i want to run my car on your used fryer oil

hello restaurant owners and such,

i run my 1982 mercedes wagon on used vegetable oil. i've been doing it for three years now and it works great; i've successfully found sources for waste vegetable oil (WVO) all around the U.S. i've had a hard time in chicago since i moved here last september, and i'm in a bit of a pinch. if any of you are interested in giving your WVO to me to use as fuel, instead of to a renderer to make dog food, please contact me.

here's a bit more info:

i can only use oil that is liquid at room temperature and water free. also, i can't legally suck it out of your dumpster so i'd need you to put it back into the containers it comes in ( i call them cubies) or into 5 gallon buckets with lids. in order to keep it water free, these containers should be stored inside until i can come get them, usually i set up a weekly appointment. i'm looking to get another 15-25 gallons per week. i live in bridgeport and i currently collect from one restaurant in wicker park, so those areas are ideal but i'm a bit desperate at this point.

if this sounds interesting to you, give me a call at 267-760-6081, or email me at westerveltn at gmail. you could also PM me, but i don't check messages on here that often. if you have general questions add them to the post, that way everyone can benefit from the answers.

thanks,
nick

There's a fellow here in Kansas City who gets his oil from Chipotle. Might be worth a shot.

And others who are just stealing it.

Thieves stealing used cooking oil for biodiesel

LAZ wrote:And others who are just stealing it.

Thieves stealing used cooking oil for biodiesel

There's an even more detailed article from AP: Thieves swipe used cooking oil to brew biodiesel.

This article also answered the question I had:

San Francisco started its program, SFGreaseCycle, to cut down on the millions it spends each year to dislodge fats, oils and grease clogging the sewers, Ving said. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission eventually hopes to power its fleet of buses, fire trucks and emergency vehicles with biodiesel made from local restaurants' old oil, she said.

Currently, drivers collect about 15,000 gallons of fat and oil each month from 350 restaurants, including Enrico's, a mainstay in the Italian-themed North Beach neighborhood.

When the program started six months ago, the city picked up the old oil for free, and sold it to select licensed biofuel makers for 30 cents a gallon. Now that restaurants are supplying them with cleaner waste oil, they can get up to $1.25 a gallon, Ving said.

Those numbers — and the city's sudden move into the market — have convinced Levenson he needs to invest in padlocks to safeguard his precious grease and the barrels that hold it. Several of those have disappeared, too.

"When you're hauling grease for free, you want to make sure there's something there to pick up. Otherwise, with these prices, it's not worth your while," he said. "That said, if I wasn't doing this company, I would probably be doing the same thing as everybody else, just going to restaurants and filling up directly."

I was wondering how much a restaurant could expect from selling their grease.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I was wondering how much a restaurant could expect from selling their grease.

In one kitchen (~450 bed hospital/1600 cafeteria customers), we would get about $200/ month from our rendering company, Darling Delaware.

I recently spoke to the chef at the Onion Pub and Brewery in Lake Barrington, who says they are converting their brewing system to run on used fryer oil.

the amount a restaurant can get paid for their used oil varies widely, in some markets where renderers pay for the "yellow grease" there are still a few restaurants they charge for a pickup. that being said, there are few markets where restaurants get paid for their yellow grease, you need to be close to either a biodiesel processing plant or a dog food factory, like the one in decatur.

so no one wants to help me out?

I dunno, nicky - obviously, I'm not in a position to help you, but when I first read your post, my thought was - what's in it for the restaurant? Would the savings in dumpster space offset the costs of employee time and storage space (which I understand is at a premium in a restaurant?)

There's an old saying about free lunches...

nickydubs wrote:so no one wants to help me out?

I'd guess the number of restaurateurs with large amounts of used fryer oil to dispose of who read this forum is limited. You're probably better off letting your fingers do the walking through the "fast food" section of the Yellow Pages.

i don't want a high volume restaurant, LAZ, i want about 15 gal. per week. that's two fryers, changed once a week. high volume restaurants, like a well known bridgeport pizza establishment near me, go through 120 gallons a week, much more than i can use. in the other cities i've lived in, philadelphia PA, portland ME and rural OH, i received oil exclusively from family owned restaurants, the chains usually cannot help me out due to oppressive corporate policy.

restaurants i've collected from before have had various reasons:
some did enjoy not having a large renderer's dumpster.
some appreciated the business i brought them when i ate there with family and friends.
some appreciated the word of mouth advertisement they got when i told others where my fuel came from.
some advertised to their customers where their oil went.
many were saving money by not having to pay a renderer.

as i stated in an earlier post, most restaurants are not being paid for their oil at this point. the only renderer i know of that services chicago and pays for oil is Mahoney Environmental, and they don't pay all their clients. although the media seems to want to demonize people like me, it's important to note that most restaurants aren't getting paid for their oil, and most people running vegetable oil as fuel do not steal it from grease dumpsters. if a restaurant owner or manager is getting paid for their oil, i'd be more than willing to match the price of the renderer or beat it, upon inspection of the oil of course.

if you'd like me to explain how giving oil to me is more environmentally and community friendly than giving it to a renderer, let me know, i'd be glad to flesh out that argument for you.

From today's NYTimes: As Oil Prices Soar, Restaurant Grease Thefts Soar

i thought i would revive this thread with a few thoughts from another forum i frequent. the full thread can be viewed at http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11150.

--------------------------------------------

Selling your oil to a biodiesel producer for $0.11 a gallon so he can make $5.60 a gallon biodiesel from it is false economy.

The more biodiesel that gets used the more people will produce; this production will drive the price of the oil you buy for your restaurant up. Last year you were paying $13.00 for a 35 lb box, today you are paying $33.00. Demand for cooking oil has not tripled in a year, but the same biodiesel producer so graciously offering you $0.11 a gallon for your used oil is now directly competing with food producers like yourself for the limited vegetable oil available and driving your cost to almost a 300% increase in a year.

There are a small group of people experimenting in the use of waste oils to power their vehicles, this experimentation may one day lead to the production of environmentally friendly fuels from sources like algae, and limit our dependence on foreign oil. You can contribute to this experimentation by giving or selling your used cooking oil to one of these people rather than by helping the very companies who are driving your business costs through the roof.

Can your business afford to charge three times as much for French Fries or Tempura? I don’t think so, so why help a large fuel producer put you out of business when you could be helping an independent experimenter develop a new fuel source?

nickydubs wrote:Can your business afford to charge three times as much for French Fries or Tempura? I don’t think so, so why help a large fuel producer put you out of business when you could be helping an independent experimenter develop a new fuel source?

Gotta tell ya, I'm all for returning our arable land to edible crops, but that's some mighty fancy tapdancing to get free transportation!

I don't own a restaurant, but, again, if I did, to offer my waste oil for free so you can turn it into something everybody else pays through the nose for, I'd want something - at the very, very least, not to have to worry about storing, managing, or dealing with waste oil or it's containers. Just a possibility as to why nobody's taken you up on your offer; kudos to you for persistence, though.

OTOH, if I did own a restaurant, I'd convert my own car to run on its waste oil!

Mhays wrote:OTOH, if I did own a restaurant, I'd convert my own car to run on its waste oil!

Smart!

Alternatively, would any restaurant owners just like to give me some gas money? Also, it'd be nice if you could pump it for me as well. Thanks.

i don't understand why you folks are so combative. basically i'm asking any restaurant owners to consider using my services instead of the corporation they are currently contracted with. i've listed a number of reasons why one might be inclined to do so. i'd be happy to match or beat any renderer's price point, with a smile and a jig.

it seems like this would be in the interest of most any restaurant owner. i am the little guy, much like the independent restaurants i'm soliciting, and the renderer is McDonalds.

if a restaurant was paying someone $50 a month to have 100 gallons of Gasoline hauled away wouldn't you think that was a waste?

on a different note, is there a forum where i can reach some actual restaurant owners or managers, or anyone who has any influence over a restaurant? all these negative comments from the peanut gallery are well and good, but it'd be nice to hear from the people who i asked the question of.

thanks,
nick

Hi,

There is yet another source for biodiesel.

Fill 'Er Up With Human Fat
Peter C. Beller, 12.22.08, 05:00 AM EST

How a Beverly Hills doctor powered his SUV using his patients' spare tires.

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them.

For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

Love handles can power a car? Frighteningly, yes. Fat--whether animal or vegetable--contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel.
...

IT'S AN AUTO MANUAL!

Thieves are stealing used grease from restaurants: 'It's like crack money'

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... l#nws=true

‘You can make $10,000 in a night’: Thieves target used cooking grease

...
The National Renderers Association estimates that up to $75 million worth of old cooking grease is stolen each year.

“I’ve been a detective for three years,” said Jeremy W. LeVan, who worked the Fairfax County case. “It’s at the top of the oddest things I’ve seen stolen so far.”
...

I just hope nicky wild wings got his grease

same