Alternative Cheap Fuel Sources for Diesel Cars

This jalopy of a vehicle certainly caught my attention when it pulled up in front of our health food store thirteen years ago. The signs in the windows were especially intriguing, "This automobile burns used vegetable oil". When the owner came in he evaded my barrage of questions and only deepened my curiosity by saying the oil that was fueling his car was from a deep fryer! Since I was driving a diesel and interested in alternative options, I was hooked.

The wonders of the internet made it easy for me to satisfy my curiosity and delve into the subject of alternative fuel sources. Trips to the library and a purchase of one particular book called "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" and I was on my way. I invested in all the hose and fuel lines with electrical fuel selector valves.

The main point is to raise the temperature of the vegetable oil to 180F to maintain the proper viscosity, which allows it to combust. So, on September 23rd, 1997, I made my first trip to work, 150 kms return, on WVO (waste vegetable oil). With the system working fine, it was time for a major road trip, 1100 kms round trip on WVO. Driving 120kms per hour with no problem. I had to stop to fill the tank with oil from the containers I brought with me. In total, the car consumed about 13 gallons of oil.

The exhaust, when running on WVO, smells like burnt deep fried oil. The emissions are considerably reduced and there is no sulfur. Restaurants are more than happy to give away the oil, as they have to pay, to have it taken away. It needs to be filter down to about 5 microns before it can be used so there will be no damage the injectors or the injector pump. The possibilities are endless, as any diesel engine can run on used vegetable oil. This is a win/win situation for everyone involved.

With over 200,000 kms of driving experience and two diesels that have been converted to run on veggie oil, I have found through trial and error the restaurants with the cleanest oil. Since the exhaust fumes of alternative fuel cars can smell like french fries, next time the scent of greasy fries hits you as you are on the highway, don’t look around to see if there is a restaurant close by, check to see if you are following a diesel car!