Why not NEW vegetable oil?

prof5 · 06-30-2006, 10:20 PM

What does new vegetable oil cost when bought in bulk? I can't imagine it costs as much as diesel fuel...

Garry

lapeer20m · 07-01-2006, 12:57 PM

why buy it new when it can be had for free used and works just as well?

I don't know the cost of bulk veggie oil

prof5 · 07-01-2006, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

why buy it new when it can be had for free used and works just as well?

I don't know the cost of bulk veggie oil

Because "free" isn't really free. It seems to me that it takes a lot of time, money, and equipment to find and filter WVO. Might be ok if you don't travel far from your sources, but I can't imagine having to search behind restaurants while crossing the country.

The only place I've found it online is Sams Club, where 35lbs goes for $15. Works out to about $3.40/gal - way too high, but I'll bet you can get it for less than a buck a gallon in bulk somewhere. I'm just curious why no one seems to be considering this...

Garry

busone · 07-01-2006, 02:02 PM

I cannot remember where or when but I do know somebody did the math. This was a looooong time ago though. New oil was slightly less at the time. However the sales tax, shipping, and storage for 1000 gallons made it impractical.

In the future I see the price of soy oil and probably all the other veggy oils going up. With the EPA mandating the use of biodiesel in all diesel fuel sold there will be a demand for virgin veggy oil. More and more biodiesel plants are being built.

If you find out what the cost comparsion is today I would be very intrested in knowing the cost difference.

ParadigmCrime · 07-04-2006, 09:16 PM

My bus runs on Waste Vegetable Oil. In summertime filtering it is not really all that hard. The oil is usually pretty warm, and pours right through filters. I dont spend lots of money on filters and just use layers of cheesecloth. yeah yeah yeah... Im aware this isnt "proper" according to the people who sell all the vegoil conversion equipment.. but Ive been running just fine like this.

I didnt do the conversion myself, I bought the Bus from someone who already had done it, and no longer wanted the Bus. They used the same filtration method I do. Although in wintertime, or cold weather, it will have more steps to filling it up.

I have a wet/dry vac that I bought for 40bucks at homedepot. I just pull up by the oil barrels. stick the hose in the middle of the barrel, and turn on the vaccume. Less than a minute Ive already sucked up 9 gallons, and then I filter it. I havnt done alot of collection yet, just a few fill ups. and Id say yes.. its dirty, kinda smelly, slippery, and that sun sure beats the crap outa you while your hauling buckets around.. but its well worth it, when I only spent 40bucks for a wet/dry vac.

Firearm · 07-04-2006, 11:50 PM

How do you guys keep the oil from getting all over everything? Where do you store the oily shopvac? By the way, I could write a book on the uses for a shopvac (they're kind of like the electric duct tape), but this was a new one.

Eric von Kleist · 07-05-2006, 02:14 PM

Look up the commodities price for soybean or rapeseed ("canola") oil. I looked into this a while back. IIRC, in bulk (7 or 8 THOUSAND GALLANS) it was about $2.25 a gallon, which is competetive with commercial diesel.

But ya gotta buy about one shi+ load of it....

busone · 07-06-2006, 12:31 AM

A 7,000 gallon tank would cost a pretty penny. I wonder how long the oil would last before it starts to go bad?

ParadigmCrime · 07-06-2006, 11:46 AM

My grandfather passed away recently, he had a huge tank (probably in the range of 7000 gallon), he used it to fill all his tractors and cars when he was a farmer. Im sure nobody in my family would have a problem with me inherting this. Now the big question is where the hell would I put it. I live out of my bus fulltime!

I just need a friend in the southwest where I could store it with veg oil. Although I do not have a "home town" I stick too, I tend to be in the southwest alot. Any of you guys wanna share a huge tank of vegoil?

I bet overtime I could even fill it with filtered WVO. Spend like three months doing nothing but collecting/filtering WVO then putting it in this huge thing.

I have seen places selling bulk "yellow grease" (recycled/cleaned veg oil) for as low as .50 cents a gallon or something like that!

the_experience03 · 07-06-2006, 07:31 PM

Careful using that fuel. My gut instinct is that it is of the dyed, non-road tax type. Getting caught with that in your tank could be bad. Of course if it is already empty I'm more than jealous

phillbus914 · 07-06-2006, 08:21 PM

You could just say that you put a quart of transmission fluid in your tank to "lube your valves" and thatâ€™s why its red... of course thatâ€™s only in the extremely unlikely event that you'd get caught.

Has anyone heard of someone being cought using off road diesel?

the_experience03 · 07-06-2006, 08:41 PM

I've actually heard of quite a few. Unfortunately enforcement really depends on the mood of the cop. If you get caught it could range anywhere from a stern talking to to charges of tax evasion. Of course you'd have to give them a reason to look. I think if you were to mix the offroad diesel with your veggie oil to make a winter friendly blend you might be ok. Or you could just pay the tax and help improve roads for everyone

lapeer20m · 07-07-2006, 01:57 PM

you could also say that it's left over fuel you got at a petrol station after hurricaine katrina. I was just talking to a truck driver friend of mine the other day, and he said that stations all over the south had dyed red diesel fuel that was being sold through the regular fuel pumps in the aftermath of katrina. There was no regular diesel to be had. The road tax was payed on all the red fuel sold at those stations, but for a time you could not get in trouble for running the red stuff.

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