I get 20 miler per gal with truck. 30 miles per gal with my Saturn. Gas price is 3.19 and Diesel is 2.79. Which one would be cheaper to drive and what would be break even point??:help:

Well your truck costs you 14 cents per mile and your car costs you 10.6 cents per mile. So your car costs you about 25% less per mile.

Diesel would need to be at least 2/3rds cheaper then gas for it to be cheaper to drive your truck. In other words if gas was $3.00, Diesel would have to be $2.00 in order for it to be cheaper to drive then you car.

Seriously? You can't do that math?

Call your high school up and ask 'em for a refund ):h

No offense, but how old are you?

That's 5th grade level math at most.

Oh, yeah, by the way, since we've just bashed you.....welcome to the place!

I get 20 miler per gal with truck. 30 miles per gal with my Saturn. Gas price is 3.19 and Diesel is 2.79. Which one would be cheaper to drive and what would be break even point??:help:
The Saturn is 10.63 cents per mile to drive. The truck is 13.95 cents per mile to drive. If diesel stayed at 2.79 gas would have to be more than 4.18 per gal. to be cheaper to drive truck.

Max, you dumb canuck....see there, it's 10.63 and 13.95.

:D

I rounded off because '20mpg' and '30mpg' are just rough numbers. No point in being acurate to a 100th of a cent in this case. ;)

And yea, I know you are kidding. :D

kchrist,

Please excuse some of the previous comments. They are not the norm here.
Appearently they never asked a question, that others may have thought had a simple answer. Questions make us all smarter.
Welcome.

Alright, alright--now I feel guilty.

I appologize for coming across as an ass...I've asked more than my fair of stupid questions on here.

When I approach a problem like this, I try to think of the division as a fraction.

So... you know that you want to find $$$ per mile of driving.

This means that you need to setup the fraction with the cost of fuel per gallon on top and then put how far that much fuel will get you on the bottom.

In other words, $3.19 will take you 30 miles when driving your Saturn. Go 3.19 divided by 30 and we get 0.10633333 .

This means that it costs you about 10.6 cents per mile to drive your Saturn.

Guys, here's a nice link for this topic:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov

You can easily compare your vehicles, learn about gas / oil, etc. I thought it was informative.

I get 20 miler per gal with truck. 30 miles per gal with my Saturn. Gas price is 3.19 and Diesel is 2.79. Which one would be cheaper to drive and what would be break even point??:help:
Welcome & Where are you from. Here in the So. Calif area it's the other way around. Diesel here is $3.29 a gal and gas is $2.79. and everyone is having fits about almost being $3.00 a gal.:( That means around these parts you are parking the truck. :eek: Well not me buddy. I still gotta smell smoke in the garage or somethings wrong.

Welcome & Where are you from. Here in the So. Calif area it's the other way around. Diesel here is $3.29 a gal and gas is $2.79. and everyone is having fits about almost being $3.00 a gal.:( That means around these parts you are parking the truck. :eek: Well not me buddy. I still gotta smell smoke in the garage or somethings wrong.

I don't know how far you are from the 76 station on the 138 a couple miles from LACR. But Diesel was $2.93 on Saturday:eek: But I'm sure it's gone up a little now :(

Has anyone figured out why Hotdogs come in packs of 10 and buns come in packs of eight ...or why there is damn Brail on a drive-in ATM machine.



As for which one to drive..... if i had to make a 50 mile trip and it only was 2.00 difference....gotta go in style...leave the Saturn in the garage.

Has anyone figured out why Hotdogs come in packs of 10 and buns come in packs of eight ...or why there is damn Brail on a drive-in ATM machine.



As for which one to drive..... if i had to make a 50 mile trip and it only was 2.00 difference....gotta go in style...leave the Saturn in the garage.
Dittos on that!!! Take the truck.
Kat, That station in Littlerock was $2.99 Wed and the 76 in Acton was $3.09. Today they are $3.19 and $3.29 respectively. Acton was closer for me so I filled the motorhome there last night. At $3.09 it was $247.00 to fill from a little of half a tank. :eek: You know what they say. You play, you pay. :ro)

I don't know how far you are from the 76 station on the 138 a couple miles from LACR. But Diesel was $2.93 on Saturday:eek: But I'm sure it's gone up a little now :(
My station that was $2.92 on the 28th was $2.97 on the 30th.
This afternoon it was $3.27.
I bought from the Chevron across the street... sign said $3.20, but the receipt said $3.16.
I didn't complain.

http://personal.linkline.com/rlockyer/2500Gas.xls

coyotekid,
Nice comeback. THAT'S what makes this site a nice place.

I get 20 miler per gal with truck. 30 miles per gal with my Saturn. Gas price is 3.19 and Diesel is 2.79. Which one would be cheaper to drive and what would be break even point??:help:

Next question. I get 19 mpg on straight #2, which at this hour is $2.85. If I blend B100 biodiesel that cost $3.39 to a 20% ratio and supplement propane to a ratio of 2 gal lp to 1 gal diesel, what is my cost savings, if any? Propane cost me $1.23/gal, and it raises the diesel mileage to 42 mpg. The propane mileage is 23 mpg. Got a headache yet? There will be a quiz on this later.:confuzeld

Wheres my slide-rule?????

Let's see: carry the 1, add 4, divide by the square of 106...

I got it!!!!!!!!!! The answer is ----------------------- Nashville!


Oh wait...what were we talking about again?

Well, the answer to your question really isn't as cut and dried as which vehicle gets better mileage....To get a true cost of each to operate, you'd have to factor in depreciation, insurance costs, maintenance costs, and fuel milage....Factoring all of these in, the car is going to be cheaper to operate on a day to day basis...
Having said that, drive the truck, enjoy life :D

I don't know but us drivin these big a$$ trucks and talking about economy seems kinda of like me tellin the wife..."but honey if I buy the beer by the keg. look at how much were savin"

I don't care how much diesel goes to............I use my truck primarily for work and then pass the cost along to my customers...............they are buying my diesel..........

So they pay me more $$$$$ so I can maintain my profit margins.............simple to me really, I include my fuel surcharge on every job I do...........

And I would rather be driving my truck than a Saturn.........no disrespect, but why pay a payment on something and let it sit around..............if it is a worry for someone then I can only guess you are overextended financially or trying to save less than $100/month of fuel.........

I drive 600 miles a week usually..............averaging between 16-18 mpg means I will urn between 33.33-37.50 gallons/week or 133.32-150 gallons/month...........

If Diesel goes up $ .50/gallon this month it will cost between $16.67-$18.75/tank full more or $66.68-$75.00 more a month...........not a big deal when you really break it down............:cool:
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So I can easily add $20-30 per job to my invoices............for those that can't write off fuel or the truck and expenses like insurance and are paying those with after tax dollars it can suck............
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In my business, I'd lose customers over fuel surcharges. I can't pull my trailer with a Saturn, so that's the way it goes.

I don't like it either, but I've just got to conserve fuel and combine trips when I can.

Are most contractor-types putting fuel surcharges on invoices? When I bid a job, it's my responsibility to get to my workplace. I don't see how I can charge customers to get me to their jobsite...

Whew:

Never expected such a response. No offense taken. Thats why I like the net. Did spell mathmetician right tho. I think. Thanks to everyone. From Wisconsin. Would ask for refund on edu but the school I went to is now someones home as it was a one room school.

Enjoy

Whew:

Never expected such a response. No offense taken. Thats why I like the net. Did spell mathmetician right tho. I think. Thanks to everyone. From Wisconsin. Would ask for refund on edu but the school I went to is now someones home as it was a one room school.

Enjoy

Sorry, close but it's "mathematician";)

Oops

In my business, I'd lose customers over fuel surcharges. I can't pull my trailer with a Saturn, so that's the way it goes.

I don't like it either, but I've just got to conserve fuel and combine trips when I can.

Are most contractor-types putting fuel surcharges on invoices? When I bid a job, it's my responsibility to get to my workplace. I don't see how I can charge customers to get me to their jobsite...

I set Tile and Marble............so I add a little here and there to my SQ/FT price..........If I do a 250 SQ/FT floor I add $.15-.25 cents per foot and it more than pays for the fuel............yeah we all have to get to work, but if my fuel costs increase 1-2X's someone is paying for it and if I can pass it on I will..............trickle down economics...........I pay more so you pay more............every business does it when they can, I am no different.
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Factor in this, who wants to drive a Saturn anyway-:t

Riddle me this oh wise men of diesel: In Connecticut at least, last week reg. gas was 2.59 and diesel was 2.89..Now, diesel is 2.89 and reg gas is 3.39! Any ideas ?

Jim

Riddle me this oh wise men of diesel: In Connecticut at least, last week reg. gas was 2.59 and diesel was 2.89..Now, diesel is 2.89 and reg gas is 3.39! Any ideas ?

Jim

Diesel in KENT is only $2.99 today............

$2.64 here in Missouri.

$2.99 to $3.19 for Diesel here today.

Gas is $3.09 to $3.75

About time diesel was cheaper than gas again.

It only took breaking the $3.00 barrier to get things right again. WTF...WTF...WTF

I hate the dam price gouging oil companies.

And before anyone says it I don't want to hear any crap about supply and demand or wars or labor strikes or civil unrest or hurricanes or any other BS execuses some PR guy from the oil companies is putting out.

This quick of a price increase was due to nothing but greed by the oil companies. Time to break up the big oil company's monopoly like they did to Standard Oil years ago. Too little competition to keep the prices fair.

EXXON/MOBIL WAS THE #1 MOST PROFTIBLE COMPANY IN THE COUNTRY LAST YEAR.

HOW DID THEY DO THAT ? BUY *****ING US ALL, THAT'S HOW............


DD

$2.99 to $3.19 for Diesel here today.

Gas is $3.09 to $3.75

About time diesel was cheaper than gas again.

It only took breaking the $3.00 barrier to get things right again. WTF...WTF...WTF

I hate the dam price gouging oil companies.

And before anyone says it I don't want to hear any crap about supply and demand or wars or labor strikes or civil unrest or hurricanes or any other BS execuses some PR guy from the oil companies is putting out.

This quick of a price increase was due to nothing but greed by the oil companies. Time to break up the big oil company's monopoly like they did to Standard Oil years ago. Too little competition to keep the prices fair.

EXXON/MOBIL WAS THE #1 MOST PROFTIBLE COMPANY IN THE COUNTRY LAST YEAR.

HOW DID THEY DO THAT ? BUY *****ING US ALL, THAT'S HOW............


DD

:exactly: .............I stopped using them 6 months ago..........they suck...........:cool:
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I believe one of the reasons gas stations are running out of gas is that people are hoarding. I saw a woman with a sub compact car filling up 12 red plastic gas cans from 1 to 6 gallons in size. Others were also filling multiple cans. Now that station is completely out of fuel. If you check the Flying J website, you will see that they have truckstops highlighted in yellow that are running low on gas, but not diesel.

Now I know some of you guys had mothers that told you to never pick on senior citizens. Get off kchrist's butt. :) The way I figure it the Dmax is 50% more fun to drive so kchrists is 40 cents ahead. Later! Frank

I have never met a chick that thought a saturn was cool. So with that said, you would be much better off driving the truck

I have never met a chick that thought a saturn was cool. So with that said, you would be much better off driving the truck

My gf thinks her Saturn is cool:lol:

Next question. I get 19 mpg on straight #2, which at this hour is $2.85. If I blend B100 biodiesel that cost $3.39 to a 20% ratio and supplement propane to a ratio of 2 gal lp to 1 gal diesel, what is my cost savings, if any? Propane cost me $1.23/gal, and it raises the diesel mileage to 42 mpg. The propane mileage is 23 mpg. Got a headache yet? There will be a quiz on this later.:confuzeld

Diesel.......MPG.......$ per mile
$2.85.......19..........$0.150


Cost of B20 blend
($2.85 * 80%) + ($3.39 * 20%) = $2.958

B20 Diesel........MPG....$ per mile
$2.958............42.......$0.0704

LP.................MPG....$ per mile
$1.23............23.......$0.0535

LP+B20 cost per mile $0.1239

Savings (fuel only) = 2.61 cents per mile

How much did it cost to buy & install the propane stuff?
It would be interesting to find out how long it would take just to break even.


Nope, no headache yet.

On edit - The seeming math errors are due to round off. The final numbers were calculated with no round-off error and are accurate.

Savings (fuel only) = 2.61 cents per mile

How much did it cost to buy & install the propane stuff?
It would be interesting to find out how long it would take just to break even.

Well.... you'd make back $2610.00 over 100k, assuming that fuel prices remain constant over 2-10 years (2 for me, 10 for my mom).

But don't forget the fun factor... though smelling french fries while I drive would probably cause huge weight gain because I wouldn't be able to pass any drive-thru that my truck will fit through... but... do I understand correctly that propane, while being a very low-power fuel in propane-only vehicles, is actually something like a nitrous shot to our babies?

Just have to add that (on first page) (too lazy to quote...) $2 is not 2 thirds cheaper than $3. Two thirds cheaper than $3 is $1.

You must have meant 2/3rds OF it.

Also don't forget that while on comparing the fuel price difference only it is not that much more epensive to drive the truck. So based on that I would probably drive the truck. But fact is the actual significant cost difference between the two forms of transportation is in tires and depreciation, brakes, regular maintenance. That is all much more expensive on the truck. Unless you gotta brand new saturn and bought a duramax with 500 hundred thousand clicks on it.

... do I understand correctly that propane, while being a very low-power fuel in propane-only vehicles, is actually something like a nitrous shot to our babies?

No.
Nitrous adds extra oxygen, propane does not.

Nitous is an excellent way to reduce the black, sooty smoke on high-power runs. The extra oxygen helps burn the extra fuel and produce power instead of soot.

Okay, so with propane being a relatively low BTU fuel, how is it helping us achieve more power, or is it still higher BTU than Diesel?
Everyone I've talked to that has driven a Propane powered vehicle has complained at what a dog it was. Of course, they probably were not 400cid engines either.

Fuel prices being what they are, I guess the question is... do you want to look up at the traffic of do you want to look down on it?
Just got back from Sidney NE from a dove hunt price in Sidney $2.84
Cheyenne 2.69 - 2.74 at Flyin J mile long lines so back to Denver 2.90.
Oh well average 11.8 with camper for trip and the huntin was super:D Worth every penny.

Okay, so with propane being a relatively low BTU fuel, how is it helping us achieve more power, or is it still higher BTU than Diesel?
Everyone I've talked to that has driven a Propane powered vehicle has complained at what a dog it was. Of course, they probably were not 400cid engines either.

I'm not an expert on small Diesels, but...

My understanding is that propane was very useful on IDI engines as a way to ensure all of the Diesel got burned. To my understanding this isn't an issue on our DI engines. If you are overfueling a DI engine, it seems to me you'd be better off with nitrous.

The only "official" diesel engine training I have is on Fairbanks-Morse opposed piston engines in the 1200 HP range. No propane, nitrous, glow plugs, or airbox heaters on these. ):h

French fries Rich? Wash your mouth out with soap. They are American fries now. Later! Frank

French fries Rich? Wash your mouth out with soap. They are American fries now. Later! Frank
LOL.... okay... Freedom Fries :D

Okay, so with propane being a relatively low BTU fuel, how is it helping us achieve more power, or is it still higher BTU than Diesel?
Everyone I've talked to that has driven a Propane powered vehicle has complained at what a dog it was. Of course, they probably were not 400cid engines either.

Propane will add no power if it takes oxygen away from burning diesel.
If there is enough oxygen to burn all the diesel and all the propane, then the propane will add power.

Propane is added because, in MOST situations, there is plenty of oxygen to burn the added propane.

Where people are fiddling with fueling, nitrous, propane & such they have (or should have) sensors hooked up to monitor power output and many other things. They have to balance the fuel & oxygen for maximum results. In most cases, adding more #2 diesel (fuel) and nitrous (oxygen) gives best results and is easiest. Adding propane to tweak things may help, or not, depending on the situation.

Billowy clowds of black smoke just screams "Too Much Fuel!!". Adding the right amount of nitrous (oxygen) will burn the extra fuel, adding power & raising exhaust gas temperatures.

It may be that people are intentionally over-fuelling to bring down EGTs, though I'm not sure if that is effective.