Can Oregonians get accurate fuel economy measurements?

How do you Oregonians accurately calculate your fuel economy when you can't guarantee a consistent fill on your tank? How do you know that the person filling your tank today fills it to the same level as the person last week or next week?
This is the biggest reason I haven't yet tried BioD. With no pumps in SW Washington offering Bio I'm stuck with the choice:
1) run only petro
2) drive two hundred miles to Olympia for Bio
3) have an inconsistent fill (varying as much as 2 gallons each fill) and be unable to calculate real fuel economy

I really want to know 'cause I'm itching to run a few tanks of Bio...

hosaycuervo said:

How do you know that the person filling your tank today fills it to the same level as the person last week or next week?

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You don't. just doing a lifetime average, it's very accurate.

Without being able to vent and ensure you are filled to the brim, the per tank calculation becomes meaningless.

In my experience, BD pumps in Oregon are happy to let you fill/top off yourself. I know that is SOP at the Linnton Shell.

In any case, the inconsistant fills will average out over time.

FYI, it *IS* legal to pump your own diesel/BD in Oregon, but station policy may differ.

I know the card lock places let you pump your own.

tadc said:

FYI, it *IS* legal to pump your own diesel/BD in Oregon, but station policy may differ.

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It's not bioD but Safeway, Fred Meyers, Space Age, Flying J, Shell, Roths, Chevron, all have no problem letting you pump diesel. I may let them start it but I always tell them I'll finish it and they all say no problem.

btw, Space Age where I buy usually is totally selfserv diesel. Swipe your own cc, pump and go, nice.

Just a suggestion but if you perform a "ventectomy" you can instruct the attendant to make sure to fill it to the top and watch them do it to make sure it's full. If you frequent the same station they'll soon get to know you and will fill it up to the top every time (just to keep you off their back! )

If I have the option of topping off my ventectomied tank myself then heck yeah!
So, where do y'all recommend I visit for my first tank of B5 or B20? And which one would you run given 140k miles of petro on my '00?

I dont believe there are any retail B20 pumps in Portland anymore since the Tesoro/Albina fuels pump shut down.

If you want to blend your own I'd say go to the Linnton shell, they have both retail #2 and BD pumps and aren't shy about letting you touch them.

Personally I think the danger of filter clogging is overblown, but maybe pick up a spare filter just to be safe, and start with B20.

There's a carwash on MLK right around the Hawthorne bridge that has B20 for retail. I've used them once, didn't seem to have a problem with me topping off the tank myself.
Dunno who their bio-d supplier is though.

At the Linnton station, you could put in 5 gallons of bio and then fill up the rest of the way with dino-d. Most biodiesel retail stations have regular dino-d as well.

-Keli

I got gas at an Albertson's in Klamath Falls on the way back from reno recently. A lady gas jock was there to fill my tank. I came out from the market and noticed gas had ran down the side of my car, so I gave her a ration of you know what. I think I was on full all the way back to washington and avg. 38 mpgs. LOL. By the way, it was my old '88 honda civic.

I was going to comment on "gas"...
I always pump my own as well--and they all let me fill the Boxster with gas as well, because they know me .
Anyway, for Bio wait and buy it from NAB--we should be in business soon!
Cheers,
-BB

Guess I forgot to post it up. In July I ran B99 from the Linnton Shell that was mentioned here. I was able to pull up to the pump, dispense, pay, and be on my way without any hassle. Nobody even glanced at me when I pulled directly to the pump in the corner and threw the lever

After three consecutive tanks I did the math. My experience was that I spent about 11% more per gallon to buy bio over petro ($3.30 vs $2.95), and my fuel economy dropped about 14% (31mpg vs 36mpg), making bio 25% more expensive to operate. I already pay through the nose per mile for having an auto tranny and decided that bio was not for me at that time.

Now that petro has climbed another $.50/gallon I was hoping that bio (being oil-independent) has remained steady. Figured I'd give that same station a shot since I know where to find it. But I have been unable to raise the Linnton Shell station on the phone so hopefully someone here has been there in the past few days. What's their bio going for these days? Has it been artificially inflated to keep ahead of petro? Or is it somewhat more affordable?

Sorry, Don't know about Linnton fuel, but the B99 I get here in Bend is 25 cents cheaper than any Diesel in town. I just wish I could go with more than B5 mixture.

I am glad that the folks there all know I can pump my own fuel. I finally have all of the buttons figured out there so I can mix it just like I want to on my own.

Haven't been by in the past few days, but it's been $3.29 for months.

If you want a better price, Carson Oil has a cardlock on NW 35th that's selling for $3.10. They'll give anyone a card.

tadc said:

Haven't been by in the past few days, but it's been $3.29 for months.

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That's where I was hoping it would stay.

tadc said:

If you want a better price, Carson Oil has a cardlock on NW 35th that's selling for $3.10. They'll give anyone a card.

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Do you have any contact info? I'd be interested in getting ahold of them...

Filled up my tank w/ bio at the Linnton station yesterday.

Still $3.29/gallon.

Yeah, I take a hit on fuel economy. But I like supporting a local company.

-Keli

Keli_OR said:

Filled up my tank w/ bio at the Linnton station yesterday.

Still $3.29/gallon.

Yeah, I take a hit on fuel economy. But I like supporting a local company.

-Keli

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$3.18 here in Bend. I think they are selling at zero or low profit.

Carson oil:http://www.dexonline.com/servlet/ActionServlet?pid=blistings&PREVIOUS_PAGE=blistings&from=&queryText=carson+oil&cityText=portland&state=OR&surroundingAreas=true

BTW they sell midwest-produced Soypower, rather than locally-produced (and made from waste oil) Sequential.

There is a B20 retail pump in Portland. It's at Stark and MLK. Accross the street from Next Adventures, same side of the street. Closed Sat. and Sun. If it's the weekend and you're bone dry, stop by Jay's Garage at SE 7th Street, pump in 3 gal. of B99 and go around the corner to the Shell on MLK and top it off with B2. You'll have a full tank of B20.

Or just burn B99 straight...