| ONE-ON-ONE, JOE TALKING GREEN FUELS IN MICHIGAN... |
|
|
| ...BEFORE A SPARTANS FOOTBALL GAME DURING THE 2007 GREEN POWER SPORTS TOUR |
“Road trip of the year. Some fans stop at restaurants to refuel their bodies.
Joe Connor stops to refuel his body AND his car. This is a great trip and a great cause.” – ESPN.com
“Seriously awesome. I just discovered you through Jim Caple’s piece on ESPN.com about college tailgates. I'm reading your blog from your current Green Power
Sports Tour and am soon going to search out anything from your baseball tour last year...what you do is awesome. Do you need
a sidekick? Drive Safely!” – Dave, Tampa,
Florida, in a personal e-mail sent to Joe during the 2007 tour
"When he's driving, Connor often listens to Jimmy Buffett's 'Changes in Latitudes,
Changes in Attitudes.' Connor hopes Americans change their attitude about the way they use energy." - Fort Myers (Florida)
News-Press
“The point of his tour…not necessarily to promote
vegetable oil as a fuel, but rather to get people thinking about alternative forms of energy.” – South-Bend Tribune, Indiana
"Joe is showing us that doing the right
thing can be difficult, but has become what is needed to fix the world's problems. In his writing he tells us of challenges, which most
sports participants/ supporters understand, while showing a real commitment,
another thing fans deal with continually." - Daniel, in a letter-to-the-editor to www.sdnews.com
| THE GREEN MACHINE AND JOE IN SUNNY MIAMI... |
|
|
| ...AT SOL ATLANTIC BIODIESEL FILLING UP ON CLEANER, GREENER FUEL.. |
"A SPECIAL THANK YOU to The Sponsors of the 2007 Green Power Sports Tour and to all the folks that helped make the trip so memorable, from biodiesel
owners and vegetable oil suppliers to tailgaters and sports fans!" - Joe Connor
The purpose of the Green Power Sports Tour is to raise awareness of alternative
and renewable fuels by driving a 1984 Mercedes that has been converted to run on biodiesel and vegetable oil to
the premiere college and pro football, hockey and basketball venues across North America (U.S. and Canada). Both
fuels are renewable and healthier for the environment.
Joe Connor, The Driver, Joe Connor, a freelance sports writer, showcases the car during tailgating before games. The 2007 Tour included visits to more than 100 of North America's premiere sporting venues. His four-month journey was
made possible by The Sponsors of the tour. Joe did a similar trip to baseball parks as part of The 2006 Tour.
Joe's Mercedes is a two-tank fuel system. He uses primarily biodiesel (but occasionally regular diesel) at
start up. Biodiesel is a cleaner form of diesel that is about the same cost in many parts of the U.S. as diesel, and can be
used as fuel in any diesel engine car.
Once the car is started, radiator fluid transfers heat from the engine
to the heat exchangers in the fuel system. These exchangers heat the vegetable oil in the fuel filter, lines and fuel
tank (The 13-gallon second tank is located in Joe's trunk in the spare tire well). The heat reduces the viscosity of vegetable
oil so that it is similar to biodiesel or diesel, and can be injected into the engine properly. Joe simply presses a
switch to run on vegetable oil once the car’s temperature is between 80-100 degrees.
When the engine is shut down for several hours, Joe switches back to biodiesel or diesel so remaining “cold”
vegetable oil doesn’t clog up the injectors the next time the engine is started.
Joe gets used vegetable oil for his fuel from local restaurants. He has an elaborate filtration system in his
trunk, aka "The Grease Trap," that enables him to take waste vegetable oil and turn it into fuel. Visit the
The Green Fuels page to learn more specific details about biodiesel as fuel and vegetable oil as fuel, plus discover details
on The Green Fuels page about the filtration system. Joe tailgates the car in a high-foot traffic area before games, and shows fans
how the filtration system works.
|
