CHOCOWINITY – Ronnie Booth had an idea so good, he patented it.
Since filing a patent for the idea about a year ago, Booth has taken meetings with any Beaufort County business group he could find, in the hopes of turning the idea into an employment opportunity for the county.
“I’ve been messing with this for over a year,” he said.
Booth came up with a device he calls the Booth Diesel Bleeder. It reduces the exhausting task of flushing air and water from a diesel gas tank into a quick, simple procedure.
“For most people, when a diesel engine runs out of fuel, they turn their backs and run the other way,” he said. “Ever since 1858, if they ran out of fuel, most people couldn’t start them. The way I got it, I could train a 3-year-old to start that engine.”
The Booth Diesel Bleeder is portable and can be used on any diesel engine, from an 18-wheeler to a tractor.
“I could start a train with that one,” he said, pointing to the first bleeder he made.
Because it was bigger and bulkier than Booth thought necessary, the bleeder has gone through several adaptations. He took exhaust tips from a tractor-trailer and made a smaller version, tweaking the design as he went.
Booth patented the idea, not the original design, which gives him exclusive rights to any bleeder that uses the same concept.
He came up with the idea a few years ago and started tinkering with it before taking on a contracting job in Iraq. That job paid for the $10,000 patenting process and paved the way for the bleeder.
Booth earned a degree in diesel mechanics and heavy equipment from Beaufort County Community College. Before heading to Iraq, he had an auto salvage business in Plymouth.
Booth’s dream for the Bleeder, was to have it manufactured in Beaufort County and put his neighbors to work. Unfortunately, he has not found the resources he would need to keep it local.
“I’m going up north,” he said.