Promoting the biodiesel and vegoil community in Alaska.
Join REAP for the 8th annual Alaska Renewable Energy Fair on Saturday, August 11th from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm on the Anchorage downtown parkstrip between I & E Street. Admission is FREE, and it’s guaranteed to be fun for the whole family! Enjoy the live music, a beer garden, great food, kids activities, informational booths, and renewable energy workshops. Includes a 4pm Biodiesel workshop, SVO converted Volkswagen Westfalia, SVO converted school bus and more veggie goodness!
Yep, it’s time for Alaska’s 2011 Renewable Energy Fair! We’re offering a FREE biodiesel and SVO seminar at noon, and will be there all afternoon with veg-converted vehicles at our booth. Hope to see you there!
Yes, we’ve had a bit of a brain freeze this past winter. But, never fear! Biodiesel and SVO is alive and well in the Arctic!
Fuel prices dropped this past year, and with it the biodiesel and SVO tirekickers dwindled to a mere trickle. A few guys were once again trying to make a fortune brewing and selling biodiesel. One in particular, Denali Biodiesel, got up and running with a few mid-scale plants, but as of this spring they’re relocating out-of-state. Best of luck to them!
We at Arctic Vegwerks had ZERO conversions for 2010. But, with Alaska’s Home Energy Rebate program we kept busy making our humble abode less dependent of fossil fuels, and took advantage of that nice $10k grant the state was offering.
Alaska Waste is plowing ahead with their biodiesel and composting efforts, and we applaud them. We estimate they’re using about half of the grease in Anchorage in their private fleet of trash haulers.
This still leaves a quarter of a million gallons of grease out there. With our remote market, obtaining enough SVO for personal vehicles is still a viable option. We had it pretty cush when Alaska Mill and Feed was the grease processor: no contracts, and cheap grease for sale in bulk. With Alaska Waste’s new 3-year contracts, many of the larger restaurant and institutions are taken, but there are plenty of little restaurants looking for someone to pick up grease for free.
Which leads to another dilemma: GREASE DISPOSAL. Yep, SVO folks with too much grease on their hands are left to the Alaska Biodiesel Yahoogroup or Craigslist to cheaply dispose of oil. Anchorage’s hazardous waste collection center at the landfill and transfer stations will take up to 40lbs of residential waste a day for free (one cubie), but charges $.25/lb for more ($4.00 a cube). Businesses must to pay for all oil disposed. Emerald Alaska is the city’s hazardous waste contractor, and their commercial rates are similar, but they do accept drums of oil. Last time I checked, Alaska Waste was charging $2.50 a cube ($.50 a gallon) for oil disposal during business hours (call ahead), but will only take good clean oil – no sludge.
Bottom line: don’t stockpile more than you need.
Of course, we’ve got some friends heating their shop in Wasilla off SVO, with a modified Turk Burner setup. Yellow Heat from Massachusetts has a neat Babington Ball heater. Anyone else in Alaska doing SVO heat? We’d love to hear from you.
Veg On!
REAP, the Renewable Energy Alaska Project is kicking off its fall forums with a look at Anchorage’s new biodiesel plant!
September 8, 2010 6-8 p.m
Anchorage Museum auditorium, 625 C Street
Come hear how Alaska Waste and Alaska Green Waste Solutions’ large-scale biodiesel plant in Anchorage is turning recycled cooking oil into fuel for their fleet of garbage trucks. Opened in June, the plant is the first of its kind in Alaska. It is currently collecting about 4,000 gallons of used cooking oil each week from more than 200 restaurants, grocers and other businesses like the Peanut Farm, Lucky Wishbone and McDonalds.
Alaska Green Waste Solutions Manager Jeff Jessen will talk about the plant’s operation, plans for using the estimated 200,000 plus gallons a year of biodiesel and the benefits of biodiesel economically and environmentally.
More information at 929-7770 or s.nowers@REalaska.org.
The forum is free, but RSVPs are appreciated.
The Anchorage Daily News reports that “Alaska Waste unveiled its new $3 million biodiesel plant in South Anchorage on Thursday. The company is collecting waste fryer oil from 240 local restaurants, groceries, hotels and hospitals from Girdwood to Wasilla. Last week, the plant churned out its first batches of biodiesel.”
Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/06/17/1329094/alaska-waste-opens-biodiesel-plant.html
You can also listen to the story on APRN: http://aprn.org/2010/06/17/alaska-waste-opens-biodiesel-plant/
…and it’s Arctic Vegwerks, not Arctic Vegeworks 
Click to Enlarge.
All Vanagons, diesel or gas, use the same heater core.
But once again, the ’82 hoses are different, as the heater shutoff valve is located under the dash, behind the glove box close to the heater core.
’83 and later Vanagons put the shutoff valve under the floor.
See Part One – Diesel VW Vanagon T3 Coolant Hoses – Engine Compartment – for details on how to read the information below:
(23) Heater Core
* ALL 251-265-303C
(9) Heater Hose (Feed) Front Heater Control Valve to Heater Core
NLA 82CS 251-265-053 (valve under dash)
* 83CS+Later 251-265-053C (valve under floor – could be cut to fit 82CS.)
(10) Heater Hose (Return) Heater Core to Adapter Fitting.
* ALL 251-265-054A (under floor)
Note: my ’82 has both connections under the dash, and used the shorter (NLA) 251-265-053 for both feed and return, as both (9) and (10) are similar at the heater core end.
(11) Heater Hose (Feed) Cylinder Head to Front Heater Control Valve – 3900mm
NLA 82CS 251-265-055B
* 83CS+Later 251-265-055F
82 DIY: The ’82s have 5/8” hose the entire length, except for a 1” connection to the cylinder head. Alan Felder from the Diesel-Vanagon yahoogroup suggests splicing standard 5/8” heater hose to a Gates 19663 hose (NAPA NBH11663) , which has a 1” end and a 5/8” end and is about 43” long. (Gates 18965 – NAPA NBH10965 also has a 1” to 5/8” reduction but is only 35” long). At $215 (list price 02/2010), the stock hose is pretty spendy.
(15) Heater Hose (Return) From Front – 3530mm – Connects to 3-Way Hose (6)
* ALL 251-265-057 (available but discontinued)
82 DIY: if this isn’t just a $225 (list price 02/2010) length of 5/8” hose, I don’t know what is! Most folks recommend about 30 feet of 5/8 hose to replace the stock heater hoses.
Previous: Diesel VW Vanagon T3 Coolant Hoses – Part Two – Radiator Hoses
Next: Diesel VW Vanagon T3 Coolant Hoses – Part Four - Expansion Tank
Not surprisingly, the 1982 Diesel Vanagons have a unique radiator, as gas Vanagons were still aircooled. The next year, everyone go the same radiator, gas or diesel. '82s also have a metal additonal metal feed pipe leading to the top of the radiator from the long underbody coolant pipes. '83s also share the smaller (1.25”) diameter metal coolant pipes, while later gas Vanagons moved to larger (1.5”) diameter plastic coolant pipes. (Radiator) NLA 82 CS 068-121-253A (CS >>24-C-175 000) * 83CS+Later 068-121-253E (CS 24-D-000 001>>) (8a) Radiator Feed Hose from Pipe. (not 82) * 83CS+84?? 251-121-083G from small diameter (metal 1.25”) pipe. * late CS 251-121-083H from large diameter (plastic 1.5”) pipe. (9) Radiator (Feed) from Front Pipe & to Front Pipe from Rear (small diameter metal 1.25”) Feed Pipe. (82 only) * 82 N900785.02 32x4x70mm (2.75" – need two - 82s have an additional front metal pipe for the radiator feed) DIY: 1.25” heater hose. (10-10a) Radiator Hose (Return) * 82CS+83CS+84?? N901666.01 32x4x650mm (25.5”) to small diameter (metal 1.25”) pipe. * late CS+KY+JX 251-121-082 to large diameter (plastic 1.5”) pipe. DIY: 1.25” heater hose.
Click to Enlarge.
Not surprisingly, the 1982 Diesel Vanagons have a unique radiator, as 1982 gas Vanagons were still aircooled. Starting in 1983, a new style radiator was used for both gas and diesel models.
The ’82s and ’83s share the smaller (1.25”) diameter metal coolant pipes, while later gas Vanagons moved to larger (1.5”) diameter plastic coolant pipes.
Note that 1982 models also have an additonal metal feed pipe leading from the long underbody coolant pipes to the top of the radiator, while the later radiator style uses a rubber hose for the feed from the underbody pipes.
See Part One – Diesel VW Vanagon T3 Coolant Hoses – Engine Compartment – for details on how to read the information below:
(Radiator)
NLA 82 CS 068-121-253A (shown on right)
* 83CS+Later 068-121-253E (shown on left)
(8a) Radiator Feed Hose from Pipe. (note ’82 uses NLA (8) metal pipe)
* 83CS+84?? 251-121-083G from smaller (metal 1.25”) pipe.
* late CS 251-121-083H from larger (plastic 1.5”) pipe.
(9) Radiator (Feed) from Front Feed Pipe and from Underbody (smaller metal 1.25”) Pipe. (82 only)
* 82 N900785.02 32x4x70mm (2.75″ – need two for the ends of (8) front metal radiator feed pipe)
82 DIY: 1.25” heater hose.
(10-10a) Radiator Hose (Return)
* 82CS+83CS+84?? N901666.01 32x4x650mm (25.5”) to smaller (metal 1.25”) pipe.
* late CS+KY+JX 251-121-082 to larger (plastic 1.5”) pipe.
82-83 DIY: 1.25” heater hose.
Previous: Diesel VW Vanagon T3 Coolant Hoses – Part One – Engine Compartment
Next: Diesel VW Vanagon T3 Coolant Hoses – Part Three – Heater Hoses
2 Diesel Vanagons have a unique radiator, as gas Vanagons were still aircooled. The next year, everyone go the same radiator, gas or diesel. '82s also have a metal additonal metal feed pipe leading to the top of the radiator from the long underbody coolant pipes. '83s also share the smaller (1.25”) diameter metal coolant pipes, while later gas Vanagons moved to larger (1.5”) diameter plastic coolant pipes. (Radiator) NLA 82 CS 068-121-253A (CS >>24-C-175 000) * 83CS+Later 068-121-253E (CS 24-D-000 001>>) (8a) Radiator Feed Hose from Pipe. (not 82) * 83CS+84?? 251-121-083G from small diameter (metal 1.25”) pipe. * late CS 251-121-083H from large diameter (plastic 1.5”) pipe. (9) Radiator (Feed) from Front Pipe & to Front Pipe from Rear (small diameter metal 1.25”) Feed Pipe. (82 only) * 82 N900785.02 32x4x70mm (2.75" – need two - 82s have an additional front metal pipe for the radiator feed) DIY: 1.25” heater hose. (10-10a) Radiator Hose (Return) * 82CS+83CS+84?? N901666.01 32x4x650mm (25.5”) to small diameter (metal 1.25”) pipe. * late CS+KY+JX 251-121-082 to large diameter (plastic 1.5”) pipe. DIY: 1.25” heater hose.
Biofueling Alaska: Case Studies and Design Considerations will be one of the many seminars at this year’s Alaska Forum on the Environment at the Anchorage Dena’ina Convention Center.
We will be in the K’enakatnu Board Room, Feb 10, 2010 from 9:00-11:45am.
Join us for a look at small and medium scale biofuel and biomass projects in Alaska. Basic design and function of biodiesel and fish oil systems will be covered as well as an update on what is happening in wood-based biomass thermal and combined heat and power (CHP) systems.
Presenters: Will Taygan, Arctic Vegwerks and Thomas Deerfield, Dalson Energy
Moderator: Win Westervelt, CH2M HILL
Yep, after a year’s reprieve from our lowest-in-the-nation $0.08 per gallon state motor fuel tax, we’re back to our monthly payments.
Alaskans who burn homebrew fuel in an internal combustion powered vehicle are supposed to submit form 04-530. I sent my $1.60 in today.
Check with the Alaska Department of Revenue for details.
The Alaska Journal of Commerce did a piece on Bernie Karl (of Chena Hot Springs fame), where he talks about developing algae biodiesel in Fairbanks.
Bernie may be crazy, but he’s crazy brillant. His Chena Hot Springs resort developed low-temperature geothermal when some said it couldn’t be done.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
One summer day, as visitors relaxed in a pool of hot water, a moose strolled up to take a drink from a nearby lake filled with algae. That lake is also a part of Karl’s grand plan.
“This pool is growing a special type of algae that only grows in Alaska,” said Karl. “It grows because of the amount of daylight and carbon dioxide emitted by other plants and animals, so it multiplies many times faster than other algaes.”
Karl explained one could start by taking 30 acres pools with this type of algae. Cover them with greenhouses. Then pump in the carbon dioxide created from landfill trash (filtering out the bad gasses) into special furnaces that would heat the water and the greenhouses.
The algae would be energized to grow, while absorbing high concentrations of carbon dioxide.
Then, once the pools fill up, the algae can be harvested for its lipid oil. That oil, in turn, could be distilled into a bio-fuel.
“This algae has 44 percent oil by volume, we refine the oil and make jet fuel,” said Karl.
Veg On!
