I just wanted to make a quick post about a new online video series that is just starting up. “Fully Charged” is a weekly video series on YouTube and iTunes that aims to showcase plug-in electric vehicles. The video below is the first episode/pilot, take a look at this EXCELLENT explanation of electric vehicles.
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This past weekend I gave my garage WVO filter setup a test run and took some video. Last night I compiled it and uploaded it to YouTube, check it out.
There will be a more in-depth post about this, soon.
It’s been a while since I have posted anything on here, sorry. The TDI is running well and now has 1,440 miles on the new engine. I changed the oil at 700 miles and plan to change it again this weekend. The car has been running on standard petrodiesel for now to break it in, but after this oil change I plan to hook up the parts from the Greasecar kit and get it running on WVO.
In other news, a friend of mine is interested in sustainable fueled vehicles and vehicle efficiency and is going to be contributing his thoughts to TheSmartDrive every now and then. Doug is an avid supporter of sustainable fuels and has worked on battery electric, hybrid electric, and solar power vehicles. I’m sure you will find his posts interesting.
This is a good SVO overview for anyone who wants to know the basics of running a car on SVO. I would have to disagree with the idea of shutting down and starting a car on SVO in the summer. After the repairs to The Smart Drive’s SVO vehicle I would STRONGLY suggest you clear your SVO system every time.
Here is an interesting article about the efficiency of converting biomass into liquid fuel, vs using it to generate electricity for EVs. http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/05/biofuels-can-power-more-miles-if-used-to-charge-batteries.ars
The engine rebuild of the 2001 Golf is well under way and today I placed the order for the remainder of the required parts. Here is the list of new stuff:
- VR6 single mass clutch – $330
- Rod Bolts – $ 40
- Oil Pump – $ 130
- Injector nozzle set (4) – $300
- Head gasket – $40
- Rear main, front main , Oil filter, oil cooler, oil pan gaskets/sealers – $65
- Glow Plugs – $80
Clutch and oil pump I decided to replace since the engine was out of the car anyway… hey why not? Over the past few weeks it has become clear the cause of the damage was the SVO used in the car before. Most likely the injector nozzles became clogged, thus causing the carbon deposits, heat damage and finally loss of compression. Because of that I decided to replace the injector nozzles. Now, to find a place that can rebuild TDI injectors. I’ll let you know how that goes :-/
For a little humorous educational reading, check out this blog about a guy who does just about everything wrong with a new PD style VW TDI: http://getoffoil.blogspot.com/
Utah Biodiesel Supply has a bunch of video tutorials on how to make Biodiesel. Also they provide the videos files for download free.
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/tutorialvideos.php
Many people ask “How long do I have to drive on SVO to get a return on my investment (ROI)?”. This is a good question since nobody wants diminishing returns.
This posting has a good overview on ROI for a SVO system and also dives into the hidden costs of SVO. http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/voconversionbasics/vpost?id=2461566
For those who want an automated system, check out my spreadsheet on SVO ROI Calculator spreadsheet (MS Excel format).
http://thesmartdrive.com/files/SVO_calculator.xls
Will your engine work with SVO? Take a look at this post on the best SVO engines.
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Welcome
My name is Drew and let me welcome you to TheSmartDrive.com!
The Smart Drive is a blog and informational site created to provide information and resources about sustainable energy vehicles. Sustainable energy has become a hot topic across the world in modern times, and from my experience many people understand what sustainable energy, electric vehicles, and biodiesel are but don’t know what they can do with these technologies and where they can find information. This site is dedicated to providing information on sustainable energy for vehicles and other applications. The internet is a wonderful encyclopedia of knowledge if you know where to look. Here you will find links to resources to help you find exactly what you are looking for, or in most cases what you didn’t know you were looking for 
Also, this site is going to be a running account of how an electric vehicle and a straight vegetable oil (SVO) vehicle impact a normal gas car life. Read about the experiment and project at the following links
Thanks for visiting!
