Story - Timeline 2003: My quest originally was to
learn about BioDiesel. My significant other "Dee", was the catalyst
behind my initial interest. Still, I was convinced and soon to be converted
to use WVO. We both became
bound and determined, at first, to use bio diesel, for many reasons.
Primarily for a better environment and equally important was
to protest against the Oil greedy companies of the day. We soon discovered just how expensive the bio-diesel
fuel was and how few locations there were to purchase biodiesel. The excitement of
bio-diesel waned, yet we were both caught up in the quest for Alternate Fuel
sources and dug in.
Next we looked into making our our own bio-diesel fuel.
This "cook
it yourself" bio-diesel is a very viable option to
purchasing, but the process was a little more involved and complicated
than we wanted to try on our own. A coop doing this would be much
preferred.
However, after a couple months one of the friends we were learning from nearly burned his house down from a
methanol fire caused from biodiesel cooking. That did it for me, I didn't want to mess with the biodiesel making any more.
So, I thought, why not just go the whole way and do
the direct WVO system! This would bypass the chemical
process. Seemed simple to me, no chemicals, no fuss, no muss. Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) wasn't
complex, it was real simple, and no chemicals so even "I" could do it. There was a little up front cost for the components to convert your car, but it was about the same price as components for setting up a biodiesel refinement process. Win/Win and no chemicals.
Finding "local" information about WVO conversions at the time
was really hard. We couldn't find anybody else locally doing this WVO
stuff. Finding other sites on the web showed email groups here and there,
but we needed a support group of some kind. So, I set up this local Co-op
to find and help others of like mind called Grease2Go. The Co-op
maintained about 53 members, all but 4 or 5 were just non-active. I am
pretty sure Grease2Go - just wasn't worth the effort and I closed the
forum. We do need a LOCAL forum or
coop and if you are inclined to do so - please set one up and let us know!
Actually, I tend to use the Frybrid.com forums for most things, but a
local Coop would still be much preferred. t is much more fun to
find a few folks to collaborate on a fuel/filter setup.
I'll tell you what, there is no finer feeling than
enjoying the fruits of your own labors. As for Driving with Grease 4 Fuel, well, I absolutely love
taking a road trip and flipping the Grease4Fuel switch to Drive on near-free
fuel. Now when I travel to visit mom on a round trip of over 800 miles it costs me about $12 in fuel instead of $150.00. Saving the planet - 1 French Fry at a time.
I did find a great buddy to work with for several years named Matt who
worked with me to build up the filter & fueling station we call the
Grease Grotto. We did lots of
experimental setups, different filtering apparatus, holding tanks, layouts,
and other work. We ended up collaborating with up to 6 other wvo folks
at one time and have worked with about 16 wvo folks who have come and gone
over the last 6 years the little GreaseGrotto Co-op. After a few years
Matt became more interested in electric cars and currently drives a
1996 Ford Ranger Electric Pickup Truck. In May 2010 Matt took
delivery of a 2010 Nissan Leaf Electric car for his wife
Laura. He has coated his roof with solar panels and other alternative
energy upgrades. Matt maintains a nice website all about his
alternative energy activities at:
http://www.turbofroggy.com
Timeline 1/1/2011My current partner in the GreaseGrotto is Nick who
brought some great ideas and help to the Grotto. The Grease Grotto
continues to work with 3-5 wvo folks who either bring wvo to filter and/or
pick up filtered wvo. Nick was a great addition to the Grotto.
He got us back to basics for oil settling and brought in the best oil pickup
locations I've ever had. Our wvo pickups are now focused on getting
pure canola or soybean liquid oils. No Partially Hydrogenated oils.
This is very difficult to find as most small restaurants want to use the
cheaper partially hydrogenated oils because they add flavor and they are
cheaper. But, you would not believe how bad Partially Hydrogenated Oil
is for the consumer to digest! That is another story - See Trans Fats
for all the news on Partially Hydrogenated Oils.
suffice it to say, Nick and I are trying very hard to get wvo pickup
accounts that only use liquid oils
"Praise
the Lard"
I have since SOLD this '87 Mercedes Benz However, this is
still a link to all the DETAILS about this particular car. You might use it as a benchmark for comparisons.
I have purchased and installed another Frybrid kit into a '96 VW Passat TDi Wagon |
