Fuel

[SSG]

Jim,
Many people suffer headache from beer as a result of a naturally occurring amino acid called Tyramine that is present to greater or lesser degrees from brand to brand, but still always there. This is also present in high concetrations in many cheeses, so beer and a pizza is a killer for some folks. Other low sulfur fuels such as red wine have a fair amount of the stuff, while white wines tend to be high in sulfur, and those sensitive to sulfur will have severe headache with white wine, but not red, and similarly, with agricultural diesel, and not auto diesel. If you have a true allergy, you can expect something to happen like the response your uncle gets, so you should probably try your experiment around others, not alone...but who wants to drink alone anyway?

 

[JimBinMI]

SSG,

Thanks for the additional info! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A few years ago when michelob dry came out I drank it and after the 2nd time I realized that it gave me a headache like you mentioned. I stopped drinking Mich dry and have not had a problem since.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous Poster]

With cooler months on the horizon, does anyone know when the winter blend of diesel fuel will start to show up at the pumps?

 

[TomG]

I seem to remember some stations touting their winterized fuel sometime in the fall, but maybe that's for gasoline. I don't believe that winter blend diesel has any better anti-gel properties, so an additive is still needed.

 

[gerard]

Actually Tom I'm pretty sure thats the whole point of the "winter blend", it DOES have anti gel already in it. I think all they do is cut it with kerosene, the amount varies with temp. The only problem is if you don't know your buyer and how "winterized" the mix is. While you should be fine the additive is so cheap it's probably worth using it anyway. (Ask any trucker about winter mixes. Can't tell you how many long haul truckers with the extended saddle tanks fuel up down by Bird, then come to NY and gel up on the road)

 

[slanted]

A local TV station recently ran a story about how a government agency was using a soybean oil blend as diesel fuel replacement. Said it was currently twice the price of diesel but that it could fall with increased volume. Then benefits are enviromental.

They were showing a stock John Deere running with the Soyoline.

Seeing all the soybean fields around me makes me want to try it, but seeing how much my tractor is going to costs makes me forget that idea in a hurry!

-George

 

[Anonymous Poster]

There is a company/group promoting BioDiesel. I beleive they have a website about what they have done. They came up with a filtering/refining process that takes used deep frier oil from fast food joints and turns it into a product that can be used in conventional Diesel engines. They supposedly get a cleaner burning fuel that smalls like.... French Fries.

If memory serves they were saying that the fuel was at least as good as regular diesel but it was cleaner and better for your engine.

They were driving around the country in a deisel power van with their processing equipment in the back.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I've been around the use of BioDiesel - engines do run cleaner and smell a whole lot better than straight diesel. BioDiesel is typicall a blend of regular diesel and 15 to 20% bio base. One problem that occurs upon converting is that the bio base will clean the system (both vehicle and storage tank) which leads to clogged filters. So, if you are going to try it, have a few filters on hand. Fuel consumption remains about the same.

 

[jgh]

9/7

As owner of a restaurant we generate some of that used cooking oil, though most of ours is Canola, with the scent of Virginia fried chicken (see http://www.richmond.com/StyleWeekly/output.cfm?ID=777218 for the delicious details, plug, plug).

I would love to hear more of the biofuel site. Does anyone have the URL? Valley Proteins of VA, who has for years picked up our used oil, has recently decided to charge for this service, after paying US in the past. Go figure.

Jim