03 Jul Biodiesel Fuel
We’ve been using biodiesel fuel for over two years in our primary landscaping truck, a 1996 Isuzu NPR, as well as the seldom used retired post office truck we nicknamed “the bread truck”. They run as well on it as they do on petroleum diesel.
But for me, aside from the environmental advantages of using fuel made from plants grown in the Northwest, is the advantage of the smell of the exhaust. Regular diesel exhaust produces an odor that makes me somewhat nauseous. It’s probably attributed to a time when as a toddler, I waited alongside an idling fire truck outside our house as the firemen searched for the cause of the smoke emitting from the gable end- the wall on the outside of my bedroom. That diesel exhaust always brings that anxiety back a little.
Now I think of french fries when I get a whiff of my truck as it purrs along.
Bob Fasoldt
Posted at 19:33h, 21 JulyHi Dave…
Just wondering how you gather your biodiesel? Do you have contracts with various fast food places or do you simply travel around looking for a nice repository?
Bob
Dave Fasoldt
Posted at 21:55h, 21 JulyWe buy manufactured biodiesel from a local company, Propel Biodiesel. They claim to use some recycled oils as well as new canola plants that are grown in the western states and western Canada. The cost doesn’t track with the spikes and rollbacks of petroleum diesel, but it does fluxuate somewhat. I’m paing around $4.12/ gallon now. Petroleum diesel got up to almost $5 last year but now it sells for around $3.80.