xcel
12-30-2006, 08:18 PM
"It's free milage." 75 percent of the time her car uses the oil to traverse the city's streets. The other times, it uses diesel. (http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/12/30//news/californian/21_15_1012_29_06.txt)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Veggie_Oil-Diesel_Conversion.jpgJennifer Kabbany - The Californian - Dec. 29, 2006
TEMECULA - When gas prices soar to record-breaking highs, Chaparral High School teacher Scott Carey never gives it a second thought.
When reports on global warming and America's dependance on foreign oil are in the news, French Valley Elementary School teacher Chris Lindberg smiles to herself, knowing she is doing her part to combat the two problems.
What sets the Temecula Valley Unified School District teachers apart from their peers, and most Southwest County residents, is that they use waste vegetable oil to fill their gas tanks ---- the thick, gooey stuff that restaurants deep-fry chicken and french fries in.
"We take and use what somebody else is going to throw away," Carey said.
They said the relatively simple process has been worth the effort, knowing they are helping the environment and setting positive examples for their students ---- not to mention the other perks.
"It's free milage," Lindberg said of the 75 percent of the time her car uses the oil to traverse the city's streets.
The other times, it uses diesel.
Carey, an English teacher, and Lindberg, who teaches fourth grade, only met just recently, but they drive the exact same type of car: a blue, 1983 Mercedes Benz 300D turbo diesel.
For Lindberg, her experience with using waste vegetable oil for her car began after her husband, Javier Varisco, bought an $800 kit for her over the Internet. The contraption facilitates the process of filtering the oil inside the car, using the vehicle's heat as it runs to turn the oil into the appropriate consistency for the engine. A switch allows Lindberg to go from using from diesel to oil and back.
The kit was her 2005 Christmas present.
"I thought it was a great gift," she said. "I was really excited about it."
With that, Lindberg became one of about 3,000 motorists from across the nation to purchase the kit from the Massachusetts-based Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems since it opened in 2000, said its production manager Josiah Cuneo.
He said he hopes more people become customers as awareness of the product grows, but that right now the biggest drawback is that it's a new technology. Not everyone understands it, knows how to install it, or feels comfortable going around collecting waste vegetable oil from businesses, which can take a few hours each week.
"That is kind of keeping it to a more hobbyist market," he said.
Carey and Lindberg said that from their standpoint, they have to watch for oil clogs in their car systems, but that by far is the biggest issue they have encountered, and they don't mind.
Lindberg estimates it costs about 65 cents a gallon instead of $2-$3 a gallon to drive her car, meaning the savings add up pretty quickly, she said. She uses her car to drive to work.
Carey's situation is a bit different.
Instead of the vehicle converter kit, he refines his oil outside of his car through a homemade filter at a friend's house in San Diego, using a solvent instead of heat. Then he puts it in his fuel tank with a portion of diesel as well. He rides his bike to school, but uses his car for errands, he said.
"It's been a lot of work and a huge investment of time, but it's worth it for sure," said Carey, who has been driving his car on waste vegetable oil for a year. "Everyone thinks I am crazy, but then you see a soccer mom who drives an SUV across town to walk on a treadmill and watch TV. To me, that's crazy."
The teachers said the oil is available for free by working out deals with restaurant owners, some of whom even pay to get the substance off their hands. There is also a gas station in San Diego that offers a wide range of alternative fuels for people who have some sort of hybrid car, which they said they hope is a growing trend.
Hypothetically, any diesel car can be tinkered with to make it run on waste vegetable oil, they said.
"It appeals to people from the far-right, who want to live in a cabin and off the grid, and also to the tree-huggers on the left," Carey said.
Their efforts have also become a topic of conversation in their classrooms ---- and have even turned into lessons.
The high school students in Carey's classes seem to like the alternatives the set-up represents, he said.
"They are plaguing me with interest," he said. "They think it's cool ... and like the idea of getting something for free and getting something over on the man."
While the federal Environmental Protection Agency has not approved vehicles to run on waste vegetable oil ---- and motorists could face fines for doing as much ---- Greasecar's Cuneo said his company is working with the agency to reverse that stance through a series of tests over the next few years.
"There has yet to be a single case reported of the EPA issuing any kind of fee or fine, so it's one of those things," he said. "The EPA's policy is guilty until proven innocent. Unless they decide to start doing something about it, we fall under the same gray zone as a lot of other things out there."
Besides, he said, his company's studies show that waste vegetable oil is a lot better for the environment than diesel, as the former contains no sulfur.
For Lindberg's fourth-graders, she gave her students a little field trip to her campus parking lot to show them how her car works and let them take note of the smell of the exhaust, which has an uncanny resemblance to french fries, as part of a lesson plan.
"In fourth grade, we talk a lot about using resources wisely in California," she said, adding that it was a report created by several students a few years prior on using waste vegetable oil as fuel that even got her thinking about the idea.
"It's something I feel positive about doing," she said.
ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Two Temecula Valley Unified School District teachers use waste vegetable oil as fuel to drive their cars. They recommend two Web sites for those who are interested in learning more about the process:
- www.greasecar.com
- www.survivalunlimited.com
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Veggie_Oil-Diesel_Conversion.jpgJennifer Kabbany - The Californian - Dec. 29, 2006
TEMECULA - When gas prices soar to record-breaking highs, Chaparral High School teacher Scott Carey never gives it a second thought.
When reports on global warming and America's dependance on foreign oil are in the news, French Valley Elementary School teacher Chris Lindberg smiles to herself, knowing she is doing her part to combat the two problems.
What sets the Temecula Valley Unified School District teachers apart from their peers, and most Southwest County residents, is that they use waste vegetable oil to fill their gas tanks ---- the thick, gooey stuff that restaurants deep-fry chicken and french fries in.
"We take and use what somebody else is going to throw away," Carey said.
They said the relatively simple process has been worth the effort, knowing they are helping the environment and setting positive examples for their students ---- not to mention the other perks.
"It's free milage," Lindberg said of the 75 percent of the time her car uses the oil to traverse the city's streets.
The other times, it uses diesel.
Carey, an English teacher, and Lindberg, who teaches fourth grade, only met just recently, but they drive the exact same type of car: a blue, 1983 Mercedes Benz 300D turbo diesel.
For Lindberg, her experience with using waste vegetable oil for her car began after her husband, Javier Varisco, bought an $800 kit for her over the Internet. The contraption facilitates the process of filtering the oil inside the car, using the vehicle's heat as it runs to turn the oil into the appropriate consistency for the engine. A switch allows Lindberg to go from using from diesel to oil and back.
The kit was her 2005 Christmas present.
"I thought it was a great gift," she said. "I was really excited about it."
With that, Lindberg became one of about 3,000 motorists from across the nation to purchase the kit from the Massachusetts-based Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems since it opened in 2000, said its production manager Josiah Cuneo.
He said he hopes more people become customers as awareness of the product grows, but that right now the biggest drawback is that it's a new technology. Not everyone understands it, knows how to install it, or feels comfortable going around collecting waste vegetable oil from businesses, which can take a few hours each week.
"That is kind of keeping it to a more hobbyist market," he said.
Carey and Lindberg said that from their standpoint, they have to watch for oil clogs in their car systems, but that by far is the biggest issue they have encountered, and they don't mind.
Lindberg estimates it costs about 65 cents a gallon instead of $2-$3 a gallon to drive her car, meaning the savings add up pretty quickly, she said. She uses her car to drive to work.
Carey's situation is a bit different.
Instead of the vehicle converter kit, he refines his oil outside of his car through a homemade filter at a friend's house in San Diego, using a solvent instead of heat. Then he puts it in his fuel tank with a portion of diesel as well. He rides his bike to school, but uses his car for errands, he said.
"It's been a lot of work and a huge investment of time, but it's worth it for sure," said Carey, who has been driving his car on waste vegetable oil for a year. "Everyone thinks I am crazy, but then you see a soccer mom who drives an SUV across town to walk on a treadmill and watch TV. To me, that's crazy."
The teachers said the oil is available for free by working out deals with restaurant owners, some of whom even pay to get the substance off their hands. There is also a gas station in San Diego that offers a wide range of alternative fuels for people who have some sort of hybrid car, which they said they hope is a growing trend.
Hypothetically, any diesel car can be tinkered with to make it run on waste vegetable oil, they said.
"It appeals to people from the far-right, who want to live in a cabin and off the grid, and also to the tree-huggers on the left," Carey said.
Their efforts have also become a topic of conversation in their classrooms ---- and have even turned into lessons.
The high school students in Carey's classes seem to like the alternatives the set-up represents, he said.
"They are plaguing me with interest," he said. "They think it's cool ... and like the idea of getting something for free and getting something over on the man."
While the federal Environmental Protection Agency has not approved vehicles to run on waste vegetable oil ---- and motorists could face fines for doing as much ---- Greasecar's Cuneo said his company is working with the agency to reverse that stance through a series of tests over the next few years.
"There has yet to be a single case reported of the EPA issuing any kind of fee or fine, so it's one of those things," he said. "The EPA's policy is guilty until proven innocent. Unless they decide to start doing something about it, we fall under the same gray zone as a lot of other things out there."
Besides, he said, his company's studies show that waste vegetable oil is a lot better for the environment than diesel, as the former contains no sulfur.
For Lindberg's fourth-graders, she gave her students a little field trip to her campus parking lot to show them how her car works and let them take note of the smell of the exhaust, which has an uncanny resemblance to french fries, as part of a lesson plan.
"In fourth grade, we talk a lot about using resources wisely in California," she said, adding that it was a report created by several students a few years prior on using waste vegetable oil as fuel that even got her thinking about the idea.
"It's something I feel positive about doing," she said.
ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Two Temecula Valley Unified School District teachers use waste vegetable oil as fuel to drive their cars. They recommend two Web sites for those who are interested in learning more about the process:
- www.greasecar.com
- www.survivalunlimited.com