Gas prices are no problem with truck that burns wood

High gas prices don't seem to faze Wayne Keith.

That's because his faded red pickup runs almost totally on wood.

"I've worn the latch off the hood because of people wanting to take a look inside," he said.

Keith, 57, lives on a quiet farm within sight of the St. Clair Correctional Facility outside Springville. His land is home to a cattle and hay farm, and he runs his log house on electricity from a windmill. Whatever wood he needs is provided by his sawmill.

And with regular gas prices averaging $2.17 per gallon in Alabama, according to AAA, Keith is a member of a very elite fraternity - a man satisfied with his fuel costs.

After careers in law enforcement and teaching, Keith began tinkering with junked cars. He once read about a World War II-era combustion engine design used in Europe and Australia that ran on charcoal. The only problem was the effect of tar and other emissions on the engine parts. He set out to make a more efficient system.

Last Christmas, he took a 1984 diesel truck and replaced its motor with a 1968 hot-rod engine with more horsepower. He then devised a wood-burning system with cooling and filtering units attached at the hood and in the pickup bed.

Keith estimates he has driven 4,000 miles since he converted the truck. The engine, which runs on hydrogen generated by burning the wood, is clean enough that Keith proudly shows off the spark plugs to the curious.

"Looks like they just came out of the box," he said.

He keeps a 30-gallon trash can in the bed, filled with wood pieces that have already been burned to remove water. Keith fills a 6-foot reactor in the truck bed with wood, then starts up the engine. It still takes some gas to get the truck going, but within two minutes, the only fuel is wood. He also uses gas for a little extra power when he pulls his trailer. If not for the reactor, which causes wind drag, he estimates he could reach speeds over 100 mph.

Stop, go, burn:

The pickup has three pedals - brake, gas and wood. The farthest he has driven the truck is 100 miles in a day.

"It takes about 20 pounds of wood to do what one gallon of gas will do," he said. "But when I burn off the wood, you get the same emission you'd get if the wood just deteriorated on its own. You can't say that about fossil fuels."

Still, getting out on the road is complicated. Keith rigged the dashboard with a series of levers and switches that he manipulates while driving. Experimenting over the last four months gives him a feel for how to get the truck going. But the attention required means that OPEC is probably still secure for now.

"A normal person would never be able to drive this thing," he said. "You have to be a mechanic and understand physics because it's complicated. There's a hundred things that will make this thing not work."

The engine is noisy, but smoke is visible only for a few minutes when the engine is shut off. The truck also runs with less power on soft wood. For a short trip, about 15 miles, he uses mountain oak.

Acres of fuel:

"It's a cheap ride," he said. "I've got about three acres up here, which means I've got enough fuel to do me for the rest of my natural life."

The whole wood-to-fuel system is largely made from junk parts, so it cost a paltry $50. The biggest expense, he said, was for pipes to connect the system's parts throughout the truck. The reactor only needs a clearing of ashes every 1,000 miles.

Keith often gets questions about the extras on his truck, and suspicious stares and accusations when he tries to explain. But most people arrive at their own conclusions once they see it.

"They think I'm selling boiled peanuts," he said.

E-mail: wthornton@bhamnews.com