the 6.0 for fuel mileage or emission reasons. They were trying to make it small enough to fit in the new F150 but never got there. And is bio-diesel feasible? If it were put into large scale production, I think the cost would come way down. The bigger issue is that there's not enough seed oil crop production in the US to make enough bio-diesel for large scale distribution. I read an article about it somewhere and in order to meet the nationwide demand or use of diesel, I think we'd have to double our production of oil seed crops. I'm not sure that's possible. Making enough for a blend with 5% or even 20% might be feasible though. Would people use it though? How well has gasoline/ethanol blend been accepted? A lot of people say it's a great idea, but how many actually fill their car up with it?

 

The most productive method of producing Bio when it comes to volume isn't seed crops (although I'd love to see all our NC tobacco land making $$$ raising Bio crops; three harvests per year!!).... it's a algae like microbe (not sure if I said that right as I don't have the book right in front of me) that can be grown in shallow ponds producing fuel more or less constantly; no need to wait for harvest. The stuff grows best in arid climates.... ever been out west to New Mexico or Arizona?? Millions of square miles of empty sunlit desert where shallow concrete ponds could be built and Bio produced to serve our energy needs... diesel anyway.

The gas blend thing didn't work NOT because we didn't care about the environment or because of the desire to reduce foreign oil imports... it failed beacuse it wasn't cheaper. Let's face it, Americans (this one included) think with our pocketbooks.

CedricR.

 

For those of you that have use Bio, two questions:
How much of a price difference have you seen between Bio and Dino?
Is there anything you need to know or do before or during the use of Bio?

Unfortunately, the closest Bio to me currently available is 80 miles.
However, I will pass the place next Wednesday so I'll fill up.

Oh yeah, Johnny.....
If you use Bio, you'll have to install another gauge to tell you when the fries are done. Hahahahahahahahaha!!!