Greased Lightning goes green
College cars run on vegetable oil 

By Jane Andrews
(Created: Friday, November 2, 2007 11:41 AM EDT) 

UNITY — At Unity College, the term “grease monkey” may be taking on a whole new meaning thanks to the innovations of the campus Grease Car Club.

Unity College junior Jake Harr gases up his 1978 Mercedes with waste vegetable oil after converting the diesel vehicle to a dual system with two fuel tanks. He gets the grease free from the college cafeteria. JANE ANDREWS

William Hafford fills one gas tank in his Volkswagen pickup truck with waste vegetable oil from the Unity College cafeteria and the other with diesel fuel.

He starts up the truck on diesel and drives for 10 minutes until a digital gauge says the temperature in the waste vegetable oil (WVO) tank has reached 160 degrees. He then pushes a button and the pickup switches over to the “grease” tank.

Used oil from the dining hall at Unity College costs him nothing. It also helps protect the environment by creating less carbon and particulate emissions than diesel fuel. He rarely buys diesel fuel because he only uses it for the first 10 minutes.

On the down side, the WVO fuel generates more nitrogen oxides, and odor is a problem with grease cars.

People ask him why he and his truck smell of barbecue or french fries.

In addition, it can be difficult to find a reliable supply of waste vegetable oil away from campus.

Hafford, 26, of Thorndike, is student body president at Unity College. He and a few other students formed the Grease Car Club and work together to pick up, filter and store the grease.

They show off their vehicles several times a week and tell people about the dual system vehicles. Two club members talked at the Common Ground Fair several weeks ago about grease cars.

The students say they get up to 45 miles per gallon from the waste vegetable oil and the engine runs smoother on it. They say the reduction in carbon and particulate emissions more than offsets the higher nitrogen oxide emissions.

Other than concern about the impact of greenhouse gases on the climate, the grease car students don’t appear to have much in common.

They range from one who likes tinkering to another who bought a whole kit and followed directions until it was done.

Their career plans vary from aquaculture and adventure leadership to photojournalism.

Hafford has a dual major in adventure leadership and adventure therapy. He hopes to help people connect with nature.

He paid more than $1,000 for a kit with all parts and it took a little more than a week to install it with help from his father.

William Hafford, a senior at Unity College, holds the digital gauge that shows the temperature in his grease tank. He drives his truck on diesel gas until the temperature reaches 160 degrees F., then pushes a button and switches over to grease. JANE ANDREWS

Hafford and three other students say the Unity House of Pizza will give them grease in addition to the cafeteria, and it disposes of the waste oil without paying a fee.

The vegetable oil must be filtered and they do that in a parking lot. The college lets them store their fuel in a college-owned building off campus where it won’t congeal in winter.

Chris McGrath, 21, of Wilmington, Mass., scavenged for parts and came up with a used 14-gallon boat gas tank and hose. He only paid $200 to $300 for other parts to convert his 1991 Volkswagen Jetta since he didn’t need a complete kit.

McGrath has worked on cars with his father since he was a boy and likes doing it.

He is majoring in aquaculture and fisheries and hopes to get a state job when he graduates. Long term, he wants to own a hatchery.

Jake Harr, 20, of Langhorne, Pa., bought a 1978 diesel Mercedes Benz more than a year ago and converted it to waste oil because he wanted something environmentally cleaner, easier on the pocketbook and reliable.

He has diverse interests and said he may become a photojournalist, but he also likes fixing things. He describes himself as a photographer/journalist, mechanic/carpenter and electrician/plumber.

Chris McGrath filters waste vegetable oil for later use in his Volkswagen Jetta, which also uses diesel fuel. The Unity College student belongs to the campus Grease Car Club. JANE ANDREWS

Harr and others in the club spend $2 on a filter, which can handle about 50 gallons of waste oil. He uses a 23-gallon tank for grease and says he can drive 550 miles on one tank of grease.

Harr said tollbooth attendants ask him why his car smells.

The three men say their vehicles run more smoothly on WVO than on diesel and they like the idea they are using a renewable source that comes from plants rather than a petroleum product that is a limited resource.