On a recent drive I started doing some calc's as to how Year 1 on WMO Cocktails has turned out. Mainly I was trying to calculate if the return on investment was there to spend some time making my own fuels from a cost savings perspective. Here was my 2011 results
13,860 miles put on my pickup(s) in 2011.
WMO Cocktail gallons used: 738 gallons @ .70 a gallon to make (thats a little high on price) = $516.60 cost
Diesel Fuel purchased: 186 gallons @ $3.95 gallon avg. $742.14
Total Fuel costs in 2011: $1258.74
Total Fuel costs IF I ran 100% Road Diesel: $3686.78 (@ $3.99 per gallon avg)
2011 Fuel Savings: $2428.02
Capital Expenses Incurred in getting setup to run WMO:
PABioDiesel Centrifuge Setup: $1200
Super Sucker: $350
Misc: $100
Total Cap Ex: $1650.00
Year One Savings: $778.02
Estimated 2012 Savings:
18,000 Miles Total Use (be more than 2011 as I didn't start driving my IDI's til March/April 2011)
Diesel Cost: $948.00 (240 Gallons @ $3.95 avg)
WMO Cocktail Cost: $672.00 (960 Gallons @ .70 avg)
Total Fuel Costs: $1620.00
Total Costs if I ran Road Diesel: $4740.00
Estimated 2012 Savings: $3120.00
Some naysayers against running bio fuels would say it's harder on the Injection Pump and Injectors in our Ford IDI's. I can't disagree as I don't know if it is or not. If the 7.3 IDI IP and Injectors are suggested to run 100k miles, lets say you only get 50% duty cycle out of these parts running WMO blends, lets calc the additional costs of these wear parts.
New IP and Injectors: $600.00 / 50,000 miles= 1.2 cents per mile additional cost for running WMO blends.
Overall I'm super pleased with my savings by running WMO blends. The oil is very easy to come across in bulk in my experience and it's not that much of a hassle to pickup (with my super sucker anyway) and the centrifuge does all the dirty work for me. The 3k I'll save this year running blends will make a very nice shot in the arm to my kids college fund. I'm looking forward to the savings and hope others take a look at the $$ they could also save. This IS the reason I drive an old IDI vs. all the new Diesels I've previously owned. You can't ask for a more forgiving and cheap platform to test your alternative fuel cocktails on!
* Disclaimer: The following assumptions are used in my calculations:
1. Average MPG for my pickup is 15. This includes plenty of miles towing my 5ver and empty miles too.
2. Calculating 80% of my fuel use comes from WMO blends. I don't have a fuel meter on my pump but I'm fairly confident this is pretty accurate.
3. I've avg'd my cost per gallon to make my WMO blends @ .70 a gallon. Thus far it's been lower, at around .56 a gallon. I've added a little $$ into my avg to account for the lighter winter WMO fuels I"m running now.
4. My summer blend of fuel is 80% WMO/20% Kerosene (or diesel if I can't get my hands on KERO easily) I mix fuel like a seasoned chef, I don't measure precisely.
5. I do have some additional costs in Electricity to run my centrifuge. I don't really have a way to measure these costs, they are negligible at best.
6. I strongly suggest anyone wanting to run Alternative fuels read up on the subject PRIOR to trying this. AND, have $$ available to repair your pickup when/if you make mistakes and do some damage.
13,860 miles put on my pickup(s) in 2011.
WMO Cocktail gallons used: 738 gallons @ .70 a gallon to make (thats a little high on price) = $516.60 cost
Diesel Fuel purchased: 186 gallons @ $3.95 gallon avg. $742.14
Total Fuel costs in 2011: $1258.74
Total Fuel costs IF I ran 100% Road Diesel: $3686.78 (@ $3.99 per gallon avg)
2011 Fuel Savings: $2428.02
Capital Expenses Incurred in getting setup to run WMO:
PABioDiesel Centrifuge Setup: $1200
Super Sucker: $350
Misc: $100
Total Cap Ex: $1650.00
Year One Savings: $778.02
Estimated 2012 Savings:
18,000 Miles Total Use (be more than 2011 as I didn't start driving my IDI's til March/April 2011)
Diesel Cost: $948.00 (240 Gallons @ $3.95 avg)
WMO Cocktail Cost: $672.00 (960 Gallons @ .70 avg)
Total Fuel Costs: $1620.00
Total Costs if I ran Road Diesel: $4740.00
Estimated 2012 Savings: $3120.00
Some naysayers against running bio fuels would say it's harder on the Injection Pump and Injectors in our Ford IDI's. I can't disagree as I don't know if it is or not. If the 7.3 IDI IP and Injectors are suggested to run 100k miles, lets say you only get 50% duty cycle out of these parts running WMO blends, lets calc the additional costs of these wear parts.
New IP and Injectors: $600.00 / 50,000 miles= 1.2 cents per mile additional cost for running WMO blends.
Overall I'm super pleased with my savings by running WMO blends. The oil is very easy to come across in bulk in my experience and it's not that much of a hassle to pickup (with my super sucker anyway) and the centrifuge does all the dirty work for me. The 3k I'll save this year running blends will make a very nice shot in the arm to my kids college fund. I'm looking forward to the savings and hope others take a look at the $$ they could also save. This IS the reason I drive an old IDI vs. all the new Diesels I've previously owned. You can't ask for a more forgiving and cheap platform to test your alternative fuel cocktails on!
* Disclaimer: The following assumptions are used in my calculations:
1. Average MPG for my pickup is 15. This includes plenty of miles towing my 5ver and empty miles too.
2. Calculating 80% of my fuel use comes from WMO blends. I don't have a fuel meter on my pump but I'm fairly confident this is pretty accurate.
3. I've avg'd my cost per gallon to make my WMO blends @ .70 a gallon. Thus far it's been lower, at around .56 a gallon. I've added a little $$ into my avg to account for the lighter winter WMO fuels I"m running now.
4. My summer blend of fuel is 80% WMO/20% Kerosene (or diesel if I can't get my hands on KERO easily) I mix fuel like a seasoned chef, I don't measure precisely.
5. I do have some additional costs in Electricity to run my centrifuge. I don't really have a way to measure these costs, they are negligible at best.
6. I strongly suggest anyone wanting to run Alternative fuels read up on the subject PRIOR to trying this. AND, have $$ available to repair your pickup when/if you make mistakes and do some damage.
Last edited:
