So I was lying in a hospital room this summer with a case of babesiosis that I acquired during some vacation or another while Katrina was the big news.   It was a 3-day stint, during which I had one of these small in-your-face TV's complete with CNN cable connection.  In a sense, it was a nice diversion while I wondered whether it was some new chronic condition (leukemia?) that may have been causing my platelet count to be in the basement (26 when the norm low is 100).  While I watched news of hurricane refugees and fears of rising fuel prices, I also learned new words like "petechiae."

I imagined how the expected four-dollar-per-gallon fuel prices would impact my commute (70 miles roundtrip).   I began to recall how my friend Chris had a Volkswagen TDI and recently boasted of 45+ miles per gallon.  With nothing to do in my hospital bed but wait for the lab to figure out why my blood wouldn't clot, I did the math.   If I could evenly trade my nice Mazda Protege5, I would immediately save at least $100 a month.

(Click here to download the QuickTime plugin if you do not hear the audio on this page. )

One thing led to another and not long after my hospital stay ended, I learned about burning vegetable oil in diesel engines.  In fact, as you can Google around and find out, Rudolph Diesel actually intended that his engine would burn vegetable oil.  Just to clear up a common misconception:  Biodiesel is NOT THE SAME as burning veggie oil.  There are lots of pros and cons, but after researching and debating the merits of each approach, I figured that the risk to my engine from glycerin was less of a concern to me than the risk to my household from storing large amounts of methanol.   Making biodiesel requires a mix of lye and methanol in a "stew" that you cook in an old water heater.  Veggie oil simply requires filtering (sometimes filtering and filtering and then settling) and an apparatus installed in the diesel vehicle of your choice. 

As luck would have it, one of the most popular vendors for veg oil systems, Greasecar, is right down the road.  Daryl Beck is a cracker-jack indepedent installer who works right around the corner from Greasecar's Easthampton, Mass offices. 

Hey did I mention this is better for the environment, in addition to being a more affordable way to travel?

Anyway!  In mid-February Daryl converted my '99 Beetle TDI.  My girls' February school vacation would be the following week.  Why not make a road trip out of it? 

I found a roof-mounted luggage rack and the local VW dealership for $300 (ouch, am I saving money yet?).   I had established an I'll-pick-up-your-used-grease relationship with a couple of restaurants already.  And on the morning of February 21, we were ready to head south for an educational school vacation week.  Oops, one problem, my veggie tank will only hold 12-13 gallons of fuel.  Even at 45 MPG, that will only get us down to DC and not back.  Not enough storage space in this little buggy to carry 10 extra gallons of oil, that's for sure!

Turns out that there is a real "good Samaritan" spirit among many greasers, and as the result of a couple of forum postings, I was able to arrange for a fuel refill just outside of DC for the return trip.  Wow, people can be nice!   Having said that, we did notice a couple of highway "sneers" from drivers of various oversized vehicles. 

So the long and the short of it is that the family made it down to DC and back on just a quarter-tank of dino diesel and the rest was courtesy of greasy throw-away stuff!

Almost seems like a "too good to be true" grassroots form of auto fuel, doesn't it?  Turns out that some states are already regulating the stuff or trying to tax those who are collecting their own WVO (waste vegetable oil) for personal fuel purposes. 

So I guess the lesson is always, "enjoy it while you can!"