Tractor runs on Veg. Oil
Buron Griffin Jr. ( Ark, soybean, rice, Helena and wheat
producer) and environmentalist both see green when Griffins John
Deere 8410 tractor runs across a field.
For the environmentalist the tractor, which runs on waste Veg.
Oil, is not polluting the air, causing global warming or using up a
non-renewable resource. But for Griffin, the tractor is not
burning up as much of the hard-earned green cash in his bank account.
Bill Kennerly, owner of Veg. Fuel Systems, in Ark., Malvern,
who installed a Veg. Oil fuel system on Griffins tractor, says
waste Veg. Oil could catch on in the agricultural community, once
everyone figures out how cheap it is compared to regular diesel or
Bio-diesel.
"In the past, restaurants have had to pay someone to come get the Oil
and haul it off. Nobody ever realised that it burned. There are hardly
any pollutants coming out of the exhaust, very little black smoke."
Kennerly says running Veg. Oil could be a good alternative for farmers
looking to cut costs. "With veggie Oil, you have to convert your truck
or tractor. With Bio-diesel, you or the community has to spend money
for a Bio-diesel plant and train someone to operate it. But as
far as an environmental benefit is concerned, Veg. Oil is the best,
followed by Bio-diesel."
The waste Veg. Oil that runs in Griffins tractor is collected from
restaurants, filtered and stored until delivery. Kennerly says to
condition the Oil, it is heated to 130 degrees, stored overnight, then
pumped through a bag filter and then to another diesel filter. Then
its ready to burn.
The estimated cost of a veggie system for a tractor is around $3,500,
according to Griffin. "At $2.45 for farm diesel, we need to run 6,000
to 7,000 gallons of fuel to pay for the conversion, which is not much
considering how much these tractors consume."
The 100-Gallon Veg. Oil tank is a separate tank mounted on the front
of Griffins tractor. The tractor engine is started with regular diesel
or Bio-diesel, whatever is in the tank of the tractor.
The heat from the engine is used to heat the Veg. Oil until it reaches
the proper viscosity. If the engine is started with Veg. Oil when the
Oil is still thick, or if the Veg. Oil is not flushed out of the
engine when the engine is to be shut down for an hour or more, the Veg.
Oil will gum up the system in cold weather.
Inside the tractor cab are a couple of gauges and a switch for
monitoring Veg. Oil temperature and for switching back and forth
between the diesel tank and the Veg. Oil tank.
"We haven't seen any loss of horsepower whatsoever," says Griffin, who
hopes to eventually run every engine on the farm, including center
pivot engines, on Veg. Oil. "The price of Veg. Oil is fluctuating with
the market, but its a lot cheaper than diesel. We're also looking at
using cottonseed Oil."
Kennerly hopes to have a conversion kit for center pivot engines by
spring. Hes also making progress on filtering and preparing cottonseed
Oil for high volume users.
Kennerly has installed the system on tractors, pickups and big diesel
trucks, most of which are out of warranty. Kennerly and Griffin note
that engine manufacturers are hesitant about honoring all components
of an engines warranty if Veg. Oil is burned in it. There could be
problems if the Oil is not filtered adequately, if the tractor is not
equipped with the proper heating system, or if the engine is not
purged with diesel before shutting down in cold weather.
Griffins early 2000s-era 8410 John Deere tractor had about 4,000 hours
on it when the conversion was installed. Griffin has two other large
horsepower tractors on his 3,000-acre farm.
Kennerlys Dodge pickup truck is converted to Veg. Oil, and hes
converted several other pickup trucks. A Dodge conversion usually runs
about $2,500, a Ford about $3,500.
As long as the price of diesel remains high, Veg. Oil has an
economic advantage for Griffin. "The key is the price of diesel.
If the price comes down to $2 or $1.95, this business is going away.
As long as we have $3 diesel or more, its going to stay."
Currently, the Bio-diesel Tax Credit administered by the IRS
allows producers of Bio-diesel to claim a per gallon tax
credit. The credit is valued at $1 per gallon of agri-Bio-diesel
(Bio-diesel produced from new agricultural products such as soybean
Oil or animal fats).
Griffin would like to see the $1 tax credit extended to recycled fryer
grease as well. Currently, the tax credit is 50 cents per gallon of
Bio-diesel produced from other sources such as recycled fryer grease.
Source:southeastfarmpress.com
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