Veggie drivers under the radar

A passionate vegetable oil traveler warns others off

By FRITZ MAYER

UPPER DELAWARE VALLEY — The vegetable oil as motor fuel phenomenon is gradually gaining ground over the past decade across the country, and in the past three years or so has come to the Upper Delaware Valley. There are a least four people here who have vehicles that burn vegetable oil as a fuel. But these people are not necessarily happy about the prospect of getting their pictures in the newspaper. That’s because, technically, using vegetable oil for fuel isn’t exactly legal.

Most states collect road taxes through the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel, and if you’re using vegetable oil collected from restaurants, you’re not paying all the taxes that state officials think that you should. On the other hand, most states aren’t actively pursuing the veggie drivers, and many don’t have clear policies on the matter. In fact, officials from New York and Pennsylvania did not return calls regarding relevant state laws. In other states, however, drivers have been fined as much as $1,000 for not paying road taxes.

Ethan Olmstead, a technical support manager for Greasecar ((www.greasecar.com)), a Massachusetts-based firm that sells vegetable oil kits and paraphernalia online, said that most prosecutions come only after veggie drivers commit some sort of indiscretion. A man from Ohio, for instance, boasting to a television camera that he had been not paying full road taxes for years because of using vegetable oil, said in effect, “I’d like to see them come after me.” So they did.

The Environmental Protection Agency is also not a fan of vegetable oil fuel because it’s not registered as a fuel with the agency, and therefore runs afoul of the Clean Air Act. That’s ironic, since used vegetable oil that has been properly processed is less harmful to the environment than gas or diesel, and releases as much as 75 percent less carbon dioxide. But rules are rules, and the EPA has so far not been convinced to come up with a program that might make veggie drivers legal.

Despite the legal perils, some veggie drivers pursue their aromatic fuel with a passion that borders on religious fervor. One, who collects waste oil from about a dozen restaurants and other establishments on both sides of the Upper Delaware River, is so passionate about it that he likens himself to a scientist or priest in his selfless devotion to helping the environment through the use of vegetable oil instead of gas or diesel. We’ll call this man “Amber Jack” because of his fondness for the color of the used vegetable oil after it has been filtered.

Amber Jack tells others who are considering moving into the world of veggie drivers, “Do not do it, don’t even think about it.” Unless, that is, you’re willing to invest many hours of frustration-filled trial and error learning on the topic, and invest a lot of time and money pursuing it.

To proceed, you will need a car or truck with a diesel engine. But you’ll need two fuel tanks and two fuel line systems on the vehicle, one for vegetable oil and one for diesel. Vegetable oil won’t easily combust until it’s at least 125 degrees Fahrenheit, so the vehicle needs to be started using diesel fuel; then, when the vegetable oil warms up with the help of special oil heating gadgets, the driver switches to vegetable oil.

But it gets more complicated. When you’re ready to turn the car off for any length of time, it’s necessary to switch back to diesel to flush all of the vegetable out of the injectors so that the car will start again the next morning. Amber Jack said a lot of newbies forget that part of the process, and are left wondering why their car won’t start the next day.

At a more advanced level, the driver can become obsessed with getting optimal oil burn. Amber Jack has a computer in one of his two veggie burning vehicles that tells him the temperature of the hot water line, which gives him an indication of the temperature of the engine core. The computer also tells him the temperature of the oil in the fuel tank and the temperature of the oil after it has passed through the heating gadget and just before it goes into the injectors.

Then there’s the little matter of obtaining the oil. Some manufacturers are now producing vegetable oil intended for use as a motor fuel on a mass scale, and selling it for up to $2 per gallon. But Amber Jack still gets most of his for free. He drives around collecting it in five gallon barrels, although for at least one supplier he hauls a 50-gallon barrel out to pick up the stuff.

Once the oil is collected, it has to be cleaned. Amber Jack said he mixes all the oils together in 50-gallon drums, and filters it three times—and it’s not all that pleasant. “Imagine putting your nose inside a barrel of cold dirty oil from a Chinese restaurant,” said Amber Jack. “It’s a difficult job, and it stinks and it’s greasy. The oil gets into everything, your hair, your skin—even if you don’t touch it, it’s in the air. You have to be a person who doesn’t care about any of that,” he said.

Vegetable oil conversion kits and related products can be bought online, and technicians are available to help with installation. But Amber Jack warns would-be veggie drivers, “You have to be a maniac, you have to put up with a lot of aggravation, and then laugh it off and think it’s great.”

But the other side of the picture for those who can make the grade, “When you’re driving that car and everything is working and it’s running on vegetable oil, you think it’s the most amazing thing that they’ve ever come up with.”

A statement from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding vegetable oil

“No motor vehicle manufacturer has obtained EPA emissions certification for a motor vehicle to operate on vegetable oil. Nor has any aftermarket vegetable oil conversion system manufacturer registered an aftermarket kit (e.g., to warm the vegetable oil to reduce its viscosity). Such certification is necessary to demonstrate to EPA the emissions performance of vehicles when converted and operating on the alternative fuel will not be adversely affected. Thus, introduction of vegetable oil for use as a motor vehicle fuel would violate the Clean Air Act and EPA regulations.”