Fish fry leftovers provide cheap, clean motor fuel
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By Tom Saul | Saturday, June 23, 2007 |
When Dave Wetzel of Decatur, Ill., travels, he likes to go on the cheap.
His drive with wife Eileen to the Quad-Cities on Friday for an appearance on a Davenport radio show cost him the equivalent of a few ounces of diesel fuel as his 1986 Volkswagen Golf rumbled the approximately 170 miles from his central Illinois house powered mostly by used vegetable oil.
“I get it for free,” Wetzel said. “A Disabled American Veterans post near my house cooks fish and french fries every Friday. They clean their cookers out on Mondays and leave the oil out for me in buckets. I go pick it up and filter it and use it.”
Wetzel, a retired research chemist and food plant manager, modified the car himself about six years ago after one of his sons brought it home. Since then, he has been taking it to environmental fairs and renewable energy shows.
He demonstrated the vehicle for Steve Ketelaar and Mark Manuel, “The KUUL Morning Guys,” on KUUL radio, 101.3 FM.
Use of vegetable oil as fuel works only in diesel engine cars, Wetzel said. He modified the engine to burn the oil and built a heated tank with a pump system to store the oil in the car’s hatchback. With extra containers of vegetable oil in the rear of the car, he can fire up the pump system and replenish the tank so he does not have to stop to refuel for up to 3,000 miles.
When he travels, which is frequent, he carries his own supply of oil with him. During a nine-month period last year, Wetzel said, he traveled thousands of miles on trips all over the country and never bought fuel for the car.
“The key to using the oil is to get it as viscous as the diesel fuel and to do that you have to heat it,” Wetzel said of the 140-degree temperature he heats the oil to.
Aside from a cheap source of fuel that many restaurants and others are willing to give away, burning vegetable oil has environmental benefits,Wetzel said. It provides higher mileage, produces about 40 percent less particulate matter, about 25 percent less carbon monoxide and leaves behind carbon dioxide, the same gas used by plants.
“I’m no tree hugger, but I like to be environmentally friendly, and this is a clean way to get around,” he said.
Tom Saul can be contacted at (563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.
About the car
Facts about Dave Wetzel’s vegetable oil-powered car:
Type — 1986 Volkswagen Golf Diesel
How it works — Requires use of small amount of diesel to start and heat the engine before vegetable oil can be burned. Uses small amount of diesel before shutting down to clear out fuel pump system.
Mileage — Gets up to 46 miles per gallon on vegetable oil. On diesel, gets about 35 miles per gallon
Modifications — Wetzel did his own modifications for about $350. They include a heated tank for the oil, a pump system and changes to the fuel system. Commercial kits are available for about $800 plus $650 for installation.
Environmental benefits — Produces 40 percent less particulate matter and 25 percent less carbon monoxide.
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