Hello

tracedun · 02-10-2018, 01:29 PM

New to the site. My wife just convinced me we are going to do this skoolie thing. (I am excited about it too) Planning to purchase our bus in about a year. Thank You to all that have already posted so much great info, I'm going to devour it, learn all I can, ask lots of dumb questions and maybe someday be able to help out someone else.

Trace

Yuuyia_Takahashi · 02-10-2018, 01:53 PM

Welcome! Tons of friendly, knowledgeable, people on here.

I’ve been here about a week myself and already learned a bunch and seen so many cool ideas.

JeremyLongworth · 02-10-2018, 02:48 PM

Hello, My name is Jeremy , About to embark on a conversion of a 97 Thomas Getting a GoldenFuel system soon.

Rusty · 02-10-2018, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tracedun

New to the site. My wife just convinced me we are going to do this skoolie thing. (I am excited about it too) Planning to purchase our bus in about a year. Thank You to all that have already posted so much great info, I'm going to devour it, learn all I can, ask lots of dumb questions and maybe someday be able to help out someone else.

Trace

You have this thing figured out already !

Step 1) Where are we going to store and work-on this very large vehicle.

JeremyLongworth · 02-10-2018, 04:35 PM

I Used to make Biodiesel and I got good at it. But it's a lot of work and I've been watching GFS for a LONG time. The Bus seems like the best rout for me. As it has a wheelchair ramp and enough room to house my Adjustable bed ; I am a recovering Paraplegic.

o1marc · 02-10-2018, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyLongworth

I Used to make Biodiesel and I got good at it. But it's a lot of work and I've been watching GFS for a LONG time. The Bus seems like the best rout for me. As it has a wheelchair ramp and enough room to house my Adjustable bed ; I am a recovering Paraplegic.

Biodiesel was a fad when it first came out, then the restaurants found that they had a viable commodity that they could sell instead of throwing it out or giving it away. It is usually blended with petroleum diesel at around 20-25%. With having to buy the used oil and the process to make it clean enough to use, it really isn't a benefit IMHO.

cowlitzcoach · 02-10-2018, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyLongworth

Hello, My name is Jeremy , About to embark on a conversion of a 97 Thomas Getting a GoldenFuel system soon.

I have been in the bus business a long time and I have heard about a lot of different options on buses over the years. A GoldenFuel System is a new one to me.

What is a GoldenFuel System?

o1marc · 02-10-2018, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

I have been in the bus business a long time and I have heard about a lot of different options on buses over the years. A GoldenFuel System is a new one to me.

What is a GoldenFuel System?

It's a brand name of straight vegetable oil systems. Everything I read on them makes me shy away from all the issues with no real benefit.

Twigg · 02-10-2018, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

I have been in the bus business a long time and I have heard about a lot of different options on buses over the years. A GoldenFuel System is a new one to me.

What is a GoldenFuel System?

It's a company that converts diesel engines to run on vegetable oil.

JeremyLongworth · 02-10-2018, 06:03 PM

Yea it's brand name but the dude is passionate about perfecting the process.. And I've been following changes , in Filters valves etc. they are on the cutting edge of the Industry. And as far as collecting oil , I am a charismatic individual I will have no problem finding grease.

Rusty · 02-10-2018, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyLongworth

And as far as collecting oil , I am a charismatic individual I will have no problem finding grease.

I don't think any human has ever uttered that combination of words in a sentence.

You will fit-in here just fine.

o1marc · 02-10-2018, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyLongworth

Yea it's brand name but the dude is passionate about perfecting the process.. And I've been following changes , in Filters valves etc. they are on the cutting edge of the Industry. And as far as collecting oil , I am a charismatic individual I will have no problem finding grease.

Why are you so adamant about wanting to burn vegetable oil? You really need clean vegetable oil, that runs around $8 a gallon. If you're getting used oil the process to clean it is messy and time consuming to where it is no longer economical to run and the benefits are small if any.

cowlitzcoach · 02-11-2018, 03:50 AM

30-years ago finding sources of waste vegetable oil (WVO) was relatively easy. Most establishments that used deep fat fryers were paying to have their WVO collected. As a consequence if someone showed up wanting to take their WVO at not cost to them most establishments jumped at the chance.

Starting about the late '90's and the early '00's when diesel fuel prices spiked to in excess of $4.00 per gallon there were companies like Tim's Cascade Snacks discovered that they could run their trucks on the WVO. They soon discovered that if they could get a good source for WVO they could create an additional revenue stream out of what had been an expense center. Tim's ventured out into the leasing of vegetable oil so that all of the WVO was their oil. They delivered the new clean oil and picked up the old dirty oil. The cost to most establishments, even when taking into consideration shrinkage, was less expensive than purchasing the oil and then paying to get rid of it.

You will find virtually no establishments along the I-5 corridor in WA or OR that will have WVO available to pick up.

I would also like to suggest that there is a world of difference in pulling up to a local Burger King in our diesel Rabbit and ask for 10-gallons of WVO and pulling up in your bus and asking for 100-gallons of WVO.

I would also like to suggest that handling the volume of WVO sufficient to run your bus down the road is going to be a huge task that is dirty and smelly.

I am not trying to rain on your parade or dissuade you from your chosen path. What I am saying is that you need to better investigate your possible WVO sources. I doubt the most charismatic person who has ever lived would find it easy to find enough WVO to keep a bus running for a day.

In about 2000 I was seriously considering installing a WVO system in one of my buses. At the time we were running a bus on a daily route that went about 200 miles per day. On average that fuel cost was about $75.00 per day. I thought if I could get a WVO system going I could reduce that cost considerably. I was serious enough to have been just about ready to sign a check to purchase some new tanks for the bus.

And then I sat down and really ran the numbers. I would still be running through 20-30 gallons of fuel per day. Which for my purposes I rounded to 200 gallons per week.

Do you have any idea of how many establishments I would have had to go to in order to have 200 gallons of WVO on hand every week?

Do you have any idea of the infrastructure required to process WVO into a clean fuel stock? Infrastructure in the form of tanks, tank heaters, pumps, hoses, valves, and filters. I would have needed to have a truck with a tank and a pump to collect the WVO. I would have to pay someone to drive the daily route so that I would have time to do my collecting. Or do the collecting while I drove the route.

And as a commercial operator I also had to take into consideration the cost of taxes. I am sure that as a small non-commercial operator it is highly unlikely the tax collector would be knocking on your door. But it is a real possibility. In a state like WA state where the state and federal fuel tax is a lot more than $0.50 per gallon the tax liability would become huge very quickly.

By the time I added up all of the costs and the time I would be involved with messing around with everything I figured fuel costs could top $5.00 per gallon and I would be $$$ ahead still.

So again, I do not want to seem like I am raining on your parade. Just be aware of all of the ramifications involved with not using fuel from the pump at the filling station.

EastCoastCB · 02-11-2018, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyLongworth

I am a charismatic individual I will have no problem finding grease.

spoken like a true Scot!

JeremyLongworth · 02-11-2018, 07:47 AM

[QUOTE=cowlitzcoach;251689]

Do you have any idea of how many establishments I would have had to go to in order to have 200 gallons of WVO on hand every week?

I've collected over 150 gallons in one weekend. Collecting Waste oil was the easiest part of making BioDiesel But I don't know where you plan to go that you need 200 gallons a week and if you do happen to run LOW on oil you simply run it on the purge tank. (the main tank)

Rusty · 02-11-2018, 08:33 AM

[QUOTE=JeremyLongworth;251700]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

Do you have any idea of how many establishments I would have had to go to in order to have 200 gallons of WVO on hand every week?

I've collected over 150 gallons in one weekend. Collecting Waste oil was the easiest part of making BioDiesel But I don't know where you plan to go that you need 200 gallons a week and if you do happen to run LOW on oil you simply run it on the purge tank. (the main tank)

I hear you. We all deep-down think Cowlitz is really Tim's Cascade Snacks in disguise and doesn't want the competition for the greasy gold.

I have an abundance of hubris, but when that guy talks buses, my ears perk-up.

Twigg · 02-11-2018, 09:58 AM

[QUOTE=Rusty;251704]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyLongworth

I have an abundance of hubris, but when that guy talks buses, my ears perk-up.

I just wish I knew as much about buses as he has already forgotten.

JeremyLongworth · 02-11-2018, 11:25 AM

[QUOTE=Rusty;251704]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyLongworth

I hear you. We all deep-down think Cowlitz is really Tim's Cascade Snacks in disguise and doesn't want the competition for the greasy gold.

LOLROF He does seem determined to keep me out of his territory LOL No seriously I have been dreaming this up for years and have done the research and yes there is allot to consider. And I do appreciate your concern. I look for restaurants that pride themselves on changing their oil frequently and avoid those that don't , also Hydrogenated oil, solids, Water etc. I haven't decided where to mount the tanks , my options are in the bus (Rear) , underneath, oposite the fuel tanks or make a deck on the rear 4 storage filtering etc.
If there is another fuel source that is placed in containers and handed to me with a smile and a "Thank you for helping save the world" by all means let me in on it Bra ..

Rusty · 02-11-2018, 03:04 PM

[QUOTE=JeremyLongworth;251727]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

nks or make a deck on the rear 4 storage filtering etc.
If there is another fuel source that is placed in containers and handed to me with a smile and a "Thank you for helping save the world" by all means let me in on it Bra ..

Buy a school bus from a local District and never repaint it -- just pull-up to their bus yard pumps and fill-up.

Robin97396 · 02-11-2018, 03:41 PM

Our state cars had cards that you had to use to activate the pump at the motor pool. I've found those cards in the sun visor when buying state cars through PS. I never tried the pumps, but it should be easy with a X state car and the proper card. 18 gallons at a time didn't seem like it would be worth the risk.

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