Am I missing something? Yesterday there was a visible vote count next to each comments username. Today there is nothing. Maybe a setting I accidentally changed? I can’t for the life of me figure it out.


Yea, the company page I linked basically says the same. Ethanol from corn has so many more energy inputs, it doesn’t wind up being very efficient. But saving fryer oil from the waste steam and mixing it with standard #2 heating oil with no burner modifications seems like a thing we should just do wholesale.







It’s cool that you had liquid based heating a heat pump could tie into, but most of new England is heated by forced hot air systems that don’t tie in the same way. Most heat pump installs around here, and there are a lot, are mostly for cooling and supplemental heating. Having to install an interior unit usually winds them up near the ceiling so the more expensive cooling can fall and cool more efficiently, at the decrease of heating efficiency because it rises. Also, until pretty recently a heat pump was basically no good below zero °f, lots of people still have those units and still need heat in the winter. I resolutely think B20 (20% biodiesel mix) is a great solution for current heating prices, and think a state sponsored program to install the necessary upgrades to burn B50 and get production up to scale would be a really good investment. Big changes are great if you can afford them, but those aren’t the folks I’m talking about. I’m talking about folks using HEAP benefits, people who scrounge up the $450 for a 100 gallon minimum delivery and keep a couple jugs of off-road diesel on hand in case the tank runs dry on a cold day. People that know how to bleed and reignite their furnace without calling the guy, because they’ve had to do it 5 times a winter because keeping oil in the tank means not eating and the stove burns propane, which is already paid for and makes heat too.
Sorry, I’ve had some pretty fucking desperate Maine winters in my years up here.