With gas prices continuing to soar, many people have turned to alternative fuel sources. One fuel source that has been used for decades is cooking or vegetable oil in diesel engines. The advantages of using vegetable oil are that it is very inexpensive, does not emit harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, and does not necessarily require extensive modifications. A normal diesel vehicle can operate on a mixture of vegetable and diesel fuel, and you can alter diesel vehicles with a two-tank system that operates primarily on vegetable oil.
Instructions
1. Find an accessible supply of vegetable oil. Though you can buy vegetable oil off the shelf and put it straight into the tank, it would be less cost effective than just buying diesel fuel straight out. Many restaurants give away used cooking oil if you provide them an easy way to get rid of it.
2. Collect the cleanest high-quality oil. When collecting from restaurants or other locations, make sure that the oil is in liquid or semiliquid form at room temperature. If it is not, it does not burn well in an engine. Chinese restaurants usually have good-quality oil.
3. Filter the vegetable oil before putting it in the tank. If using cooking oil from a restaurant or "dirty" oil, you must filter it before use. Filters range from fine-mesh screens to cloth. Anything that allows the oil to drip through while catching bits of food and other small pieces works.
4. Store the collected and cleaned oil in a tank that is easily accessible. Ensure that the container storing the oil is covered and stored away from the elements. Setting up a permanent container to store oil makes things more convenient. In building a permanent container, consider putting it a few feet off the ground, and installing a faucet near the bottom that will allow easy transfer of the oil to smaller containers.
5. Mix the oil with premium diesel fuel, or use a two-tank system. Mixing with diesel fuel allows the vehicle to start more easily and continue running in cold conditions.
If you use a two-tank system, use regular diesel to start the engine, and once the vegetable oil heats up, switch the fuel.
Tags: two-tank system, diesel fuel, diesel fuel, permanent container, vegetable diesel