Waste Vegetable Oil Fuels

Biodiesel and blends of biodiesel with petroleum diesel are compatible with any diesel engine. No modification is needed. Biodiesel blends, named for their percentage mixed with petroleum diesel, i.e. B20, B100, a 20% mix and 100% pure respectively, have been extensively tested and require no modifications to be made to the engine. One such study was performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

A few words of precaution:

• It is recommended that older diesel engines be watched as biodiesel is a strong solvent and may degrade older fuel lines, gaskets and seals. Modern “rubber” parts are not degraded.
• When switching to using blends, or pure biodiesel, the strong solvent nature of your new fuel will clean out the dirty petroleum fuel system. The the petroleum diesel gunk will end up in your fuel filter, so carry and extra filter or two, and change it out if a loss of power is noticed.
• Biodiesel crystallizes and eventually gels at a higher temperature than petroleum diesel. This may cause fuel delivery problems depending on the temperatures in the area that you drive. Different feed stocks of vegetable oil lead to differing gel points. Biodiesel blends help rectify this problem, as well as mixtures with kerosene and using anti gelling additives.

Biodiesel is a legitimate alternative to petroleum diesel. Give it a try! If you are local, come get a tank from me.