Will the banning of transfats reduce the amount of biodiesel available?

[KaptKaos]

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/12/06/no-more-trans-fats-at-new-york-city-restaurants-will-biodiesel/

The article is about NYC, but California just banned it too.

Another example of how feel good legislation can have bad 2nd order effects. Ethanol anyone?

[dd74]

Here's the crux of the article for me: "It's not entirely clear how this change might affect the green car community members who interact the most with restaurant oil: biodiesel homebrewers."
The problem is biodiesel, at least in L.A., is sort of a niche thing that few can keep tabs on. Think moonshining.

I've seen a M-B garage in L.A. with a lot of old diesel 300s out front. You've got to wonder with so many bio-diesel stickers on old Mercedes diesels in town, what this and other little shops are up to. I know Sacramento would like to know...

[island911]

The sticker is just for bragging rights, for most. (most) People don't continually pay the bio price delta.

Bio-Diesel is big up here. ...Even Safeway grocery stores sell Bio-diesel . . but few are pumping the premium cost stuff. (compared to dino diesel)

[dd74]

Originally Posted by island911

The sticker is just for bragging rights, for most.

So you've been asking people with the sticker on their car if they actually use bio-diesel? I have. They swear by it, regardless of price.

Another way to tell that it's not just about "bragging rites" is the distinct smell a bio-diesel powered car gives off. Hint: burned "freedom" fries.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by KaptKaos

Another example of how feel good legislation can have bad 2nd order effects.

When was Transfat banned? Which thread caused it Did he make Z Man mad?

I'll miss him...he was a bit of a troll, but he had some good insights when he wasn't drunk typing

[island911]

Originally Posted by dd74

So you've been asking people with the sticker on their car if they actually use bio-diesel? I have. They swear by it, regardless of price.
....

Just note the people pumping at the dino-diesel pump. ....and their stickers. (ask, and; "I'm mixing...)

Originally Posted by Seahawk

When was Transfat banned? Which thread caused it Did he make Z Man mad?...

Yes, the problem is ***, of trans***. "***" is an obnoxious word. Trans knew better.

[onlycafe]

how about replacing it with liposuctioned butt fat. a hitherto untapped resource.

[island911]

I hear that makes your car smell like ***. <--- would be funny if I could write "***" w/o fear of banishment.

[mossguy]

Bush hates ***

Tom

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by dd74

I've seen a M-B garage in L.A. with a lot of old diesel 300s out front. You've got to wonder with so many bio-diesel stickers on old Mercedes diesels in town, what this and other little shops are up to. I know Sacramento would like to know...

Is that MB shop in LA Lovecraft Biofuels? They are the MotorMeister of the veggie conversion world. People come onto our forums with horror stories, and we try to get them sorted out. Much like MM clients coming to the PP forums asking if it's normal to have blue smoke after a year.

They have very slick advertising and they're very convincing up-front. But they're more style than substance.

Originally Posted by island911

Just note the people pumping at the dino-diesel pump. ....and their stickers. (ask, and; "I'm mixing...)

People with two tank veggie conversions like mine need to fill their diesel tank now and then, because they start & shut down on diesel. Last time I filled up was mid-May.

Plus, some people do blend straight veggie oil or even homebrew biodiesel with a % of diesel. Some even use 15% regular gasoline on 85% canola.

[peppy]

The longer life of the oil is a marketing thing. I have been using 0 trans fat oil in my restaurant for 2 years and we still change the oil every couple of days. The oil is a lot more expensive and some restaurants may try to extend the useful life of the oil by adding anti foaming agents, but the food will suffer.

Some of the instructions said to lower the oil temp in off peak times, and to use a costly filtering system. We use the filtering system, but it has no effect on the life of the oil.

As a side note when we switched to 0 trans fat canola oil, it was cheaper than the hydrogenated oil.

[island911]

Thanks Jake; I know. I was thinking of guys like you when i wrote: "The sticker is just for bragging rights, for most."

What gets me is so many of the stickers up here read "Biodiesel - No War required" <-- they have to be feeling rather hypocritical when pumping dino.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by peppy

The longer life of the oil is a marketing thing. I have been using 0 trans fat oil in my restaurant for 2 years and we still change the oil every couple of days. The oil is a lot more expensive and some restaurants may try to extend the useful life of the oil by adding anti foaming agents, but the food will suffer.

I've had to drop 2 sources because they were extending the periods between fryer oil changes. I was getting half as much, and it looked like pancake batter. No thanks!

You change your oil everycouple days? I wish I had a restaurant like you nearby! I was lucky to find one that changed every week.

Originally Posted by island911

Thanks Jake; I know. I was thinking of guys like you when i wrote: "The sticker is just for bragging rights, for most."

What gets me is so many of the stickers up here read "Biodiesel - No War required" <-- they have to be feeling rather hypocritical when pumping dino.

Ha! I wonder if those "Biodiesel - No war required" folks are the ones getting in fistfights behind restaurants. The hipsters are already whining about some restaurants charging 50c/gallon for used oil. They think it should be free, some just steal it in the wee hours.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

Is that MB shop in LA Lovecraft Biofuels? They are the MotorMeister of the veggie conversion world. People come onto our forums with horror stories, and we try to get them sorted out. Much like MM clients coming to the PP forums asking if it's normal to have blue smoke after a year.

Nope. Not them. I'll find out who they are, though.

[onlycafe]

it used to be that you had to pay a service to remove the old used oil. just last week i had two calls from people that wanted to contract to pay me for used oil. i have heard of midnight incursions to steal waste oil stored behind restaurants.
unfortunately i don't have any fryers in my restaurant.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

...i have heard of midnight incursions to steal waste oil stored behind restaurants.

Happens in L.A. quite a bit.

[peppy]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

it used to be that you had to pay a service to remove the old used oil. just last week i had two calls from people that wanted to contract to pay me for used oil. i have heard of midnight incursions to steal waste oil stored behind restaurants.
unfortunately i don't have any fryers in my restaurant.

I got a check for $30 last week. First time in about 5 years they paid me for the stuff.

[notfarnow]

I'm not paying yet, but I do drop off some beer for one restaurant owner every month. For the other restaurant, we are working out some "feel good" PR stuff for the local paper. I expect to be paying within a couple years.

[dd74]

Jake - I'm reading up on PlantDrive. That's a cool little system.

Is the performance the same with straight veggie as with diesel?

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by dd74

Jake - I'm reading up on PlantDrive. That's a cool little system.

Is the performance the same with straight veggie as with diesel?

As far as I can tell, there is no difference in performance with this car. You just flip the switch on the dash and let 'er rip.

It's hard to say 100%, because with my previous cars I was able to reach the limit of their performance relatively easy. My '87 Samurai will go ~115kph on diesel, vs ~105 on veggie. My old Jetta would max out at 120kph on diesel, but would do 135 on veggie.

The e300d is a lot faster, so I haven't seen it's limit on either fuel. In September, I'm taking it to the university for 2 days of testing for emissions and horsepower. It'll be interesting to see what the numbers are. Another guy with an e300d like mine showed the highest HP on used canola, versus dino diesel or biodiesel.