GreenMusings.com

by Todd

Can a car or truck use vegetable oil as fuel? Yes, with some modifications a diesel car or truck can use old filtered food grade vegetable oil (the kitchen oil that restaurants throw out everyday) as fuel. I have a 2004 Passat TDI, and I bought a kit from GreaseCar (see www.greasecar.com) that allows me to use vegetable oil or diesel as fuel in my car.

Where did I get this idea? My co-worker had a Greasecar, and he told me about the financial benefits that he was getting with his converted 1996 Passat TDI. The cost of gasoline is around $2.50 - $3.00 per gallon. Waste vegetable oil (WVO) can be acquired for free, and it can be bought already filtered (I pay $1.25 per gallon).

The GreaseCar kit for my car cost $1,170 including shipping, and I had a diesel mechanic (GreaseCar experienced) in Lowell, MA install the kit for $840. My total expense for converting my car was about $2,000. My monthly savings (buying filtered veggy oil) is around $100 month. It will take about 20 months of driving the car on vegetable oil to pay for the conversion. Now that the car is converted, it’s cheaper to drive than any hybrid electric gasoline car.

How do I like my GreaseCar? I’ve had some minor problems, but overall it’s been a great experience. I save money, and I’m recycling at the same time.

Is this for everyone? No. I spent months researching the topic reading everything I could find, researching the right car/kit, install mechanic, and a local source of filtered fuel. For people that filter their own veggy oil for their converted cars, there is more work and more savings. I buy filtered oil, so now I only spent a few extra minutes per week (compared to someone who drive a gasoline car).

Grease is the word.

Here are some pictures:

1. 13.5 gallon aluminum tank for the veggy oil (tanks fits in the wheel well)

2. 4.5 gallon “cubies” of oil (weight is 35 pounds each)

3.2004 Passat TDI

4. Modified engine