Downtown Ford Lincoln Mercury in Canton, Ohio, in 2008 installed six furnaces and one boiler from Clean Burn to recycle the company’s waste motor oil and turn it into free heat. The shop’s gas bill in February 2008 was $9,600, while it was $169 in February 2009 after installing the technology.
“We did 27,000 oil changes in 2008,” says Brad Black, owner and general manager of Downtown Ford Lincoln Mercury. “That’s a massive amount of used motor oil that we previously paid to have hauled away. Then we got smart. We worked with Gingerich’s Clean Burn to install units that recycle the used motor oil and provide us with free heat.”
The dealership covers more than 35,00 square feet.
Black, who believes the Clean Burn units will pay for themselves in under two years, says he feels good about his company’s investment.
“This technology is fantastic,” says Black. “We’ve reduced the transfer of used motor oils on our highway systems and the potential hazards associated with transporting that oil while taking positive steps to help the environment. And, we have already saved tens of thousands of dollars in heating bills.”
Gingerich Clean Burn, which has sold Clean Burn units throughout Ohio since 1981, applauds the auto dealership’s investment in the recycled motor oil units.
“We were able to provide them with a turnkey solution,” says Clayton Gingerich. “We went in and set up a manifold system that pipes the heat throughout their entire facility. These same units can also bring exceptional savings and benefits to agricultural, municipal government and trucking locations that have a great deal of excess used motor oil on a regular basis.”
There are 80,000 Clean Burn functional furnaces and boilers located throughout the world that burn approximately 120 million gallons of used-oil each year on-site, at the point of generation, according to the company. This volume of used-oil would otherwise be transported on highway systems and pose a considerable risk to spills and/or contamination to the environment.
Clean Burn is an ENERGY STAR® partner. The company holds numerous industry certifications and works with the U.S. government, the Environmental Protection Agency and various associations to help coordinate the establishment of standards and regulations related to heat recovery and recycling efforts involving used motor oils.
For more information on Clean Burn, visit www.cleanburn.com or call (800) 331-0183.
