We first reported a few months back on folks who scavenge fuel to run their diesels on from used cooking oil. Since then a number of stories have come our way, including Kettle Chips' innovative solution and a pizza place that fuels its own fleet of delivery cars. Now comes a piece from the Louisville Courier-Journal that goes a bit farther in-depth into what's involved in converting one's diesel to run on kitchen leavings.
Essentially, the oil is collected and allowed to filter for a couple of days to remove any traces of the food the oil was used to cook. Once the process is completed, it can be used to fuel the car, via its own tank. The diesel tank remains, allowing the driver to switch back and forth between the fuels. Some kits bypass a number of emission-control systems, which could lead to a failing grade if one's state has a visual smog test in addition to a tailpipe component. The cooking-oil tank is heated via engine coolant to 170, the more viscous oil to circulate the same way diesel does. Which answers are question about the pizza place people during Wisconsin winters. We'd love to hear from any of you out there who've made the conversion. Send your stories to tips@jalopnik.com.
Recipe for alternative fuel [Louisville Courier Journal]
Related:
Free Fuel: The Art and Science of Scavenging Cooking Oil [Internal]