Laughing Stock Farm, Freeport, Maine

Collection
Processing
Oil Use
UL Certification
Economics
Comparison

Used Cooking Oil Heating Fuel System Tour

This system makes use of restaurant Used Cooking Oil (UCO), referred to by the rendering industry as Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO).  We have started referring to our oil as UCO since it is truly a resource and not a waste.  Unlike homemade biodiesel, our system uses no hazardous materials to make the oil burnable, requires no hazardous chemical conversion, and generates no hazardous waste.  The only waste products are the food bits cleaned from the UCO and the stack emissions which are considerably less than emissions of No 2 fuel oil.

As of March 15, 2005 we have operated the system for 2,000 hours successfully and have used over 5,500 gallons of UCO, resulting in savings of about $8,500.  The disposal savings to the restaurants is estimated at about $8,500.  We are convinced that this concept is practical and can result in significant cost savings for greenhouse operators while providing a more environmentally friendly energy source.  This is a win/win solution for everyone involved. 

Follow the links at left and below for a tour of our system.

Collection - This section shows how we get the oil we use.  This part of the process requires a driver/operator to pick up full 55 gallon drums and leave empty drums in their place.

Oil Processing - This section shows how we clean the oil to burn it for fuel.  This part of the process requires an operator to move drums, turn valves, clean strainer screens, and start the pump. 

Oil Use - This section describes the boiler and shows how it burns the oil.  This part of the process is fully automatic.

UL Certification - We are working with Clean Burn toward a UCO burning specification that will allow Underwriter's Laboratories to list and label these systems as safe and reliable.  At present no such certification exists.

Economics - The bottom line.  Although it seems obvious that relatively free UCO is a better deal than $2.00/gallon petroleum oil, there are drawbacks to and costs to UCO use.  UCO use is not for everybody, but for growers who are already managing wood, or other alternative energy systems, this may be a good alternative providing there is a supply of UCO in their area.  Freeport is a perfect location for this project.  We can already say that without this project, we would not have been able to operate our greenhouse this winter.  We will be expanding this system to heat the rest of our greenhouse space for next winter.  

Send mail to lisa@laughingstockfarm.com with questions or comments about our farm

Send to ralph@rturner.com with questions or comments about our energy project. 

Copyright 2008, Laughing Stock Farm
Last modified: February 01, 2008