Filta Group Articles

Over the course of researching further into the Eco-friendly Filta Group, I came across a story that was so remarkable in its brilliance and practicality, that it really does bear repeating.  If you are a Filta franchisee looking for ways to maximize your profits and realize the full potential of your business, then you might want to go grab a pen and paper to take some notes here.

This really is that good.

As a Filta franchisee, you’re entire business hinges on mobility.  You are in your van and on the road every day, traversing the entirety of your territory and burning up the gasoline.  We are quickly entering into the time of year where gas prices are going to edge up and up and up.  Every penny increase at the pump eats away at your profits.  Meantime, every day you are hauling away pounds of a potential fuel source from the businesses you service, probably without giving it a second thought.  However, one savvy Filta owner, Richard Hamilton of Little Rock, AR, realized that what he was removing from fryers wasn’t waste oil, it was liquid gold.  His innovative solution to rising fuel costs is something that could revolutionize your Filta franchise.

Richard’s Revelation

There is a newly growing trend amongst conservationist in the area of biofuels.  Still relatively unknown to the general public, but rapidly gaining attention, is the ability to convert diesel engines to run on waste oil.  That’s right, the same oils you dispose of for you clients can be used to power your Filta van.  That is just what Richard Hamilton did.  He bought a diesel van for his franchise and converted it to run on the very same waste oil that he gets paid to remove from the restaurants in his territory.  While most of us pay out the nose to keep our vehicles gassed up, Richard is getting paid to fuel his.

What is Biodiesel Conversion

The premise of using waste oil to fuel diesel engine is not a new one.  Diesel engines were actually originally designed with such a use in mind.  However, pressures from petroleum manufacturers and other factors switched the emphasis over to what we now consider traditional fuels.  Nevertheless, the capabilities of diesel engines to run on vegetable oils is still there.  It take only a slight reworking of the fuel system to take advantage of this.
It works like this.  You use a secondary tank in your vehicle to house your filtered waste oil supply (which you filter through a simple process on your own property).  Your vehicle can then be fitted with a switch allowing you to transfer from your regular diesel fuel tank to the waste oil tank.  This is necessary because cold waste oil is too thick to be used for ignition.  You have to start and stop your vehicle on diesel fuel, but during actual travel, it’s all locomotion via free fuel.

The Cost

You may be thinking to yourself, “That’s an interesting idea, but it sounds complicated and expensive.”  The fact of the matter is quite the opposite.  Shops that can do the conversion are becoming more accessible all the time, and the cost of having a diesel vehicle converted ranges around $2k-4k.  However, the process is so simple to do that anyone with a reasonable level of automotive knowledge and technical skill can get a kit for $1.5k-2.5k and do the conversion themselves.  A quick look at your fuel costs will quickly show that the conversion will pay for itself in no time at all.  After that, you’ll be making money while you make money.  It really is a win-win situation.