1419 Miles

So we've driven 1419 miles since our last fill up of diesel and it's time to purchase another tank of fuel. I wish we weren't accumulating so much mileage but it's the nature of my job. On the plus side I'm averaging about $200/month in reimbursement checks from my employer which more than covers the cost of our fuel & filters.

Purchasing Diesel

The last time I paid money for fuel was October 9th. Currently the odometer reads 219248, so we've driven 1433 miles since our last fill up. The diesel tank holds 14.50 gallons which computes to 98.8 miles per gallon of diesel. Obviously, most of our driving consumes WVO but that is basically free except for the $10 or so we spend each month on filters.

Buying Diesel

I purchased 12 gallons of diesel this afternoon for $34.50. I'm trying to remember to track our mileage so I can calculate how often we're spending money on fuel. Presently the odometer reads 217815.

Buying Diesel

Our grease mobile still has the original diesel tank and runs on "normal" fuel for the first 5-10 minutes after ignition. The last time we purchased diesel fuel was on July 21, more than 2,000 miles ago. Today while he was out buying new tires, Craig did me a favor and filled up the diesel tank. In very short time, I've become unaccustomed to paying for fuel, avoiding the task as much as possible. Before the grease mobile, I filled up my car at least once a week but now that the custom has been interrupted I enjoy driving by gas stations and their absence from my routine. I'm surprised at how quickly my mind set has been altered, how I no longer perceive gasoline as a necessary expenditure but instead view it as a cumbersome, irritant in our grease burning adventure. Quitting gasoline has undoubtedly been the easiest habit I've ever kicked.

The reporter from a local paper was supposed to come by our house Monday for an interview but Craig's work schedule changed and we have to postpone our extremely brief flirtation with fame.

Purchasing Fuel

Today I drove over to GoodOil and purchased 10 gallons of filtered WVO for the car, paying a grand total of $15 for a fill up (our veg oil tank holds 13 gallons but it's still a quarter full). I also filled up the diesel tank for $27.09 ( 9.67 gallons @ $2.79). On the highway the Jetta is rated at 45 mpg so conceivably we could drive 1170 miles before spending another penny on fuel. Obviously we want to do most of our driving on the WVO, using the diesel only to warm the engine after initial starts.

Bidding On a Car

Craig calls me today at work to say he's bid on a Mercedes diesel over e-bay. When we got home he was still in a bidding war but ultimately lost by $100. Finding a diesel car has been somewhat harder than I expected. We don't want to purchase a new vehicle because of fears that the conversion will void any warranties plus there is the whole issue with depreciation. We're primarily looking at Volkswagen Jettas and Mercedes with hopes (real long shot) of a Jetta wagon to lug all our camping gear.