Frying Squad on scent of cooking oil motorists

The Daily Telegraph ^ | 10/10/2002 | Nicola Woolcock

[UKCajun]

Drivers trying to beat rising fuel costs have discovered a cheaper means of powering their cars - cooking oil.

They are mixing the oil, which costs 32p a litre, with methanol and using it in place of diesel, which retails at about 74p. Police and Customs officers are trying to tackle the problem by sniffing out offenders, whose cars give off a distinctive "chip shop" smell.

An increasing number of motorists in Llanelli, west Wales, are filling their tanks with cooking oil in place of diesel after word spread. The town's Asda supermarket sells more cooking oil than any other branch in Britain and is now limiting sales as a precaution.

A spokesman said: "Anyone seen attempting to wipe out our stock with bulk purchases would be stopped."

One driver said: "I've halved my motoring costs since I started running my diesel on cooking oil. The car runs just as well and even smells a lot better."

He was one of dozens to have their cars impounded in the police crackdown, and said: "I was stopped by an unmarked car which had blue lights flashing. The officer went to the fuel tank, dipped it, and found cooking oil.

"I put my hands up to the offence and the car was towed away. They said Customs would be notified."

The AA warned motorists of the dangers of running cars on cooking oil. Its spokesman said: "It could severely damage your vehicle."

The drivers of impounded cars are fined £500 and charged a £150 towing fee. Persistent offenders could face up to seven years in jail.

[from occupied ga]

For any country to begin using food stuffs for fuel, if the variety of corn used for ethanol is an edible variety, when there is more than adequate oil to be used for fuel, is folly beyond measure

Thanks. We have Bob Dole in large part to thank for this since it was his wheeling and dealing to divert taxpayer dollars into the pockets of Archer, Daniels, Midlands (primary ethanol producers and Bob Dole supporters) that has keep this increduble stupidity alive (Oh, not to mention King George Bush II's farm bill)

[Minnesoootan]

This reminds me of the episode where Homer and Bart raid Willy's retirement grease....

[hopespringseternal]

Why not just add the cooking oil to diesel? The diesel combustion odor should overpower the cooking oil odor.

[UKCajun]

Sounds reasonable to me, but I'm no chemical engineer.

[Homer Simpson]

``There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman''

[Steve0113]

But people finally did what the liberals claimed they wanted, they found an alternative to gasoline!

Not quite. They found an alternative to diesel fuel.

[galt-jw]

yep. and the authorities dont like it. an example of suppressed information. tons of stuff like that out there. the free energy stuff is very interesting. easy to see why the poserful wouldnt want this out.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

It's in my profile, a default /sarcasm tag. LOL. Been there for some time. I am not pushing ethonal. I am saying that people should be allowed to put anything they want in their gas tanks/diesal tanks [and yes, if cooking oil is an alternative to diesal, cars can be made with cooking oil engines. That is an alternative fuel for gasoline/petrol/[enter name here].

This shows liberalism and environmentalism for what it is: green on the outside and Socialist Red on the inside. Innovation is punished severely, possibly with seven years in jail. They do not want the mission accomplished. They do not want to end the consumptuion of ... ok safe word... fossile fuels. They want our money. And they want us to think we deserved to lose our money. They want us feeling guilty for having money, for having cars, and for cheating our way out of a nice, healthy walk.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Wow. Thank you for the in-depth commentary! I keep checking in to make sure this wasn't a hoax. Too strange to believe. Not only the cooking oil fuel, but also the liberal reaction. Laughing FReegards....

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Yes, they in fact, found an alternative to gasoline. Who says you can't get a diesel engine? Methane is also called an alternative to gasoline.