As a member of the pro-Cummins Turbo Diesel Registry, the club members have been privvy to the advertising onslaught of the newbie biodiesel craze for sometime now. For $4k, exclusive of supplies, you get the rig to convert any vegetable oil into hi-grade diesel. You still need lye and alcohol racing fuel in order to create the reaction necessary. If you're a farmer, or construction company (or any other big bulk commercial Diesel user), then it does make sense to handle caustic lye and extremely flammable alcohol in order to make your own Diesel. As Keith stated, fast food restaurants have to pay to get the stuff taken away...you just have to go get it and handle that smelly, nasty stuff. I'm told there is a bonus: your exhaust smells like french fries and/or popcorn, LOL! I think the current projected cost per gallon of bio-diesel is on the order of $0.70-$0.80. That is the manufacturer(s) claims, and has not yet been corroborated by club members.
FWIW, you can burn just about any type of oil in a diesel including kerosene, motor oil and vegetable oil, as long as it's clean and free of water or other contaminants. Unless you have the proper pump lubricants and other additives (algaecides, cleaning agents, anti-gelling agents, etc.), however, you will be going thru pumps and injectors like crazy. Plus, fuel pressure, economy, complete combustion, etc. suffer unless there's hi-grade #2 oil in there. My FI pump is about $3k, injectors about $1k, and the motor is $16k for a short block(!!!). I don't think I'll be F'n with the fuel in that 300kmi MTBO Cummins anytime soon...a wrecked motor and/or fuel system on a $50k truck with warantee coverage DENIED due to improper fuel is not my idea of fun!
While I did get a great deal on my truck (Cost plus $2k cash back and 0% finance for 48mos.), the doubling/tripling of fuel coupled with the nearly $7k premium to get the Cummins ISB HPCR Diesel option has made my return on investment a joke. While this is still the only way to get a full size, 6 passenger 4WD truck with a 11,000# towing capacity with enough room in the bed to carry full size sheets of plywood and sheetrock, a Harley, or other toys AND still get better than 10MPG (17 to 19MPG on avg. for a 4Ton flying brick is, comparatively, damn good!), my one-time bargain has become an albatross around my neck. These prices are killing the American auto industry which only survives because of truck and SUV sales.
(Message edited by kmh364 on October 25, 2005)
