Do-it-yourself spirit fuels their waste oil vision

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008 11:45:02 AM

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Do-it-yourself spirit fuels their waste oil vision Sunday, July 06, 2008
Houston Chronicle -- There's a reason David Cole's diesel pickup truck smells like fried chicken. It's fueled by the glistening, golden waste oil of a restaurant fry pit. Every two or three weeks, Cole visits a North Waco chicken joint and empties out a 50-gallon oil barrel. He takes the free fuel home and filters it through a homemade system of pipes and barrels. Then he pumps it into a tank in the bed of his 1995 Ford F-350. The four-door truck, which can switch easily from diesel to cooking oil, is the only vehicle for his family of four. "We take it on a lot of weekend trips down to Austin," he said. "Last week, we went to Victoria. The highway is where you get the most use out of your vegetable oil."
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JT Moderator	Message Posted: 7/6/2008 10:20:18 AM	Ignore JT Report Abuse
	Sunday, July 06, 2008 Houston Chronicle -- There's a reason David Cole's diesel pickup truck smells like fried chicken. It's fueled by the glistening, golden waste oil of a restaurant fry pit. Every two or three weeks, Cole visits a North Waco chicken joint and empties out a 50-gallon oil barrel. He takes the free fuel home and filters it through a homemade system of pipes and barrels. Then he pumps it into a tank in the bed of his 1995 Ford F-350. The four-door truck, which can switch easily from diesel to cooking oil, is the only vehicle for his family of four. "We take it on a lot of weekend trips down to Austin," he said. "Last week, we went to Victoria. The highway is where you get the most use out of your vegetable oil." Visit Houston Chronicle for full article

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POLELANE Champion Author Ohio Posts:1,450 Points:146,225 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 2:14:29 PM	Ignore POLELANE Report Abuse
	been in Mine Soda a week one night
kingdick Champion Author Minnesota Posts:17,900 Points:1,436,895 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 12:09:54 PM	Ignore kingdick Report Abuse
	----------------------------------- Around here it is not free there are people bidding to get the waste oil. There is not enough waste oil to meet the needs of the 12 people entering the bidding. The current bid was $2.25 than it costs about $1.50 per gal for clean up to meet EPA reg's. Only in the winter the bidding falls off. -----------------------------------
compumonk Rookie Author Tallahassee Posts:14 Points:12,530 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 11:13:20 AM	Ignore compumonk Report Abuse
	I remember seeing this on Mythbusters! http://digg.com/educational/Mythbusters_Cooking_Oil_as_Economical_Diesel_Fuel Dave. [Edited by: compumonk at 7/7/2008 11:14:40 AM EST]
EXTREMESNOW All-Star Author Oregon Posts:711 Points:218,610 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 11:00:42 AM	Ignore EXTREMESNOW Report Abuse
	THIS IS NOT GOING TO SUPPLIMENT THE ENTIRE NATION. DEMAND WILL GROW AND IT WILL BECOME SCARCE AS WELL INCREASING THE PRICE, YES, SOON YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS USED VEGI OIL.I GIVE IT 5 TO 6 MONTHS.
Bungee Veteran Author Twin Cities Posts:423 Points:306,765 Joined:Oct 2002	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 11:00:25 AM	Ignore Bungee Report Abuse
	Been to Victoria, TX - nice place.
compumonk Rookie Author Tallahassee Posts:14 Points:12,530 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:58:48 AM	Ignore compumonk Report Abuse
	They've been doing this as long as I can remember. The filtering process takes a while and is very messy. The fast-food establishment doesn't have to pay for removal. There are several companies in Southern California who work as a co-op collecting and filtering for their members. The Governer actually converted one of his Hummers to accept the grease. Recently though, various California Agencies have been trying to shut this down saying that they need various permits, clean air studies and have to pay taxes! Even the Gov has backed off and stopped using cooking oil. Leave it to Cali. Once this takes off though and demand starts to outstrip supply, I'm sure that the establishments will start charging. It's Capitalism!
domer2 Veteran Author Gary Posts:417 Points:288,975 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:57:02 AM	Ignore domer2 Report Abuse
	difficult to find now
ramshot412 Champion Author Riverside Posts:11,185 Points:1,121,825 Joined:Apr 2004	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:56:07 AM	Ignore ramshot412 Report Abuse
	Lots of people have been doing this for years.
letmathe Champion Author Chicago Posts:6,539 Points:1,617,410 Joined:May 2001	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:55:37 AM	Ignore letmathe Report Abuse
	there used to be a greasy spoon restaurant nearby ... of the savings lost! LOL
NeilPage Champion Author Baltimore Posts:1,343 Points:340,485 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:51:33 AM	Ignore NeilPage Report Abuse
	And what an exhaust smell....making me hungry!
EarlyMoose Champion Author Seattle Posts:1,490 Points:619,715 Joined:Dec 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:39:55 AM	Ignore EarlyMoose Report Abuse
	nice.
CatbirdWoman All-Star Author Ohio Posts:729 Points:252,605 Joined:Jan 2007	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:33:18 AM	Ignore CatbirdWoman Report Abuse
	True they likely will start to charge for it, but I wonder if it will be as expensive as diesel itself? I guess time will tell, but it's great they found a use for a waste product.
HockeyLady All-Star Author New Jersey Posts:877 Points:851,080 Joined:Jun 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:31:14 AM	Ignore HockeyLady Report Abuse
	chicken smells better than diesel!
good2goVA Sophomore Author Virginia Posts:104 Points:38,845 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:27:50 AM	Ignore good2goVA Report Abuse
	In some areas they already are charging folks to take away the waste oil.
rbdesigns Veteran Author Modesto Posts:295 Points:85,295 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:26:14 AM	Ignore rbdesigns Report Abuse
	It won't be free for long. If people see a need then they can find a price!
CruisinLinda Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:4,238 Points:863,385 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:26:03 AM	Ignore CruisinLinda Report Abuse
	This fuel leaves a fowl odor.
PokerAce All-Star Author Louisiana Posts:951 Points:206,130 Joined:Jan 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:25:12 AM	Ignore PokerAce Report Abuse
	Count It!!!!!
RF4CPhantom All-Star Author Oklahoma City Posts:897 Points:122,630 Joined:Feb 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:24:46 AM	Ignore RF4CPhantom Report Abuse
	Very interesting~!
dreamweaver7050 Sophomore Author Louisiana Posts:224 Points:391,635 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:24:39 AM	Ignore dreamweaver7050 Report Abuse
	no salt please
LuvEd08 Sophomore Author Georgia Posts:171 Points:50,580 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:24:10 AM	Ignore LuvEd08 Report Abuse
	Why lock up the waste oil? I would think they'd be giddy over giving it away.. Unless they want to start charging for the removal..
MetroManiac All-Star Author Rochester Posts:759 Points:73,765 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:23:03 AM	Ignore MetroManiac Report Abuse
	soon the restaurants will charge for old grease.
das1771 Rookie Author Las Vegas Posts:79 Points:43,350 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:22:56 AM	Ignore das1771 Report Abuse
	I'm chiming in with Egor's post of: >This has been going on for quite a while now. ... The only difference is the day will come soon when restaurant will be locking up the waste because it will be going to a company to do the recycle and the diesel users will have to pay for it. Not only will they be locking it, they will be selling it. The other problem with this fuel is the limited range and availability. I'm not sure I'd take this out on the road (out-of-town). Who knows where your next free fueling might be. You may be hitting the grocery store for emergency 'fuel'.
JimL1 Champion Author Phoenix Posts:1,001 Points:221,235 Joined:Jul 2003	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:22:45 AM	Ignore JimL1 Report Abuse
	It is only about two months since I first read an article which says the same things about a different driver. More recently I read about how many fast food places are now selling instead of giving away their used cooking oil.
fastfreddy38 Veteran Author Ontario Posts:499 Points:822,910 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:22:34 AM	Ignore fastfreddy38 Report Abuse
	If there,s a will there,s a way!
Fisch2 Veteran Author Grand Rapids Posts:286 Points:81,850 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:21:39 AM	Ignore Fisch2 Report Abuse
	He works for 'x' time gathering oil and refining it to make up for gas prices. I work for 'x' time at my job and use my wages to make up for gas prices. article says: "Shauck said waste vegetable oil and similar biofuels don't emit sulfur pollutants, unlike diesel, but they can emit smog-forming nitrogen oxides. While plant-based fuels emit the global warming gas carbon dioxide when burned, they are made from plants that take carbon from the air. The footprint is smaller than fossil fuels." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This last paragraph doesn't even make sense to me. Um, yeah, plants take CO2 out of the air. Burning plants releases CO2. Fossil fuels are carbon material as well. You burn it and it releases CO2. Why are we burning plants then!!!???? Stop burning plants!! Arrgh!! Eat corn, don't burn it!
rjb21760 All-Star Author Chicago Posts:588 Points:365,860 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:21:30 AM	Ignore rjb21760 Report Abuse
	I like my fries, extra greasy
The_WB Champion Author Detroit Posts:3,416 Points:393,600 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:21:20 AM	Ignore The_WB Report Abuse
	Fewer places to get it from.
acknot Veteran Author Seattle Posts:477 Points:560,300 Joined:Sep 2003	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:15:03 AM	Ignore acknot Report Abuse
	So fast food isn't all that bad.........
Lonewolftx Champion Author Houston Posts:5,256 Points:1,032,285 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:14:38 AM	Ignore Lonewolftx Report Abuse
	inventive an . . .
tbybee Rookie Author Omaha Posts:69 Points:47,660 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:13:32 AM	Ignore tbybee Report Abuse
	It's obviously not for everyone, but I like their spirit. However, I wonder what they do with waste from what they filter?
Matts_Pap All-Star Author Pennsylvania Posts:822 Points:129,420 Joined:Feb 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:12:22 AM	Ignore Matts_Pap Report Abuse
	Interesting: However not a solution for the common man.
southjerseyal Champion Author New Jersey Posts:4,238 Points:678,780 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:12:09 AM	Ignore southjerseyal Report Abuse
	Are you always hungry after driving a while?
Don20 Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:1,085 Points:924,265 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:11:50 AM	Ignore Don20 Report Abuse
	Fried chicken anyone..
Egor Champion Author Regina Posts:1,001 Points:506,115 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:11:48 AM	Ignore Egor Report Abuse
	This has been going on for quite a while now. But every now and then someone needs to popup and make a story about it again (because they have nothing else to report on). The only difference is the day will come soon when restaurant will be locking up the waste because it will be going to a company to do the recycle and the diesel users will have to pay for it.
Dennis783 Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:5,143 Points:1,031,945 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:10:59 AM	Ignore Dennis783 Report Abuse
	none for me thanks
kypeanuts Veteran Author Louisville Posts:258 Points:56,355 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:08:16 AM	Ignore kypeanuts Report Abuse
	ok
T80BAR Rookie Author Worcester Posts:26 Points:66,810 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:02:38 AM	Ignore T80BAR Report Abuse
	The demand is high. People are stealing this oil already. Fast food chains are locking the waste oil up now.
Brn2bEvl Veteran Author New York Posts:392 Points:93,100 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:01:29 AM	Ignore Brn2bEvl Report Abuse
	Does it make fries???
tomok Champion Author Portland Posts:7,780 Points:628,110 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:00:23 AM	Ignore tomok Report Abuse
	Thats good if you have the time, space and money to set up the refining in the back yard. Then watch out for the feds, state, or city - they may want some of your money.
deerchaser Rookie Author Lincoln Posts:95 Points:493,175 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 10:00:13 AM	Ignore deerchaser Report Abuse
	Please pass the chicken. The more you eat, the further you can drive.
sailormon Veteran Author Michigan Posts:423 Points:157,595 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:55:51 AM	Ignore sailormon Report Abuse
	And what happens when the demand for the used fryer oil increases? Will we see fights over the grease bin?
itsrich Rookie Author Indiana Posts:61 Points:39,295 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:55:45 AM	Ignore itsrich Report Abuse
	You cannot buy this in Indiana at a reasonable price. It is all purchased by someone and then resold. I am not sure of all the details, but my Father-in-law was going to do this and could not find a reasonable price. One of the guys I work with is starting his own ethonal still.
leolisa Champion Author New York Posts:3,915 Points:713,030 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:54:23 AM	Ignore leolisa Report Abuse
	while all this seems like a good idea, for most people it won't work
AlaRedNeck All-Star Author Kansas Posts:701 Points:119,875 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:51:59 AM	Ignore AlaRedNeck Report Abuse
	This is a short term solution at best. What we need is more research into alternative fuels, but that won't happen until our present administration of oil barons leave office in January.
FFootdoc12 Sophomore Author Illinois Posts:154 Points:34,785 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:51:44 AM	Ignore FFootdoc12 Report Abuse
	still need a better idea for the masses
Grebe Veteran Author Wisconsin Posts:392 Points:971,925 Joined:Feb 2003	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:51:08 AM	Ignore Grebe Report Abuse
	Number 7 in a series of 214 articles about people who are using waste cooking oil to fuel their vehicles. Yawn.
yelobus Veteran Author Houston Posts:457 Points:474,680 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:46:28 AM	Ignore yelobus Report Abuse
	A good start. There aren't enough Frog Fries in the world to power all our cars but enough to make a little dent in demand.
lovelakota Rookie Author Detroit Posts:76 Points:176,085 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:43:40 AM	Ignore lovelakota Report Abuse
	Kudos to him and everyone else who does this!
scrounger Champion Author Vancouver Posts:5,840 Points:1,597,890 Joined:Mar 2003	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:42:55 AM	Ignore scrounger Report Abuse
	better find some mom and pop operation.....the big ones have regular pick up by a big recycler
krucker Sophomore Author Austin Posts:181 Points:346,805 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: 7/7/2008 9:42:36 AM	Ignore krucker Report Abuse
	Finally, a solution to that stinky Diesel Exhaust problem.