This past summer when the gas prices got to be $5 a gallon many people started looking for different ways to save money on gas. One of the alternatives people found was to turn to vegetable oil.“My mom has been running her car on vegetable oil for over two years now,” said Samantha Escobar, daughter of a “veggie” car owner.
History:
While in college Justin Carven, the owner and founder of Greasecar, and some college friends took an old diesel tractor and converted it to run on vegetable oil. They did this while still in school in 1996. However Carven had bigger plans, he wanted to be able to convert cars people use every day and have them run on vegetable oil.
In order to get vehicles to run on the vegetable oil, Carven had to design a way to get them to run in cooler temperatures, even on a warm spring day the system would not work. After plenty of tinkering and different plans, Carven came up with a design that worked.
“The first Greasecar fuel tank was a half-gallon steel rectangle with a copper coil soldered inside. Brass fittings on the outside allowed for connection to the coolant circuit.”
This allowed the vegetable oil to be heated before it entered the engine making it flow easily. Carven was not finished making his product better and added a purge system allowing the engine to shut down in only 30 seconds. Before this the engine had to run to clean out all the vegetable oil within the pipes. This process used to take ten minutes.
The reason why the vegetable oil craze never caught on until a few years ago was because pure vegetable oil was more expensive then gas. In 1999 diesel was $1 per gallon while fresh vegetable oil was $3 per gallon. The price was high because the government uses subsidies, to keep the prices high to protect American farmers. However that all changed when the gas prices started to rise.
Success:
Then the idea took off and the phones started ringing off the hook with people looking to buy the Greasecar kit. “People were looking for something green for their everyday lives,” said Lester Gasiewski an employee with Greasecar.
Demand was so high a few years ago that Greasecar has had to find a bigger building in order to have enough space to make all of their orders. They are currently in a 4000-square-foot building at the Paragon Arts and Industry Building in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Greasecar currently has 14 employees, which allows them to process orders quickly and with great customer service.
One of the cheapest ways to get the vegetable oil is to go to restaurants and ask them for their used grease oil that comes from their deep fryers. This is a waste product that restaurants have to pay to get ride of. So many restaurants are willing to give it away for free.
Even though the car is being run on used vegetable oil, Escobar says, “There is no smell.” The “going green” movement has picked up steam over the last couple years and Greasecar’s products fit right into that movement.
“They have less emissions (then a gas car), it is using a waste product (grease), and helps save money on fuel,” said Gasiewski, on some of the reasons why people buy their product. Here is a link to Greasecar.com.
How it works:
According to their website the Greasecar system works by utilizing a two tank fuel system. The vehicles existing diesel tank and filter will supply diesel fuel to the engine at start up and shut down. After start up radiator fluid will transfer heat from the engine to the heat exchangers in the Greasecar fuel system.
These heat exchangers will heat the vegetable oil in the fuel filter, lines and fuel tank. The heat will reduce the viscosity of vegetable oil so that it is similar to diesel and can be injected into the engine properly. When the vehicle is being shut down for a period long enough for the fuel to cool the vegetable oil must be purged from the fuel system and replaced with diesel for the next start up.
This may seem like it is really complicated and could cause problems with your car but Gasiewski says, “As long as it is used properly there should be no problems.”
Drawbacks:
There are some drawbacks to using vegetable oil and purchasing the kit. These kits only work with diesel engines, not regular gas engines. “You still have to buy some gas but it’s not as much as other people driving,” says Escobar. Some of the older kits that customers bought have a major problem in the winter, especially in New England.
“You cannot use vegetable oil in the winter because it freezes so you have to use diesel,” says Escobar about her mom’s car, which has been running on vegetable oil for two years now. The newest kits being provided by Greasecar have overcome this problem and now can work in the winter.
“The whole system is heated except for the valves witch can withstand very cold temperatures,” said Gasiewski.
“You still have to buy some gas,” said Escobar, “but it’s not as much as other people driving.”
Another problem with vegetable oil as a viable fuel source is that there is no infrastructure in place. Meaning there are not gas stations set up that give out vegetable oil. The people who get the grease from restaurants go out and do it on their own. Here is a link to an article that discusses this problem.
Customers:
Other small business’s have purchased the Greasecar kits and installed them in their vehicles. One example is Chunky’s Cinema Pub which converted their 2002 Dodge Ram into a vegetable vehicle. One side of the truck shows customers watching a movie at Chunky's while french fries are blowing from a guest’s plate into the gas tank.
The company has grown significantly over the years, from a school project into a successful business. “Last year was the best year because of high gas prices and solid customer base,” said Gasiewski. Even with gas prices coming back down Greasecar has not seen a big drop in sales. “A little, it’s defiantly not a problem,” continues Gasiewski. “People are saving (money) after the initial investment.”
With the growing fuel problem that is facing our planet Greasecar is offering an alternative fuel that helps reduce carbon emissions and saves on fuel consumption. However by adding this system it does not change the performance of the car.
“I would love to own a car like my mom’s,” said Escobar. “It’s really reasonable and it doesn't drive differently it’s just like a regular car but it runs on vegetable oil.”
Here is a video done by Mythbusters looking at the use of vegetable oil.
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