Students use grease-powered van to promote alternative fuels
WAKEFIELD, N.H. --Not all grease was equal when it came to powering their alternative-fuel "Canola Strolla" van, three New Hampshire youths found on a cross-country trek.
Grease from Chinese restaurants worked better than most because of fewer food particles, said Sara Cook.
Aislinn Johnson said small town diners were also excellent sources.
Cook, 20, a student at Johnson State College in Vermont, and Johnson, 20, who attends the University of New Hampshire, returned Tuesday from a cross-country trip to promote alternative fuels. They live in Sanbornville.
Cook's brother, Jesse, 17, went with them.
They left for San Diego on June 14 and made 23 scheduled stops at colleges, camps, festivals, businesses and cities along the route.
"A lot of people have heard about this or have seen it on TV, but they never have met anyone with a vehicle like ours," Sara Cook said.
Mechanic Jack Howard of Sanbornville's J & B Auto helped the students convert a 15-passenger, 1988 Ford Club Wagon into their "Canola Strolla," which carried them on their 7,000-mile trip. The van runs on used vegetable oil and diesel fuel.
Diesel starts the engine and warms the oil. Diesel also clears oil from the engine at the end of the day.
The students said it cost about $850 to buy parts, including a 22-gallon tank, fuel lines and a filter to convert the van. Johnson and Cook estimate the van ran on cooking oil 75 percent of the time.
They said they used trial and error to determine which restaurants had enough grease, how to neatly transfer the oil and which grease was most efficient.
The Miss Wakefield Diner and C & G's Pizza and Restaurant donated enough cooking oil for them to get started.
"After we found out what grease is the best, we didn't have any problems," Sara Cook said.
Mission Playground, an environmentally conscious clothing company based in Solana Beach, Ca., Johnson State College and J & B Auto sponsored the project.
Cook said she plans to convert her car to run on vegetable oil.
She said their next project is to convince area gas stations to begin offering biodiesel fuels and drivers to start using alternatives to gasoline.
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Information from: Foster's Daily Democrat, http://www.fosters.com
