Our friend, Mikey Skylar, recently bought himself a diesel car which he converted to veggie oil. He found that he wanted a better way to know when to switch his diesel tank to a the vegetable oil tank. You do this because the veggie oil must be warmed up before it can efficiently run the engine.

Being the builder he is, Mikey made a device called The Greasy Mon that tells him when his veggie oil has warmed up enough. You can either download instructions on how to build your own, or he is now selling  these devices to other people who may want them for $100.

There are three thermistors which measure temperature changes based on resistance. Each of the thermistor sensors has four LEDs associated with it which the driver can see illuminate as the temperature increases. Each LED that turns on indicates that the grease has increased by 20 deg. fahrenheit in temperature. The temperature range is from 65F – 135F. Due to the sensors being placed on the outside of the fuel hoses the sensor range peaks rather low to allow for the insulation provided by the fuel hose.

Check out the video here:

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We are constantly bombarded with images and advertising pushing us to buy more, buy better, buy often. What happens when we stop buying so much and start making? More innovation, more creativity and more knowledge can be shared.

Wendy, founder of Swap-O-Rama-Rama, explains her thinking on consumerism aptly:

It’s easy and even mundane to say, ‘This is as good as it gets.’ It is such a more exciting place to say ‘We can do so much better with everything.’ This should be a never ending thought.

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[tags] swaporamarama, wendy tremayne, clothing swap, recycle clothes, recycling, green, sustainable, gift economy, san francisco, ryanishungry[/tags]

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You might recognize Wendy Tremayne from our Green Acre Series here on RyanIsHungry. Wendy founded Swap-O-Rama-Rama as a way to break out the consumer cycle of shopping for clothes. Utilizing the abundance that just a few people’s closets can bare, adding a little creativity with fancy sewing machines and silkscreen artists for custom modifications, Swap-O-Rama-Rama makes recycling clothes fun and social. This particular swap was part of Maker Faire, an event to celebrate makers of all kinds from robot artists to crafters to computer hackers.

As Wendy says here:

There is no creativity in consumerism…makers don’t make good consumers. The less you know, the less you can make, the more you’re going to buy.

Want to produce a Swap-O-Rama-Rama where you live? You can! Because it’s Creative Commons licensed! Contact Wendy through the site and she’ll get you started!

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[tags] swaporamarama, wendy tremayne, clothing swap, recycle clothes, recycling, green, sustainable, gift economy, maker faire, san francisco, ryanishungry[/tags]

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Mikey and Wendy are proud to be the owners of an entirely refurbished tool shed! In honor of Maker Faire, we thought we’d share this tidbit. We’re all about DIY and learning how to build with the right tools, so it was a real treat to get a tour of their gear, most of which was donated and recycled. Knowledge and the right tools can take you far when you’re a green pioneer.

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[tags]Wendy Tremayne, Mikey Sklar, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, eco-hotel, green acre, green, sustainability, sustainable, recycle, reuse, bamboo, diy, ryanishungry[/tags]

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Wendy and Mikey moved to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico primarily to build. Build community, build a home, build a fence and some insulation! If you’ve ever started a DIY construction project, you know that building materials can get expensive and most times are not environmentally friendly. What if you could get a majority of your materials for free, from a recycled source? You can! It’s called Papercrete! Papercrete is basically what the name implies- paper plus concrete. Wendy and Mikey show us their recipe and methods for creating their own building material from scratch.

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[tags]Wendy Tremayne, Mikey Sklar, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, eco-hotel, green acre, green, sustainability, sustainable, recycle, reuse, papercrete, diy, ryanishungry[/tags]

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This week we return to Green Acre in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Formerly a trailer park, Green Acre is Mikey Sklar and Wendy Tremayne’s sustainable homestead and soon to be eco-hotel. Mikey and Wendy give us the low down on how shipping containers insulated with papercrete can be efficient, effective, comfortable and green guest rooms. Stay tuned for our next Green Acre adventure as we dig into 100 lbs of newspaper to create a slab of papercrete.

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[tags]Wendy Tremayne, Mikey Sklar, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, eco-hotel, green acre, green, sustainability, sustainable, shipping containers, reuse, recycle, ryanishungry[/tags]

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Wendy Tremayne, best known for founding Swap-O-Rama-Rama, and Mikey Sklar, who is geek famous for self implanting an RFID chip into his hand, are also green pioneers. Leaving New York City to settle in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, these two decided to invest their retirement funds into creating Green Acre. Their goals for Green Acre span from being a green lodging spot for geeks to becoming a community center and arts venue for the increasing number of T-or-C locals.

We got the chance to hang with Wendy and Mikey on our long drive from San Fran to SXSW. They graciously toured us around, showed us the hot springs, cooked us meals, and shared the secrets of making papercrete. In the next few videos, you’ll get to hang with them too. Thanks Wendy and Mikey! Also thanks to Jonny Goldstein for putting us in contact!

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[tags]Wendy Tremayne, Mikey Sklar, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, eco-hotel, green acre, green, sustainability, sustainable, swaporamarama, rfid, ryanishungry[/tags]