I'm sure you've seen on TV people burning Waste Vegetable Oil in their cars. well it's true and it's relatively simple and very inexpensive.
Allot of WVO users simply mix a little regular gasoline (10-20%) to thin out the Oil, and others just run plain vegetable oil without any modifications an dno mixing of RUG. Others buy expensive kits , while others design and build their own kits.
Allot of WVO users simply mix a little regular gasoline (10-20%) to thin out the Oil, and others just run plain vegetable oil without any modifications an dno mixing of RUG. Others buy expensive kits , while others design and build their own kits.
Some diesels run better than others on WVO. Some you shouldn't try it at all. How can you tell if your vehicle is a candidate for running on WVO? Basically the older diesels are better candidates for burning WVO.
There are allot of websites out there that can help you, but remember, if the website is hosted by someone selling 'kits' the information is biased, find another site.
There are allot of websites out there that can help you, but remember, if the website is hosted by someone selling 'kits' the information is biased, find another site.
A few tips on burning WVO as a motor vehicle fuel
IMPORTANT: THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA IS THE QUALITY OF THE WVO. If your source serves alot of chicken wings, find another source. The difference is incredible as far as how long the filters last. Currently french fries and fish fries is the only oil supply, and I'll tell you what, the primary and secondary filters haven't been changed in 3 months. apparantly the animal fats collect in the filters and no amount of RUG will help. So I can't stress this any more than I am, NO KFC type oil.
1) ALLWAYS keep a spare fuel filter (and tools) with you at all times.
2) Be prepared to replace the fuel filter at any given moment. (the better you filter the WVO the less often you'll be changing fuel filters)
3) My Mercedes is currently not running with ANY RUG at all, just straight plain WVO fitlered really well.
4) Document when you have changed filters, you'll be more apt to know when you will need to change the filter again, and which filter to change.
5) Learn how your car behaves, notice how the car idles with clean filters and eventually with dirty filters.
6) Early W123 and W126 Mercedes (up to 1985 300D and 300SD) are GREAT cars to burn WVO in.
7) Don't get alarmed when you lose power on the freeway or expressway, or parkway, because it will happen, and you will need to change the fuel filter. Most times lack of power on the freeway indicates secondary fuel filter, but not allways.
8) You could of course change the fuel filters regularly (every 1,000 miles should be safe), but it is dependant upon how well you filter the WVO in the first place.
9) Heating WVO may quicken the filtration process, but the animal fats will just clog up your fuel filter later.
10) Burning a WVO mix in your car does not work when the temp's get down into the 40's or 30's
11) Your car will idle rough when you first start it up in the morning.
12) If for some reason you don't have a fuel filter and your car is idling or running rough, add a little gas (1 gallon max) to thin out the oil a little more, this could buy you a few miles.
13) If the ambient temperature outside gets cold enough, the WVO will solidify in your fuel line, and the only thing that will fix this particular problem is heat.
14) The better you filter the WVO oil in the first place, the less often your filters will clog.
15) Expect the unexpected. I (just today) drove my 300SD and going home the car ran like usual. Coming back home, I had to change the primary fuel filter, so in essence in a matter of 10 miles my car went from good 65-70 MPH no problem to 50 MPH is as fast as the car could go.
16) If you drive a Mercedes 300D or 300SD, the primary fuel filter is clogged when the car shakes terribly bad at idle (may even stall). If it stalls, wait 2-3 minutes and the food particles should have settled in the primary fuel fitler to be able to start the car again. Once started, maintain high RPMS to keep the fuel pump pulling oil through a clogged primary filter.
17) The secondary fuel filter is usually clogged when you have lost your top speed, but the car idles normally. I regularly "test" my fuel filter by gauging my top speed at a landmark (street sign) going up the same hill. When my top speed falls, I know that my filter is starting to get full of animal fats and chunks of food.
18) Have another car available to drive "just in case" Just in case your fuel filter is clogged and the parts store is out of filters. Just in case it gets cold when you still have a half tank of WVO and RUG in your fuel tank. Just in case your inexperience at filtering waste oil, clogs your Injector pump. Just in case your injectors are fouled up from cold starts. Just in case your Glow Plugs burned out and you don't have a spare. Just in case you forgot to plug in the block heater on a cold night.
19) Some people spend hundreds of dollars on an elaborate filtration setup. A 3 stage filter setup seems to work fine for them. Stage one removes water and large chunks. Stage 2 filters to 30 microns, and the final stage filters down to 5 or 10 microns.
20) Other people spend less on the initial filtration setup, but more in auto fuel filters. They let the particles settle in the oil for several days and then only filter off the top of the oil. The water and any emulsion should settle to the bottom of the container, provided the ambient heat is high enough (+70 F). They might filter directly to 10 microns, and end up replacing the pre-filter more often. Or they might filter to 30 microns and need to replace the auto filters more often.
2) Be prepared to replace the fuel filter at any given moment. (the better you filter the WVO the less often you'll be changing fuel filters)
3) My Mercedes is currently not running with ANY RUG at all, just straight plain WVO fitlered really well.
4) Document when you have changed filters, you'll be more apt to know when you will need to change the filter again, and which filter to change.
5) Learn how your car behaves, notice how the car idles with clean filters and eventually with dirty filters.
6) Early W123 and W126 Mercedes (up to 1985 300D and 300SD) are GREAT cars to burn WVO in.
7) Don't get alarmed when you lose power on the freeway or expressway, or parkway, because it will happen, and you will need to change the fuel filter. Most times lack of power on the freeway indicates secondary fuel filter, but not allways.
8) You could of course change the fuel filters regularly (every 1,000 miles should be safe), but it is dependant upon how well you filter the WVO in the first place.
9) Heating WVO may quicken the filtration process, but the animal fats will just clog up your fuel filter later.
10) Burning a WVO mix in your car does not work when the temp's get down into the 40's or 30's
11) Your car will idle rough when you first start it up in the morning.
12) If for some reason you don't have a fuel filter and your car is idling or running rough, add a little gas (1 gallon max) to thin out the oil a little more, this could buy you a few miles.
13) If the ambient temperature outside gets cold enough, the WVO will solidify in your fuel line, and the only thing that will fix this particular problem is heat.
14) The better you filter the WVO oil in the first place, the less often your filters will clog.
15) Expect the unexpected. I (just today) drove my 300SD and going home the car ran like usual. Coming back home, I had to change the primary fuel filter, so in essence in a matter of 10 miles my car went from good 65-70 MPH no problem to 50 MPH is as fast as the car could go.
16) If you drive a Mercedes 300D or 300SD, the primary fuel filter is clogged when the car shakes terribly bad at idle (may even stall). If it stalls, wait 2-3 minutes and the food particles should have settled in the primary fuel fitler to be able to start the car again. Once started, maintain high RPMS to keep the fuel pump pulling oil through a clogged primary filter.
17) The secondary fuel filter is usually clogged when you have lost your top speed, but the car idles normally. I regularly "test" my fuel filter by gauging my top speed at a landmark (street sign) going up the same hill. When my top speed falls, I know that my filter is starting to get full of animal fats and chunks of food.
18) Have another car available to drive "just in case" Just in case your fuel filter is clogged and the parts store is out of filters. Just in case it gets cold when you still have a half tank of WVO and RUG in your fuel tank. Just in case your inexperience at filtering waste oil, clogs your Injector pump. Just in case your injectors are fouled up from cold starts. Just in case your Glow Plugs burned out and you don't have a spare. Just in case you forgot to plug in the block heater on a cold night.
19) Some people spend hundreds of dollars on an elaborate filtration setup. A 3 stage filter setup seems to work fine for them. Stage one removes water and large chunks. Stage 2 filters to 30 microns, and the final stage filters down to 5 or 10 microns.
20) Other people spend less on the initial filtration setup, but more in auto fuel filters. They let the particles settle in the oil for several days and then only filter off the top of the oil. The water and any emulsion should settle to the bottom of the container, provided the ambient heat is high enough (+70 F). They might filter directly to 10 microns, and end up replacing the pre-filter more often. Or they might filter to 30 microns and need to replace the auto filters more often.
Some pictures to help you out:
Side view of fuel filter removed from metal canister
Front view of same filter removed from canister
I've tried biodiesel, and it works good, BUT you have to deal with extremely hazardous material (Methanol and lye) and you create a by-product that is difficult to dispose of.
In my opinion, WVO and RUG is the way to go, no methanol, no Glycerol by-product, no titration, no processing - other then simple filtration.
DISCLAIMER: This guide is based upon my personal experience and you should not hold me liable for anything that you do to your car. Your mechanical abilities and the uncertainty of your WVO filtration may damage your car. (Most likely Injector Pump and/or fuel injectors. In fact burning WVO in a cold car will lead to coking of the injectors. Coking is a build-up of carbon on the injectors, so you may need to pull the injectors periodically and clean them.
