# greasecars anybody doing it **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335 "2007-04-16T14:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/1 "2007-04-16T14:54:38Z")
[http://greasecar.com/](http://greasecar.com/) Anybody doing this or thinking about it.? It is a conversion for diesel engines to drive on vegetable oil. Zero pollutants and free fuel. ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/2 "2007-04-16T15:07:00Z")
I actually just recently bought a diesel Jetta just to convert it over to a grease car. It’s great even now, as gas prices are going up and up, my little Jetta gets about 50 mpg on standard diesel. In addition to it being pollutant free and low cost, grease is actually better on your engine than standard diesel fuel. There is a doper who did the conversion on his truck. I’ll have my own conversion story in a couple months. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/3 "2007-04-16T15:07:44Z")
Zero pollutants? It’s a step toward\* carbon-neutrality (which is a good thing), but running an engine on grease does produce pollution locally. \*It’s not entirely carbon neutral, I suppose, as the fossil fuels used to harvest/purify/transport the original oil crop would have to be considered. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/4 "2007-04-16T15:08:23Z")
I saw a motorhome that ran on used vegetable oil back in 1998. The oil is not really free; it comes from plants and is ultimately a drain on food supplies in the same way that corn-based ethanol is. If biodiesel or vegetable oil became common as a fuel, restaurant owners would suddenly discover that they could make money by selling their used oil rather than paying to have it hauled away, and then it wouldn’t be free. This does seem to have the advantage of fewer preparation steps than biodiesel, at the cost of greater complexity in the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/5 "2007-04-16T15:27:06Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] \*It’s not entirely carbon neutral, I suppose, as the fossil fuels used to harvest/purify/transport the original oil crop would have to be considered. [/QUOTE] That depends on how you look at it, I guess. Most greasecars run off used vegetable oil, so essentially, they run off waste that would otherwise be hauled away. So in essence you’re saving the fossil fuel it would take to dispose of this otherwise unusable crap. It’s true that if enough people have greasecars, restaurants will realize it and start selling it as opposed to give it away. I’m not sure this is a big concern, however… a greasecar has to be made by someone with a diesel vehicle (which are rare in the States), with mechanical inclination to install all the stuff on their car, and the patience and motivation to get to the restaurant, haul the stuff, clean it, and dump it back in their car. This is a headache for most people who would rather just get $4/gallon gas because it’s quick and easy. I’m not one of those guys who think greasecars will solve our gas problem, but I do think they’re filling a great niche for guys like me who care about the environment and do it to help the problem in their own little way, and save some cash in the process. It’s the same reason I ride my bike to work whenever I can. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/6 "2007-04-16T18:54:24Z")
There are billions of gallons being paid to get thrown out. Most greasers say that if you supply containers it is like the milk man in reverse. Drop off empty containers ,they fill them ,you pick them up. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/7 "2007-04-16T19:12:11Z")
They are not entirely pollutant free. It is easier than making biodiesel. I have done this as well. If you have a shop and equipment this can be helpful as it is less likely to gel up. there are workarounds though if oyu live in a colder climate. Up here some folks run two tanks. One regular diesel and one old restaurant grease. Start up the car on the regular fuel. Get it warmed up then switch tanks. If you put a heater element on the tank you can keep it warm. Also you can run the fuel lines in side the cooling system of the car to keep it nice and warm. This is a bunch of extra work and modifications but may be worth it if you live in colder climates. Make sure you filter the grease several times. And I would suggest putting at least one extra fuel filter in the car. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/8 "2007-04-17T14:13:02Z")
It is clear that switching to a grease car now can save you a lot of money. Gas is going up. It has gone up for 11 weeks in a row. So on a personal level a grease car is a great idea. Does it change the world? Maybe it can be a component. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greasecars-anybody-doing-it/400335/9 "2007-04-17T14:18:15Z")
\ I’m going to grease this thread over to IMHO. No fueling. \