Lets talk alternative fuels. VerDe_Motors is in the forefront of conversion of fossil fuel vehicles to the alternative to petroleum fuels known as biodiesel or vegetable oil (VO) fuel.
The following is some interesting information about these fuels:
BIODIESEL
Biodiesel is NOT vegetable oil. Technically, it is a methyl ester. An easy simplification is that it is vegetable oil that has had the thick glycerin removed by a chemical process. It's now thin enough to be used in any diesel vehicle.
There are a few cautions, however. Biodiesel is an extremely strong solvent and will eat through natural rubber fuel lines and gaskets on older cars. If your diesel car was built before 1996, it probably has some or all hoses made from rubber. Often overlooked are the gaskets, especially in the injection pump. These hoses and gaskets will begin to degrade if you are running any concentration of biodiesel over 20% (B20), and will have to be replaced with synthetic ones such as those made from viton.
The other main issue is that biodiesel's solvent properties will break up the deposits left in your fuel tank from years of dirty dino diesel, and the resulting junk will clog your fuel filters. These will have to be changed regularly until all the sludge has been cleaned out. This will also be worse on older cars, due to having had that dirty fuel in there for many more years. The good news is that, after that, you'll have the cleanest fuel system your car has ever known.
You also need to be sure to wipe up any spills with soap and water, as biodiesel will dissolve paint, too. Once the hoses and gaskets have been changed, and the fuel system cleaned out, your car should run flawlessly on any percentage of biodiesel up to 100%, and you can feel good knowing that you're using a clean-burning, renewable fuel.
If you want to check out the next level, and use a fuel that doesn't require chemical processing and doesn't cost $2 to $3 a gallon, read up on Pure Vegetable Oil.
VEGETABLE OIL
Vegetable oil as fuel? FREE FUEL? Yep, it's for real. You really can run your car on plain old vegetable oil, even used oil from your local restaurants. Here's the scoop: As much as I like to tell people that I'm driving for free, the truth is I'm not totally. Sure, I'm not paying for the fuel, but I do have to do some work, picking up the veggie oil from restaurants and filtering it. That's it, though. As close to free as you can get, I guess. There are also some modifications that need to be done to your car. DO NOT just pour veggie oil in your tank and drive. You will ruin your engine for sure.
You might see terms used like SVO (straight vegetable oil) and WVO (waste vegetable oil) to differentiate between how well used the oil that you are using is, but to make things simple, I'll just use VO (vegetable oil) from now on.
The time-tested way to run VO is to use a 2 tank fuel system. Tank 1 holds diesel or biodiesel, and you start the car up on this tank, and run about 5 minutes until the engine is hot. You then flip a switch to run on tank 2, which holds VO, for the rest of your trip. Make sure to switch back to tank 1 for the last minute, so you'll be starting up again on tank 1 when cold. Get it? You're using (bio)diesel for about 6 minutes, and VO for the rest of the time - so a 20 minute trip uses VO for 14 minutes, and a 3 hour trip uses VO for 2 hours and 54 minutes. As you can see, this is a great setup for those who drive long distances.
So, what happens during that first 5 minutes? Well, VO's main problem as a fuel is that it is too thick for our modern diesel engines. This thickness puts a heavy strain on the fuel pump, and won't atomize properly when sprayed out of the injectors into the engine. It is also very difficult to filter while cold and thick. But, have you noticed what happens to thick oil when you heat it up in a frying pan? It gets really thin! So, along with a 2nd fuel tank, you need to install a heat exchanging system between the engine's cooling system and your VO fuel system. As the engine gets hot, the water in the cooling system gets up to 190 degrees F, which heats up and thins out the VO just like the frying pan does. This hot, thin VO can then be pumped easily through the fuel system and filter, and sprayed as a fine mist by the injectors. Your engine won't notice the difference, but your wallet will. So will the environment. By using someone else's waste as your fuel, you are keeping it out of land fills. Plus VO needs no chemical processing, so it's environmental impact is minimal.
After the initial investment of your 2 tank modification, and maybe a home filtering system in the garage, your fuel bills will be slashed dramatically. Plus, if you've never had a diesel car before, you're in for a pleasant surprise when it comes to maintenance. there are no spark plugs, wires, or ignition system at all, so a "tune-up" consists of changing the oil, and replacing the oil, air, and fuel filters.
BIODIESEL
More on biodiesel
VEGETABLE OIL
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