For Valentine’s Day Laura and I took the Vegfalia to one of the most beautiful spots in the world: Yosemite Valley. We stayed at the yosemite lodge rather than camp out in the westy. It was 15 degrees or so and I haven’t figured out my plan for heating yet. Unfortunately we missed the good snow and our x-country ski excursion was suboptimal, we experienced one of the legendary Awahnee Prix Fixe menus for Valentine’s Day dinner. The hostess presented me with a rose while Laura was in the restroom so that I could look good by giving it to her - nice touch, unfortunately I didn’t think of it first.

If you haven’t been there, the grand dining room in the Awahnee is incredible - huge wooden beams the size of whole tree trunks frame stone walls and soaring windows, it is truly an architectural masterpiece.  The 5 course meal with wine pairings was fantastic, from the single giant smoked scallop, with a wisp of smoke trapped underneath the glass cover, dramatically pulled off by the waiter, to the grassfed veal cheek that melted in your mouth.  The whole meal was made as sustainably as possible in the highest country gourmet fashion.

We didn’t have any problems at all with the VO system in the cold, but we had an interesting revelation as we went to empty the food out of the Vegfalia to prevent bear attacks on the car.  Most of you have probably seen the classic Yosemite video of the bear ripping the top of the door off of a car with a nonchalant tug of it’s claw, like nothing more than a tuna can.  Well, I suddenly had a vision of this happening to our beloved Vanagon, with a whole familly of bears frantically digging through the doors and under the back seat to get at the vegetable oil tank.  Hmmm, it seems that it is now impossible to remove all of the “food” from our car, the VO is running through it’s veins!  We didn’t have any issues at the Lodge, but we’ll see how it goes in the summer time in the less populated camp sites.

Overall, a very successful and another fantastic Vegfalia roadtrip!

For our 2nd “big” trip, we decided to take a holiday journey to Ft. Collins, CO, then Salt Lake City, UT to visit some of Laura’s famly. I scoured discussion forums and talked to whoever I could find that had insight on how to properly handle WVO and B100 in the winter. Of course, I received a plethora of possible solutions, but the default answer was always to mix in at least 50% petrol diesel to prevent gelling. There are various anti-gel solutions for biodiesel which seem to work well in most cases, but I opted to attempt a mechanical solution. I winterized the biodiesel system with a 110V fuel filter heater and a magnetic block heater in line with a timer - my plan was to heat everything up for an hour or so before trying to start on B99 in freezing temps. I plumbed up our Portable Filtration System to filter WVO on the fly using a Fill-Rite 1604 12V pump to push the oil through spun 20 micron then 5 micron home water type filters. I had also figured out an issue that might be missed with diesel conversions - I noticed that I has having a harder time starting this winter using B100. I thought it might by my fuel gelling, it was getting down to 35-40 degrees at night. However, it turned out to be the result of me not changing the battery after the gasoline to diesel conversion. It seems that starter batteries don’t work as well in the cold and have 2 Amperage ratings (the “oomph” that the battery can put out to start the car), a regular rating, and a cold cranking amps rating. The diesel engine needed 600 or more CCA (cold cranking amps) and this battery only had around 500 CCA. Luckily and surprisingly, they had the proper battery at Costco (and we could recycle the old one) and after a mediocre installation job (I didn’t have my tools with me, this will come up again later in the narrative), the Vegfalia fired right up! The next morning when I cold started the engine, it was obvious that this had been the problem. We also chose this trip as an excuse for GoWesty to install the manual 4WD decoupler, the straight shaft (taking out the viscous coupling), new Old Man Emu shocks, new Michelin Hydroedge M/S tires, a last minute steel coolant pipe upgrade (they found a small crack in the plastic one), and a last minute rear brake job (the e-brake lever snapped off 2 days before leaving). Ahhh, to have a 20 year old vehicle with 300K miles on the frame using an quasi-experimental fuel system heading into unpredictable weather.

So, after all of the preparation we headed out with 2 full tanks, an extra 30 gallons of filtered oil, and our filtration system to get used oil from restaurants. I had also made a list of local biodiesel retailers and those with filtered VO using Fillup4Free and the Mapquest alt fuel map. Our first problem was the new VO filter that I installed one week prior, clogged after about 300 miles. We ended up using our homebrew biodiesel and had to buy 6 gallons of straight petrol to make it to SLC. After a brief nap, we were able to fill up with B20 at Dal Soglio’s B20 pump, their # is 801-255-9221. Cardwell Distributing’s B100/B50 pumps are the only other retail ones we found, but were gelled up and not functioning at all. It seems that they mix the fuel at the pump, and don’t have a filter heater or line heater to winterize it, so once the B100 side gelled, the filter clogged and you can’t pump a thing. A similar thing happened to our portable filtration system, the 12V Fill-Rite pump could pull the thicker oil through the filters.

In troubleshooting the problem with our filter clogging, it may have been because I had used still-hot used oil filtered through my still-being-tested portable filtering system; if so, it is either due to suspended water in the oil, larger particles making it through the filters while hot. The fuel temp was reaching 150 and higher, but I had the vegtherm in-line after the VO filter, before the fuel pump, so the temperature could be dropping low in the filter itself, causing potential clogging as well. We ran B20 to Ft. Collins, needing to use 5 more gallons of petrol on the way, since there were no stations in the interim, and we hadn’t had a chance to find any filters to get the VO system up again (I had forgotten to order more filters before we left - drat!!!).

We had a great time in Ft. Collins (See the New Belgium Brewing Company tour review), changed the VO filter (and got 5 extra), and I tried to use our roadside filter to re-filter the oil that was left in the VO tank when it had clogged the last filter. It had a hard time filtering even VO mixed with B20 at 20 degrees, but got through it. At this point, we had no VO filter for used oil, but we were able to find a B20 pump in town and filled both tanks and a few extras to make it back to SLC. As we drove across I-80 in Wyoming, we were barraged with 60mph winds, spindrift snow blowing across the road and subzero temperatures. We were able to navigate the gale-force gusts in our anti-aerodynamic rolling toaster/breadbox/boxcar/etc, but around 9pm the headlights started to go dim. Then we started losing power. Then the car stalled as I pulled it to the side of the road in against the unrelenting wind. Crap. After a little cursing and fiddling with the ignition and switches, the dread in the pit of my stomach passed quickly as my frantically troubleshooting brain recalled the shoddy installation job I had done with the battery. I dove into the tool tote and after tightening the battery leads, the Vegfalia was once again purring like a kitten. Lesson learned - if you don’t want to have to start looking for new shorts after breaking down in the middle of some of the worst weather imaginable, don’t half-ass your repairs. So, lessons thus far: Do it right the first time, always bring extra filters, and that oil doesn’t like cold weather and now I’ll have to figure out a way to heat my portable filtering system. Once we made it to Salt Lake we had a few days visiting with Laura’s dad and stepfamily, we went snowshoeing (and introduced our dog, Marley, to the snow), ate holiday breads, and made it up for a day of skiing/boarding at Solitude. The Syncro drove like a champ in the deep snow up Mill Creek ravine where we hiked and we never had an issue starting on the B20, even without using the block and filter heaters. Before heading home, we hit up Costco for a little $4.25/gallon virgin soy oil and filled up both tanks with B20 at Dal Soglio’s. We made one more Costco run in Vegas for some more expensive new oil and made it home. Although I know that using VVO is suboptimal and is wasteful of a food product, it still has less carbon emissions than petrol, I’m trying to choose the least harmful fuel from the options available in a geographic region.

This is a huge argument for regionalizing fuel and consolidation of waste streams. Each community should have community-run biodiesel and ethanol plants that collect used oil from restaurants in the area for biodiesel and use local agricultural and green waste for cellulosic ethanol. It could be powered by methane from the local landfill, fuel produced can be used in local governmental vehicles and some could be sold to local citizens for a reduced price, with any proceeds going back into the county’s alternative energy program. San Luis Obispo county is the perfect region for this type of community choice energy production. Owned by the people, sustainable, it pays for itself many times over (especially once oil is above $200/barrel), and is a responsible way to provide local jobs and a reliable future fuel source.

All in all, it went well, we had a great time, and learned a bit about using VO in the cold. Onward to ironing out the bugs and planning the next Fossil-Fuel Free roadtrip!

Sweet Camping Spot

Originally uploaded by meganpru

In planning our upcoming fossil-fuel-free roadtrip to Ft. Collins, CO and Salt Lake City, I’ve been scouring the web for help with finding vegetable oil while on the road and have come across not only another “Vegfalia” blog at Volksvegan.org, but their site pointed me to Fillup4Free.com, a growing database of VO coops, restaurants with WVO available, people and businesses with filtered WVO available, and others just using VO in their vehicles. It’s a fantastic resources for people trying to travel on vegetable oil.
Megan and Seneca, the VolksVegan folks have some incredible photos and some fantastic posts about their travels on vegetable oil. It’s great to see others dedicating themselves towards sustainability.
Nice work guys!

We’ve just passed a fantastic milestone in any vehicle - the 300,000 mile mark.  Although the Vegfalia has only run 1% of these miles on biodiesel and veggie oil thus far, we’re hoping for many more miles out of her. In today’s disposable society, conservation is still the easiest and best way to protect our resources, and taking care of and preserving an older vehicle can still be more eco-friendly than getting a new one when you factor in the energy and materials required to build it. Granted, driving around a poorly-tuned 1975 smoke belcher isn’t what we’re talking about and at that point you could probably upgrade to something more efficient. Don’t forget, if you have a favorite vintage frame that you’re still in love with keeping alive, you can always consider converting it to electric.

DSC02550

Originally uploaded by theseep

Some people have asked, “How can I get one of those?”, or, “Can I buy your Vanagon?” I suppose we could sell it for $50,000 (I know it’s steep, but we’d need to finance building another!), but most Vanagon people don’t mind another project. If you want the incredible versatility, durability, and unique driving experience of a Vanagon and want to use alternative fuels and decrease your CO2 footprint, this is the way to go.
In order to run biodiesel and/or straight vegetable oil (SVO), you need to have a diesel Vanagon. I think that the only U.S. diesel Vanagons were in 1982 and 83, with a somewhat underpowered 1.6 Liter non-turbo engine. If you can find one in good shape and you don’t mind a top speed of 55-60mph and some slow uphills, these are the easiest and quickest way to start running on biodiesel. These are also the easiest to upgrade to a better engine - you can drop a 1.6L or a 1.9L Turbo Diesel engine in fairly easily. If you’re in for a little more money and complication but better performance, you can put a computer controlled 1.9L TDI engine as well. These are VW engines similar to those used in older diesel Jettas and Golfs, with the TDIs in the newer models. They are classified as AAZ type engines and can be found new, used, and rebuilt. The more complicated route is to convert a gasoline Vanagon to a diesel one. We opted for the even more complicated route - convert a gasoline Syncro (4WD) Vanagon to a diesel one. To convert either, you need to find diesel Vanagon engine support bars, mounts, a diesel bellhousing, diesel oilpan, and a few other odds and ends depending on how complete your engine is. For the Syncro conversion, you need to find a diesel Syncro fuel tank as well (the starter is in a different spot in the Syncro and requires a different tank). We got our engine and all of the parts to convert our Syncro from Thomas at Quality German Auto Parts in Montclair, CA north of L.A. - he also sells kits and parts on ebay as do a few other shops.  Finding someone to perform the transplant is another issue, we had Jeff at Autostadt West in Sacramento do ours, but I think that since ours was quite a project, he might need a break before doing another. I also recently found that The Green Car Company near Seattle is doing gas to diesel Vanagon conversions as well and provides engines and all parts necessary. I’d find someone with experience doing this, as there is some fabrication and some problems can crop up during the conversion.
Once you get a diesel vanagon, you can run it on any concentration of biodiesel or regular diesel as well. We opted for the greenest version by adding in a Greasecar SVO kit which is basically a 15 gallon tank that fits under the rear seat that taps into your coolant system to heat the veggie oil to 160 degrees with a computer controlled solenoid system that changes your fuel back and forth from diesel/biodiesel to SVO. You need to start and stop the car on diesel/biodiesel and you can switch over to SVO once the oil is hot enough. We also added a Vegtherm 12V heater to boost the temp and decrease our switchover times.
The last option is to find a European or Canadian diesel vanagon and have it imported (Autostadt West is working on this as well) - they made diesel Vanagons for years in Europe and I think are still making diesel Eurovans.
We’ve been really happy with it so far - around 3000 miles and running strong!

Quick, easy, expensive, and completely worth it: Contact Lucas at GoWesty in Los Osos, CA, the premier Vanagon restoration center. You can get “GoWesty Certified” Vanagons that are meticulously gone over and are essentially new, starting around $30K for 2WD Westys, and $50K for Syncros. I’m pretty sure that they will sell you one without an engine and can arrange shipping to GreenCarCo in Seattle, where for an additional 10-15K, you can have a 1.9L TD or TDI installed with a vegetable oil system as well (I haven’t used them so I cannot vouch for their service yet). It may sound expensive, but I dare you to find a vehicle this versatile and fun that runs on alternative fuel for less than $50,000.

Good Luck!

Originally uploaded by neuphoto57

Over 8 days we managed to take 2 separate veggie oil trips to the southern part of Big Sur, California. Since we live in San Luis Obispo, we can make it to Kirk Creek, Limekiln, and Julia Pfeiffer Burns campgrounds within 2 hours straight up the incredibly scenic and legendary Route 1. It’s approximately a 190 mile round trip, and as we drive through Cayucos where we got married, the minimally existent Harmony, quaint Cambria, and up along the cliffs and hills overlooking the edge of the Pacific. The first overnighter was just Laura and myself, reminiscing on the early days of our relationship. We watched the sunset, played guitar, and talked until we drifted off to sleep on the relatively comfortable upper bunk. The next day we hiked a bit and headed home.
This past weekend, we headed back up Rt 1 with our cousins Cindy and Thomas. We decided to go “Westy only” for camping, with Laura and I in the top bunk and Cindy and Thomas in the lower. We brought sandwiches from Gus’s and shared a local bottle of wine to a nearly full moon lighting up cloud animals and topiary-like shrubs. The front seats held the laptop for an evening showing of Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny to top it off (luckily the viewing angle was decent from both bunks).

In the morning, we hiked part of the trail to Vincente flats across from our campground and used the shower I installed in the back of the Vegfalia to wash the poison oak (alwasy bring your Technu to Big Sur!) and dirt off from the knees down.  We made a quick stop for a few photos of Elephant seals and made it to a few wineries for tasting in Paso Robles before heading home.

This may sound a little strange, but it was fantastic to spend good time with family and not feel guilty about using fossil fuels - Thomas even refilled the same water bottle the entire trip! We’re still working out the bugs in the Vegfalia, though. I had to take out the heat exchanger water heater because the coolant hose blew again that is teed off to the Greasecar kit. Hopefully that issue is settled for now. This week I’m trying to tackle fixing some of the electrical issues with the power locks and repair the broken heater flap cables under the dash.

Our maiden voyage of the Vegfalia was a success! We travelled almost 2000 miles from SLO, CA to Bend then to Hood River, Oregon then returned home through Portland and Santa Cruz on only biodiesel and vegetable oil.

Because there isn’t an adequate infrastructure for retail biodiesel or filtered WVO (waste vegetable oil), we carried an extra 15 gallons of WVO and 5 gallons of biodiesel to start. We picked up 4 4.7 gallon cubes of virgin veggie oil at Costco for around $3.75/gallon in Sacramento which got us through Bend and up to Portland. There we filled up the 20 gallon main tank and the 15 gallon VO tank plus 4 cubes with biodiesel at one of the multiple stations there. Dissapointingly, there was no b99 available all the way up Rt 5, only 2 locations in the Bay Area, and 2 locations in Santa Cruz. We’re planning an on-the-fly filtration system, possibly modeled after The Organic Mechanic’s Greasebeast or the RoadTote Filtration system from VegPower so we can stop at restaurants on the way rather than using virgin VO as well as to save more money.

I’ll be adding photos and more on the trip soon!

8-20-07:  Maybe I jumped the gun a little when I ordered my Greasecar kit back in January without actually having the diesel engine installed in the van yet.  I get excited about these things.  Now that we have it back, it took me about 5 hours to get the kit installed. 

Overall, the process was fairly painless - the Greasecar instructions were generic and with only a few diagrams, but it was well-written and complete enough for a DIY install.  The kit cost around $1200 which included the new computerized controller, custom 15 gallon heated tank for under the rear seat, 2 3-way fuel solenoid switches, plenty of coolant and fuel hose, clamps, temp sensors for both coolant temp and fuel temp.

I’ll post more on the installation soon with photos

8-17-07: Jeff at Autostadt West was able to deliver our Westy after 6 months in the shop for a full transmission rebuild and the installation of a 1.9 Liter Turbo Diesel engine. It was a long time coming, but we’re excited to have her back. The first night I filled up the rest of the tank with our homebrew biodiesel so it is now officially running on clean fuel!