Hard to believe it's been two years! I'd be glad to give everyone a report. The short answer is — although we've had a little trouble, the van is running great and in the last 12 months we've had no problems at all, although I have to admit that we have not been running biod the entire year as I was filming a new film around California and was unable to find biod in many of the rural places I found myself in.

We really did just buy the van and begin filling it with biod. We were warned that since the van had been running on regular diesel, that our fuel filter would probably conk out within the first few thousand miles after starting to run on biod — which it did just north of Santa Barbara while while driving back from San Diego to SF. We were prepared and had a spare fuel filter, but it was a bit tricky to change out and required a 3 hour roadside fix.

Our only other problem the first year was that we had a slight leak somewhere that we didn't know about and biod got on an engine belt. One morning, while I was driving the van to the beach, the belt shattered. Luckily I just pulled into the beach parking lot and stopped so the damage was minimal and only required a new belt. If I had not stopped, it could have ruined the engine. The mechanic said that he felt the biod had worn away the belt to the point where it just fell apart. Luckily the van was under warranty and everything was paid for.

Since then, we have had no other problems other than changing out the fuel filter. The local dealer is well aware that we run biod, but we've had no issues with getting the van serviced or warranties being honored. I love our Sprinter van and the 32 miles per gallon it gets on the highway. I highly recommend the vehicle to anyone needing such a vehicle. I have driven vans all my life and it's by far the best one I've owned!!

thank you so much…ive been looking on line for days and this is the only information ive come across

At http://www.californiabiodiesel.net there is basic education to topics for industy stakeholders.

I driven a 1985 Mercedes TD Wagon on high blends for 3 years and a 2002 Excursion on B20 for my business. My next car will hopefully be a biodiesel plug-in hybrid Volt. I want to be able to plug it into my solar panels and not use any petroleum.

Glad you like the site. My husband and I have been running biodiesel since we bought our Sprinter Van last July. We've put about 10,000 miles in almost a year, and have had a few minor problems, but hard to know if it's directly related to biodiesel or the care or lack there of that the former owner gave the van. We have gone through three fuel filters in the past year, which I have heard is a little unusual for such a new van. We also had a problem with severe bogging down of the engine which we also thought was fuel filter related but turned out to be a fuel mixing valve and the mechanic said it had nothing to do with using biodiesel. Other than these issues the van has run fine and we've been quite happy with it. We get 32 mpg highway and 28 mpg in the city which is better than most small cars so it's hard to complain!

Best wishes,
Elizabeth

I use 100% biodiesel in my jetta and love it, but some problems have been reported in sprinters.

Thanks for all the great info on this site!

I have given my list to our webmaster, who will post it within the next month. However, I must stress that it's information that my husband and I put together from various websites, and as you heard in the radio piece, it's not always accurate. So please use the list with this in mind!

Just wanted to let Elizabeth and Andrea both know how much our family enjoyed your slice-of-biodiesel-life piece. Elizabeth, is there any chance we could also get a copy of your list of pumps? I understand we would need to double-check them, but since you put so much time into your research, it would be great for other new and existing biodieselers to have the info without duplicating your efforts. I wonder if it could be attached to KQED's Quest page about your road trip so you wouldn't have to respond to multiple requests here. We live in Ben Lomond and are fortunate to have Jorah's delightful presence in our little town. My husband travels a lot for business, though, so we'd like to start building a list of his options for refueling when he's away from home.

For our first story, we wanted to do a sound rich, interactive story from a consumers point of view on this particular alternative fuel. Just who are the people dedicated to supplying this? Well, they are coops, and huge commercial stations and little vendors in the middle of the mountains and it's not always easy to find them. The state's biodiesel network is definitely not ready for prime time but interest is certainly gaining speed and expectations are high.

We did mention the average cost of biodiesel in California, and Professor Tad Patzek raised his concern in the piece that it might cost more energy to produce these green fuels than it saves. But in terms of incentives, distributors, etc., that is coming in another week or two on The California Report when Cy Musiker looks at some of the issues around providing low carbon fuels. In his story, Cy plans to include the Gonazales plant (one of the state's first commercial bio d distribution plants) which was in my story but like much of my tape, was cut for time. All of the points you raise are insightful and several of them a story angle on their own.

Please keep the feedback coming.

I think you could have gone further in investigating and reporting some of the "science and environmental issues that are changing the way we live" which is what Quest purports to offer. Instead, it was just a road trip–  the point of which seemed to be proving how tough it is to buy biodiesel. While I appreciated the perspectives offered, they weren't really scientific or even fact-based, in some cases. So, here are some aspects which could have offered more depth and richness to the information or provide ideas for future segments:

1. Economics is a science (of sorts). How much does biodiesel cost to make? To buy? How does the small scale affect this and when do economists predict cost and price will drop based on the changing economy of scale?

2. Environmental science & economics frequently collide when we examine biodiesel. What kind of mileage do vehicles get with biodiesel? How does this relate to environmental values of choosing this over petro-diesel? Do drivers know this? How about biodiesel production's impact on the environment? For instance, recent reports of plant oil shortages in Europe drove up price and a instigated massive palm oil production shift in Indonesia requiring native forest clearing, peet burning, and heavy use of fertilizers – an environmentalist's nightmare for alternative fuels production. But a real globalization dilemma. How about here in CA/USA? Is corn production for ethanol really economically viable and environmentally sustainable? Or is it a new way for mid-West corn farmers to perpetuate their farm subsidy?

3. Production & distribution. For biodiesel producers, what kinds of incentives, subsidies, and supports are they getting? And how do their refinery operations compare economically and environmentally with petro refiners? Gas stations are dirty places but essential for our economy. Your story touched on the problem of buying biodiesel but what about trying to sell it? For example, there's a buyers co-op in Berkeley that's looking for a new Easy Bay facility but is finding numerous obstacles ranging from freeway access, zoning, visibility, storage, safety, size, etc. Building a new economic infrastructure is complicated– this often makes for interesting stories.

In closing, let me reiterate that I appreciate the excellent reporting you do and the constraints you have. Maybe I was overly optimistic that the angle chosen for the biodiesel story was a good entry point for a bigger story with more investigation and analysis. Or maybe that's coming? I hope so.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you for your comments on the biod story. Since I was just a character in the story and not the producer/reporter, Andrea Kissack will have to answer most of your questions.

Bob- I'll definitely check out the book you recommend.

Diane- I'd be happy to email you my list of biodiesel pumps, but as you heard in the story, I can not guarantee that every place on the list actually sells biod. My husband and I put together the list from hours of research on the internet, but it's hard to know until you actually call or go to the place if they really do carry biod. I found that some places that supposedly carried biod never did, and others which once carried it have stopped. And I'm sure there are places beginning to carry it that I don't even know about it yet. Such is the fun and frustration of running an alternative fuel!

Many thanks for listening and reading,
-Elizabeth