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Dover-Sherborn Press
Grease and go
By Maureen Sullivan/ Staff Writer
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Photo by Maureen Sullivan
SHERBORN - If the Peace Abbey has its way, its
new slogan could soon be "Peace and love - it’s a gas."
A talk on alternative fuels last Friday
night at the Abbey brought an audience of 10 to hear about the pros
and cons of filling the tank with something other than regular or
high-grade. The cost of gasoline and home heating oil, fueled by
political and environmental concerns, has more and more seeking
other ways to stay warm and on the road.
For Colin McCullough, his answer came complete
with a 5-gallon jug of grease. It came from a falafel restaurant
that otherwise would have paid a fee to get rid of it. For McCullough,
a piano tuner frequently on the road, this grease, once filtered
and poured into the tank, will give his yellow VW diesel about 200
miles worth of travel.
"It works really great," said
McCullough of the Beetle he converted about six months ago.
He was driving a Ford Focus which was getting
about 32 miles per gallon, but he even that was putting a big hole
in his wallet. McCullough, who lives in central Massachusetts, decided
to find a car with a diesel engine; he located the Beetle on www.craigslist.com,
then invested another $1,600 into the conversion ($800 for the kit,
$800 for the installation). Information on how to convert to biodiesel
is available on www.greasecar.com.
Basically, the kit includes an extra fuel
tank for the grease; once the grease is filtered, it’s poured
into the tank. When the car is started, it’s given a bit of
diesel fuel to get the engine warmed up; once that happens, the
driver then switches over to the grease.
McCullough said the car works better over
longer distances than in "stop-and-go" traffic. Case in
point - he frequently drives to New York City and back, about 400
miles. All he pays for is the small amount of diesel when he starts
the engine.
He said he uses about 10 gallons of grease
a week.
"I’m getting something like 50
miles per gallon," he said. "Diesel is incredibly more
fuel efficient." He also has yet to notice any difference in
power dropoff.
And yes, the emissions smell like french
fries.
Switching to biodiesel takes more than a
conversion kit; for McCullough, it’s meant having to further
modify the car for winter with heaters and insulation, plugging
in the car to keep it warm, filtering the grease, finding the grease.
There’s also state emission regulations
which limit the number of diesel cars available. "No problem
with trucks, just cars," said McCullough.
Even after those hurdles are overcome, there’s
a matter of finding the grease. According to McCullough, most smaller
restaurants pay to get rid of their waste oil, and will let him
have it for free. Larger establishments, such as McDonald’s,
usually have their oil carted off for free; that oil is used to
make other products, from food to cosmetics.
Those converting to biodiesel also have
to face the possibility of voiding their cars’ warranties,
even of having mechanics refuse to deal with their vehicles because
they aren’t familiar with the conversion kits.
These challenges, as well as an overall
lack of research, has McCullough saying that biodiesel is not the
be-all, end-all solution to the oil crisis - not yet, anyway.
"Greasers don’t get millions
of dollars in research ... you hear it from people like me,"
he said. "If you want an alternative, buy a hybrid. What you’re
doing [for biodiesel] is great, but it won’t change the future
of cars."
"Besides ... technically, my car is
a hybrid," he said.
The Peace Abbey is considering not only
getting a "grease" car, but acting as a distribution point
for biodiesel cars as well. Before you pull in for your next fill-up,
however, McCullough said to the Abbey’s Dot Walsh to look
into state laws regarding road tax and other potential liabilities.
"[The thing with conversion] is that
I can do it today," he said. "I don’t have to wait
for electric or hydrogen cars. It’s not for everyone ... there’s
only so much oil.
"Why aren’t more people doing
it? There’s no government support, no government research,
no corporate support, and it’s not a money industry. It’s
still considered experimental and limited to diesel vehicles; only
5 percent of the vehicles in this country are diesel. The demand
for diesel is very high, but it’s not practical for short
commutes...
"[At least] now you know somebody who’s
done it," he said.
Biodiesel then made way for biofuel, as
Elizabeth Warren of MassBiofuel talked about alternative ways of
heating the home.
Her visual aids included two jars of oil,
a darker-colored liquid known as B20, a blend of low-sulphur home
heating oil with refined soybean oil, and B100, which is 100 percent
refined soybean oil.
While B100 is nontoxic, biodegradable and
renewable, it could damage older heating systems because it would
break down rubber and copper piping, said Warren, adding that heating
systems coming onto the market are more compatible to the higher
grades of biofuel.
Biofuel costs little more than conventional
home heating oil, but burns cleaner and leaves much fewer deposits
of sulphur and carbon, said Warren. That leads to lower maintenance
costs.
Mass Biofuel, based in Dedham, began deliveries
in October 2000. In 2004, the deliveries were made to seven-10 customers;
this past winter, the company delivered to 250 customers.
"We’re growing slowly,"
she said, "So many people are interested, but there’s
no way to get to it [distribution centers]." Their fuel currently
comes from a refinery in Florida, she said.
Although biofuel has proven to be cleaner
and kinder to heating systems, Warren said the company takes no
chances when it comes to quality control.
"We have to be very careful ... one
slipup, and biodiesel and biofuel get a bad name," she said.
Mass Biofuel also sells a B20 blend of biodiesel
for truck fleets.
For more information on MassBiofuel, call
888-627-7246 or visit the Web site at www.massbiofuel.com.
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