Jon and I took a trip into West Philadelphia today at lunch, so that my VW Jetta could take on some recycled sludge! For the next month I’ll be participating in the Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel pilot fuel study - my car will be running, exclusively on mozzarella stick / calamari smelling B20 formulated by recycling and refining used Philadelphia restaurant trap grease. I’m not going to save the planet by driving around (smelling like french fries), but hopefully the study will lead to better ways of dealing with waste oil and lubricants. Down the road that may also lead to alternate fuels, and less dependence on foreign cartels.

The people over at Fry-O-Diesel contacted me this morning to let me know that hope is on the way! Apparently, there is a consumer bio-diesel (B20) filling station scheduled to open this fall at 12th and Vine right here in Philadelphia. They also told me about the fine folks over at the Energy Cooperative who are working on the bio-diesel distribution infrastructure for home heating oil and fleet fuel! As much as I’m against the sky rocketing fuel prices these days I’m thinking that this is exactly what the bio-diesel industry needs to help it really get off the ground.

I”ve been a longtime proponent of biodiesel, despite my never having used it. Infact, biodiesel was one of the leading reasons for my having purchased my TDI several years ago even though I’ve never lived in a market that offered a bio fuel source. This summer my hopes were raised when the gas dock (Indian River Marina), at the beach, began selling B20 at par with dino-diesel - but, alas, there was no way to get my car onto the dock and they prohibited my carrying the fuel away… Tonight, I stumbled upon the Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel project and it renewed my hopes of being able to burn an alternative fuel - both in my car, and my boiler. Though I had always planned on running the car on biodiesel, burning it in my furnace had never occurred to me. I hope their small scale tests work, and that they’re able to grow so that they can offer everyone (who wants it) biofuel. I’ll be following their progress closely, now that I know about them.

Lax practice again tonight, and I took Dad's sweet ride to pick everyone up. When I left the garage the car smelled of gas, but I figured it was just running really rich. When we went to leave practice it smelled even worse, but I flooded the engine so I didn't think much of it. It wasn't until I circled the car showing it off to another LAX parent that we realized that the gas tank was leaking, and thus the smell! Ah yes, another item that needs fixing.

Well, I did as I said and got Dad's '51 Hudson up and running today! I have to admit, though, I'm slightly embarrassed about it... Before pulling the fuel pump I took off one of the bleed valves and had Sam run the electric auxilary pump. Instead of getting a facefull of gasoline, as I expected, I got a cool breeze.

That's right, the car was out of gas! That (and a minor electrical issue) aside, the car ran like a champ, and turned countless heads as we cruised down Route 30.

The weather is getting nice and I'm beginning to think about driving with the top down! So that means I have to get the '51 Hudson running. I just ordered a much needed 6 volt automatic charger, and I'm planning on pulling the fuel pump this weekend. Browsing through Hemmings last night has me all inspired to start tinkering!

We're Home! After a fun filled week in the sun and surf we're back from OBX. Despite how cousin Cal is dressed it was a little on the chilly side. But, we still had a wonderful time!

I know you've all been struggling to come to terms with what to get me for my birthday - after all, it is right around the corner! Well, I've been giving it some thought too - and, with my pending big drive to Florida I was thinking I need a little protection. Not from what you're thinking, or from the sun, but from Johnny Law! I'm thinking of getting the new Solo S2 Cordless Radar Detector to help make the trip a little less worriesome.

Trouble driving home from the beach last night - the car had absolutely no guts. If it was a gasoline engine I would have described it as having no compression, but one can't really say that about a compression engine... Anyways, the CarChip is reporting OBD error P2186 - Unknown Powertrain DTC (SAE Controlled: Fuel and Air Metering). Not entirely sure what that's telling me - though early thoughts have me replacing the MAF...

Hooked up the Car Chip to Dad's Audi yesterday - because I got tired of having no problems to log with my car! The Check Engine light has been on in the A8 for the last few months, actually it's been to the shop twice during that time period and it still comes back with the light on. The Car Chip says that the Audi has a Fuel Delivery Error (code P0148), and that's why the light is on. The question is where does one find the Audi OBD codes to ascertain exactly what kind of Fuel Delivery Error is going on...