OAKESDALE, Wash. — Kellan DeMeerleer, a freshman at Oakesdale High School in southeastern Washington, is a finalist at the upcoming national FFA convention.

DeMeerleer’s project, a comparison of diesel motor oils, is one of eight national finalists in the Power, Structural and Technical Systems category of the Agriscience competition.

“A notoriously difficult category due to the high level of applied physics, engineering and math in past national winners’ projects,” advisors Nathan and Jessica Moore said.

DeMeerleer, 15, lives in Moscow, Idaho. His parents are Chuck and Abbie DeMeerleer. She is a former Washington FFA executive director.

“We run a lot of equipment at home, from tractors to pickups,” DeMeerleer told the Capital Press. He wanted to know what the best oil would be for diesel engines, to make them last a long time and run more efficiently.

DeMeerleer asked local farmers which oils they used in their equipment. “I tested them so that when I share the results, people in my community can use those results to help their equipment run better,” he said. “It was a really fun project that way.”

To qualify, FFA members or teams are required to conduct a scientific research project pertaining to agriculture and win their state’s FFA agriscience fair.

DeMeerleer had his national finalist interview via Zoom Sept. 20. The interview score, combined with the score of written projects and logbooks, will determine the winners, to be announced Oct. 25 at the convention in Indianapolis, Ind.

“He’s very driven, he always wants to do better,” advisor Nathan Moore said of DeMeerleer. “He’s that type of kid that, when he does something, he’s all in on it all the time. He’s a great kid.”

About the test

With the help of his grandfather, Mark DeMeerleer, he designed a test using square-stock steel and a drill press. The oil was timed until seizing and evaluated for color, metal shavings and temperature.

A literature review is required as part of the project, but DeMeerleer discovered there was “little to no scientific information readily available” beyond the manufacturers’ claims.

For the project, DeMeerleer compared three 15W-40 diesel motor oils.

Some other companies have suggested other oils for DeMeerleer to test. As a result, he has expanded the project to test marine engine oils and ATV oils.

“I’ve already tested quite a few,” he said. “My uncle up in Alaska has a whale-watching, lighthouse tour and fishing business. … He’s really reliant on his engines to run very efficiently, so he sent me down some of his marine oils and I tested them. … I sent him up my results and now he’s running the most efficient oil he can.”

Of all the oil he’s tested, DeMeerleer said he’s had “the best luck” with Case IH and Schaeffer’s oil: “We couldn’t get them to seize up.”

Dirt bike efficiency

DeMeerleer has already found another way to apply his test.

“So I’m an avid dirt bike rider, and I really want my dirt bike to run efficiently,” he said. “I was thinking, I could just test my oils to see what’s the best for my dirt bike.”

Has he switched oil after his project?

“Nope,” he said. “Because the one I was using was the best one.”

FFA opportunities

DeMeerleer was in 4-H from third through seventh grade, when he joined FFA. He’s shown an animal just about every year.

FFA creates a lot of opportunities for kids, he said.

“No matter what you like, you will probably find something in FFA that you can do,” he said. “Now I’m doing oil tests, meat judging, soil evaluation — all sorts of different things.”

DeMeerleer hopes to become either an orthodontist or become more involved in his family’s farming operations.

“Or maybe both, you know?” he said.

Nathan Moore, the FFA advisor, notes that projects like DeMeerleer’s give students experience in scientific experimentation, presenting to judges and public speaking.

“Those are life skills that are going to pay off huge dividends for that young man down the road,” Moore said.