Saving Fuel

E

ecoarborbill

We are looking for "out of the box" ideas for saving fuel/increasing fuel efficiency/lowering overall fuel usage as I'm sure everyone is considering the rising fuel cost.

Any ideas?
 
I have been looking into BIO diesel for some time now. I have run everything on b5 bio before but now this is like 4.45 a gallon. Investing in a small refinery might pay off for larger operations. We have a pub next door and my pipedream is to skim their used oil to power my trucks. Does anyone refine their own? It does void warranties.
 
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I have been looking into BIO diesel for some time now. I have run everything on b5 bio before but now this is like 4.45 a gallon. Investing in a small refinery might pay off for larger operations. We have a pub next door and my pipedream is to skim their used oil to power my trucks. Does anyone refine their own? It does void warranties.

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I'm dreaming of doing this as well Marlin. I think if you power everything with the same fuel it can be workable. It's just a matter of what you want to spend your time on. Where I live we shut down in the winter so I may one day be able to swing it. That yellow grease is the new gold.
 
I encourage a lot of folks to let me leave the brush and to utilize firewood. Even having them call their neighbors in order to leave firewood. Hide brush and debris on their property, throw it over the bank. Make wildlife piles... I want to get into mushroom logs. Living in a bit more rural area allows for many of these options though.
I have an old version of the Jonsered Ironhorse and can put that along with all my climbing and rigging gear in the back of my Toyota Tacoma (2001 with 203,000 miles). Instead of driving 20+ miles with a one ton and chipper.
It saves all of the associated fuel costs. My Tacoma gets twice the mileage as my one ton, and the iron horse uses maybe 1-2 gallons of fuel per day compared to the chipper. Yes, my large machinery is sitting at home, but I find that I can charge nearly the same prices for my low tech services, compared to rolling in the convoy of trucks and trailers etc.
This is the most basic answer I have been able to come up with for fuel cost savings, while still maintaining work efficiency.
 
short of driving less or going slower there are few easy saving regimens.

Any vehicles above one ton capacity are pretty strapped because of power/weight/driveline gearing.

During the 'energy crisis' of the '70s I installed a vacuum gauge on my '66 Ford F250. It taught me how to accelerate smoothly by maximizing engine manifold vacuum. There is more information about fuel efficiency from a vacuum gauge than a tach. Keep my foot out of the carburetor then, fuel injectors now, pays off.

Do some research on 'hypermiling", start here:

http://www.hypermiling.com/

I've been keeping fuel records since the late '70s using bound surveyors books. All of my vehicles are in there somewhere. What I've found is that lighter vehicles driven slower get the best mileage. Keeping them tuned is the base-line.

Trying to add-on some gizmo is rarely cost effective for arbos vehicles. Of course, the higher the fuel cost the quicker the payback. Do the math first. Penny wise, pound foolish comes to mind.

Bio-diesel is something else though. Lots of info out there. Real life experiences are invaluable.
 
Simple stuff. Don't leave the saw or truck idling, the chipper running or use the chainsaw when a hand saw will do.

Sometimes the crew will do stuff that is more convenient than economic. Educate them!!
 
Idling engines is bad for them...until the air temp is sub zero. Even then, its easier on engines to drive them, gently, to warm them.

I've heard crews in Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas and Austin all blather on about warming the engine...uh...put gloves and a hat on, save the fuel.
 
Invest is GPS units for all of your trucks. Will save time and thus fuel and money immediately.

Hypermiling is dangerous and shouldn't be attempted in big trucks.

Bio-Diesel probably doesn't burn any more efficiently that standard diesel fuel. We run a 5% blend in our 1000 gal tank. It's mainly a component of our marketing strategy. Converting vehicles to run on waste oil is a completely different question. That is not Bio-Diesel and vice versa. Bio-diesel will work in standard engines. Burning waste oil takes significant engine modifications and would certainly void any manufacturer warranties. A 5% Bio-diesel blend won't effect warranties for most truck manufacturers.
 
My buddy has a dodge cummins and a prius. He installed a veggie oil kit in the dodge and he gets better mileage then the prius. Could be an option for someone.
 
Not seeing how hypermiling could possibly be dangerous? It just means drive like a granny and keep track right? Good common sense solution.

Best solution i can see is the route taken by tree machine in indianapolis. He refuses work outside of a two mile radius. I am trying but it is hard but i believe in an ideal world that would be the best. Leaving chips is also great. I always try to leave chips as it is also the bEst thing for the trees and landscape.
 
After reading about hypermiling I saw that its nothing new to me. Don't accelerate fast and anticipate stope and traffic flow.

The takeaway line:

Drive like you don't have brakes.

Then...all of the tuneup stuff too.
 
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I have been looking into BIO diesel for some time now. I have run everything on b5 bio before but now this is like 4.45 a gallon. Investing in a small refinery might pay off for larger operations. We have a pub next door and my pipedream is to skim their used oil to power my trucks. Does anyone refine their own? It does void warranties.

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Don't give up on your warranty too soon. Though some limit the percentage of BD you can use specifically, in most cases they can't just say "you used bio, warranty void." they must prove the fuel you used failed to meet specs, and if they do, they can only void the warranty on the fuel system. They can"t say they won't fix brakes because of bad fuel, for example.

I took my chipper in once for repair when all it really needed was a fuel filter (lesson learned there—always my first step now when I have problems with fuel delivery). They tried to blame the fuel. When I told them to test it, they changed the filter first and that was it. They also tried to charge me for a few hours of labor for the filter because the tech apparently spent the day on the Internet researching biodiesel. I got most of that knocked off the bill, though I still think I overpaid for a fuel filter changeout.

VW is at the top of the list for being asses about warranties, but some have pursued their case and won (www.tdiclub.com). Then again, many TDI drivers are fanatics and wouldn't let a VW mechanic touch their car regardless.
 
As far as BD itself, kentuckysawyer is right. BD produces less energy than petrol fuel. The only way this saves you fuel is if you make your own from free grease. [edit: a bd / petrol blend can get better mileage than either fuel alone. BD lubricates better and also ignites quicker, so the petrol ends up burning more completely] Make sure you make it right or you can really wreck things in the engine (mostly seals and pumps). I still haven't done it, but I have bought a lot of tested fuel from others. For me, BD Is about reducing emissions and dependence on oil, supporting farmers, and keeping things local. Aside from the latter, none of those does a lot to reduce consumption.

My best on-topic suggestion is to stop using big trucks to give bids if possible (lots of threads here on that). And, like treehumper said, change the way you think about the work. Don't start a chainsaw if you don't really need it. Don't start the chipper thill the brush is stacked. Don't start the blower till the raking and sweeping is done. Bring your lunch so you don't have to leave the job site. Start early so you don't turn a one-day job into two.
 
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Not seeing how hypermiling could possibly be dangerous? It just means drive like a granny and keep track right? Good common sense solution.

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Hypermiling as I have heard about it, involves techniques like drafting and coasting. That is the aspect of it I was referring to.
 
Ah yes i tried drafting once with my old geo metro, ended up overheating the emgine because no air was blowing through the radiator. Thought i was saving gas in a car that already got 50 mpg. Real dumb. I think there are different levels of hypermiling
 
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