How to make a car run on leftovers

By Zan Gonano
Assistant Features Editor

Oil prices have risen to high levels due to unrest in the Middle East. Natural disasters have led to a shortage in supplies, and America’s desire to drive large sport utility vehicles that get sub-par gas mileage leaves people wanting a cheaper alternative.

With the harm emissions are causing the atmosphere and the desire of many to wane off the oil addiction, the topic has become a popular one in the news. Alternative energy sources for cars are coming to the forefront of the battle.

Hybrid cars are now a common household name. Engines found in these cars utilize both gas and battery power to increase fuel mileage and decrease emissions. Diesel cars, however, have been an overlooked player in the search for better gas mileage.

Diesel engines are unique, because they rely on high pressure and hot air to ignite diesel fuel into a burnable substance; whereas, engines that require gasoline rely on normal combustion. This makes diesel cars extremely flexible in utilizing fuels that can be burned.

For years, people have been converting diesel cars to run on both vegetable oil, which is used in making french fries, fried chicken and donuts, and bio-diesel oil.

Diesel conversion kits have been available for quite some time. The most prominent one can be found on www.greasecar.com. The conversion is simple. A diesel engine can run on vegetable oil out of the box without requiring any mechanical changes. The changeover involves the installation of a secondary fuel tank, which holds the vegetable oil and a series of fuel lines, pumps and switches to transfer the veggie oil from the auxiliary tank into the engine. The kit can be purchased for $795 and doesn’t include installation.

The conversion from gasoline to veggie oil can be completed in a few steps. First, a veggie oil conversion kit must be installed in the car. The tank usually resides in the trunk, which is safe, since vegetable oil will not explode or emit harmful odors.

Once the kit is installed, one must procure vegetable oil. Restaurants use two types of vegetable oil to fry food, hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated. Non-hydrogenated is best, but either can be used in Florida. Most restaurants have to pay people to dispose of used oil, an expense that can be offset by a veggie oil-burning car.

Car owners must locate a Chinese restaurant or McDonald’s and speak to the owner or manager about his disposing of some or all of the veggie oil each week. Pure oil is essentially used as a cleaning fluid. It is a necessity, as water or other impurities could harm the engine in the car. In most instances, fast food restaurants will take the oil because it will save the company money. All one must do is arrive on disposal day and cleanly and efficiently take the oil.

Once a reliable oil supply has been found and obtained, the oil must be filtered before use. Chunks of food, crumbs and other particles that may gum up the fuel system must be removed to ensure a clean, solid performance from the vehicle.

Filter bags may be purchased from the Greasecar Web site, or one can use a fine mesh filter that can tolerate heat and allow passage of a viscous substance such as oil. Technicians at greasecar.com recommend drivers have some sort of air-sealed holding tank at home to maintain a ready supply of vegetable oil to keep the oil from spoiling in the process. Once this has been done, the car is capable of running on vegetable oil.

The inventors of the conversion kit at Greasecar state that an engine must be first started on diesel fuel and must run for a few minutes. Then, the driver’s seat will cut the flow of diesel from the main tank with the flip of a switch, which is installed near the driver’s seat. This process will bring the flow of vegetable oil from the secondary tank into the engine. The car will now run on vegetable oil.

Shortly before the end of the drive, the vegetable oil must be purged from the system. This can be done by hitting the same switch and running the car for a few more seconds. This action makes sure the oil is out of the fuel system and diesel is injected to ensure a smooth start next time. This will guarantee the car will run clear and more cheaply than before.

Bio-diesel is another form of natural energy that does not rely on oil, but veggie oil is more desirable, because if rejected, it is easily available and free.

Cars, trucks, vans or buses can be converted to run on vegetable oil. Normal vehicle maintenance, such as oil, filter and engine service, should be performed as needed. The total cost for an installed conversion kit and a home holding tank with electric pump, in-line filter and pump handle costs around $2,000. If the driver is mechanically inclined, the conversion can be less expensive.

Still, one who uses 10 gallons of fuel a week at $2.25 a gallon will spend $1,170 in one year. So the conversion kit will pay for itself in less than two years and possibly sooner with higher fuel consumption or higher fuel prices.

With oil supplies dwindling, unrest in most oil-producing countries and an environmental crisis looming, the importance of finding cleaner, more fuel-efficient means of transportation is coming to the forefront of politics and news. Important to some is the realization that anyone can make a difference in their choices.

Vegetable oil is a cleaner, burn-free source of energy that can be found behind almost any restaurant around town. More information on conversion kits can be found by performing a Google search on “car run on vegetable oil” or another version of the phrase.



E-mail Zan Gonano at spinnakerfeatures@yahoo.com.