What could be better than the promise of free fuel for your car?
Well, not exactly free, but much cheaper than a trip to the gas pump.
Any diesel vehicle can be converted to run on vegetable oil with relative ease, and mechanically inclined people can do much of the work themselves. The costs involved are not prohibitive to the switch.
Switching from diesel to cooking oil costs between $2,000 and $3,000 for all parts and labor.
Since most restaurants pay to dispose of cooking oil, it can be a win-win situation for the driver and the business owner. However, there is a trade-off for the free fuel: recycling cooking oil makes a mess when compared to filling up at the pump.
But besides the lowered cost, there is another advantage. The lack of petrochemicals means that the level of particulate matter is much lower than a traditional diesel engine would produce but with the increased mileage that a diesel engine offers over a gas engine.
Pacific Beach resident Joe Connor made the switch and hasn’t looked back. He’s driven his converted 1984 Mercedes 300D sedan through 48 states and three Canadian provinces during his 2006 Veggie Power tour, averaging around 30 miles per gallon.
Connor also drove to 272 baseball games in 215 days, starting in Phoenix on March 1, 2006, and ending in Anaheim on Oct. 1, 2006, to demonstrate how flexible this technology can be.
“I thought this would be a great way to raise awareness of alternative fuels,” Connor said. “The main thing is that you got to be committed. It’s a lifestyle change. You go from going to the gas station to going to restaurants and loading dirty oil out in the alley.”
He got the idea during the summer of 2005, when he caught a special on PBS that discussed veggie cars. He sold his gas-powered Chevrolet and started shopping for a suitable diesel.
There are many options, but Mercedes cars have a reputation for being solidly built and the engines are reliable over the long haul, especially important on a trip as long as Connor had planned.
A large trunk was also key, since he uses a 12-gallon holding tank for the oil before he pumps it into his actual fuel tank, allowing him to filter the oil multiple times on-board his car, eliminating the need for a system at home.
A more expensive way to get the oil is to buy it, already filtered and cleaned, from a station that does the dirty work. Prices range from $1.50 to $2.50 per gallon, so it is not as economical, but if storage space and cleanliness are issues, it is a viable alternative.
The third option is to take the grease home and do the filtering at a base station in a garage (it’s too dirty to do it in a house kitchen), which frees up space but requires the same amount of equipment and time as having it onboard the vehicle. The advantage of the all-inclusive system is that the driver can fill up from virtually any location that has the right type of grease, on the road, with no trips back home.
“Usually the best oil comes from Asian restaurants. They use lots of soy and canola, plus they do a lot of grilling, so that’s a good fit,” Connor said. “The whole key to the system is the filtration, but you cannot have any shortening, or water contamination, so it’s best to have the grease separated and stored inside, out of the elements.”
There are some limitations to veggie oil, because it is thicker than diesel fuel. The oil can clog the injectors when it is cold, so the car must be started on diesel and then switched to veggie after the car’s temperature has reached 80 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It should also be flushed by switching to diesel for the last minute of the trip to get the thinner liquid back into the fuel injectors.
Connor has been getting his oil from Limonz Rostizados, 978 Garnet Ave. The restaurant doesn’t fry many of its menu items, but it still creates about 10 gallons every two weeks, and because the oil has no trans-fats or cholesterol, it’s perfect for burning in a converted diesel engine.
For more information on Connor’s trip, visit www.ModernEraBaseball.com.
To learn more about vegetable oil-powered vehicles, visit www.greaseroots.com.