Make:

• DIY Halloween - The Classics :: Fog Chiller
• BUG on Arduino action
• NoiseBridge: new SF hacker space
• Pedal powered tank
• BASE jumping with accelerometers
• Self-disinfecting toilet brush

Much better than burning your old veg cooking oil would be to cut down your use and dependence on the car in the first place. Oh, and if your driving a lot in your car and eating so much fried food that you have enough veg oil to process in the first place then you could also do with changing both your diet AND your lifestyle! But well done anyway...

Posted by: Marc de Vinck on May 2, 2008 at 6:00 AM

Very true, thanks for the input.

While it is a noble goal to reduce the car usage, I feel that your attack is off-base.

First, Diesel cars are already get some of the best MPG of vehicles in the USA: usually close to that of a Hybrid (My TDI Jetta gets 40mpg, about the same as my Girlfriend's Civic Hybrid)

Most people I've heard of reprocessing WVO into BioDiesel don't actually use that much cooking oil themselves, but I bet your local Pub/SportsBar/burger joint/etc cleans out their deep-fryers fairly often. Usually, they end up paying a fee for someone to hall it away and reprocess it, so they are MORE than glad to give the 10+ gallons waste they have away.

So it is a matter of RECYCLING a waste product into something they can use in their car. My experience is that if he's homebrewing BioDiesel, he's also probably not BUYING Dino-Diesel.

It's a Win-Win-Win situation: The Bar is happy to be rid of the oil without paying a fee (thereby making it cheaper to operate and keeping prices lower), The reprocessor is happy that they don't have to buy Diesel at $4.25 a gallon, and the environmentalists get reduced Crude consumption.

It's not a completely rosy proposition- you still have to be careful with the chemicals, and if you're not careful you can produce sub-standard BD, which will cause engine issues.

What is the advantage in using energy to process the WVO into biodiesel vs. using the WVO itself as fuel? Is it simply to avoid installing heated fuel lines, or is there an advantage gained through the biodiesel conversion that warrants the energy expended? It seems like people in the U.S. are more into converting WVO into biodiesel, while people in Europe seem to be using the WVO directly. What problems occur as a result of not converting the WVO into biodiesel?

BTW -- How do you pay your road use tax?

Thanks, Make, for putting this on the blog. I appreciate it!

Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.

$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)

Subscribe now