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Going Veggie: Bio-Diesel Impressions
by Paul R. Flowers

The first time I saw a bio-fueled vehicle in person, I was highly intrigued, inspired, but quietly skeptical. I was given a tour around a school bus decked out in unrestrained brightly painted murals reckoning back to themes of mid sixties “Kool Aid Acid Test” fame. The fuel system had been rigged to allow it to travel cross-country fueled by used fast-food french fry grease collected from random restaurants along the road. This means of recycling a plentiful biological waste product allowed the bus to travel great distances at almost no cost to its passengers while reducing otherwise harmful exhaust emissions. All of this information was painted in white text that weaved its way through the richly creative designs.

The driver and chief mechanic bounced around in a green garage suit stained with the clear cooking oil, a suit that bore a patch with the name Dave even though his fellow travelers called him “Jay”. He was obviously a passionate guy, a wandering idealist eagerly explaining how this system worked and the benefits of using it to anyone with an open mind and the time to listen. As I peeked under the hood, he pointed out several fuel filters chained by a small hose which ran back through the underside of the chassis, forking into two custom built saddle bag tanks holding unrefined, used vegetable oil. These tanks were mounted in addition to the original petroleum diesel tank from which the driver could transfer back and forth at will using a small black switch near the driver’s seat. Rather than pouring oil straight into the original tank, there was a need to keep tanks separate. When asked why this was, the mechanic explained that it took petroleum diesel to start the bus up, warm it up, and then he could switch tanks to “veggie”. All of this information opened my eyes, dispelling images I had created in my head of a lumbering engine sputtering and coughing on black bits of fries while smoking down the highway or all eight disheveled passengers holding a thumb out on the hi-way when the fuel lines finally choked on too much cholesterol. The system was still a hybrid. It took a higher flammability to initially start the engine, especially due to the coagulation factor of the fry oil.

A few years later, running into a friend traveling cross country in a mid eighties Mercedes turbo diesel, I found out that it was possible to run on only one tank, using as much fry oil as you could carry. The reason goes back in history to a Parisian inventor by the name of Rudolph Diesel. Rudolph originally designed the engine to run off vegetable oil. Vegetable oils were used as fuel for the diesel engine until the 1920's, when diesel engine manufacturers modified the injection system of the engine to handle the lower viscosity of fossil fuels, which were widely available and low in cost. Fossil fuel interests eventually pressured a market change and we have the petroleum-dominated market we see today. My friend who was traveling in the diesel turbo explained that the Mercedes engine was particularly adept at handling the oil due to the fact that the original engine was created to run off peanut oil. It made sense, but I knew he lived in the extreme winter-land of the Midwest and I couldn’t help wondering how the oil held up in freezing temperatures. “I’ve got an engine block heater” he replied to my question pointing out a three-prong plug dangling from the grill of the car. “You just plug it in about an hour before you start it up, or leave it plugged in overnight if you’re parked outside.” I was impressed, but it still seemed like a hassle to get started in this otherwise desirable break from fossil fuel dependence and the recent costly routine of standard fuel. He was quick to counter this attitude with a demonstration of his “greasecar’s” performance. After a familiar buzz and crank the loping engine smoothed out into a steady idle which sounded no different than any other diesel engine. “Here’s the biggest difference”, he stated, moving to the rear of the car. I followed and was amazed to find a hot, but smokeless invisible wind flowing out of the tailpipe that had a pleasant, and even appetizing aroma. “French fries”, my friend said with a smile. I couldn’t help but smile myself. The contrast to the black toxic chemically tainted blast you get drowned with in any given bus-filled urban setting was a great selling point

. By switching to “greasel” (100% veggie oil) or “bio-diesel” (refined vegetable fuel mixed with 25% fossil fuel diesel) these eco-commuters unanimously report a great sense of well-being. Whether it is about personally reducing CO2 emissions, severing dependence of politically touchy fossil fuels, or simply escaping the intense fumes of standard diesel in the cab of their vehicle and outside of it, every owner of a bio-fueled vehicle I interviewed was consistent in a glowing contentment with their choice of transportation. “The change has to start somewhere,” one vehicle owner noted when asked why she went to the trouble to spend hours every week scouting out used restaurant oil for her pickup, “we all have a choice to do something to better ourselves and our environment with each new day.” “I found a way to accomplish this while drastically reducing my living costs at the same time.” She smiled a confident smile, a convincing smile, and soon

I found myself researching used diesel vehicles for sale on the Internet .Many sites spoke highly of the older Mercedes 240 or 300 series as super reliable and quite affordable ($1500-$4000), Volkswagen was also noted for low budget diesel Rabbits, Golfs, and Jettas. Most of these, although cheap, were highly likely to be found with high miles and problematic engines, however. The holy grail of grease cars on the Web, appearing with many thumbs-up throughout the sites was the newer Volkswagen Jetta. The German manufacturer released many late 90’s models with diesel engines. The TDI as it is known, is regarded as one of the best cars you can get for biofuel due to its remarkable fuel efficiency of 60 MPG. These prized vehicles still come with a heavy price tag of anywhere from $5000 to $10,000 depending on how many miles are on the engine. All older diesels in general, especially the European ones, I found to be somewhat rare. It’s not everyday that you find one of these passing you by on the freeway.

It’s precisely this rarity that prompted me to jump on the chance to claim an old 300D turbo diesel, which was being sold by a retired elderly couple in my neighborhood. I finally could join the ranks of these joyful bio-fueled troubadours that I had kept running into and hearing about for so many years. I immediately asked around to find the nearest station where I could fill up, only to find that bio-pumps were even more of a rare breed than the vehicles themselves. The local organic garden center had a 100 gallon tank in the back, which you could fill gas canisters from for a price a little higher than standard petroleum diesel. They were not allowed to set up pumps without a proper fuel filling station license so this was the only option available for filling my newly acquired car with eco-friendly fuel. It was a relatively small hassle, however, when I consider that every time I start the ignition I am actively playing a part in global change. It wasn’t easy and this transition wasn’t without its sacrifices. Currently, the retail price for quality bio-diesel can run up to $1 more than petroleum diesel. It can however be mixed with any ratio of petroleum diesel, and depending on the gas mileage of your diesel vehicle, has a much slower rate of fuel consumption than unleaded gasoline. So the extra cost is justified in the end. Bid farewell to my old beater petrol commuter.

Going Veggie: Bio-Diesel Impressions by Paul R. Flowers

Going Veggie: Bio-Diesel Impressions
by Paul R. Flowers