Holiday Party

Tonight was the annual holiday party in Athens which promised delicious food and welcome fellowship with old friends.

As always, Santa showed up to shower the children with toys.

Opening presents and taking pictures

For Xmas Craig bought me a new camera and knowing that I have great difficulty delaying gratification he gave me my present early so I could document our trip north.

Xmas in Ohio

There's snow in Athens County so Craig borrowed an extension cord from my father and plugged in the block heater to keep the engine relatively warm. Lisa decided to help with the project.

Alternatives

Before choosing a grease mobile I was searching for cars that obtained 40 mpg or better but was stymied by the limited choices available. One of the frequent comments voiced by skeptics of our system is that some day we'll be charged for WVO or the demand will become greater than the supply. My hope is that in 5-10 years when our car has finally bitten the dust there will be plenty of options for environmentally friendly transportation. Part of the reason for my hope is reading about the following two cars.

The VentureOne is a cross between a motorcycle and a car with 3 wheels. Possessing a hybrid powertrain with an electric motor it boasts a top speed of approximately 100 MPH. The range for all-electric motoring is 20-40 miles while the addition of a 5 gallon gasoline tank extends the vehicles range to 250-300 miles. As a bonus, it also is equiped with automatic balancing technology enabling it to tilt up to 45 degrees while turning.

Aptera, which means wingless, is an electric vehicle which travels 120 miles between charges. The company plans on offering an all electric version as well as a plug in hybrid. For $500 you can reserve a model today.

Show & Tell

I finally arranged my schedule so I could show my car to an environmentally aware fifth grader at one of my schools. Originally my plan was to obtain pure cooking oil from the school's cafeteria, but I soon learned that food isn't actually "cooked" at the school and the so called "kitchen" is lacking any items you might assume would be present. After a quick detour to Krogers where I purchased a small bottle of canola, I took the student outside for a tour of the grease mobile. Before I let her pour oil into the tank, I made sure she understood the difference between a greasecar and other common, gasoline powered vehicles. It would be very bad news if she went home and poured canola into her parents' cars.

Ingenuity

Craig removed the old filter today by creating a new tool which combined a wrench with the rubber grippy thing used to open jars. What a genius!

Heading for Home

We're leaving for home. It probably would have been wise to store our excess oil in the MacInnes garage but that didn't happen. Turns out that the mexican oil, which is fairly clear, was too sluggish to pour into the WVO tank. On the other hand the dark Chinese oil was still mostly liquid.

As we drove down I69 the oil filter became somewhat clogged causing us to loose power. We pulled off at an exit in northern Indiana to shop the local auto parts store. Although the Autozone didn't have our filter in stock they directed us to a local NAPA Auto Parts where it was available. After purchasing the filter, Craig tried to switch out the old for the new but was unsuccessful even after much effort, skinned knuckles and the purchase of a new wrench. The highlight of this whole odyssey was seeing another converted Jetta. On the back of the car, where the TDI decal is located the owners added

Since the old - somewhat clogged - filter remained in the engine the drive home consisted of much toggling between WVO and diesel. Although we burned more diesel than I would prefer, it's nice to know our backup system is fairly reliable.

The Block Heater

With temperatures in the 20's overnight we decided to plug in the car's block heater so the engine will be warm and ready for WVO without a lengthy wait.

Turns out the people I laughed at yesterday sitting in front of Best Buy survived the frigid cold and were featured in the local news this morning. Better them than me.

Thanksgiving

We remembered to pack the camera but for unknown reasons, forgot to retrieve it from our bag so there's no visual documentation of our visit to the land up North.

Mary - the Martha Stewart of Midland - went all out with Thanksgiving dinner. Homemade rolls, two types of stuffing (wild rice and bread), green bean casserole, baked yams with apples, berry crisp, and the mandatory pumpkin pie. There was even a backup turkey. Picture around the table our three nephews home from college, John & Donna, Ira & Dora with their two daughters, and the Crissmans and their son (who fell asleep immediately after the meal).

Craig & I ran to the mall earlier in the day to purchase a new wireless router for the MacInnes home. The first store we stopped at was Best Buy which happened to be closed but there was a line of 5 or 6 shoppers already lining up outside the building in preparation for Black Friday. They were obviously expecting to spend the evening outdoors and were already covered with a light layer of snow. CRAZY!!! While I might be willing to camp all night in snow to guarantee world peace or a cure for cancer, I just cannot imagine exposing myself to the Michigan winter just so I can purchase some nonessential item.

Greasecar to the Rescue (by Uncle Craig)

There I was, just sitting there on my brother’s couch in Midland, MI when the phone rang. It was my nephew Colin seeking roadside assistance. It seems that he was driving home from college (Western Michigan University) for Thanksgiving, along with his two brothers Ryan (Michigan State University) & Ian (Western Michigan University), when the 1996 Subaru Impreza Outback they were traveling in crapped out. They were stranded in a gas station parking lot about ten miles away.

I hopped in the greasemobile, and headed on down the road. I arrived to find them attempting to push-start the car in the rain. We piled all the fellas and their stuff into the greasecar, and took them home to their momma. Colin & I went back a bit afterwards to meet with a tow-truck, and have the lame vehicle brought home for later repairs.

My nephews were not only appreciative for the help; they were duly impressed with our tales of driving for hundreds of miles without paying for fuel. Surely they will repeat this experience to their college friends, and thousands of new greasecar customers will be created as a result. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for my finder’s fee check in the mail.

Preparatons

In preparation for our Thanksgiving trip to Midland, Michigan, Craig took the grease mobile to the local garage where they rotated the tires, changed the oil and replaced a faulty relay (which was emitting an irritating clicking noise). He also went by our fish connection and picked up 15 gallons of WVO. We're planning on carrying an extra 30 gallons of WVO with us although I seriously doubt we will need that great of a supply but we have the extra room so it's better to be over prepared. The distance from our home to casa MacInnes is 443 miles which shouldn't require more than 22 or 24 gallons round trip if we continue to see 40-50 mpg.

Radio Show

Received a phone call today from my Dad and Linda. Seems they were listening to a local talk show which was discussing alternative fuels and a gentleman called in reporting that people who drive grease mobiles smell badly because their cars are stinky. Since we've driven our converted vehicle to Ohio several times, Linda called the radio station and told the listeners that she knew someone who owned a grease mobile and there was no odor associated with the automobile or driver. Someone at the radio station - I'm not sure whether it was a DJ or manager - engaged Linda in a lengthier conversation and said they would enjoy witnessing the grease mobile in person so she told them we would be visiting sometime in December. As a missionary for grease I'm always willing to expose others to our experience and told them I'd be more than happy to show the car to the interested radio employee and even give her a ride if she wasn't too afraid of being stinky.

1419 Miles

So we've driven 1419 miles since our last fill up of diesel and it's time to purchase another tank of fuel. I wish we weren't accumulating so much mileage but it's the nature of my job. On the plus side I'm averaging about $200/month in reimbursement checks from my employer which more than covers the cost of our fuel & filters.

Temperature Gauge

The temperature gauge for the oil has been on the fritz for several weeks. After Craig contacted GoodOil and explained the problem they agreed to replace the part for free. I stopped by their shop this morning and waited while they switched out the faulty gauge for a new and improved device.

Pilobolus

Drove the grease mobile to downtown Louisville for the Pilobolus show with Amy & Ron. An amazing event which simply shattered all of my expectations.

Game Night

We had several couples over this evening for our monthly Game Night. In addition to introducing a new game we took the opportunity to show our guests the homemade fuel station in the garage. Our experience is that most people think we've invested great sums or extensive energy in this process so when they view the wooden shelves, plastic containers and grease filters their first response is usually "that's it?!?"

Election Day

Schools are closed for the election so I drove to Lexington to eat dinner with Natalie. Gas is selling for over $3/gallon but that's no concern of mine. We at at one of my favorite restaurants where I succumbed to the temptation of combo pie from Missy's Pie Shop.

A Fish Connection

As I'm pulling out of my parking space at Amazing Grace when I guy pulls up beside me and starts motioning for me to roll down the window. I've become somewhat used to random strangers engaging me in conversation about the car but it turns out this individual fries fish at a local market and would like for us to recycle his WVO. Presently we have a glut of oil but I'm hesitant to refuse any supplier in case our other sources go out of business or change management or decide to dispose of their oil by other means so I hand him one of our cards, take down his phone number and tell him Craig will be in contact shortly.

Buddhism

Presently the youth at our church are studying Buddhism. Part of the class curriculum involves visiting a place of worship so we helped transport several of the students to the Buddha Community Center for their World Peace Prayer Service. Listening to the congregation chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo in unison was intriguing although I perceived the actual service to be cultish, focussed primarily on the the admonishments of their president Daisaku Ikeda. Nevertheless, the worshipers were more than welcoming and the experience led to some lively discussions.

Purchasing Diesel

The last time I paid money for fuel was October 9th. Currently the odometer reads 219248, so we've driven 1433 miles since our last fill up. The diesel tank holds 14.50 gallons which computes to 98.8 miles per gallon of diesel. Obviously, most of our driving consumes WVO but that is basically free except for the $10 or so we spend each month on filters.

Funnels and Bulbs

As we're coming out of Walgreens we noticed a woman writing down the website on our back window. We engaged her in conversation for a few minutes and found out she's a member of the local Sierra Club in Athens and happens to know one of our local friends. We now keep a store of extra business cards in the glove box for interactions like these so we can easily direct people to pertinent resources.

In the process of packing the car we forgot to bring a funnel so we stopped at a local Auto store to purchase one. Seems that funnels are somewhat rare items at least in this particular store and there were none available large enough for our purposes. While at the same store, Craig located a bulb to replace the one that burnt out over our license plate. Once we were back at Dad's place, Craig cut the top off of a gallon jug to use as a homemade funnel and replaced the light bulb. What a handy guy!

Here's a picture of my brother's cows - MOOOOO!

Another Trip to Connett Hill

Had lunch with my good friend Ruth who was amazed by our grease mobile. I brought some pictures of my mom's for Ruth that chronicled their high school trip to New York in 1957. I treasured the opportunity to sit back and listen as Ruth and Dorothy reminisced, retelling various stories and sharing memories.


For lunch we ate at Rocky's Boot Factory Grill in Nelsonville. It reminds me of a smaller, more Appalachian version of Cabela's. While were were walking around the store perusing the various merchandise we discovered the following item




















Now I know what to get my brother for Xmas this year!!!

A Grease Mobile Sighting

On my way home this evening I spotted another car driving down the interstate sporting a bumper sticker identical to ours stating it was powered by vegetable oil. I needed to exit before I could approach any closer to the vehicle but it made me smile to view another vegetarian driver.

Camping, Cornhole and Whiffleball

Camping was great fun! As usual we brought a tremendous amount of food but managed to graze our way through most of the vittles.












Saturday afternoon was spent playing energetic games of cornhole and whiffleball.


















I had forgotten just how difficult it is to actually hit a wiffleball any significant distance.




Of course adorable Jake also provided us with much entertainment!

Hardy Lake

We're going camping this weekend at Hardy Lake with several friends. Originally our plan was to stay at Otter Creek but due to drought there is a burn ban throughout the state of Kentucky. Although I might be able to reluctantly survive without smores, I am fairly certain that I would be extremely miserable without some external heat source once the sun sets. After much research and several phone calls, we were fortunate enough to locate a campground in Indiana that will allow campfires.

Buying Diesel

I purchased 12 gallons of diesel this afternoon for $34.50. I'm trying to remember to track our mileage so I can calculate how often we're spending money on fuel. Presently the odometer reads 217815.

Dinner Guests

Craig and I assist with the religious education of the youth at our church and one of our responsibilities is scheduling volunteers who teach or lead the 6-week modules. In an effort to thank the volunteers as well as get to know our fellow church members, we invite them over for a meal so we can discuss any concerns, examine the curricula materials and express our gratitude. Tonight our dinner guests were David and Paul. After a delicious meal (thanks Craig!) we started talking about environmental issues and in particular fuel conservation. David currently drives a scooter but was interested in our grease mobile and the whole process of burning WVO. We showed them the homemade fuel station in the garage, our extra containers of WVO and let them smell the exhaust while burning grease. Over and over again Paul commented on how "normal" our car appears and the simplicity of the system we've created.

A Chinese Connection

Several weeks ago Craig distributed our business cards to local restaurants but nobody seemed particularly interested in our services and since our current supply of used oil is meeting our needs we hadn't given it much more thought. Today Craig received a phone call from a local Chinese restaurant announcing that their oil is ready for pick up. Much to his surprise, when he arrived at the restaurant he counted 60 gallons of WVO! When we first started this experiment my biggest concern was whether we would have enough suppliers for fuel. Obviously I'm no longer worrying.

A Solution

After some research on the forums at Greasecar, I learned that new oil filters need to be primed after they're changed or stalling will occur. Fortunately, priming the filter is fairly simple and can be accomplished by either inserting WVO into the filter with a syringe (or turkey baster) or backflushing diesel once the filter's installed. Hopefully this will end our stop and go process after each filter change.

Brief Flirtation with Fame

This morning Craig ate breakfast at his favorite diner and as soon as he walked in the door a waitress pointed at him exclaiming, "I saw you in the paper!"

On the Web

It's grease, not gas, that keeps Jeff vehicle running
Vegetable oil fuels converted Jetta

By Deborah Hennessey
Special to The Courier-Journal

When people find out that Jeffersonville residents Craig MacInnes and Amy McClain drive a car that runs on waste vegetable oil, "their jaws drop," MacInnes said.

Some of the people are skeptical or ask such questions as: "Does your car smell like French fries?"

To prove that there's no exhaust smell of any kind, the pair get the curious to stand behind the car while it runs.

McClain, 39, heard about converting a diesel car to burn on waste vegetable oil and pitched the idea to MacInnes, 45, who was originally less than enthusiastic about it.

McClain said she was "sick of buying gas, and I am just stubborn enough to think I shouldn't have to do it anymore."

They were going to need another automobile soon, and McClain thought a converted vehicle would be a more economical and ecological choice.

"I wanted to get a car that got about 40 miles to a gallon or better, and there are not that many out there. This seemed like a win-win -- less money, better gas mileage and better emissions," she said.

"She wasn't having much success in getting me too interested at first," MacInnes acknowledged.

In June their church, Clifton Unitarian in Louisville, held a Sustainability Fair, and MacInnes was assigned to help a group that converts cars to run on waste oil.

He spent about eight hours talking to them, he recalled. "It occurred to me that this was very doable. It wasn't this ridiculous, far-out notion and not too hard to do, really."

Once MacInnes was convinced, things moved quickly.

First they had to find a car that ran on diesel. While searching eBay, they found a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta wagon in their price range and bid on it. Several days later they were on their way to North Carolina to pick it up.

"We didn't anticipate winning that auction. Once we got the car, things started to snowball," McClain said.

She already had done her homework and knew where to buy the converter and who should install it. They ordered the conversion kit for almost $1,000 and had it installed for around $800.

Next, they had to find a supply of waste vegetable oil.

MacInnes said they use non-hydrogenated oil -- soy or canola is recommended -- because it stays liquid at room temperature. After four days of visiting restaurants, they found two businesses willing to hand over their waste oil instead of putting it down their grease traps or in dumpsters.

Only about three weeks had passed between the fair and the day the couple drove their converted vehicle home.

"One thing I liked about it was that the $1,800 that we spent for the kit and the installation -- we were going to spend that $1,800 on fuel anyway," said MacInnes, a chemical dependency counselor for Jefferson Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center in Louisville.

"When I look back, we were paying between $200 to $300 a month just in gas. We can recoup that $1,800 in seven to nine months easily," McClain said.

The car can run on either vegetable oil or diesel fuel. When it's first started, it runs on diesel until the oil warms to about 190 degrees, which takes about five minutes. When a toggle switch on the dashboard is flipped, the car starts running on waste oil.

The oil tank holds 10 gallons, so if they find themselves running out of the oil, they can switch to diesel until they refill the tank. Before shutting down the car, they switch back to diesel to flush out the fuel line for 10 seconds.

The car gets 40 to 45 miles per gallon.

McClain figures that she drives more than 250 miles a week as a school psychologist in Louisville. She buys diesel fuel about every six weeks and the rest of the time runs on the free waste oil.

The conversion kit fits neatly in the space where the spare tire rests, and another fuel filter is fitted under the hood. The only visible difference in the car is the toggle switch on the dash and two gauges on the steering column. One shows the temperature of the oil, the other is the oil's fuel gauge.

MacInnes picks up the waste oil at one restaurant each week, and less often at another restaurant. It's packaged in the five-gallon containers the oil originally came in. He takes it home to his garage, where he pours it through a hanging-bag filter that removes impurities, then transfers it back to the containers -- and the oil is ready to use.

"I have timed it. It takes me five minutes to refuel and that is with going inside and washing my hands afterward," McClain said. "For me, it is no more time-consuming than stopping at a gas station."

The pair recently took a five-hour trip to southeastern Ohio. They filled up the oil tank and put an extra five-gallon container in the back because they weren't sure how much fuel it would take. "The last time we made that trip, we spent about $100 on gas. This time we used around 13 gallons" of waste oil, McClain said.

If their supply had gotten low, there are several places in the area that sell pre-filtered waste oil for about $1.50 per gallon, they said. And if they plan a cross-country trip, they could join an online co-op that would help them find sources of oil.

"For us, this is a grand experiment and we are still kind of towards the beginning of it, but so far it has been going very well," MacInnes said. "We are very happy with it."

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709121000

Our Article

After exchanging e-mails with the reporter who wrote our story, I learned that our article hasn't made it to the web because certain individuals were on vacation last week. Now that it's been brought to their attention the situation should be rectified.

Camping at Otter Creek

What a fantastic experience! To Craig's great pleasure we played 36 holes of disc golf with the youth who quickly were throwing the discs with great power and accuracy (well most of the time!). At night we told terrible ghost stories around the fire, played Mafia, went hiking in the dark and ate way too many marshmallows. The youth continue to impress with their maturity, intelligence, and wit. We definitely have to repeat this excursion but for a longer duration next time.

Another Camping Trip

In addition to collecting grease, Craig & I are youth leaders at our church. That concept still makes me chuckle but I suppose stranger things have happened although I'm at a loss to actually name anything more bizarre. I'm convinced that various anonymous members of the church were somewhat envious of our leisurely childfree lifestyle and decided to rectify the apparent injustice. Fortunately, the youth who attend our church are beyond remarkable who bear no resemblance to the teenagers Craig and I were many years ago. For the past year they've been suggesting the idea of a camp-out - well actually one of them put forth the idea of a spring break excursion and we countered by proposing an overnight camping trip to Otter Creek Park.

After loading up our cars at the church, saying good-bye to parents, and making sure everyone possessed each other's cell numbers, we were off on our grand adventure. Before we escaped Jefferson County, Craig signaled that he was exiting the highway and pulled into a gas station. Seems the Jetta was loosing power while burning oil and he thought it would be wise to replace the fuel filter. While everyone else went into the convenience store to purchase wholesome, nutritional snacks, Craig put on his leather gloves and exchanged the clogged filter for the spare we keep in the car. Unfortunately, whenever the oil filter is changed air (I suspect) enters the fuel line and the car's performance is compromised for a period of time. This time there was no debate as to whether the car "stalled" or "coasted" for the Jetta simply stopped dead when the traffic light turned green causing our caravan to sit for several minutes with hazard lights flashing. As in past situations, once the car is mobile again it only takes a few minutes for everything to return to normal, and the remainder of our trip was wonderfully uneventful. Nevertheless, I suspect there is a better system for changing oil filters and plan to visit the forum at Greasecar for advice.

We're Famous

Today is the day our article is being published in the Louisville Courier Journal. This morning as I'm rushing around the house, discombobulated and behind schedule as usual, it occurs to me that I should stop what I'm doing and search our driveway for the latest edition of the paper. I'm still a few months away from a second Lasik procedure so my vision is less than optimal, but I locate a plastic newspaper bag filled with paper outside our house. Craig (poor guy) is still enjoying some slumber until I jump on the bed in an effort to share my enthusiasm and empty the plastic bag's contents onto the comforter. All too quickly it becomes apparent that what I've brought into the home is not a newspaper but a rather large collection of store circulars which cover our bed. Now I'm really late for work in addition to being supremely disappointed. Fortunately, Craig is a great guy - not to mention a pleasant morning person - and he quickly runs to the local convenience store where he purchases all of their available newspapers. Unfortunately, the Courier-Journal hasn't placed our article on their website yet but my completely biased opinion is that we make a really cute couple.

Pictures

Last week we met with the reporter who interviewed us for an article in the local paper. Tonight Dave the photographer came to take pictures of us, the homemade fuel station and our grease mobile. Of course we discussed the merits of WVO along with some of the reasons we decided to pursue alternatives to the status quo. Fortunately there weren't any random pieces of mushroom affixed to my teeth during our photo shoot.

Natural Bridge

This morning while I was packing our belongings Craig filled up the car with the extra oil we brought (and Mark & John changed their flat tire). That's our three-room tent in the background. For lunch we stopped at the fabled Miguel's for hawaiian pizza before heading to Natural Bridge, a 65 ft high natural sandstone arch. In consideration of the heat as well as our aging bodies we decided to ride the sky lift up to the bridge and then hike one of the trails down the hill.

The view from Natural Bridge was phenomenal but I was somewhat worried that Craig would trip over his feet, stumble and fall right off the edge. He of course didn't share my paranoia.

The hike back to our grease mobile was "all downhill", with a welcome breeze and easy paths.

It's a good thing our camera isn't equipped with smell-o-vision because we were both rather rank by this point in the journey.

On our way back home we stopped in Lexington to eat dinner and visit with Shannon, Jason and Aidan at my favorite co-op. I thought it might be fun for Aidan to pour vegetable oil into our fuel tank but had second thoughts when I envisioned him pouring various liquids into his parents' vehicles. Perhaps when he's a few years older.

Camping at Red River Gorge

Every Labor Day Weekend our church schedules a camping trip to a private residence near Red River Gorge. Thank goodness for the storage capacity of the Jetta Wagon for we packed an awful lot of stuff for a two day trip. Of course in addition to our tent, food, clothes and reading material, we brought along our funnel and an extra 5 gallons of WVO. We spent Sunday afternoon hiking in the gorge while I regaled everyone with tales of survival and potential mishaps garnered from Deep Survival. On our way back to camp we drove through the Nada Tunnel which measures 13'x12'x900' and is open to one-lane of traffic.

Changing the Filter and Dinner

It's time to change the fuel filter again - we have traveled over 2500 miles on the current filter and I'm starting to notice some sluggishness from the engine. I'm thinking this time it would be wise to take proactive measures instead of waiting for it to clog as we drive to our camp out this weekend.


Tonight we attended the ACLU's Bill of Rights Dinner featuring Ohio University alumni Clarence Page. At our table in addition to discussions of habeas corpus, wiretapping, equality, and Senator Larry Craig there was talk of our grease mobile and ways to lessen our impact on the environment while weaning ourselves from foreign oil.

A Doorbell Rings

Earlier today the guy who mows our neighbor's lawn came over to the house to speak with Craig. Now if you saw our yard you would understand why Craig assumed that he was crossing the street in an effort to gain more business. But instead of talking about lawn care he wanted to discuss our grease car. Seems the gentleman is interested in converting his diesel truck but has experienced some difficulties as well as substantial expense attempting to produce homemade biodiesel. Craig detailed our experience with WVO, showed him around our simple fuel station and gave him the websites for Greasecar and GoodOil. I think one of the advantages of our system, over other options, is that it truly seems like the easier softer way. To steal Geico's marketing slogan it really is so easy a caveman could do it!

How Kind!

It's Tuesday which is our pickup day for the Mexican restaurant but Craig had to work late which meant it's my turn to flex my muscles. After work I drive over to the restaurant where fortuitously a kind gentleman just happens to walk out of the building carrying the used oil. He of course recognized the car and generously loaded the free fuel into the back so I didn't have to burn one calorie (guess this means I should hit the gym later).

Newspaper Inteview

Our newspaper interview was tonight so I raced home from work to clean the house while simultaneously attempting to wolf down a piece of pizza for dinner. As I'm hiding various odds and ends behind closet doors I imagine the reporter titling her article "Greasecar Leads to Filthy Home" or "Couple Focuses on Car while Mold Grows". By the time Debe arrived around 7:00 the living room and kitchen were presentable, as long as no doors were opened, and we sat down to a nice conversation. Being minor zealots Craig and I had no problems detailing the reasons for our decision or the resulting benefits. Debe taped the interview while taking notes and asking all the pertinent questions. After an hour or so we took her to the garage so she could view the fuel station Craig created and smell our rather odorless exhaust. Shortly after she left Craig informed me that there was something BLACK on my tooth. Turns out a piece of mushroom from the pizza I inhaled landed on my front tooth where it was plainly visible for all to see, although my adorable spouse didn't notice it until after the reporter left our house. So now I'm envisioning a headline reading "Burning Grease Leads to Rotten Teeth".

It turns out that our story is being published in the Indiana Weekly which is a supplement to the Louisville Courier Journal, with a circulation somewhat larger than I anticipated. Our article is scheduled for the September 12th edition so mark the date on your calendars!

A Good Question

Last week one of our passengers - a very bright tween - asked about emissions from the greasecar. I know that WVO is a carbon neutral fuel (it's created from plants that absorb more CO2 from the air than is released when the oil is burned, and therefore doesn't contribute additional CO2 in the atmosphere) and that it doesn't contain any sulfur which is a carcinogen. Additionally, by collecting oil from restaurants we are basically driving on a renewable, recycled waste product. But I wanted to know more so I spent some time this evening Googling greasecar emmisions and discovered that there actually is some research documenting the advantages of burning vegetable oil over diesel. In the interest of full disclosure most studies utilized straight vegetable oil (SVO), like canola from a bottle, instead of WVO which is highly variable depending on the source or manner of use.

Greasecar compared emissions from diesel, SVO, homemade biodiesel and professional biodiese, burned in a 1981 VW Vanogon. Although nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions remained stable the use of SVO reduced carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM). Similar tests by the National VegOil Board examined the difference between ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and SVO as burned by a 2002 VW Golf, and documented reductions in total hydrocarbons (THC), carbon dioxide (CO2), CO, and NOx, leading them to assert that "vegetable oil represents one of the best "green" fuels available at this time".



So now the next time I'm driving through the city and there's an Air Quality Alert being broadcast from all the electronic highway signs, cautioning the elderly and children to remain indoors, I'll know that I've made an effort to reduce the negative impact my transportation has on the quality of air we all breathe.

Lifting Oil

Although Tuesday is our scheduled pick-up day from the Mexican restaurant, we agreed to help a friend with her booth at the Kentucky State Fair this evening. Since I needed to carry a bunch of stuff to work I drove the grease mobile today but planned to switch off with Craig and take the scooter after we left the fair. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my helmet and I married a guy with a big head. Since it was already 10:00 when I escaped the fairground traffic I just decided to pick up the grease myself and save the big headed guy an extra trip. Sure enough when I arrived at the restaurant there were two 5-gallon jugs of WVO sitting outside the back entrance waiting for my arrival. Although we've never actually weighed our WVO, a gallon of water weighs 8.33 lbs so even with water being heavier than oil, when you factor in the canisters themselves, I think it's safe to assume that each container weighed around 40 lbs. One at a time I lifted both jugs into the back of the car, mentally chalking this up as my weight-training session for the week. As my luck would have it just as soon as I finished the task a restaurant employee exited the building. Despite the language barriers I understood him to comment on my late arrival and the fact that they've come to depend on our weekly visits. I tried to assure him that I just had another commitment earlier in the evening and reiterated our gratitude for their supply of oil. Perhaps in addition to increasing my workouts at the gym I should look into a Spanish language course.

Buying Diesel

Our grease mobile still has the original diesel tank and runs on "normal" fuel for the first 5-10 minutes after ignition. The last time we purchased diesel fuel was on July 21, more than 2,000 miles ago. Today while he was out buying new tires, Craig did me a favor and filled up the diesel tank. In very short time, I've become unaccustomed to paying for fuel, avoiding the task as much as possible. Before the grease mobile, I filled up my car at least once a week but now that the custom has been interrupted I enjoy driving by gas stations and their absence from my routine. I'm surprised at how quickly my mind set has been altered, how I no longer perceive gasoline as a necessary expenditure but instead view it as a cumbersome, irritant in our grease burning adventure. Quitting gasoline has undoubtedly been the easiest habit I've ever kicked.

The reporter from a local paper was supposed to come by our house Monday for an interview but Craig's work schedule changed and we have to postpone our extremely brief flirtation with fame.

Tires Again

So I drive back to the garage with my trusty tire key and ask them to rotate the tires. After 15-20 minutes the mechanic (a different guy than the one that was working earlier this week) comes over and states that my tires are so worn they must be replaced immediately and rotating them is pointless. Now I'm not happy because this is the second afternoon I've spent in a stinky garage, looking at stupid magazines, while Jerry Springer plays on the TV, and the gentleman on Wednesday failed to mention that my tires were beyond rotation before encouraging me to return with the all important, essential key. Today's mechanic is apologetic and sorry for my wait but that doesn't really improve the situation and I decide that it's time to locate another garage that 1) smells better and 2) either has greater diversity in their reading selection or better TV shows.

A Tire Key?!?

Being the responsible car owner I took my car to a local garage to have the oil changed and tires rotated. As I'm sitting in the waiting area, flipping through pages of Sports Illustrated, a mechanic comes over and asks me for the tire key. Since my car was already on the rack it was obvious that he hadn't mispoke in an effort to obtain the ignition key so I politely asked him to repeat the question. A tire key? In front of all the other - I'm sure much more knowledgeable - car owners I confessed that I'd never heard of such an item, nor did I have the slightest idea where one would be in relation to my car. At this point, fortunately for me, the mechanic started talking slowly using short words. He explained that the tires on Volkswagen vehicles are protected from theft by a lock on the tires lug nuts and each car comes equipped with a unique key that will allow the tires to be removed and in my case rotated as requested. Seizing the learning opportunity, he showed me a similar tire key for another automobile and even took me into the bay where he demonstrated how such a key is used to unlock the lug nuts. Since the grease tank for our car is situated where a spare tire would normally be I assume that the tire key along with all the other extra fixings were removed during the conversion and are probably covered with spider webs taking up space in our basement. The mechanic kindly explains to me why this is a bad idea (he would obviously never allow his tire key to be subjected to hairy spiders) and encourages me to locate the vital key, come back to the garage, and have my tires rotated. As you might guess, as soon as I leave the facility I call Craig to see if he knows about our special super locked tires and am comforted by his similar confusion (a what?!?). Once he arrives home the tire key (and jack and other assorted tools) is quickly retrieved from our basement.

35 Gallons of Oil

We have OIL!!! The restaurant that decided to change to non-hydrogenated oil so we could recycle their waste generously provided us with 20 gallons of free fuel. It just so happens that today being Tuesday we also received 15 gallons of WVO from our Mexican restaurant so Craig is in the process of filtering 35 gallons of oil in the garage while I take photos.

Fuel Efficient Cars

I was reading my favorite blog earlier and came across a diary about current CAFE standards in the United States. Since DailyKos' membership is international, there were several comments from individuals living in other countries with access to vehicles with greater fuel efficiency. Vehicles I have never heard of. Vehicles that are not advertised on my cable stations. Vehicles that I can't purchase unless I leave the USA. Why doesn't my local VW dealership sell the Polo? What's preventing the Nissan showroom from featuring a Micra? And why can I buy a Smart car in Canada but not in America? Earlier this spring while searching for a new car one of my requirements was a vehicle obtaining 40mpg or better which severely limited our options - of course the silver lining in all of this is that the dearth of fuel efficient vehicles led to our grease mobile.

Buisness Cards

Now that I've started back to work and am driving all over the city we need to establish some additional contacts for fuel. Our Mexican connection consistently provides us with 10 gallons of oil each week but we need about 20 gallons so we've been eating out at various restaurants and requesting WVO along with our check. Craig created business cards for us to hand out to interested individuals with our contact information (which I intentionally smudged for the blog).

In other news, we've been contacted by a reporter for a local paper who wants to write an article about our experience. I suspect the paper's subscription base is rather small but in my fantasy world I dream that the report is picked up by more prominent media sources - in particular Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert.

McDonald's

So McDonald's - in the UK - is going to convert the WVO produced by Happy Meals into fuel for their fleet of 155 trucks.

Columbus

I drove to Columbus (458 miles round trip) today for my follow up exam with the ophthalmologist at Bloomberg Eye Center. Before I left, Craig kindly filled the grease mobile with oil and loaded an extra 5 gallons plus the funnel into the back of the wagon. Although I stopped several times for food and drinks, the Jetta made the entire trip on free WVO. After my doctor's appointment, it was necessary for me to refill the tank with extra oil and the whole process from opening the trunk to washing my hands in the restroom (note to self: purchase baby wipes for car) took approximately 10 minutes. It's the first time I've filled the car on my own and although the container was rather heavy and I spilled a bit of oil, there was a sense of accomplishment when I finished and it was definitely worth the $15 I saved by not purchasing fuel from a gas station.

Green Cities

My brother-in-law sent me the following link which explains how the city of Rialto, CA - a suburb of Los Angeles - in partnership with Chevron built a wastewater treatment system which converts WVO into electricity. In addition to significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and curtailing landfill waste, the city (population 100,000) is projecting an annual savings of $800,000. Millbrae, located about 15 miles outside of San Francisco, has a similar system operating at their wastewater treatment facility which converts 3,000 gallons of WVO into renewable, clean power each day.

Obviously, if municipalities start collecting and converting WVO there will be little if any fuel available for our personal grease mobile but I'm not too concerned. As a resident of the midwest I know from experience that it takes many years - and sometimes decades - for California trends to reach us out here in the heartland. I don't expect the Jetta to last indefinitely, and my desire is for new technologies and options to be available when the grease mobile expires and we purchase another vehicle. Maybe in another 5-10 years the price of a Tesla will decrease enough to make it financially viable for our household.

The other perspective is that I look forward to the possibility of living in a community that is more environmentally responsible. Imagine the impact to the city's air quality if 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide were removed from the atmosphere annually - that's equivalent to eliminating 1080 vehicles and their emissions from our roads. Although each of us can and should do our part, the potential for great change rests with the larger systems in our communities.

Back to Work

Summer vacation is over which means I was up this morning at the ungodly hour of 6:00 a.m. I drove several of my co-workers to a local restaurant for lunch so they could personally experience the grease mobile. Of course one of the first questions asked was about the car's exhaust so I started the engine while several school psychologists bent down to smell any available fumes. Although there wasn't any noticeable aroma initially, they reported the scent of popcorn as I drove away.

Since I spend much of the work week driving between various schools the district reimburses me for mileage and today I learned that the rate of reimbursement will increase this year to .44/mile. Yet another advantage of burning grease.

An Inconvenience?

On our way back home we stopped by our friend's birthday party where we showed off the grease mobile. During a discussion with one of the party guests I mentioned how we brought extra fuel with us on our trip to Ohio enabling us to drive the entire 530 miles without purchasing gasoline, and he responded that he wouldn't want to endure such an inconvenience. Obviously, perceptions vary from one individual to the next and what I regard as minor - along the lines of remembering to pack my hair dryer - others view as a nuisance. The last time we visited my family in Ohio it cost us $100 in fuel so I'm more than willing to carry a few 5 gallon containers in the back of the wagon.

Ohio

Showed the car off to my dad who pointed out that we'll need to purchase new tires in a few months. I think he was somewhat impressed although it's hard to tell with him. My dad's a creature of habit and routine so the concept of collecting fuel from restaurants and carrying extra oil in the back of the car isn't the least bit appealing but he understands the financial benefits we're experiencing. On our way to lunch, we drove so my brother, Stacy, and his partner, Tracey, could experience travel in the grease mobile. Stacy drives a diesel truck so he's curious about the process but doesn't appear ready to commit any time in the near future. Of course he probably commutes less than 10 miles to work each day.

Going to Ohio

We're headed to Southeastern Ohio this weekend to visit my family on top of ol' Connett Hill. Round trip it's 530 miles which I'm determined to travel while burning WVO. Since we've never made a trip of this length in the grease mobile, I thought it wise to purchase some additional oil from GoodOil so there was less chance of us running empty. After contacting one of the owners, I drove by their garage where I purchased 15 gallons of filtered WVO for $22.50 - or $1.50 a gallon. In addition to our luggage, we plan to load the car with 10 or 15 extra gallons of oil and our large funnel so we can refuel at my dad's house. Fortunately with the wagon we have plenty of space for all our gear.

Stalled (AKA "Coasting")

On our way to church this morning, as we're driving 65 mph on the interstate, the engine stalls forcing us to slowly move off the road and onto the berm. For obvious reasons this caused me some anxiety although Craig casually referred to the malfunction as "coasting". After switching back over to the diesel tank he restarted the vehicle and we were on our way. When we reached the residential streets of Clifton, Craig tried the grease tank again without any problems and the car drove perfectly for the remainder of the day. Apparently there was an air bubble or two in the line (probably occurred when switching out fuel filters) which caused the initial "coasting" but it seems to have resolved itself and we're back to driving on free fuel.

Tonight I ordered two fuel filters from Greasecar so we'll be prepared the next time they need replacing.

I'm Bummed

When our car was converted the guy at GoodOil told us to change the fuel filter between 1,000-2,000 miles so last week Craig called the garage leaving a voice mail stating that we had driven in excess of 1,000 miles and needed purchase a filter or schedule an appointment to have a new filter installed. We never heard back from GoodOil and failed to follow up with a second phone call. Today as we're driving back from Bowling Green, where we picked up our niece Lisa, the car starts to loose power which causes Craig to switch over to the diesel tank for the remainder of the trip. Now the good news is that our car has two tanks, or as he says "suspenders and a belt", for just these types of situations but I'm so used to driving for free that I'm bummed when we start consuming diesel fuel. Granted we only drove on diesel for a little over an hour but it meant that we had to stop at a gas station and pay money to fill up the tank. Yuck!

After stopping by GoodOil we learned that our contact person is on vacation until August (no wonder he didn't return Craig's call) but the other employees were kind enough to direct us to a nearby auto parts store where we purchased the necessary fuel filter. When we returned home Craig went to work on the car while I drove Lisa to a nearby mall, in our Galant, to purchase clothes for church in the morning. Tonight was the first time either of us has driven the Galant since we picked up our converted car in June. I am entertaining the idea of reducing our vehicles to the grease mobile and scooter but want to see how we manage our transportation needs during the winter with colder temperatures and snow.

Mexican Oil and Fuel Filters

Craig picks up our oil from the Mexican restaurant on Tuesdays. Although there were some problems with storage last week, everything went as planned today and we are now in possession of 10 more free gallons of fuel.

Decided to order some new filters this evening from Greasecar. At $10 a filter we sprung for the 5/1 micron bags which consist of a 5 micron bag which blocks the coarser particles, and then a 1 micron outer bag which removes 99% of particles. Given our current rate of consumption, it appears that we'll need to utilize one filter a month although that may change depending on the quality of the oil we receive.

A Loose Battery Thing-a-ma-bob and Thai Oil

We spent the morning being schooled in the world of yard sales by Laura as we drove around our neighborhood and observed her expert negotiation skills. Unfortunately as we attempted to leave the shopping bonanza, heading for the YMCA, our grease mobile refused to start. After opening the hood and examining the engine, Ray discovered a loose battery cable that was missing a screw. With some fiddling of parts a connection was established and we drove directly to the auto parts store. Although pleased to learn the repair was inexpensive, I was disappointed once I realized the loss of power resulted in our trip odometer being reset so we won't be able to accurately calculate our cost per mile on the current tank of diesel. What I do know is that we've driven over 1,000 miles and are just inching past the half-gallon mark which loosely translates into approximately 142 miles per gallon of diesel.


Once we purchased the necessary supplies it was off to the local Thai restaurant to obtain our weekly supply of free oil.

Laura and Ray

Picked up Craig's sister Laura and her husband Ray from the airport today in our grease mobile. Like many others they commented on the normalcy of our vehicle which appears like any other auto on the highway but just doesn't stop at gas stations.

Another Source of WVO

Earlier I reported about the restaurant that was utilizing hydrogenated oil (which we can't use) but were so determined to support our efforts that they were considering changing to non-hydrogenated oils. Well today we heard from the owner of the restaurant, who said they decided to change the oil they cook with and will have a supply of WVO for us later next week. I am amazed at their commitment in becoming an environmentally friendly fuel source. Yet another unintended byproduct of this process is connecting with good people that we otherwise might not encounter.

Check Up

Phil at GoodOil wanted to check out the grease mobile after it was on the road for a couple weeks so I took it in today for it's exam. After discussing the concerns we had regarding the high temperature reading on our trip to Cincinnati, Phil reassured me that high temperatures are not as problematic as low temperatures and that our oil is unlikely to ever become hotter than the engine. Once he was done examining all the various components (while I read a magazine in the air-conditioned waiting room) he provided our vehicle with a clean bill of health.

On Tuesday's Craig obtains WVO from a local Mexican restaurant but tonight when he stopped by the eatery he discovered that the employees had failed to secure the oil in the standard 5 gallon containers but instead they stored it in a large plastic container with a lid that didn't close properly exposing the oil to the elements. In response, Craig was forced to drive home, grab our funnel and several 5 gallon containers before returning to the restaurant and transferring the WVO. Obviously we still have a few kinks to work out of the system.

High Temperatures

This morning we attended church before proceeding to the Oak Room in the Seelbach Hotel where we had the most scrumptious brunch. When Troy, our waiter, asked about our recent happenings we (of course) spoke at length regarding the details of our grease mobile which prompted much interest and conversation among the restaurant's staff.

Afterwards, we transported Brooke back to Cincinnati and her family in the greasecar. Today was sweltering with temperatures in the 90s. As we drove up I71 we noticed the temperature gauge for the grease was registering 184 degrees. Usually it's around 160-170 although I've witnessed it as high as 176 before. The diesel engine's temperature is 190 so I think we're safe as long as the grease doesn't become hotter than the car's engine. While in Cincinnati we made a detour over the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge which served as a prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge and has been in existence since 1867.

Driving to Cincinnati

I drove the greasecar to Cincinnati today where I picked up my niece Brooke who is staying with us for a few fun filled days. The drive was 240 miles round trip and car drove flawlessly the entire distance on recycled grease.

Picking Up Oil

On Tuesdays we obtain WVO from a Mexican restaurant. Fortunately for us, the restaurant only uses oil to fry tortilla chips so it's relatively clean. We were already driving around town completing various errands so Craig simply called the restaurant manager, she placed the containers outside the rear entrance and we picked them up on our way back to the house. The restaurant is only 7 miles from our home so the entire process took less than 15 minutes and was comparable to picking up a pizza (actually this was easier in that they didn't mess up my order). I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, to experience some aspect of this system that is more labor intensive or expensive than we anticipated but so far it's benefits far outweigh our investments.

Ooops - Hydrogenated Oil

This afternoon Craig drove to our second source of WVO to obtain a few gallons of fuel. It was only after loading several containers that Craig realized the oil was hydrogenated which is not only unhealthy for humans but undesirable for greasecars due to it's potential to clog fuel lines. Once the situation was explained to the restaurant employees they appeared more disappointed than Craig, and decided to explore the possibility of switching to a non-hydrogenated frying oil. Obviously cost will be a primary factor in their decision but they are committed to environmental issues and are by far the most enthusiastic vendors we've encountered. So it's possible that our efforts will not only significantly reduce our emissions but also improve the health of the diners frequenting our suppliers.

Filtering

Tonight Craig created a filtering station in our garage using a shelf and brackets that were gathering cobwebs in our basement. Although more elaborate systems exist (including on board kits) we've decided for now to utilize the low tech gravity process. Basically we just pour the WVO from the restaurants into the bag and it filters into a 5 gallon bucket below. It took approximately 5 minutes this evening to filter 5 gallons of fuel. When you consider that gas is selling for $3.00 a gallon locally, that's a savings of $15 for 5 minutes of work and 200 more grease powered miles.

13 gallons

Mr. Muscles - aka Craig - went by one of our restaurants today and procured 13 gallons of WVO for us to filter. Given that gas mileage for our car is between 40-45 mpg thats 520-585 miles of driving for FREE! We have another pickup Saturday from our second source.

Success!

Craig secured two sources of WVO for our car today which should be plenty of fuel for our pattern of consumption and relieves some of my anxiety. Unfortunately for him, most restaurants store the oil in 5 gallon containers which my puny muscles are unable to lift. This means he's going to be stuck with the task of obtaining WVO and filling our tank unless we develop another system or I start injecting steroids.

Purchasing Fuel

Today I drove over to GoodOil and purchased 10 gallons of filtered WVO for the car, paying a grand total of $15 for a fill up (our veg oil tank holds 13 gallons but it's still a quarter full). I also filled up the diesel tank for $27.09 ( 9.67 gallons @ $2.79). On the highway the Jetta is rated at 45 mpg so conceivably we could drive 1170 miles before spending another penny on fuel. Obviously we want to do most of our driving on the WVO, using the diesel only to warm the engine after initial starts.

WVO Sources

The GoodOil guys called us with the names/numbers of three different local restaurants that are wanting to supply WVO for grease car owners so we're one step closer to obtaining and filtering our own fuel supply. I think it's comical that very soon the gas guzzler in our household will be our Honda Helix which gets 65 mpg.

Finding Oil

Finding a consistent free source of oil has been more difficult than I expected which means that it didn't occur on our initial attempt or within the first 48 hours of owning a converted grease car. I tend to seek instant gratification and this may take a couple days. At dinner last night we consulted with the owner of Zen Garden (wonderful food!) but although she supports our efforts another grease car owner already approached her about supplying WVO. At this point we're waiting for the owners of GoodOil to supply us with names and numbers of their contacts. Presently they have more restaurants seeking WVO disposal than they can service, although that will probably change if they expand their operations.

Missionaries

We have become missionaries proselytizing our beliefs in WVO to our friends and acquaintances. It's worse even than when we became adherents of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Like all good zealots, we promote our grease car in casual conversations with strangers, send out mass e-mails touting our cause and have become somewhat restricted in our interests. When it was time to select a restaurant to eat at with friends tonight our decision making was influenced by the prospect of a quality oil supply. Fortunately, there is a strong association between desirable WVO and healthy, delicious food so our thinking process wasn't detrimental to our guests. Of course we strongly encouraged them to ride in our car which they agreed to being curious individuals as well as environmentally conscious. The first thing that seems to strike most of our passengers is how common and ordinary our car seems both in its outward appearance and driving performance. Without watching the toggle switch or gauges there really is no way to discern the difference between driving on WVO from diesel.

Our Greasecar

We picked up our greasecar this evening at GoodOil! The proprietor was kind enough to take considerable time showing us all the features and answering my many, many questions. Basically, they removed our spare tire and replaced the space with a second fuel tank which holds the waste vegetable oil (WVO)

We'll continue to start the car using diesel but then after the engine reaches 190 degrees there's a toggle switch which we use to change over to WVO

An extra gauge was added above the steering wheel so we can monitor the consumption of vegetable oil - but at 40 mpg on the highway the needle doesn't move much

Here's a photo of the engine with it's extra hoses and filter


Craig drove the car to his volleyball game tonight and one of the first comments his teammate made was "it looks just like a regular car"

It's Sold!

Craig sold the BMW! Since the hood has an obvious defect the buyer knocked $50 off our asking price leaving us with one less car in the driveway. Tomorrow night we pick up our converted Jetta and start burning grease.

Selling The BMW

Craig previously took a flier with photos of the BMW over to Mike Johns (our favorite mechanic) who promised to pass along the information to any interested buyers. The first prospective customer came over this evening to look at the car. For starters the BMW is 20 years old so there are a few imperfections namely it doesn't have air conditioning, the driver's window occasionally sticks and it leaks oil, albeit at a somewhat slow rate. Nevertheless, it runs consistently and we weren't asking for much so there was some hope for a successful transaction. The gentleman appeared genuinely interested - for whatever reason he is determined to own this specific model BMW. After looking at the engine he requested permission to take the beemer on a test drive and then attempted to close the car's hood. For the first time ever during our ownership, the hood refused to close. Multiple attempts were made. WD-40 was applied. Embarrassment ensued. After 20-30 minutes (they guy was persistent) the hood finally complied allowing the gentleman and his patient spouse to drive around the subdivision. Afterwards as they prepare to leave he says he'll call us later.....color me skeptical.