Fry grease fuels truck

By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

CHOCTAW, Okla. - Mike Spencer was tired of paying $3 a gallon for gas, so he switched to grease.

"I was just like most people, getting tired of the higher fuel costs," he said. "For people that used diesel trucks, the cost is exorbitant. It's probably $3.85 in Oklahoma."

Two years ago Spencer used information on a Web site to make vegetable oil into fuel.

After the staff at his Smokehouse restaurant prepares the okra and fries, they drain the remaining grease out of the cookers - 11 gallons, twice a week.

"I basically put this unit together, it cost me $250," he said. "You can buy all this stuff in the local hardware store."

He mixes the vegetable oil, a bit of unleaded fuel, kerosene, a diesel clean and an additive. Flips a switch, and pumps it right into his truck on his driveway. The cost is less than 50 cents a gallon, saving him about $8,000 during the past two years.

"It will run smoother, and quieter," he said. "The only negative to it is it will smell like fries and okra."