Vegetable Oil

[APetersen]

I hear of people using vegetable oil as a fuel after some modification. Some one on the web is selling a method other than bio diesel. Whats this all about?



Art -- email address removed --

 

[SHancock]

Art,



I'm not an expert but I have done some reading. The diesel engine was originally designed to run on vegetable oil. In order to run pure vegatable oil you have to decrease the viscosity. One way to do this is to preheat the oil. Another way is to turn it into biodiesel. Check out www.biodiesel.org for more info. You can also google biodiesel and find alot more. http://www.google.com/search?q=biod...ient=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

 

[SHancock]

Here is another link to more info. http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html

 

[bighornram]

A still can be made pretty cheaply out of an old electric hot water heater but you need methanol to make the biodiesel. That is getting expensive too. How would you go about heating filtered oil? Maybe that would be more cost affective.

 

[rbattelle]

You've got to be a bit more careful with the common rail engines, too. The CP-3 might not like the inconsistent viscosity of straight vegetable oil. Remember you're pressurizing very high in there!



-Ryan

 

[Cooker]

Personally I would only run SVO on a 12v.

 

[gotchili]

how do you heat the filtered oil?

For 700 bucks some kid in a tie-dyed shirt will sell you a coiled copper pipe that taps into your radiator and wraps around you fuel line and filter housing.

 

[SHancock]

If the price of diesel keeps going up this might be worth looking into.



http://www.elsbett.com/engl/index.htm



This system uses two tanks once you start your engine on regular diesel and it warms up you switch to straight vegatable oil.

 

[surfbeetle]

There's some other site selling a book for 40 bucks, www.dieselsecret.com Supposedly, you buy his book, spend a couple of hundred at a hardware store, and add his additive to Veggie oil and you get fuel for 46 cents a gallon. Anyone heard of this? I don't know if that's a route that I want to go.

 

[BRayls]

I don't know about . 46 cents a gallon. veggy oil is more than gas. http://www.greasel.com has been on a buddys f 250 for over 100,000 miles. same a mentioned above starts and stops on diesel making the switch on the fly after warming up. not dynoed but seems to pull the same on both.

 

[klenger]

If the price of #2 goes up much higher, I'll be able to start running Delo 400 in the fuel tank and still save money. No road tax or red dye on motor oil.

 

[navyramman]

My brother and I are running B11 biodiesel now. and we are going to make that . 46 per gal veg oil fuel. You get the veg oil free from McD's and other places that PAY some one to take the oil, I am going to take it away for free. I am a plumber and that will help out on the changing the oil into biodiesel to burn (parts), We are driving 3 diesel eaters now.

 

[roverhybrids]

check out:

http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1416

 

[jcarey]

If you want some good info of bio-diesel, take a look at this site:



http://www.rebelwolf.com/



They have a FREE monthly newletter in PDF/HTML format. The April and May issues show how to make a small batch of bio-diesel. Making a small batch is a good way to get an understanding of the principles involved.



Maria Alovert teaches classes on homebrewing bio-diesel around the country. Her book, 'Homebrew Guide' can be purchased for $15 here:



http://www.localb100.com/book.html



A breakdown of the chapters in her book:

No Such Thing as Converting a Car To Biodiesel: Two Vegetable Oil Fuels Options Demystified

- The Basics of Biodiesel

- Some Websites and Forums for Learning More

- Things to Expect when Using Biodiesel

- Homebrew Biodiesel Process Overview

- Getting Started: How To Make 1-Liter Test Batches

- Titration, Titration Titration: Finding Free Fatty Acids In Oil

- Dewatering Oil and Testing for Water

- Biodiesel Chemistry for Non-Chemists

- Quality Tests

- Testing for Soap in Unwashed Biodiesel and Glycerol

- Clarity and Cloudiness- quality control and visual appearance

- Washing Biodiesel and Why and How We Do It

- Bubblewashing 101

- Troubleshooting “Wash Problems”

- Upsizing Batches, Making And Using Road Fuel

- Glycerol Purification and Use

- Acidulating and Purifying Glycerol

- Basics Of A Biodiesel Reactor System

- Carboy Methoxide Mixer System

- Weldless Processor Based on 55-Gallon Drum

- Future articles and topics to be covered by this zine

- Complete Reactor and System Plans:

- Standpipe Wash Tank Plans

- Simple Processor Based on an Electric Water Heater

- Biodiesel Appleseed Reactor- the $150, No-weld Biodiesel Reactor

- Using the Appleseed Reactor

- Parts Diagram for the Biodiesel Appleseed Reactor

- Shopping list for Appleseed parts



Jim