Build your own alternative fuel vehicle

By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Fri, 2007-02-16 11:44

A popular class at Santa Rosa Junior College, California

At Santa Rosa Junior College in Petaluma, California, mechanics and do-it-yourself environmentalists are learning how to convert a standard car into an alternative fuel vehicle running on ethanol, vegetable oil, or electricity. The class was created two years ago by diesel truck mechanic Mark Armstrong and has quickly grown in popularity. The maximum number of forty students filled the class soon after registration opened this year and another forty had to be turned away.

Mark Armstrong teaches his students a wide variety of skills; for example how to solder and braze so that they are able to assemble an ethanol converter from dozens of copper pieces. In other sessions, students are taught such things as how to install a filter for purifying the vegetable oil or a heat exchanger that brings the vegetable oil to the correct temperature to enable the fuel injectors to work efficiently. Converting a car to run on electricity requires the most extensive alteration since additional room has to be created for fifteen battery packs, which usually involves reconfiguring the suspension.

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It's good to hear BP & GM

By TheSUBWAY.com / Published on Tue, 2008-03-25 19:40

It's good to hear BP & GM talk about alternative fuels, but 50 years to implement is too long. money.cnn.com/2008/03/05/news/companies/bigoil_hydrogen/index.htm

Perhaps this link will spark more attention:
www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/

It is GM's electric concept car the Chevy Volt. If more people begin to demand alternative fuel cars, we should be able to speed the rate at which the technology is developed.

We have started an Investor Forum where Investors can meet and discuss topics like this:
www.thesubway.com/small-cap-forum/

We found an interesting

By TheSUBWAY.com / Published on Thu, 2008-03-27 18:08

We found an interesting article about the problems with Ethanol on ConsumerReports.org:

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2008/03/ethanol-e85.html

"But there are some problems with increasing ethanol blends. Ethanol contains less energy than gasoline, so increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline will likely result in lower fuel economy. Increasing standard fuel blends from zero to 10 percent ethanol, as is happening today, has little or no impact on fuel economy. In tests, the differences occur within the margin of error, about 0.5 percent. Further increasing ethanol levels to 20 percent reduces fuel economy between 1 and 3 percent, according to testing by the DOE and General Motors. Evaluations are underway to determine if E20 will burn effectively in today's engines without impacting reliability and longevity, and also assessing potential impact on fuel economy."

Improve fuel efficiency

By waxner / Published on Wed, 2009-02-11 1:32

Use multi-grade, energy conserving (EC) motor oil to improve fuel efficiency 1-2% or buy re-refined oil to support recycling of oil. Purchase the lowest viscosity oil (i.e., "10 W 40") recommended by your car's owners manual. Check your vehicle's user manual to determine how often to change your oil (mechanics recommend every 3,000 miles, but many cars today can go longer without affecting engine wear). Recycle your used motor oil and oil filters at an approved collection center and sop up any spills with super-absorbent towels or kitty litter.

Alternative Fuel

By bumpers / Published on Wed, 2009-05-06 8:26

Unlike Hybrid Vehicles, flexible fuel vehicles are not necessarily more expensive because of the alternative fuel option, and they aren’t anywhere near as rare.

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