MY FIRST WVO - 05_22_09

finally! after all the hours of following up with people, explaining what Im trying to do and how they can help me, after seeing more kitchens, fryers and grease traps than I could have ever wanted, I scored MY OWN WVO SOURCE!

On Sat 5/10, driving home from UMMA, noticed the new Panda Express on corner of La Cienega and Centinella. Edson gives me cubies from P.E. so thought Id give it a shot. Spoke to Esteban, cook and one of kitchen managers, I think. Right away said yes. Said hed arrange for the barrel to be cleaned and filled with WVO from the fryer only. After 2 attempts (both times the guys didnt save the oil, hadnt cleaned the barrel even, but did give me the empty cubies), I got a cubie full. He said thered be more since they only emptied one fryer, not all 6. So, I could have LOTS more VO on my hands!

Also, made headway at Harbor. The first try, the Cafe. The hot oil into the bucket melted it. The 2nd try, they took the oil down and dumped it. On this try, on a whim today (Thursday) spoke with Candelario and he saved 2 metal bins for me to fill a cubie and a bit left over. I also took a cubie full off the top of the collected barrel. Aside from some french fries and bits and kibbles, looks pretty good. No foam or obvious animal product to be seen.

So, the oils sitting down in the garage, sitting and sitting and settling and waiting 3 weeks.

Im excited and will continue to collect.

Edson pickup #2 - 05_12_08

Ape makes another run to Burbank. buys 12 cubies this time. I notice that one of the cubies has this white stuff on the bottom. I let it sit on its side and the white stuff falls to the bottom. It must be sediment that he missed in filtering. When i get my HFS, Ill take care of it. Or else Ill send him the picture and ask him whats up.

a WVO source? - 05_05_08

Matt Shapiro is leaving town and he is willing to give me his source. Hell give me a ring in a month to make sure the source is still good. They might be altering the oil now, so no good.

Oil Change - 05_03_08

Shorty oil change 149889
air filter changed
injector return lines changed
need to recharge ac. pump is good
good window tint place @ western & carson

considering maintenance - 04_28_08

Yelley work to consdier: air filter, oil chng if miles, Valve adj? fuel line change, brake fluid? Ac refill

2008_04_yelley engine inspection fuel line

quest for my own WVO - 04_24_08

Spoke w Dana Denis food service suprvsr @ hucla. Said would collect fry oil back into cubies for me. Barrel contains food waste also-dont use. Oil has that antifoaming agent also. Usable?

Man owner at sakura. Use rice oil. Company picks up, rest pays. Bring info to wife.

First time on WVO!! - 04_16_08

1st time use wvo 2 cubies edsons wvo put in yelley. Had some D2 in it already. starts and runs great! No prob cold start

Ape buys from Edson first time - 04_15_08

back to the restaurants - 04_14_08

Go to restaurants wvo

Another taste of petroD - 04_11_08

Put 5gal d#2 today at $4.20 a gal! Started right up but had run it about 15min. Well see about starting cold in the am.

Frist time out searching for WVO - 04_10_08

to restrnts seeking wvo. Made flyer. from stories highest hopes they'd say sure why not and show me the grease. But realiz wll take more logistics than expected. Restrnt bz eratic schedules. They're intrstd but wil do only if ez. I Need a team. Lok 2 city for help?

Edsons wisdom - 04_09_08

Sitting in idle aftr ride on fwy a bit more wobbly. Noticed oil press to under 2 goes up to full when drive. Oil level: plenty.

Spoke w edson. Has 2tank. Cant use cold vo since dodge has direct injectors (DI). runs 1st 3mi on petroD, and last half mi, rest on vo. starts and flush on diesel. He thinks I shuld be good without line heater. In cold, add petroD. Cycle plugs or change em.

Shorty sees the LC - 04_08_08

Seems each start requires 2 heatups. Then runs fine. Even when hot out, gurgles on start. Ran into shorty on road to show him. Imprsd that he understds the system so well. Ill check gloplgs with him next time.

First talk with Edson - 04_07_08

Turn over on 2nd try. Drove smooth then.
Ran in garage with my head under the hood. No tiny bubbles in fuel filter. No smoke or leaks. All good

Edson buy wvo 6612972183
$10 per cubie. Burbank 2ams/wk. Tips: get to knw oil, quality, fryer hot enough to dehydr8 Let settle at least 4wks. Filter thru 1micron sok fltr. Only heating is sun. Got 15000mi on ford truck on it.

04_06_08

Another cold, shuddering start. First thought is gloplgs. Ran until almst mpty to 80mi. Mom helpd fill up anothr 4.6of soy. Sputtering on idle, due to low fuel?

04_05_08

Hard to start this am. Had to run glowplug 2x. Started well in aftrnoon. need to Check fliters for bubbles. Gloplgs?

04_04_08

4.6gal soyoil only into near empty tsnk. Current tripmtr is on this tank

CONVERTED ENGINE - 03_31_08

Lovecraft single-tank convertion 148625 mi. Had about 1/2 tank b99 in it at the time. Drove 1/2 tank b99 tank +4.6gal soy oil to 400mi odomtr.



notes on convertion: "Mike" at lovecraft. How system works...from tank - filter - pump (connected to fuse of rear defrost - which doesnt work! i guess the fuse does!) - heated filter (replaces old screwon canister fuel filter) - filter (old 1st inline filter) - fuel pump - heat exchanger (where old canister filter used to be) - to injectors - return from injectors - back to tank

air bubbles BAD. air pocket OK

WVO collection - have rest put VO back in original cubies. soy best. NONhydrog ONLY!!!
let settle until clear. pour off settled oil into drum leaving about 1 inch above the dregs. bring cubie with all dregs back to the restaurant to dump.

Oil Change - 02_09_08

yelley Oil change c shorty 147390mi
Need air filt, valve adjust at nxt oil chng- Shorty says the valve adjust will help with MPGs. will take 3 hours to finish. (but i dont have it done as of May 08 (when i post this)

Conserv fuel - 01_09_08

with the shutting down of USA Fuels in MDR, Conserv in Brentwood becomes the only available B99 by pump in LA

10_27_07

last fill up at USA MDR. the pump shuts down and Im stuck fueling up with Diesel #2 until early January

2nd Oil Change - 10_28_07

144150mi
at shorty's place
filter. all fluids

First time using B99 - 07_18_07

bought from USA gas in Marina del Rey.
Felt like a smoother ride, yes smelled like french fries.

Bye bye Chevy - 07_09_07

Showed and sold good ol' Chevy S-10 to guy named Dante. For how much? $2900 I think.
Met with him his brother and his wife in front of Culver Hotel. Very friendly, young people. Went for a test drive, I rode in the drop-down seats or did his wife. Drove back to his apartment in Palms just north of Venice Blvd and made the deal. We drank either beer or champagne, can't recall. He worked as Cabo Cantina in Venice. I said I'd go in to see him, but haven't. Really would like to.

I see Chevy S-10 of about the same year driving on the streets, thinking the truck is mine. I'm sure I'll see it eventually...

Yelley's First Oil Change - 06_29_07

141491mi
20w50 non-synthetic
includes oil-filter change, top off steering, transmission fluid

All's good.

the day I bought yelley - 05_28_07

update on Yelley - originally posted 08_14_07

Since I've started using the biodiesel, I've noticed the Benz stuttering a bit on starts, a bit bigger exhuast cloud, and poorer mileage. From what I've read, the Bio-D actually cleans the engine, removing decades of grime from petro-diesel use. All that gunk needs to go somewhere - into the fuel filter, clogging it and resulting (somehow) in the above symptoms.

I've bought the filters. Next step is to get them changed, and to have the mechanic show me how to do it myself!

You can follow my adventure on this calendar while I'll be listing all the momentous events of me and Yelley!

(I never ended up updating progress on the car. Just keep posting here...)

kicking my oil addiction - originally posted 07_23_07

my car smells like french fries -- badly burnt french fries

Exciting stuff, friends. My little baby "Yelley Elley", my sunny yellow new-old diesel 240D Mercedes Benz, has made the leap off the grid. Just last week I started filling up with biodiesel. Straight out the pump, can you believe it?

What is biodiesel, exactly? Well, in this case, it's B99.9 - 99.9% walnut and soy oil, 0.1% diesel fuel. So while I'm not 100% off the grid, I'll take 99.9% any day. I'm paying a bit more ($3.30/gallon) but that's $3.30 not going to Big Oil. Plus, my car smells like burnt french fries out the tailpipe (better than than smoky mess that spews from a semi-truck), helps the environment, and runs smo-o-o-oth.

There is at least one other of us at Harbor using biodiesel. Another uses compressed natural gas (and she wants just 5 mo' minutes of sleep - hint hint). Several - I count 5 - use hybrid gas/electric engines including Su's ever-recognizable Prius. So I KNOW at least a few of us are taking action on our wasteful use of the Earth's precious resources, and I'm CERTAIN that we all are at least somewhat concerned. So, below I've posted a upcoming conference in LA on biofuels.

And check back here on my blog for more updates on my life driving the fried flyer.

FIRST LOS ANGELES BIODIESEL COMMUNITY CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AUGUST 1ST

Press Contacts:Rob Reed: 310-399-3659 - rob@conservfuel.comGretchen
Gray: 310-880-3892 – gretchen.gray@sbcglobal.net

The first Biodiesel Community Conference will he held August 1, 2007 from 7pm to 10pm at Mt. Olive Church,1343 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405. Los Angeles, CA – (July 16,2007) The Los Angeles Biodiesel Community Conference is open to the general public and will offer action-based discussions on Biodiesel Basics, Legislation, Local Distribution, School Bus and Other Fleet Usage, Biodiesel Education, and more.

The event is being sponsored by Southern California Disposal and Recycling, and will be hosted by The Los Angeles Biodiesel Working Group, the LA Biodiesel Co-op, Socalbug (the Southern California Biodiesel Users Group), and Josh Tickell, author of “From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank” and “Biodiesel America.”

The purpose of the conference is to empower and educate the public, local businesses and community leaders in their efforts to make biodiesel a viable fuel option for Southern California. Collectively we will establish a groundbreaking action plan that will provide the steps to expand biodiesel distribution in Southern California and establish new legislation that promotes sustainable fuel options.We, as a community, can make biodiesel an affordable and available fuel option. It is time for us to unite and take action today!

For more information, visit www.socalbug.org.Please contact Rob Reed or Gretchen Gray to schedule an interview with the following individuals to discuss the Biodiesel Community Conference agenda and action plan before or at the event: Josh Tickell – Author/Filmmaker; Kent Bullard - Chairman of Socalbug, a 501c3 non-profit organization, and Kris Moller – Owner/Operator of Conserv Fuel (www.conservfuel.com).

If you would like to attend the Biodiesel Community Conference please R.S.V.P. to: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=RPOJJMHHFRVGPATDMHFR&unknownUser=true
-- Kent BullardCFO (Chief Founder & Operator)Southern California Biodiesel
Users Group, Inc.kent@socalbug.org
805-218-6945

kicking the habit - originally posted 06_30_07

it's been a tough going, but i'm on my way to getting off the grid. im in the process of kicking my/our oil addiction.

our new addition - Yelley Elley! More later on the whys, hows, whos and whats.
In the meantime, feast your eyes...

She's a 1981 Mercedes Benz 240D. Aint' she lovely?






click below to navigate to the full gallery.

Our new baby - Yelley Elley