One Year and 15,000 Miles in a Grease Car
Ten Things I’ve Learn About Driving A Car Powered by Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO)
What makes a seemingly rational guy, who can afford to drive pretty much whatever car he wants to, trade in his shiny, new Audi for a 27-year old Mercedes 240D that runs on waste or straight vegetable oil (WVO/SVO)? Well, in my case, someone took the time to call me out on my level of willingness to make a difference–or at least try to.
In late 2007, my partner and I took on a brand development project for a fledgling, Washington DC-based hybrid limousine company. These guys were not only driven by a real desire to reduce their industry’s carbon footprint, but also to engage with the theoretical decision makers on Capital Hill. Every week, we’d be on these long conference calls, where I would inevitably begin to complain about the escalating price of gasoline and the perils of foreign oil dependency. Finally, one of these brave entrepreneurs told me to shut up and do something about.
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As with all my Gas 2.0 articles, I feel compelled to readdress the fact that prior to my grease car adventure, I had absolutely no experience working on cars, and still, to this day, have only a very basic understanding of what makes them go. While not particularly proud of this lack of “gear-headedness”, I think it’s important to know that you don’t have to be a full-on car geek to pull off some good results using WVO/SVO as an everyday fuel source.
So here are the top ten things I’ve learned in the past year. Please remember, this is just one man’s opinion, based on the real-life experience of saving approximately $2,600.
1. Don’t over-think it. I know from many of the comments I receive here (often angry) that you may feel compelled to do tons of research on veggie-powered cars, fuel filtering, the pros and cons of the different conversions kits, and on and on and on. Go ahead and do your due diligence. There are a lot of great resources to explore (including of course, this site), and I urge you to check them all out. But please, don’t let your research keep you from taking the plunge. I meet roughly a dozen people a month that are in some perpetual phase of “research”. Sadly, most of these folks will never make the switch to WVO.
2. Line up your grease supply before you buy or convert your car. Sounds silly, but a lot of people skip this step and end up scrambling for a consistent fuel source. Most of us know at least one person who owns or manages a restaurant, diner, or pub. If you don’t, now is the time to befriend the guy who owns your local fish n’ chips joint. Here in the East, most restaurants still pay to get their used fryer grease hauled away. Out West, as bio-diesel becomes more readily available, the opposite is the case. Rendering companies are now, in some cases, paying the restaurants for their surplus oil, so lining up your suppliers becomes even more critical. I met with two local restaurant owners from places I eat at frequently to arrange picking up my grease about a month before I even got my car.
You are committed. I’ll give you that.
Thanks, this was very informative. Did you buy that tank you store your grease in, and if so, from where?
Thanks Reba. That’s just your basic plastic 55 gallon drum from U-Line.
Bravo! I put 20K miles on a WVO powered 91 Mercedes 300D before engine finally gave up in Dec 08. I got out of WVO game completely and find it easier (LOTS easier) to carpool to work instead of messing around with alt fuels.
Sounds like way more work, mess and storage space than I’d ever want to pursue..
Not really too much time or work at all, Phil. Probably about an hour a week. And now I make my son filter my grease as part of his weekly allowance chores (not his favorite job). As for storage–you saw that photo. Just a little corner space in my garage. However…yes, not for everyone.
Greaseman–regarding your comments on single tank systems…what is that based on? I’m not questioning your knowledge of POLYMERIZATION. Do you know greasers that have had failures with this system? I don’t. I’m in regular contact with about two dozen single-tankers, many who have put in 50K miles +, without failure. Bear in mind, most people don’t event convert these vehicles to grease until there are 150,000 + miles on them. Every vehicle has life span.
I encourage hobbyist experimentation, but spreading such poor practices on a website that claims to be “Empowering Sustainable Choices” and “Written by experienced professionals and topic experts” is just irresponsible.
Colin–how many trouble-free (and just plain “free”) miles do I need to drive on WVO before, in your opinion, I can be deemed a “topic expert”? I like to think I speak for the millions of less technically minded WVO drivers who actually took the plunge, rather than just reading about it in books or talking about it at work. Perhaps what we need is a little more “hobbyist experimentation”.
A non-starting car is hardly ‘trouble-free’, and you’re kidding yourself if you think you’re actually driving for ‘free’. Filters, barrels, and pumps cost money, and as you stated, you have to decide what your time is worth to you.
I’m not just an internet naysayer, I drove a 240d on Vegetable oil 80mi/day for about as many miles on a one and then two tank system in sunny California. It’s doable, it’s fun, it’s rewarding, but it’s not as easy or sustainable as you make it sound.