Running on Veggie Oil

A Westfalia Experience

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Eddy-Flux

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In the cold late months of 2002, I bumped into Andy Stepnick while working late in the LEES Lab. Andy was wearing a VW racing hat, so with great excitement, I asked him if he had a diesel VW. The answer was, to my disappointment, "no." I told Andy how if he had a diesel, it could be adapted to run on waste vegetable oil (fryer grease) with a few minor modifications and an extra fuel tank.

Not long after, Andy had a VW Westfalia van, a repair manual, a kit from Greasecar.com, and was ready to go. Here's a few pics from the process. In December of the same year, Andy and Jen decked out the Westfalia in flowers, candles and curtains, ran it on rose oil, and drove my new bride, April, and I from our wedding to our reception. It was a beautiful thing.

A great resource on veggie oil cars is Joshua Tickell, who wrote From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. I disagree with Tickell's push for farming for fuels, as farming tends to release soil carbon stores, and the environmental impact of industrial farming is anything but negligible, but he writes a good "how-to" and it is a good place to start.

Volkswagen Bus: Car Talk has a great letter that serves as a dedication to the masterful design of the VW Bus.

Volkswagen Westafalia Diesel Engine	Andy Stepnick working to adapt his new Westafalia to run on vegetable oil
Hoses T'ed off the radiator system for preheating the veggy oil	Partially reassembled engine-- in the back left, the heated oil filter can be seen