BagOfCrisps 24 Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 The good old coconut. I like coconuts. And they sound like horses too. Quote: People on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have found their own solution to high energy prices - the humble coconut. They are developing mini-refineries that produce a coconut oil that can replace diesel. From police officers to priests, the locals are powering up their vehicles and generators with coco-fuel. Inquiries for the coconut power have come in from overseas, including Iran and Europe. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6634221.stm Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 so the professor was actually onto something. Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 The original diesel engine was designed to run off vegetable oil. It only came into production to function via diesel because the infrastructure for distributing diesel to the public had already existed. I do want to give props to Papua New Guinea for actually using a vegetable oil by-product, but the truth is; they are no smarter than the original engineer. We, however, are morons for buying into the belief that we actually need diesel to power diesel engines. My dad also converted his 2008 Dodge Full-sized pickup/Cummins to operate off of vegetable oil. All it takes is a filter. It's so insanely easy, I'm actually embarrased that we Americans don't get off our asses and turn to McDonalds as our fuel-up stations. When you do convert your modern diesel engine, people gawk and drop their jaws in awe of disbelief that the owner would do what was originally intended. If you own a diesel and don't own a conversion kit (aka- a filter) you suck. Here is one link (of the many) to do it yourself; http://greasecar.com/ Oh... and don't forget Brazil. The only country in the world that is not dependent on foreign oil imports. It's called sugar cane. ethanol. Hello??? Wake up the rest of the world! Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted May 9, 2007 Author Share Posted May 9, 2007 Which professor daver? (Was he mad in a friendly sort of way?) Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I think he's talking about "Gilligan's Island." But i could easily be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time daver has stumped me regarding some TV quote or persona. Actually, I'm quite certain he's memorized every piece of dialogue that has ever passed the screen and will most likely regurgitate that exact dialogue... if he so indulges our curiosity. Come on daver... which professor? (And please lay out the entire screen-play. thanx.) Link to post Share on other sites
thursday 1 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Just another example of bio-diesel. Local authorities of London Boroughs have been trialling bio-diesel for some years. Spent cooking oil from restaurants is collected and the oil refined to bio-diesel. The restaurants get a free collection service and the local authority has a free source of "raw" material. Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 i've never used bio diesel, but it seems like great idea. i just heard about these blokes who drove from alaska to argentina in a truck powered by used cooking oil: http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/41205/newsDate/2-Apr-2007/story.htm samurai - i guess you have first hand experience of this. is it a pain in the arse getting used oil? Link to post Share on other sites
daver 0 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Originally Posted By: samurai Come on daver... which professor? why Roy Hinkley of course; the alleged love of Mary Anne Summers. Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Originally Posted By: spook samurai - i guess you have first hand experience of this. is it a pain in the arse getting used oil? No. He has a couple of places, a taqueria and Carl's Jr. he also set himself up with a home filter/storage unit. Actually, he just converted his rig last month, weeks after he bought it. Doing so voids the engine warranty. That was the biggest debate for him even though he is a fricking car buff. He is still looking into the road tax he is skipping out on by not paying at the pump. Apparently some people in the past have been tracked down years after they converted their vehicles and ended up having to pay a bit. Typical California. Now he mixes just a few percent of diesel into the mix to thin it out and make it easier to work with. Vegetable oil thickens up in cold weather and needs to be spliced with real diesel anyway, hence the term bio-fuel. He has a heater wrapping his tank as well as his fuel lines to keep it thin and also lives in a very warm climate, but says the diesel just plain makes it easier to work with. He's in the process of building his retirement cabin on the other side of the sierras and drives over the pass up to 8000 feet every weekend, towing trailers and what-not. He's loving it. And making me jealous in a pretty major way as well. Actually I'm thinking of buying an old mercedes just to play myself. (as well as give my wife the mercedes she has always wanted.) Link to post Share on other sites
samurai 0 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Originally Posted By: daver Originally Posted By: samurai Come on daver... which professor? why Roy Hinkley of course; the alleged love of Mary Anne Summers. I can't believe you know their full names. I just know them as "The Professor" and "Mary Anne." Remind me to never play any kind of Trivia game with you. Quick... quote Marx, Coleridge, and Lord Byron.... Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 spook, I have a mate in Perth who has been making his own and driving his Toyota hilux on it. Not too difficult once you know how to do it it seems... Link to post Share on other sites
Rag-Doll 0 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Isn't one of the problems with coco nut oil though is that it solidifies at 25c or something like that. Ok if you're in the tropics, but not the sort of thing you can use in any place where you might actually want to live! Although I'm sure there are additives they can put in to solve the problem, can't be too difficult surely. Link to post Share on other sites
powwwers 0 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Q: hey, what`s hard and hairy on the outside? soft and moist on the inside? Starts with a `C` ends with a `T` and has a `U` and an `N` in the middle???... A: A CocoNUT Link to post Share on other sites
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