Trailer Life: FRENCH-FRIED FUEL

GET COOKING AND HELP DRIVE DOWN DIESEL OPERATING COSTS

Colin Collins, a full-time RVer who is also a member of the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia, glanced at the fuel gauge of his diesel-powered Toyota mini-motorhome, made a quick U-turn and headed back to the restaurant where he had just enjoyed dinner.

For dessert? Maybe he forgot something?

No, but with his fuel gauge pointing perilously close to empty, Colin headed back to where he and his wife had just dined to top off his fuel tank using discarded cooking oil from the dumpster behind the restaurant.

That's right. If you hadn't yet heard about the practice of fueling diesel engines with used cooking oil, you're not alone. This was my first experience of seeing that this newfangled fuel alternative actually works. In fact, the Collins family tours the highways and byways of the land "down under" in their motorhome absolutely free - at least from the rising costs of diesel fuel.

I first met Colin during a tour through Tasmania in southern Australia, when I spotted a curiously designed mmi-motorhome parked on the shores of Port Arthur. Always anxious to meet foreign RVers, I was particularly attracted to this rig because of the blue-and-white decal (MEMBERS OF THE CAMPERVAN & MoTORHOME CLUB OF AUSTRALIA) mounted on the coach's side. After shooting a couple of pictures of the mini, I gathered up enough courage to knock on the door and introduce myself.

"I'm from the States," I said, and added, "I, too, am a motorhome enthusiast and am a member oi the Good Sam Club in America. Have you heard of us?"

After admitting they had read something about the U.S. version of their own organization, Mr. and Mrs. Collins welcomed me warmly, invited me inside and gave me a thoroughly interesting tour of their compact abode. It was equipped with a host of electronic devices, even a tiny computer that enables them to e-mail family and iriends throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The highlight of the visit, to be sure, was when Colin proudly started up his diesel engine, walked me back outside to the rear of his rig, and encouraged me to take a whiff of the intoxicating (to me, at least) odor of cooking food coming from the exhaust.

So began my introduction to the relatively recent practice of running diesel engines on used cooking oil, or biodiesel, as it has come to be known.

Colin swears he pours the used cooking oil, unfiltered, directly into his fuel tank, fresh from the kitchens of restaurants - skipping the process of mixing it with any other ingredients or converting his engine, which is the way most experts in the growing field of used-oil fuelers be lieve it should be done. Recipes for manufacturing biodiesel are varied, complex and sometimes unsafe, say critics of the process.

One thing's for sure: While the added cost of mixing your own is about 60 cents a gallon, far less than commercial diesel, it emits roughly half the pollutants of regular diesel and is 94 percent less likely to cause cancer, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The growing practice of using restaurant grease is increasing by leaps and bounds around the world, as is the number of commercial firms springing up, mixing and selling their own concoctions. The catch is that this type of commercial biocliesel may cost as much as a dollar more than regular diesel. And this is only the beginning.

According to the Los Angeles Times, actor Woody Harrelson drives his personal automobile on biodiesel. There's also a car-rental company in Maui, Hawaii, whose cars run on biodiesel with no problems to date.

In Wales, The Guardian newspaper reported that a Welsh supermarket noted a dramatic increase in the sale of cooking oil, which led market officials to believe their customers were doing an extraordinary amount of frying. They weren't, but they were filling their cars with it. However, it didn't take long for the cops to get wise. They took action and handed out citations against five motorists in a single day, under new legislation which makes it an offense to use the alternative fuel, thereby escaping fuel taxes.

In New York, an effort to promote environmentally friendly alternatives to diesel and home-heating oil, the Buffalo/Niagara region may soon, if not already, be driving diesel buses and heating homes with enhanced biodiesel fuels made from used cooking oils obtained from fast-food restaurants.

In the Northwest, the Seattle Times reported that "with some cooking oil, a couple of chemicals and the right safety equipment, anybody can mix up a fuel that will power any diesel engine."

Even Nevada's Las Vegas Sun reported that diesel fuel made from recycled cooking oil is on sale in the gambling mecca. Exactly where, it did not indicate.

There are already recycling trucks, school buses and even the Department of Energy's vehicle fleet using the alternative diesel fuel. How many motorhomers have switched is strictly a guess on anyone's part.

Many converts mix their own fuel at a fraction of the cost, say the growing throngs of cooking-oil enthusiasts, sharing their own recipes with other would-be users. We've been told that a good biodiesel cookbook may soon be available. But where and when such a valued prize could be obtained, we have not yet been privileged to learn.

However, don't get too excited about raiding your local fast-food joint and lunch-counter diner for their used cooking oils. Not yet, anyway. The entire movement is far too complicated and controversial.

Despite all the hoopla, these questions still remain: What long-term affect will biocliesel have on the IiIe ol your engine? What are the essential ingredients to mix with cooking oil, and is it safe? Should the oil be filtered? And how long will legislators wait before imposing taxes and/or restrictions on the practice?

Stay tuned.

Art Rouse, publisher emeritus of Trailer Life, acquired the magazine in 1958. In 1968, he purchased a tiny organization called the Good Sam Club.