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Green Power Sports Tour: Raising Awareness of Alternative Fuel Sources
The Tour Begins Read Joe's blog & leave a comment
Joe Connor is no ordinary guy: how could he be driving around in a lime green 1984 Mercedes Benz converted to use biodiesel fuel and vegetable oil? If the lime green color doesn't draw attention, the smells coming from its exhaust will surely garner some "hey what's that?" looks.
The car alone stands out in a crowd, which is exactly where Joe takes his car -- to crowds of sports fans all around the country, typically parking it in the middle of tailgate areas. This is the third straight year Joe has conducted this type of tour which is to raise awareness of alternative and renewable source fuels. Of course he mixes in a bit of pleasure - seeing 100 sporting events in 100 days! Joe, 36, a San Diego-based freelance writer kicked off this year's tour in Bakersfield, California on August 22 it concludes on December 31, in El Paso, Texas.
Save Your World decided to sponsor Joe to help raise awareness of conservation issues including the use of renewable source fuels. Save Your Sports®, a Save Your World Company, raises awareness of conservation concerns by Saving an Acre of Rainforest for every $25 of product purchased on the Save Your Sports®, sporting goods site. What better way to combine your love of sports with your love of the environment than to fill your every day sporting goods needs at Save Your Sports® and Go for the Green while you Go for the Win!
2008 GREEN POWER SPORTS TOUR SCHEDULE Schedule is subject to change. All times listed are local. Please check back at least 6 to 12 days prior, especially for Saturday college football locations, as well as kickoff times which can be changed for television. All dates are football, unless otherwise indicated. Click here for the up to date schedule on Joe's website. The 1984 Mercedes Benz Renewable Energy Machine Joe Connor's lime green renewable energy machine is a 1984 Mercedes 300D that operates on a two-tank fuel system. He uses primarily biodiesel (but occasionally diesel) at start up.  Biodiesel is a cleaner form of diesel that costs about the same in many parts of the U.S. as diesel, and can be used as fuel in any diesel engine car. Once the car is started, radiator fluid transfers heat from the engine to the heat exchangers in the fuel system. These exchangers heat the vegetable oil in the fuel filter, lines and fuel tank (The 13-gallon second tank is located in Joe's trunk in the spare tire well.) The heat reduces the vegetable oil's viscosity so it is similar to biodiesel or diesel, and can be injected into the engine properly. Joe simply presses a switch to run on vegetable oil once the car’s temperature is between 80 and 100 degrees. When the engine is to be shut down for several hours, Joe switches back to biodiesel or diesel so the remaining “cold” vegetable oil doesn’t clog the injectors the next time the engine is started. Joe gets used vegetable oil from local restaurants. He has a filtration system in his trunk that enables him to turn that waste oil into fuel. Learn specifics about both fuels and Joe's mobile filtration system by checking out The Green Fuels page. Joe tailgates the car in high foot traffic areaa before games, and shows fans how the filtration system works. LIME GREEN RENEWABLE ENERGY MACHINE FAST FACTS Make: Mercedes Benz Model: 300D Year: 1984 (the year Joe was 12 and had barely shown signs of puberty yet batted .490 for the Oakwood Restaurant team and was a Little League All-Star! It was his Joe Charboneau year!) Ownership history: Joe is the third owner of the car. All the owners have been based in climate-favorable Southern California. Purchased by Joe from a private party in: late 2005 for $2,000 (USD) Number of miles upon purchase: 212,928 Original color: navy blue
Color changed to lime green: February 2006
Converted to run on used vegetable oil: February 2006
Number of miles at conversion: 213,566 Claims to fame: Logged more than 100,000 miles since February 2006 thanks to a pair of sports tours across North America (U.S. and Canada, The 2006 Tour to baseball parks and The 2007 Tour to premiere college and pro football, basketball and hockey venues). Visit Save Your Sports® Visit the Green Power Sports News |
