Veg Off for like a year - Engine Rebuild, broken Road Tote, etc.

ENGINE REBUILD:

The Maryland Renaissance Fair was Patience's last excursion in Oct 2010 before the engine went kapoot. She went into the shop in like late October & didn't come out til late May, cause it took months for them to start working on her, then time waiting on parts. Desmond (from Desmond's Auto Services, 2621 Taylor Avenue, Parkville, MD 21234-5536, (410) 665-8787) did an engine rebuild, it was a bit under $3,500. The piston rings were all loose, cracked or broken. The cylinders had some scratches on the walls. He had the cylinders bored out & got slightly larger pistons.

When I got the van back, I drove on 2 tanks of veg oil. My veg tank still had oil in it, and I had some spares. It ran on veg fine.

VEG OIL DISASTER:

Then, I went to collect veg oil one Friday night and had what I call the "veg oil disaster". In Vancouver, I once upon a time cut an extra air hole into the handle of my spare container so that it would pour faster. (It was pouring slow because I wasn't putting the nozzle on the spare right, sheesh. Silly.) So, on this Friday night, one of my spares that still had some veg oil in it tipped over & was slowly leaking veg oil out of that small hole...My rug got gunked up, as did the big rubbermaid box that holds the RoadTote, and the track that my side door glides on. Major cleanup.

ROADTOTE BROKEN:

The next time I went to get oil, the pump of my RoadTote wasn't working. I speculated it was related to the Veg Oil Disaster -- maybe it got gunked up. Here is a picture of the pump for you, more photos (for myself..) here.

Specs: Tuthill brand, model FR1604, Fill Rite Eccentric Pump, 12volt, 7 gallons per minute. This pump comes with those alligator clips so it can be powered from a car battery, or from my inverter, which has been very handy -- the DieHard Portable Power 1150 Jump-Starter/AC-DC Power Source.

This pump costs like $200 but it comes with a one-year warrantee, so I was able to get a new one for free, but it took months. They don't warranty it for veg oil anymore, FYI. I hooked that pump up to the rest of the RoadTote business (hoses & filters) & it works.

I partially disassembled my broken pump & it really didn't seem that the veg oil had really affected it, EXCEPT for where a fuse plugs in along the length of wire that connects the alligator clips...In cleaning it, a plastic piece broke, so I just cut off that whole fuse section & hard-wired the wires together. I feel like it will work, but haven't tested it yet, which is weird come to think of it...

Anyway, I have a working Road Tote now in Sept 2011.

MY VEGPOWER GUY HAS FALLEN OFF THE FACE OF THIS EARTH:

This June 2011, I emailed my guy at VegPower when my RoadTote was broken, and said I wanted to fix the temp safety sensor (that had failed back in June 2010--I've been running with a fuse plugged in to bypass it ever since) & that I wanted him to check the van out since the engine rebuild, make sure everything is okay, and that I'd pick up some filters...I got an out-of-office response from his email & voicemail that business is like temporarily shut down...I was patiently waiting for him to return to my life, but 4 months later & still the same message & no response. Disappointing. :( 

VEG SYSTEM GONE CRAZY:

I recently used the RoadTote to collect some oil (I got half-tank, or 7 gallons) I started driving to VT & switched "veg on". The light came on, my pressure gauge did NOT go up (it is supposed to, unless its time to switch the filter -- but even then, I would notice it go up a little at least..), my temperate gauge did not seem to go up. I say "seem" because its really hard to read the digital display because portions of the lights are out, I don't know why that would be happening. Its LED, they shouldn't be "burnt" out already..

I left "veg on", and after 2 hours, my veg fuel gauge told me that I now had a full tank, and my biodiesel gauge had gone down...

So, biodiesel has gone into my veg tank.

I have not & am not running on veg.

THE SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS:

I am beginning to find someone to solve & fix Patience's numerous veg mysteries...She is, as people often call her, the Mystery Machine.

Wish me luck! I'm wishing to find someone good. I know I will.

SUMMER 2011: NON-VEG RELATED BETTERMENTS:

1. I parked outside Rachel & Haley's in Charles Village & listened to Patti Smith & finally cut out the old top tent screen & sewed in new screen. :D Here is a pic during the process:

2. My side door handle wasn't really working. Everyone was having a really hard time opening & closing. I took the panel off & removed the handle & saw that a crucial metal piece was broken into 3 pieces. I bought a new handle from GoWesty.com ($100) & installed it. I'm actually having the same difficulty opening & closing the door, which I think results from a certain screw not staying screwed in as tight as possible. I think the struggle in opening & closing the door is what ended up braking the old handle's metal piece, so I need to fix this before stressing the new handle too much. I put some nail polish on the screw that seems to come out some, but after a few open & closes the door was really hard to open/close again...I think I need a new screw in order to be able to screw it in as far as possible to begin with -- this one is a bit stripped.

3. I got a new rug for the floor from The Loading Dock, a non-profit materials re-use center in Baltimore. It is green & tweed - not what I envisioned, but I really needed a rug to get the old sticky rug out & protect the original rug.


SO HAPPY TOGETHER:

Who is? We are! Its been a great summer.