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28
Oct
2008



While automakers are slowly coming around to alternative fuels, hundreds of companies are jumping into the alternative fuel niche with conversion kits. These kits allow consumers to turn their gas-guzzling vehicles into testaments to sustainable fuels. You should examine alternative fuels like ethanol, propane and vegetable oil carefully before pursuing conversion kits.

Flex Fuel US and other innovative businesses have created conversion kits to take advantage of America’s ethanol craze. Flex Fuel’s conversion kit allows any driver to switch between ethanol and traditional fuel with proper installation. This kit can accommodate gasoline, E10, E20 and E85 fuels for drivers who want to mix up their fuel options.

Hendrix Industrial Gastux Inc. has developed compressed natural gas (CNG) and propane conversion kits for dozens of vehicle makes and models. The Hendrix website cites the high price of gasoline, the nontoxic nature of propane and the myth of propane going up in flames when selling these kits. While these kits are designed for easy installation, Hendrix and other companies recommend installation through their facilities for proper placement of gas tanks.

The advent of vegetable oil kits by companies like Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems comes from one part ingenuity and one part necessity. As Americans continue to flock to fast food restaurants and drive-throughs, we have a surplus of spent oil that needs to be disposed. Regional kit retailers from coast to coast have joined Greasecar in using vegetable oil as a fuel source. The Greasecar kit works solely with diesel engines but is touted as a clean fuel source that can be sustained into the future.

Innovators have knocked around these alternative fuel sources for years as gas prices have increased. You should be careful to determine the legitimacy of the kit provider as well as the science behind the technology before buying a conversion kit. Unless you have experience with auto maintenance, you may need to search for a mechanic willing to install your conversion kit. In the end, you may be best served by testing out a conversion kit on an older vehicle you use around town. Your excursions to the grocery store, dry cleaner and other places can demonstrate the reliability of converted vehicles before switching wholesale to propane, ethanol and other fuels.




11 Comments so far!!

1
chris1203 Says:
Wow...I had no idea that technology had come so far as to allow for alternative fuel conversion kits. This has piqued my interest, and I intend to do a little investigating.
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2
berlinlife06 Says:
If my current vehicle used more gas, then I would consider it. But I have a small light car that doesn't use as much gasoline as my former car... so I'll wait and buy a hybrid in the next 5 or 7 years.
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3
Frank Says:
We ell conversion kits for regular gas to E85 that take about 8 minutes for a 4cyl. and about an hour for a V12. You don't need to do computer remapping or anything. You fill up your car with E85 or regular and keep driving.
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4
TheAngryRabbit Says:
What we need is a hybrid flex fuel conversion kit - electric, gas, and ethanol. Otherwise you're just switching from cocaine to crack. Both will kill you.
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5
berlinlife06 Says:
Hmmm... TheAngryRabbit is right! I didn't think of this, but it is true. Probably it is something to be consider for next generation of vehicles.
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6
Arvin Says:
For optimum performance on a typical piston driven engine, you will need a different compression ratio for each type of fuel you're planning on using. How are you going to surmount that obstacle?
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7
TheAngryRabbit Says:
Arvin, the technology already exists and is proven: Ford Hybrid Flex Fuel Vehicle: http://tinyurl.com/6c56vg (runs electric, gas, ethanol, gas-ethanol mix) Hybrid Technologies: http://tinyurl.com/5lyw4j (120+ mpc all-electric) We just need to mandate automakers do it. We could be running hybrid flex fuel vehicles that get nearly 200 miles per charge plus the mileage of the gas-ethanol engine.
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8
ZammaJannan Says:
Angry Rabbit- Great information. Hybrid-flex is the way to go. These vehicles should be FLOODING the market... we shouldn't have to go around begging for them.
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9
NW Enviro-Looney Says:
Once there was a despicable little creep running Germany. He did have 1 good idea; the "people's car" aka der Volswagen. As I watch our country struggle w/pollution, dependence on foreign fuel sources, massive lay-offs, and the loss of any viable manufacturing base, I wonder if what we need right now is our own, domestically built domestically built "people's car". It would have to be environmentally sound, use renewable energy, be inexpensive to purchase and operate, and safe. Since it seems that low income Americans, w/minimal credit are the ones most often forced to get by w/large, carbon spewing gas hogs, a program would need to be developed to insure that EVERY American could afford one, either through tax and other financial incentives or by no/low interest loans. I would suggest that the 1st model be a plug-in Electric City Car, and the 2nd to be set up as a type of hybid to enable longer range use. Such a progam would cut pollution and our massive trade deficit, as well as provide living-wage employment in manufacturing, servicing, and providing the infrastructure these vehicle would require.
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10
tater03 Says:
Amen, I think the reason cars such as the Hybrid-flex are not flooding the market is because it all boils down to profit. I am sure that these could be in production and still make a profit just not the kind of profit the manufactures want to make.
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11
Debrajean Says:
I like the idea of recycling the fast food vegetable oil. If it works and is efficient, I think it should definitely being pushed into the market.
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