WVO = waste vegetable oil
We've converted a 1996 Dodge diesel 2500 truck.
The truck is powered by used vegetable oil from our deep fryers. We're currently using canola or rice bran oil.
Advantages
- Carbon neutral = no contribution to global warming
- No foreign oil
- Zero upstream pollution
- Zero sulphur emmisions
- Up to 60% reduction in particulate matter
- Uses a waste product for energy
Disadvantages
- Unknown longterm impact on the engine and mechanical components.
- Not currently consumer friendly . ( handling vegetable oil is messy)
- If SVO (straight vegetable oil / unused oil) is used for fuel it could have far reaching consequences for world food supply.
- Burning vegetable oil is better than burning petroleum, but it still has a negative impact on the environment.
We chose a conversion kit from a company named PLANTDRIVE . www.plantdrive.com
The installation work was performed by Tony Oliveira
contact info is :
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
The conversion has not been without challenges. But, it's been a very rewarding project so far..
December 2006 a fuel hose sprang a leak. March 2007 The heavy vibration in the engine compartment allowed the heat exchanger, which we installed above metal coolant line to cut through those pipes causing a coolant leak. The solution was to cut the pipe out and install some double wall rubber hose.  Noah approves of his dads' vegetable powered truck
Update December 2009
The Truck now has almost 50,000 miles on wvo (startup and purge on bio-diesel). The engine/power plant have experienced no problems. The truck runs great for a 14 year old 1 ton truck with 130,000 miles. I've recognized that using this vehicle as a work truck is reasonable. However, large vehicles are expensive to maintain and are hard on the environment. Burning WVO or not. A modern super fuel efficient & low emmision vehicle would be a much better choice a commuter or family car. My friend Dave, the owner of Coffeetopia, drives a CNG(natural gas) honda civic. Great choice! Update December 2007 Truck has has 21,000 miles on vegetable oil, experienced some fuel starvation.
Changed out the primary fuel filter. Truck is now running perfectly
Update September 2007 No vegetable oil related issues to report. The truck is running great! It now has about 19,000 miles on WVO waste vegie oil. June 2007, we completed a 1400 mile road trip to San Diego. Chris @ evolution auto in Santa Cruz has been doing the maintenance work. He's great if you need a mechanic in santa Cruz.
Diesel engines are designed to run on "diesel fuel". Diesel fuel is much thinner than vegetable oil. Used cooking oil is generally thicker than new vegetable oil.
To use Vegetable Oil in a A Diesel Engine as FUEL, it must be made "thinner", so that it can be moved, by the "lift pump", from tank, to filter, to injection pump, injectors, and into the combustion chamber, and burned successfully. |