DECATUR - Dave Wetzel of Decatur has become a folk hero among alternative fuel users across the nation.

Since Wetzel, 79, contacted state legislators and the Herald & Review earlier this year about his struggle with the Illinois Department of Revenue, the retired food plant manager has won victories that could make it easier for others to use alternative fuels.

Wetzel, who converted his 1986 Volkswagen Golf to run on vegetable oil, won a concession from the taxing agency, which rescinded its demand for a $2,500 bond.

He also won the first round in the Illinois General Assembly, when the bill he inspired sailed through the senate 58-0. Senate Bill 267 would allow state residents to store up to 5,000 gallons of vegetable oils without being subject to a bonding fee.

"I'm elated to say the least," said Wetzel, who is preparing to testify before a House committee within the next couple of weeks. "I'm very optimistic it will go through the house with no problem.

"I think it's something that needed to be done to keep up with the times. Everything you read is about reducing our dependency on foreign oil. The law needs to be changed to accommodate these things and for the department of revenue to cope with them."

State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, sponsor of the House bill, explained that it is not unusual for an agency to change a rule or policy, such as the bonding of vegetable fuel users, when legislators address it.

"It sounds to me like a more reasonable policy has evolved at the department of Revenue," Flider said. "It often happens as legislation is introduced. We definitely want to fix it. I have heard of others that have used vegetable oil as well."

Wetzel installed the tank, lines and switches necessary to run his diesel car off vegetable oil, which he gathers weekly, at no cost, from the local Disabled American Veterans organization. Wetzel, an accomplished handyman, purchased most of the necessary equipment at hardware and auto parts stores for about $325 and claims anyone who can read a do-it-yourself book and wield a wrench and screwdriver could do the same.

"Somebody made the veggie tank for me," Wetzel said, adding that he is in the process of converting another car to run off fryer grease. "I'm making one (tank) now for my Mercedes from a 20 mm ammunition can, which will hold 7 to 8 gallons."

Wetzel, an easygoing man of infinite patience, said he never had any animosity toward the Department of Revenue. He was threatened by the department with a Class 3 felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, if he did not pay the $2,500 bond required of fuel suppliers.

He responded by asserting that he was not a fuel supplier and continued to run around in his "veggie mobile" in apparent defiance of the threat.

After testifying before a Senate committee and winning the hearts of lawmakers from both political parties with his folksy, witty testimony, Wetzel emerged as a minor celebrity. He has been interviewed by several TV and radio stations, including National Public Radio. A Denver attorney offered to take up his case pro bono, if necessary.

Wetzel, who figured he used 1,134.6 gallons of waste vegetable oil in the past five years, agreed to pay back taxes at the diesel rate of 21½ cents per gallon. Despite his contention that those who use hybrid cars do not pay road taxes for the miles when they are running on electricity, he sent in his check for $244.24. He has agreed to pay the department annually in the future.

The Wetzel case has become the hottest topic on Internet sites for those who get around on vegetable oil.

"It was all over the forums, people talking about it," said Cynthia Shelton, director of National VegOil Board, a group that promotes the use of vegetable fuel.

In an update to the Wetzel case on the VegOil Board home page, Shelton commends Illinois as an example to other states struggling with the issue. Many states have no policies concerning driving on vegetable oil. Shelton said California, where she lives, charges an annual fee of $100, plus $75 per vehicle.

It is unclear how many people are running their vehicles from vegetable oil. Many prefer to stay under the radar, apparently to avoid government interference.

Shelton, who has made two cross country trips in her converted 1973 Mercedes 220D, said diesel engines readily run off unaltered vegetable oil because Rudolf Diesel built his engines that way. Diesel's first engine, produced in 1895, ran on peanut oil. Today, several manufacturers are producing kits that enable diesel vehicles to run on vegetable oil.

Shelton said vegetable oil has gotten a bad rap in recent decades, partly because of studies done at the University of Idaho using unheated oil. Those studies, initiated in 1979, showed that the oil could harm engines. But the systems used today heat vegetable oil before it is used to thin it and reduce engine wear. The vehicles initially run on diesel fuel and switch to vegetable oil when it reaches temperatures of 160 to 200 degrees.

The Idaho studies, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, soybean and other vegetable oil companies and engine manufacturers, focused primarily on biodiesel, which is emerging as a widely used fuel for diesel engines. Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils undergoing a chemical process, transesterification, which removes glycerol.

Shelton and many other users of straight vegetable oil have felt the University of Idaho scientists gave their favorite, least expensive fuel a bad rap. So she was surprised when she received a note from Charles Peterson, one of the authors of those studies, after he moved into an apartment complex next-door in San Bruno. He had seen a VegOil sticker on her car.

Peterson, University of Idaho emeritus professor of biological and agricultural engineering, said he does not know of any studies that indicate whether heated vegetable oil is compatible with engines in the long term, but he believes it is possible.

"There needs to be a lot of research work to see if it is feasible and its effect on the engines," Peterson said. "Large diesel engines go for a million miles or more. With biodiesel, they have millions of miles of tests, a lot of durability studies. If the idea of preheating vegetable oil will work, somebody will have to invest a large amount of money to see if it will work."

Peterson, long seen as an opponent of vegetable oil users, apparently wishes to become their ally. He said he would like to participate in a conference and bring together all the people who know anything about unaltered vegetable oil. The conference would "determine the state of the art, to put together what needs to be done to improve the technology.

"Hopefully, it would be a technical conference," Peterson said, adding it might be international in scope. "We would see what we could put together to understand the science of the present state and determine where to go from here."

Huey Freeman can be reached at hfreeman@herald-review.com or 421-6985.