From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank - Josh Tickell - ebook

About the Book

Any Diesel engine can run on biodiesel, a diesel fuel made from vegetable oil, this book tells you how. In From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank, expert Joshua Tickell unveils the problems with our fossil fuel dependency and offers a surprisingly simple solution: cheap, clean-burning biodiesel. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank provides concise, easy to understand instructions for making biodiesel.

From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank also includes instructions for building a biodiesel processor and growing and processing oilseed crops. With over 130 photographs, graphs, and diagrams, this book is the definitive guide to using biodiesel as an alternative fuel. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank contains all of the information you need to become independent of fossil fuels forever.

About the Author 

Josh Tickell is a published author, filmmaker, public speaker and renowned activist.

His unusual history with biodiesel started at The New College of South Florida. His studies led him to the former East Germany to work on an accredited agriculture program. While working on a farm, Joshua saw the farmers pouring a yellow liquid into their tractors. They explained that the liquid was called biodiesel and was made from vegetable oil grown in their own fields.

Since that day Josh has driven thousands of miles across the USA in his biodiesel powered van, "the Veggie Van".

He has spoken nationally and internationally for governments, state legislates, educational facilities and at many environmental events.

Tickell’s first book "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank " The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel" has sold over 60,000 copies and is accredited as being at the forefront of starting the US movement towards biodiesel.

After producing his first short film "The Veggie Van Voyage" he is currently making a full-length documentary film "Fields of Fuel".

Tickell’s second book "Biodiesel America" is out and available for sale on this website, Amazon.com and other retailers. Who would read this book?
This book contains invaluable information for anyone who wants to learn about vegetable oil fuel. Whether you are a student, educator or an environmentalist who wants to learn about alternative fuels, an enthusiast who wants to know how to make biodiesel, a diesel vehicle driver looking to use biodiesel or a business entrepreneur looking to learn about this valuable fuel this book is for you.

It has been the starting point for many of the emerging biodiesel businesses both in the USA and abroad. Endorsements
"Joshua is the kind of grassroots innovator America needs to move us toward energy sanity!"
- Jim Hightower
(author of There’s Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos)

"Anyone, literally from a child to a rocket scientist, has something to learn from this book."
- Talking Leaves Journal

"We found From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank extremely useful. We learned to make our own biodiesel from waste oil from fast food restaurants and we are building our own little biodiesel factory."
- Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

"Hi First of all, well done. I ordered your book about a month ago and got totally inspired about it. I'm now going to buy my first diesel car to try it out. Thanks for the inspiration! I've been experimenting with old oil too. For a few weeks now I've been filtering old oil down to 10 microns.(fairly small) The resulting oil is not only crystal clean (it looks like brand new stuff) but seems to be a lot less viscose than the gloop you start with. Anyway, I've been pouring this oil straight into our Massey Ferguson tractor and it loves it. It starts without any pre heat and runs beautifully. So, it would appear that tractor engines can handle this sort of thing."
- Tom

"Just got your book yesterday and am now trying to scrounge components, grrreat book, thanks for writing it."
- Jerry S.

"Hey guys and gals, I read the book last night. It's great! Easy to read and understand. Real nuts and bolts. I am impressed. I am gonna do all I can to get it out there."
- Kelly L.

"Dear Josh;
I got your book Friday, and couldn't put it down until I read the whole thing. I have tried to talk to people at work about this, most people are interested but not enough to do anything. I am 47 years old and still remember the fuel shortages of the early 70s. As soon as the shortage was over everyone seemed to forget about it. I haven't forgotten, and after reading your book I can see just how big a problem digging up crude oil really is. I have worked on my own cars all my life and will soon get my state papers as a journeyman tool & die maker, so I intend to do something with this. If you have any news on what you're doing or I can be of any help please E-mail me any time. Thanks again."
- George Y.

Reviews

Whole Earth Magazine
"The Ingenious Spirit of the seventies is still alive and well! Back then, Whole Earth reported cars that ran on corn squeezins and even chicken [doo-doo]. Now, it's biodiesel - vegetable oil to you. Joshua Tickell's 'Gretta, the Greasy Jetta' and 'Veggie Van' run on user- "refined" worn-out fryer grease, leaving the aroma of fish & chips in their wakes. They drove the Veggie Van on a 10,000-mile cross-country tour last year (including a stop at Whole Earth), fueled mostly by used french-fry oil picked up at fast-food joints along the way.

From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank details the how-to aspects sufficiently to copy with reasonable hope of success, though the author does post a legal disclaimer absolving himself from the results of your stupidity (new thrusts never have come with a warranty). As always, I appreciate the philosophy and hubris driving this sort of adventure. You never know how far it will go (so to speak), or where it might lead." -J. Baldwin

Home Power Magazine
"From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: How to Make Cheap, Clean Fuel from Free Vegetable Oil is a great primer on the how-tos and whys of biodiesel. These folks have driven over 25,000 miles in a van run on homemade fuel!

The first chapters are an excellent primer on petroleum, the greenhouse effect, and how biodiesel can solve both of these problems. Biodiesel uses the sun's energy instead of dead dinosaurs. The fact that widespread biodiesel use could actually reverse global warming is enough reason for me to consider cookin' some up.

A little diesel history lesson gives us the background to appreciate the scam the petroleum industry has pulled on us. Did you know that the diesel engine was designed to run on peanut oil, and that the "diesel fuel" is actually a poor replacement for the diesel's original fuel? Biodiesel is much cleaner than petroleum diesel, runs in unmodified diesel engines, and can be mixed with petroleum diesel in any proportion. Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable, renewable, and less likely to explode and burn. Best of all, it can be made by you, cheaply! When the Veggie Van visited my town, I could hardly wait to sniff the exhaust. Sure enough - it smelled like french fries.

Many Home Power readers use generators in the cloudy months. Inversion layers in our small pristine valleys hold in any pollutants we emit. Biodiesel can improve air quality in several ways. The exhaust contains no sulfur emissions. Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions are cut by 20% to 60% and soot particulates (which send asthmatics to the hospital) are reduced by 40 to 60%!

To make the stuff yourself, turn to chapter five. Step by step, the reader is taken through the process of biodiesel production. The authors do it right-they make safety a number one priority. The necessary tools aren't intimidating, either. They include a scale, a blender, goggles, gloves, and some glassware. Even a chemistry wimp like me could follow the clear descriptions. And there are oodles of references, backing up claims and steering biodiesel students to more information.

The section on "Gretta," the greasy Jetta, is a crack-up, Who would imagine a diesel car could run on straight unprocessed fryer oil? I'm no mechanic, and even I was able to follow the simplified description of the diesel engine's inner workings. The book made me feel that anyone can do it. And if you decide biodiesel processing isn't for you, the Veggie Van web site can help you find suppliers of the fuel.

Simply put, I'm sold on biodiesel as a result of reading this book. It's an easy read-I got through it from cover to cover in three hours...call your local RE dealer and have them get it for you (and spread the word at the same time)."-Kelly Larson

Earth Quarterly Magazine
"It took me a bit of digesting to understand the potential Joshua Tickell was conceiving in this manual, From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. It was not a soggy or heavy work, quite the opposite, like good tempura. His writing style is enthusiastic, probably from the vision of a better world. This he portrays throughout with particular emphasis in chapter five's first two paragraphs: "What had changed was our perception of the world. Instead of feeling like cogs in the great unstoppable social machine, we suddenly felt like we have the power to fuel the machine, and the potential to change its direction."

The bottom line is that you and I can make our own Bio-diesel fuel. We the people can run our diesel cars, tractors, generators, boats, and all with recycled cooking oil. He did it. It's a slick way to a less polluted world and a little more self-reliance.

...The explanations are written such that they could be understood by a complete idiot who somehow has managed a basic understanding of weights and measures and can re-read. However, the book is not intended to be a straight recipe for brewing your own fuel so's you drop out of society, form an anti-government coalition and run around the woods calling yourselves militia freedom fighters. Mr. Tickell seems to be urging us to recycle fast food fryer oil and slip a note to our congressperson. And if one or two of us do it they will think it's a fad. And if enough of us do it they will think it's a movement. And if, who knows, enough people slip their congressperson a note, they may listen and convert this whole rancid petrochemical mess into a green machine revolution.

All in all it's fast reading, which is slick, since there are some formulae sort of discussed but in ways the technologically challenged can grasp without it slipping through their brain like a sieve.

This books is easily read, easy to digest, and leaves no sour aftertaste. Its main but not sole point is each of us can have a positive effect on our lives and subsequently on us all. By the way, there are instructions sufficient to brew your own fuel. I would recommend this book for the slightly skilled alternative energy enthusiast. It's good reading." -Tim Reed

ReNew Magazine
"In the last issue of ReNew, we ran an article about the Veggie Van, a diesel-engined mobile home that traveled 16,000 km on a tour of the USA using only biodiesel for fuel.

The owner of the Veggie Van, Joshua Tickell, makes the biodiesel from used vegetable oil that he gets from fast food outlets. After mixing a couple of chemicals with it, he gets his own home-brewed motor fuel and a lot of glycerine soap as a by-product.

From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank details this process in simple, easy-to-understand language, showing you how you can make your own batch of biodiesel with basic equipment, and details how you can run a diesel-engined vehicle on the stuff. The basic chemical reactions are given, and even if you have no understanding of chemistry, the book is written in such a way as to make it all seem far less daunting--indeed, almost fun.

The book begins with a discussion of currently used fuels, and the negative aspects of using them. It then discusses renewable fuels, of which biodiesel is one.

Details are also given on the history of the diesel engine and how it works. There is also a chapter on how to convert an ordinary diesel car to run on another alternative fuel made from vegetable oil and kerosene. Mr. Tickell used his similarly converted vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta, to test a variety of fuels and fuel mixes.

The information in this book is invaluable to the experimenting alternative fuel enthusiast, I will certainly be buying a copy for myself.

The only negative thing I have to say about the book is the safety aspect of fitting a second fuel tank to a car. His description of the modifications would certainly not be considered safe (or legal) in Australia. In contrast, the safety precautions he gives for the production biodiesel itself are considerable, with numerous warnings provided throughout the text.

After reading this book, I really felt like going out and making some biodiesel, despite not having an engine to run it in! It really is that much of an inspiration."- Lance Turner

Talking Leaves Journal
"This informative guide is much more than a book of instructions on how to run a car on vegetable oil. In a friendly, entertaining, conversational tone, it offers not only clear explanations of the nuts and bolts of its subject matter, but also incisive social and political commentary, information about the environmental issues associated with our transportation choices, a strong ecological ethic, and some great stories. Anyone, literally from a child to a rocket scientist, has something to learn from this book, whether it be of a technical, ecological, philosophical, or even possibly "spiritual" nature.

Even when it dives deep into "science," it is always easy to read and humorous, and probably would be even if one cared little about the subject matter. But by part-way into the book the reader is almost guaranteed to care about the subject matter, which is presented quite compellingly by someone who has "walked his talk" and now definitely knows what he is talking about.

Chapters cover the basics we need to know about petroleum, renewable fuels, the diesel engine, biodiesel, making biodiesel, and making a "grease car." Step-by-step, do-it-yourself instructions (with appropriate disclaimers) make it clear that most of us could probably do what Joshua did, if we had a little spare time and energy. The eventual upshot of the after-hours experiments they conducted a few years ago at college was the creation of the Veggie Van, which in 1997 traveled 10,000 miles around the US in 10 weeks using only 100% biodiesel as fuel (much of it made on-the-spot with used cooking oil gathered from fast-food restaurants).

Having been seen by over 40 million Americans, the Veggie Van is traveling proof that, given commitment from a few individuals, ideas that make ecological sense can be practical and economical as well. The authors create their fuel for an average of 75¢ a gallon, but the even greater savings of their fuel choice are in the ecological costs associated with petroleum-derived fuels.

The book leaves some unasked and unanswered questions about whether our entire transportation economy could switch to biodiesel. I suspect that we'd have to reduce our current appetite for transportation fuels significantly if we wanted biodiesel—or any other fuel, for that matter—to be a truly sustainable fuel source. Our last available agricultural lands, it would seem, are just as susceptible to depletion as our last oil reserves. But we are a long way from using biodiesel to its potential, and we could run many vehicles simply on the waste vegetable oil that restaurants discard every day.

This book not only takes the reader into the "biodiesel trenches" with the author, but also shares some of the hope his biodiesel adventures have given him. "So what did we learn from the challenge [of the Veggie Van Tour]? We learned that change can be fun, interesting, and beneficial for all people involved. We learned that solutions are often more simple than they first seem. But most importantly, we learned that if you want to change something in this world, you've got to learn to do it yourself and you've got to follow through with it." The author has learned to do something himself, he has followed through, and he has created change. Whether we follow their book's instructions or just its example, each of us has the power to do that too." -Chris Roth