Do I dare mix vegetable oil into my diesel fuel??

Bob_Skurka · Jun 24, 2004

Junk. . . why not take a cup of the veggie oil and mix it with about a quart of diesel fuel in a glass jar? See if the two stay mixed? If they do, you could dump that 1/2 gallon of oil into your fuel canister and probably not worry about it.

Bird · Jun 24, 2004

Like cowboydoc, I wouldn't take the chance and do it on my tractor, but someone has to do the experimenting to prove or disprove the theory, so I think you should give it a try; just be sure to let us know what ratio you used and how well it worked. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MadReferee · Jun 24, 2004

Will a Mr Funnel seperate all the impurities from the veggie oil? Inquiring minds would like to know.

kensfarm · Jun 24, 2004

The first engines ran on peanut oil.

From what I've read.. this is what they do. Old Diesel car.. they setup an additional tank that contains the veggie oil.. they start the engine on diesel fuel.. the line from the veggie oil is wrapped around a heat source.. once the car warms up.. they switch the fuel from the diesel to the veggie oil. For shutdown they switch back to the diesel for a timeframe to clear out remaining veggie oil in lines. If you have a cheap source it could be worth it. They also explained that certain type of injection systems(direct) are better for this then others.

It would be fun to try using an old diesal engine..

beenthere · Jun 24, 2004

Found some info.

http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html

http://www.kenneke.com/veggie.html

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/flrecipe.html
(this one talks about the need to process the veggie oil to remove fatty acids that will 'gum up' the system if used straight)

Put 'vegetable oil diesel' in the search for more sites.

In short, doesn't look straight forward to me.

Ozarker · Jun 24, 2004

Currently there are two different ways to use vegetable oil. The test vehicles using used fry oil alone are processing it in some way before they use it. You can do a Google search on biodiesel+recipe and get a lot of information.

There is a new system on the market that allows the burning of pure vegetable oil. As I understand it, the vehicle is started on diesel and then switched to vegetable oil which gas to pass through a pre-heater.

That said, I doubt if you will have any problem mixing vegetable oil with diesel at a mix of about 10 or 20 percent. I hear that there are some out there who dispose of their used motor oil by pouring it in their tank. Some claim that they have been doing it for years without any ill effects.

KubotaSteve · Jun 24, 2004

I used to be an Assistant Manager at a McDonalds in my college days. I delt with the oil a lot prior to becoming a manager. First off with fresh 100% Vegetable oil it would become quite milky and cloudy when it would cool down to around 50 degrees. The second thing being is that salt is an enemy of oil and those fry vats get their fair share of salt dumped in them which breaks down the oil. We were in a fairly busy McDonalds and we changed the oil every week which would result in about 50 to 60 gallons of oil a week. Also when they dump the oil outside, it gets mixed with grease from the grills that contain eggs, hamburger and all sorts of other things. Lastly if they don't keep the lid closed on the outside storage area people throw all sorts of stuff in there as well as water getting in there. That is just my experience with the oil from fast food places.

Darren · Jun 24, 2004

I wouldn't hesitate to use household vegetable oil in any of my nine diesel engines (Cummins, Case, Mercedes Benz, Ford, International, JD) including the newest which is a Kubota. I suspect vegetable oil may contain more sulfur than the clean diesel the EPA is pushing which would add lubricity and possible increase injection pump life for those pumps that are self lubricated. I ought to add that all of the nine engines are mechanically controlled compared to the newer electronic engines. I don't know if there's something pecular to electronic engines that might create a problem.

FWIW, the 6.9 IH/Ford diesels are indirect injection engines and vegetable oil works fine. Cold weather use is an obvious no-no unless you have a way of heating the oil. I wouldn't worry about whether it is mixed or not. Sooner or later it will get pumped into the engine if you use it during the summer.

As far as energy content, gasoline has a lower BTU content than diesel. That's one of the reasons heavy vehicles use diesel engines. Diesel which is usually cheaper than gasoline and contains more BTUs is a better energy source. Throw in the longer life of diesel engines as compared to gasoline engines and it's a no-brainer.

mhalla · Jun 24, 2004

( my wife ..... doesn't want any unintentional food born pathogens to poison me other than her cooking. )

Junkman,

So your wife wants to poison you by her cooking alone? I guess she wants to take the credit for doing it herself. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Mike

KubotaBling · Jun 24, 2004

from what i read seen alot of people that run it run it thru about a 1 micron bulk filter and heat it up before it goes into the tank the main prob i think is the visc. it's close therez tons of websites on it look under vw diesel a ton of them run vegi fuel. I think they get somewhere around 60% of the original mileage of diesel so it's not a cure all..