“EcoTrekker” to Feature MTT Turbine Retrorocket
MTT apareció recientemente en el show de TV Australiano “Eco Trekker”. El presentador del show, Shaun Murphy, va a cruzar los Estados Unidos en vehículos alternativos con energía renovable únicamente.
Así es- ningun derivado del petróleo! desde rocas calientes, viento, y abono a soja, malvaviscos y alcohol, promete ser una interesante serie en Discovery Channel.
El MTT Turbine Retro-Rocket fue un invitado en el episodio 8, donde viajamos desde Selma, Alabama a Jackson, Mississippi con hempoline: un biodiesel hecho de aproximadamente 80% de aceite de cáñamo, 20% etanol, y una pequeña cantidad de lejía.
Las turbinas pueden quemar cualquier tipo de inflamable, incluso diesel. Y el diesel puede sustituirse por un bio-diesel sin modificar el motor. El Retro-Rocket funciono a la perfección, lo suficiente para promover el uso de este bio-diesel en el próximo Hotrod Power Tour.
http://marineturbine.com/spanish/news.asp
Esquisitices sem poluição
No bloco "Natgeo Adventure", o documentário "Combustíveis Insólitos" apresenta o trabalho do norte-americano Shaun Murphy, que fez uma viagem de mais de 25.000 km pelos Estados Unidos com a proposta de utilizar somente combustíveis ecológicos, mesmo aqueles mais inusitados. Para tanto, o aventureiro se valeu também de veículos incomuns, como o da foto ao lado, movido a energia solar. National Geographic Channel, dia 6 e todos os domingos, 23 h.
Shaun Murphy
Producer, Director, Presenter
Shaun’s whirlwind of energy, knowledge and enthusiasm lifts a project off the one-sheet with his vast skills as a Producer, Director or Executive Producer, and delivers it into a finely tuned product.
He combines natural history, adventure, ecology and real-life situation with entertainment and a slick look. Shaun’s Post Production skills, creativity and excellent relationships with his staff, editors and producers are widely acknowledged.
You’ll either find him on-camera with an infectious and natural style, or directing and creatively producing a team and all the budget, negotiation and story development details that go with it. If you’re involved in a Shaun Murphy-led production, it’s highly likely you’ll be engrossed in his passion for the subject and do everything to help it succeed.
Pre-TV, Shaun gained a science degree in Horticulture and worked as a Landscape Designer. He’s extensively travelled through South America, Europe and Asia. Ask him about his days as a professional wizard, and he’ll produce a trick out of his bag in memory of it.
His knowledge of renewable energy, ecological innovation and its application to humanity is enormous. He’s a former outrigger canoe champion and became the first person to paddle a sea kayak 1,000 kilometres from Brisbane to Sydney, against the Pacific Ocean.
“ Collect a great team with a passion for the project, then collect the best ideas from the team and implement them. Push the boundaries, inspire each other and leave a smile on everyone’s face as you do it “
With 12 years experience in the TV industry, Shaun’s credits include :
- Executive Producer – Dying for Everest (2006 – 2007)
- Co-Producer – Gangs of LA / The Baron Davis Project (2007)
- Executive Producer, Producer, Presenter – Coolfuel Roadtrip (2004)
- Producer / Director – Coolfuel Aussie Style (2002)
- Presenter – The Morning Shift ( 2000)
- Producer / Director / Presenter – Racing The Moon (1999)
- Presenter – Totally Wild Rescue (1998)
- Presenter / Producer – Totally Wild (1995-98)
Shaun Murphy, Eco-Adventurer
Photo courtesy Shaun Murphy Shaun Murphy |
Imagine grabbing a few of your best friends and hitting the open road for an eight-month adventure. Sounds fun, right? The fun doesn’t stop there. You and your pals are on a treasure hunt of sorts. What’s the treasure? Cool fuel – alternatives to regular gasoline – and cool-fuel-powered vehicles. We’re talking about everything from hot rocks to corn whiskey and cow pies to food scraps. Yes, we’re serious; this stuff can really make a vehicle go. Right, now you’re probably thinking, “This is going to be tricky – but interesting.” But wait, there’s more. It gets even better. You’ve also accepted a challenge. What’s the challenge? You must cross 30 states using only the cool fuel vehicles you’ve found.
Could someone really do that? Yes. An intrepid Eco Trekker named Shaun Murphy did just that! And, he turned it all into a super cool TV show called “Coolfuel Roadtrip.” “Coolfuel Roadtrip” follows Shaun as he spends eight months on the road, crossing 30 states using only cool-fuel-powered vehicles. His transportation includes motorcycles with electric motors, a BMW Roadster powered by 100 percent corn whiskey and a Hummer that runs on a combination of corn whiskey, veggie oil, garbage, sugar, wind, cow pies, soybeans, food scraps and both geo thermal and solar energy!
Shaun recently took time out of his super exciting and super busy schedule to talk to us about his adventure, the TV show and more. Here’s what he had to say.
Photo courtesy Shaun Murphy Shaun and Sparky |
Express: How did the idea for “CoolFuel Roadtrip” come about?
Shaun Murphy:Gas and petrol prices around the world were spiraling out of control and we wondered why the world wasn’t running on veggie oil, corn and sugar as fuel. So, we went out to see if they could all work in planes, trucks, cars, boats … and they did. We just had to put all of our TV making skills into practice with the subject and we pulled it off.
Express: How long does it take to go from “idea” to “we have a show”?
Shaun Murphy:Oh, boy. That depends on how long it takes to raise the finances. This particular series, from seed thought to start-of-filming took 12 months.
Express: How long does it take to make one episode?
Shaun Murphy:On the road, we shoot each episode over eight days, but the research beforehand probably takes three weeks and the post production, including scripting, editing, sound mixing, fine tuning and mastering takes up to two weeks. All together, it takes up to six weeks of time, but often, teams are editing while others are shooting, so time is shortened considerably.
Photo courtesy Shaun Murphy Electra cruiser |
Express: How do you decide what will happen in an episode?
Shaun Murphy:We organize certain stories and others we just turn up and get involved in what is happening. Either way, when the camera starts to roll, we’ll just use our personality to take us to what’s the best bit of information or create a situation that gets the interviewee and the camera crew involved. Whether it’s funny or fascinating, we then try to craft a series of scenes that vary from humor to fact to wow factor, or feel-good and danger. It pretty much takes its own course, and in the edit process, we blend the scenes so there is a constant change of pace or feeling.
Express: What is a typical day like?
Shaun Murphy:Up at 5:30, breakfast, look through plan for the day, brainstorm on how to make a scene look and work best, go nuts and get everything we can in early morning light, travel to next spot, interview talent, rig up vehicles with cameras, check in with the production manager and research for next piece, shoot again in afternoon, get the afternoon light, wrap shoot at around 8:00 p.m., dinner and a quick chat about tomorrow, crash at 10:30 p.m., cuddle Teresa [Murphy’s wife] and Sparky [Murphy’s dog].
Express: What is your favorite vehicle overall? Why?
Shaun Murphy:I think the stretch limo Hummer running on food, vegetable oil, biodiesel and corn whiskey is amazing. Can’t beat going out for dinner, then collecting all the food scraps and tossing them into the fuel system.
Express: How did you find all of the vehicles used in the show?
Shaun Murphy:We have a satellite dish on our RV. We use that to get on the Internet, Google about, find a person who may have a vehicle that can run on our fuels, then get on the phone and try to sweet talk them to come along for a ride with us … and let me drive their vehicle for a day or two.
Express: Were any of the vehicles custom-built for the show?
Shaun Murphy:Yes, the Hummers running on food and hydrogen and a BMW running on 100 percent corn whiskey ethanol.
Express: How did they come up with the idea for the H1 Limo?
Shaun Murphy:Oil and gas are hydrocarbons, but we knew that we could use carbohydrates and oils to run engines – natural ones like doughnuts, soybeans and orange peels.
Photo courtesy Shaun Murphy Shaun re-fueling the Hummer |
Express: Who designed it?
Shaun Murphy:Russel Gehrke from Missouri; Russel is the brains behind the engineering of the gasifiers and the boosters for three of the vehicles. He’s amazing.
Express: What’s the coolest thing about it?
Shaun Murphy:If you get hungry, you can just munch out on your fuel.
Express: It appears to get better mileage than the other Hummer, why is that?
Shaun Murphy:All of the food, ethanol, and even the solar-producing hydrogen is like a vitamin boost for the Hummer. They all give it more punch, so better mileage.
Express: What’s the best day you’ve ever had on the show?
Shaun Murphy:Meeting the roadside reverend in Vicksburg, Mississippi
Express: What’s the worst?
Shaun Murphy:When we thought we lost Sparky in New Jersey
Photo courtesy Shaun Murphy |
Express: What kind of dog is Sparky?
Shaun Murphy:A Jack Russell Terrier, six years old and needs a girlfriend
Express: You’ve seen a lot of the United States – what places have you enjoyed most?
Shaun Murphy:Loved Wisconsin, New York, Alabama, Oregon and Arizona
Express: It sounds like you’ve done a lot of international travel – what countries have you enjoyed most? Shaun Murphy:Brazil and Chile are great adventure places. I love Fiji also.
Express: When not working, what do you do for fun? What are your hobbies?
Shaun Murphy:I like to kayak, hang out at the ocean and laugh with my wife, play with Sparky, follow the Canterbury Bulldogs [a National Rugby League team] and get into the rainforest.
Express: What are some of your favorite things (type of food, music, etc.)?
Shaun Murphy:I love food – [especially] Japanese and Thai, chocolate ice cream and I love cherries. My favorite movies are “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Dead Poets Society” and “The Big Blue.” Music – Van Morrison, Queen, the Offspring …
Express: You have a really exciting and interesting job – any advice for our readers on how to prepare themselves for future opportunities?
Shaun Murphy:Get creative with your friends, set big goals and find the right people to help. Be persistent if you feel you have a great idea and never give up.
Express: What’s next for you?
Shaun Murphy:Working on a documentary in Los Angeles, planning a Coolfuel Roadtrip in Europe … And, I’m gonna become a dad!
http://express.howstuffworks.com/ep-shaun-murphy.htm
Posts with tag Electra Cruiser
Transcontinental with a little help from Daryl Hannah, cow patties and corn whiskey
Posted Apr 17th 2006 10:02AM by Chris Paukert
Filed under: Trends, Hybrids/Alternative, Etc., Green, Tech
Cable network Outdoor Life Network (OLN) is set to debut a 13-part television series featuring actress Daryl Hannah, a modified Chevrolet S-10, hemp oil, and an AstroTurf-covered 1982 Volkswagen Jetta that runs on bio diesel. Coolfuel: Roadtrip charts the journey of Australian Shaun Murphy (and his Jack Russell terrier, Sparky) as he traverses 30 states on 30 unique vehicles, running solely on alternative fuels.
Highlights include a bio diesel Hummer limousine, an Electra Cruiser electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and a BMW Z3 that runs on corn whiskey.
Coolfuel: Roadtrip premieres Tuesday on OLN at 8 pm Eastern.
Check out the link for the show’s website, which includes video clips, images, and alternative fuel educational resources.
http://www.autoblog.com/tag/Electra%20Cruiser/
January 2006 | Feature Story
When Cool is Fuel
From garbage to vegetable to corn whiskey, Australian adventurer Shaun Murphy teaches America a welcome message
By Miryam Gordon
Cool is an overused word. There is “cool” and then there is cool.
Shaun Murphy’s TV documentary show is cool.
Murphy drove 16,000 miles in 2004 using only alternative fuels. He filled his auto engine with sugar sometimes, other times soybeans or water or vegetable oil, then took off.
It sounds like science fiction. But not. Think more adventure television programming.
The Australian adventurer and a TV crew crossed the United States to prove a point. Alternative fuel is not only possible (he did this more than a year ago, remember), it’s entertaining and, well, cool.
You can see Murphy’s adventures on KSTW-Channel 11 (1:30 p.m. Saturdays). The show is called "CoolFuel USA Roadtrip."
"Coolfuel is anything besides gasoline," explains Murphy. "You can grow it, squeeze it, fry it, heat it up, or catch it. Heck, you can even eat it!"
Murphy talks in exclamation points, but he isn’t the first Australian celebrity to do so. It doesn’t deter from the show’s18 episodes. Murphy takes the viewers to meet the alternative fuel challenges plus the innovators and inventors who design and build all sorts of alt-fuel vehicles and figure out what can be converted into fuel.
Cow manure, hot rocks, corn whiskey, garbage – it’s all coolfuel and a lot less expensive than regular gasoline So inexpensive that along the way Murphy was able to barter for his fuels.
For instance, in the "Cow Poo" episode, he milks 20 cows and learns how cow manure is converted into methane that runs a generator to create electricity.
San Francisco start
The crew started off in June 2004, in San Francisco, having done some research about their planned route, so they could find inventors and developers of cool vehicles to drive on their journey.
"I thought,‘This is a really big country!’ and wasn’t sure we could get around the whole country without gasoline,” recalls Murphy. “We started to find out it was quite regional: Wisconsin had a lot of cow manure, Iowa had corn whiskey, New York to DC had garbage and Florida had sugar. Essentially, we joined the dots to make these fuels get us down the road."
Among the highlight machines: An electric motorcycle powered by cow manure and garbage, an airplane flying on corn whiskey, an RV powered by soybeans and the sun, a retro jet turbine-powered pickup truck fueled with vegetable oil.
Popular celebrities who make green living a cause, such as Daryl Hannah and Ed Begley, Jr., became attracted to the adventure and joined in.
Next stop: Washington and San Juans
The second episode of the series shows Murphy’s trip through Oregon and Washington to the San Juans. It will re-air in April as the series loops a second time.
"We ran on biodiesel in Washington and hooked up with Jim Armstrong from the Spokane Conservation District, who found us a Volkswagen to drive through Seattle and up north,” says Murphy. “The biggest challenge was to find a guy with a diesel boat and convince him to run biodiesel, which he hadn’t done before. The boat ran like a champion and we finished the challenge."
Their trip was hardly without problems or mishaps or getting lost. In Florida, while they had planned on using sugar as a fuel, they didn’t think about harvest season. When Murphy and the crew arrived, the cane had all been harvested and there was none left over. They solved the problem using a solar-powered canoe, carried from Australia, to get through the Everglades.
Even non-production days featured energy savings.
"Our crew rode in an RV that was powered by vegetable oil." Murphy says. "This was the longest trip any television crew has made without gasoline, for sure."
Previous trip in Australia
Murphy had experience traveling this way. He prepared for his U.S. trip by traveling around Australia.
Nonetheless, there were difficulties. Episode 14 goes over the tribulations endured, including Murphy breaking his foot and ending up in the hospital.
Episode 17 introduces some of the inventors who made this trip possible with innovative new designs. Murphy clarified that there are already 4 million vehicles in the U.S. that can run on ethanol and that any diesel engine can run on biodiesel.
"We actually found a Hummer, the biggest gas guzzler on the road, and got it to run on food (donuts, left over Cajun food, vegetable oil) all the way across Louisiana. We tamed it!" Clearly, there are a lot of people trying hard to find cheap and accessible ways to power our lives in the near future.
The 18 episode series started in mid-December. Viacom picked up the program for all its UPN stations. You can check http://www.coolfuelroadtriptv.com or http://www.kstw.com. The CoolFuel web site features more information on each of the vehicles used, all of the fuels used and more about each of the inventors. Children are encouraged to go to "CoolFuel School" where they will have developed games to play and projects to do (as of this writing, the games are not yet online).
Murphy’s future plans include raising funds to do a "CoolFuel Canada," "CoolFuel Europe" and even Africa and Asia. When asked what was most surprising about people in the States, Murphy says, "The hospitality and generosity were incredible; people did anything they could for us.
“The pioneer spirit was really strong, with so many people attempting new things and pulling them off."
Miryam Gordon is Events editor for Conscious Choice
When Cool is Fuel
From garbage to vegetable to corn whiskey, Australian adventurer Shaun Murphy shows America a welcome message. More: Local boater goes biodiesel. by MIRYAM GORDON
http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/2006/01/coolfuel.html
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About the Show
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Shaun Murphy and the Cool Fuel crew set off on an incredible journey to conquer the American road without gasoline. Can they make it across the country on custom-built machines, running on fuels such as corn whiskey ethanol, garbage and wind?
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Interview: Shaun Murphy Of Discovery’s “Cool Fuel” Takes A Green Road Trip
Have you ever attempted to see how far you could “coast” your car without using any fuel? Right after Hurricane Katrina struck and gas prices went out of this world, I was playing with every trick to give my standard the most mileage. The last thing I wanted to do was go near a gas station. Now imagine trying to do that for 8 months. While circling the United States. And the vehicle you start with will not be the same one you return in. Such was the adventure of Shaun Murphy, his dog Sparky, and his brave crew as they traveled America using nothing but alternative fuels. More than 30 vehicles using 12 different “green” energy sources were used — from a Human Powered automobile to a Hummer that runs on doughnuts to a Tzero electric sports car.
This extraordinary feat will be shown as a new series on The Discovery Channel airing tomorrow (Earth Day) called Cool Fuel. It follows Shaun as he travels through 30 states and attempts everything in the book (and some not yet written) to return back to where he started using green energy. I recently talked with Shaun about his trip, the future of alternative energy, and why the Porsche sports car has some stiff new competition.
E: How did the show Cool Fuel come to be?
S: I was making a TV show in Australia at the time — and I’m a horticulturist — I’ve always known that you can make fuel from plants since about 20 years ago. And with renewable energy bubbling along, I thought, “I’m going to try to make it from the middle of the Outback to Sydney Harbor without using any petrol.” So I just cobbled together a bunch of people who were on the fringe of renewable vehicles, we grabbed any alternative fuel vehicle we could find, actually made it to Sydney Harbor and ended up making a television show out of it. People thought it was fantastic. The concept caught the eye of a television friend in the U.S. and me, himself and a Kiwi decided to get together and do this around America. We wanted to make it this huge challenge and turn it into a bunch of television shows — and we came over here and, “Holy Hell!”, this is where the boom was happening! Click the link below to read more…
E: How did you use each vehicle driving across the U.S.?
S: We set ourselves a bunch of different challenges: Let’s try and get from the northern border of California to the southern border of Canada using biodiesel. We literally hunt down anyone who had a diesel vehicle and anyone that had biodiesel fuel and worked it that way. When we got to some of the tougher ones, for instance, we said, “Right. We’re going to use cow manure as a fuel to try and go from Greenbay to Chicago.” From there, we literally borrowed a big electric Harley Davidson motorcycle from a guy in NY — and he drove across to Green Bay where we then charged the bike to Chicago on various locations generating methane from cow manure. It was challenge by challenge by challenge. Whatever region we were in, we asked, “What’s produced in this region and is anyone producing any fuel or electricity from it?”, and then we just went for it.
E: Tell us a little bit about the support crew you had with you?
S: Yea, you know what’s cool? We’ve got a 37-foot long diesel RV — and that thing was our production vehicle, our home, our storage of small vehicles the whole trip. We ran that on B100 the whole way around the U.S. So, in that sense, we were also the first production crew that was 100% renewable.
E: It took 8 months to shoot?
S: Well, we were on the road for 8 months because it turned into an 18-part half-hour TV series. Discovery is going to show about 12 hours worth, I believe.
E: What were some of the reactions of the people you met?
S: The first thing you hear is, “What is that?!”; and then you try and explain and half of them couldn’t understand because of our accents. But we would open up the engines and show them what we were up to and they would be simply amazed.
E: Did you get a chance to drive the Tesla Roadster?
S: I haven’t had a chance to test the Tesla, but I did get behind the Tzero. And that thing flies! In one of the TV shows we race a Porsche and a Tzero. We kicked the Porsche’s ass! I haven’t driven the Tesla yet, but the Tzero is just incredible.
E: Tell me about some of the celebrities that you had the opportunity to 
encounter or work with?
S: We filmed a story on a biodiesel-powered concert that Jackson Browne and Jack Johnson were playing at. I think that’s on one of the first shows on Earth Day. We met Daryl Hannah in Colorado, had a ride on one of her veggie oil-diesel bikes. We had a really funny segment with Ed Begley Jr. over at his place. He is a champion, an absolutely fantastic bloke. We also has on Alexander Paul. We had a stretch-limo Hummer converted to run on five different cool fuels. Ands she joined us for that ride. An absolutely delight. She is a wonderful woman.
E: Does Daryl Hannah have a green home?
S: Oh yea, she’s got this beautiful ranch. I’m pretty sure it’s a recycled post office. All recycled timbers — just a beautiful property. Sustainable, permaculture, the whole bit.
E:What was your most favorite green vehicle to drive?
S: As far as a car goes, definitely the Hummer. We built a little gasifier into the back of it and we ran it off doughnuts. We literally threw a whole bunch of beignets from Cafe Dumond in New Orleans into a blender with some soybean oil and corn whiskey. We churned that all up and threw it into the gasifier. The gasifier, instead of burning hydrocarbons, burns carbohydrates and we pump that gas through another pipe to the engine where it’s ignited in the combustion engine. Food power like a beauty, mate!
E: That’s amazing. You don’t generally put “green” and “Hummer” in the same sentence.
S: Well, and that’s why we wanted to do it. We took it a step further with that 32-foot stretch-Hummer I mentioned previously. We had a gasifier in it to run on food, a corn-whiskey ethanol booster built in, biodiesel engine, a fuel cell in the front seat and solar panels on the roof. So, the solar panels were producing the electricity to run the fuel cell, the engine was running on biodiesel, we had ethanol to give it an extra boost for the MPG, and food just to give it another vitamin boost as well. It was fantastic.
E: Of all those fuels, which one do you think hold the most potential for the US?
S: Two of them: biodiesel and ethanol. Straight-forward, no problems at all. Slight changes in the manufacture of normal gasoline engines will it enable them to run on E85. 85% Ethanol. Biodiesel, straight into your diesel engine. They are the two that will become big. Hydrogen will happen eventually as well, but that’s still another 15-20 years away. With the infrastructure that we’ve got, biodiesel and ethanol are the best bet. Electricity wise — probably wind. Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world. Wind will capture more of the electricity market as the years go on.
E: How much did cold affect the performance of your vehicles?
S: You know, we pretty much structured the trip so that we were not stuck in the freezing cold while using biodiesel; at least with my vehicles. The RV was running on B100 for the entire trip and only ran into some issues in Iowa. It was starting to feel it there. But, we injected ethanol straight into the mix to increase the octane value and give it a little more heat. This is something I don’t recommend trying. Thankfully, our mechanic knew what
he was doing and it all worked out. But even in the snow of D.C., we didn’t run into any issues. There was a little bit of luck involved. Generally, in the cold, diesel engines prefer B80 or B85 over B100. But we got through just fine and made sure to insulate against the rougher temps.
E: Was Sparky, your pet dog, able to accompany you on every vehicle?
S: Yep! He was in everything. If we were in a motorbike, we was just in my backpack on my back and if it was a larger vehicle, he was just in my lap or next to me. He was pretty much with me the whole way.
E: What about the glider?
S: Oh man, no he wasn’t with me on the glider. That was full-on. I was sick the entire time. It was difficult because we couldn’t find an electricity source and we were most of the way through our trip. We just couldn’t figure out how we were going to get these next 80-100 miles with alternative energy. Anyways, we found these guys that had a glider and biodiesel in his truck They were able to pull the glider with that truck and launch it into the air. It was amazing. A very funny experience.
E: Can we expect more from you with Discovery on their new channel, Planet Earth?
S: I hope so. I’m extremely excited for that channel for sure. Nothing signed yet, nothing secured, and probably not for many months. I’m very confident in linking up with those guys and doing some more cool fuel things.
Check your local listings for Discovery Channel’s Cool Fuel with host Shaun Murphy airing this Sunday, April 22nd! Click here to visit the official site!
Explorer kicks gas habit on roadtrip over 16,000 miles
Alternative fuels, and vehicles, were used in ‘eco-trek’ around U.S.
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Alternative wheels
Shaun Murphy set out to prove you could survive in the United States without gasoline or diesel. Sixteen thousand miles and 28 vehicles later he did just that. Click on the image to view a slideshow of some of the vehicles that got him through. |
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Greenest, meanest
View the list of greenest and meanest 2007 vehicles as determined by their ‘green score.’ |
An Australian explorer and TV host has gone where no American has gone before: Driving 16,000 miles around the United States on two dozen vehicles powered not by fossil fuel but by alternative energy — from solar power to cow pies.
Shaun Murphy crossed San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge last Friday after having driven, ridden, flown and canoed his way without stopping at a gas or diesel station.
"The cool thing is most of the fuel we’ve used is being produced today on American farms," Murphy said in marking his journey’s end. "I never paid a cent for fuel but I’ve had to barter for it. Along the way I’ve milked a few cows, caught a few fish and washed a few dishes in return for fuel."
Murphy’s "eco-trek" took him from San Francisco to the Canadian border, across the Rockies to the Great Lakes, on to New York, south to Florida, then across the South and back to San Francisco.
Trip ends in Hummer limo
The fuel included wind and solar power, but also cow pies, garbage, crawfish, corn whiskey and cooking oil.
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Among the 28 vehicles he used were an electric motorcycle, a pickup truck powered by soybean oil and a jet turbine, a solar-powered canoe, and a plane powered by corn whiskey, or ethanol as farmers like to call it.
Murphy even capped off the trip, which took nine months and covered 30 states, in style: by driving a 32-foot H1 Hummer limo powered by a potpourri of energy sources.
Team engineer and limo owner Russel Gehrke says Murphy wanted to "incorporate every fuel he used when he started."
Ethanol and soybean oil, also known as biodiesel, were burned in the engine, while solid organic matter was mixed with ethanol in a blender and then poured into a "gasifier" where hydrocarbon gases were captured to help fuel the vehicle.
The solid matter included dog food, beans, stale cookies and left over sandwiches.
Fuel smoothie used
The gasifier, Gehrke says, "allows the biodiesel to last longer," increasing the mileage to 12-15 miles per gallon while maintaining a top speed of 75 mph.
"Think of it as a supplement," he says of the fuel smoothie. "Five or six pounds of it go into a tank, and it only comes into play on the highway when temperatures go up."
In addition, heat from the exhaust is used to power the gasifier, creating what Gehrke calls a "closed loop" system.
Ten solar panels atop the limo’s roof make electricity, which charges the battery pack and helps power a system that produces hydrogen. The hydrogen is added to the engine to reduce emissions and improve performance.
Beignets and crawfish
Earlier in the trip, Murphy drove an H2 Hummer with a similar system. "We fed the Hummer beignets in New Orleans, then crawfish, Pop Tarts, and leftover Cajun food. We added soybean oil to power us all the way across Louisiana to Texas," said Murphy.
In an online log, Murphy wrote that the goal with the Hummer was "to turn the biggest gas guzzler on the road into a cool-fuel vehicle purring along without gas or diesel."
The H2 also had its own gasifier. "We mixed dog food with old cookies and baked beans, along with some corn whiskey and pumped it through to the engine," Murphy wrote. "We now have a 3 mile to the gallon gas guzzler steamin’ along at around 12-15 mpg."
Having worked in Australian television, Murphy took along a crew to film his trip and hopes to sell his adventure to a cable network.
Murphy has logged stories, photos and video of his journey online at http://www.coolfuelroadtrip.com
Region of the The Frozen Throne (Asgard+Valhala) R 