Solar Powered Biodiesel Station
MEMBERSHIP PAGE
LIMITED MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Bozeman Biofuels is currently back in supply of B99 at 4.45/gal. The buying group currently does not have available slots for new members, sorry. The goal is to create a defined, dedicated community of biofuels sponsors for Southwest Montana. Annual fee: $60. Benefits include:
-
Ability to purchase B50-B99 from a bulk tank in Bozeman, or have Biodiesel
delivered. Fuel supplied by Story Distributing with biodiesel from
Iowa (fully certified ASTM fuel, same fuel that Yellowstone National Park
has been using for years). For more information on biodiesel use in
winter see the bottom of this page.
I do not personally have much need to have biodiesel (all my
rigs run on straight vegetable oil) so the fuel markup is to cover capital
and maintenance costs of the tanks and to help pay a portion of my $3000
annual rent for the biofuels shop.
Work 5 hours per month and get wholesale fuel! Limit of
2 working members.
By the DRUM delivered (when available):
55-gal drums delivered for $4.90/gal plus $25 drum deposit.
Hand pump required ($30 or supply your own).
$100 fuel pre-payment due at
time of membership activation by check, cash, or credit card (visa/mc).
Must have credit card on file even if you plant to pay by check/cash. Fuel dispensed with flow meter
and nozzle equipped with auto shut-off - fill
your vehicle, 5-gal cans, or have a 55-gal drum delivered (delivered fuel
requires drum deposit, hand pump, and delivery charge).
Hours of self-fueling 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. Area
under 24/7 security, Bozeman Biofuels vehicle pass required for entrance.
- One hour of alternative energy consulting on: vegetable oil filtration or diesel vehicle selection/conversion, residential heating with vegoil, cogeneration with vegoil, and solar hot water.
- Bundle of oak firewood, another branch of Bozeman Biofuels that intercepts hardwood "waste" from local furniture production and markets it as the premium grade firewood that it is. See firewood web site: www.tulikivifuel.com. A superior product that would have been thrown away, delivered with vegoil powered truck of coarse, with proceeds returning to promote local, sustainable fuels in Montana.
- Periodic updates by email on local issues, lobbying requests, events and activities
- Monthly accounting of fuel use and account balance by email.
To sign up, send an email to paul@bozemanbiofuels.com with the following info (copy text below and paste into your email):
Name
Address, City, Zip
Phone
Vehicle make & year
Projected monthly usage
Method of payment check/cash/visa/mc/discover
Consulting topic choice: vegoil transportation fuel, vegoil residential
fuel, cogeneration, solar hot water
Interested in work parties?
Area(s) of expertise: plumbing, electrical, construction, welding, other
JUST BECAUSE THE TANKS ARE FILLED WITH B50 + winter additive DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN RUN THAT BLEND OF FUEL ALL YEAR. You must reduce the bio blend in your tank during cold weather by adding diesel from a fuel station. My advice is to not push it in winter, stay with B5-20 unless the weather is unusually warm. From mid Dec 07 to mid Jan 08 many people were running the B50 with no problems, daytime highs were typically above freezing and in my opinion the weather was unusually warm. Story sells B5 all winter from their Belgrade station, which still provides significantly more fuel lubrication than straight diesel, but does not affect the fuel gel point significantly. If the weather drops below -5F I recommend using no biodiesel at all.
There are many factors involved in
deciding what bio blend to use, such as:
- Is the vehicle parked in a (heated) garage overnight? What about
during the day? Is it parked for 8 hours at work or just 2 hours?
Do you drive it to Big Sky where the temperature can be much colder?
Wind cools engines and fuel systems much more quickly than calm weather.
- Do you consume the fuel within the 5-day forecast, or will the fuel still
be in the tank when a cold snap hits the following week(s)?
- How critical is it that you get where you're going?
- Do you have the option of parking the vehicle until the weather warms up?
The biodiesel station's fuel tanks are not heated and there is no power there so for now I have no plans to move them inside or heat them. There are really only a few months of the year that the fuel will not flow readily, and with the B50 and winter additive the station works whenever the weather is warm enough to use a bio blend (above 10F or so). The filter has been removed from the tanks' outlet to facilitate the fuel to flow and the tanks have been cleaned so the fuel is clean.
I don't have much personal experience with biodiesel in the winter b/c I run straight vegoil year round. I know that you don't ever want to gel. The symptoms of gelling are similar to running out of fuel. The cure is towing the vehicle to heated shop, or to change the fuel filter and drive it to a heated shop or fill up with #2 or #1 diesel to reduce the percentage of biodiesel in the fuel tank. Realize that there is about a gallon of fuel stored in the system between the tank and the engine, so after you add diesel to the tank it will take some time to flush thru the system, even with the way most diesels return fuel to the tank.
What blend to run - B20 to B99? This is up to you. You are responsible for learning about blends, engines, and vehicle warranties. It is recommended that you gradually increase the percentage of biodiesel and to carry an extra fuel filter. The older the vehicle, the more crud that will be cleaned out of the tank and fuel lines by the biodiesel. There are links on the Links page to the main biodiesel informative web sites. I recommend researching blends and warranty issues beforehand. Statistically, B20 is supposed to offer the most emissions reduction on the whole, assuming there is not enough B99 for all vehicles (ie., it's more beneficial from an emissions standpoint to have five vehicles running B20 and one vehicle running B99). It's up to you and Bozeman Biofuels is not responsible for any problems incurred by the vehicle.
Bringing Biofuels to Bozeman and Southwest Montana
Fuel Local - Drive Sustainable - Be A Solution
Bozeman, Montana