Man converts his car to run on free used vegetable oil

Someone was talking about this in another thread, but I figured this little news story deserved it's own thread.

Susan's Fish and Chips serves up fuel alternative
By Craig Giammona

Link from TheForeCaster.net

The owner of Susan's Fish and Chips, Susan Eklund, carries out a batch of oil for Kris Eckhardt on Sunday morning.

Ruth Ann Redman photo
PORTLAND - When Kris Eckhardt visits Susan's Fish and Chips on Forest Avenue, he leaves with more than delicious fried fish and french fries. Eckhardt, a regular customer at Susan's for years, runs his car on Susan's used vegetable oil.

"He asked me what I do with my used oil," said Susan Eklund, who has owned and operated Susan's for 15 years, "initially he offered to pay for it." Eklund refused the offer. It was costing her about $150 every time she had to have the used oil picked up, so she was delighted to have Eckhardt take the oil off her hands. A marriage of convenience was born and Eckhardt has been fueling up at Susan's ever since.

According to Eckhardt, it is possible to run a diesel engine off vegetable oil as long as the oil is thin enough. "You just have to heat the oil to at least 130 degrees," Eckhardt said, "I heard about a guy in South Portland who had converted his car with a kit he bought off the Internet. I took a look at the kit, recognized the parts and realized I could do it."

Eckhardt recognized the parts from his experience building engines and working at Napa Auto Parts. About a year ago, he set to work converting his 1985 Volkswagen Cabriolet to run on vegetable oil. "It took about a week to do the first car," said Eckhardt, "I had to fabricate the parts and figure out how to heat the oil." To heat the oil, Eckhardt routed heated water from his car's heating system to a tank he fabricated to hold the vegetable oil. When he was done he could drive his car 50 miles on three gallons of vegetable oil. It cost Eckhardt about $200 to complete the conversion. "The car smells like a cook-out," said Eckhardt, who noted that his kids call his car, "the french fry car."

Since converting his car, Eckhardt has streamlined his technique, and converted two other cars. One was for his girlfriend, the other for his friend Michael Hiltz. Hiltz, who recently graduated from nursing school, likes the fact that he is no longer supporting big energy companies when he drives.

"I smell the difference," Hiltz said. "I don't smell pollution and I don't smell trade deficit."

Hiltz, who drives an 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit, said that running cars on vegetable oil was always the intention of diesel engine inventor Rudolph Diesel. "He originally wanted cars to run on peanut oil. The petroleum companies just took his name."

Hiltz has clear political motivations for running his car on vegetable oil. He dumped his gas car when the war in Iraq broke out last March and started looking for a diesel car he could run on bio-diesel. Then he met Kris Eckhardt at the Stevens Avenue coffee shop they both patronize daily. They got to talking and soon Eckhardt was converting his car to be run on vegetable oil.

At Susan's Fish and Chips, the pair found an available and cost-free source of fuel. Susan says she goes through about 800 cases of oil a year, at 35 pounds a case. That's a lot of frying, and for anyone with a diesel engine it can be a lot of driving. "Now, it only takes about a weekend to do a conversion," said Eckhardt, who noted that for him the car conversions were more about mechanical curiosity than environmental or political conscience. Eckhardt noted, though, that Hiltz has got him thinking more and more about the benefits of not supporting oil and gas companies. "I'm not an activist," said Eckhardt, "but I do what I can."

Eckhardt is currently considering having the fuel boxes he fabricates to hold the vegetable oil made professionally so he can convert cars for anyone who is interested. The former guitar player and front-man for local rock-a-billy band "King Memphis," Eckhardt said converted cars have no problem passing inspection. Converted cars do, though, still need to be started with regular diesel fuel. Eckhardt starts his car the way anyone else would then drives for about the five minutes it takes to bring the oil to 130 degrees. After that he just flips a switch on his dashboard and the cook-out begins. The amount of diesel needed for the process is minimal. According to Eckhardt, he can drive 2,000 or 3,000 miles on a single tank.

The Internet kits that provided Eckhardt with his inspiration can cost anywhere from $600 to $1,000 and convert cars to be run on bio-diesel, which can also be expensive. Eckhardt's conversion sets up cars so they can be fueled anywhere a fryolator is frying, and for a fraction of the cost.

Anyone interested in contacting Eckhardt or Hiltz about converting their diesel car should e-mail [email protected]

 

My favorite quote from it. I would think that the smell of a french fry car would be just as bad as some pollution - for those of us who have spent time in front of a fry vat at some point know what I'm talking about.

 

Another follow-up post:

Neil Young Tour Powered by Vegetable Oil