making your own veggie oil fuel

[stubate]

reading barry h s post about mixing used ? veggy oil wih mineral oil !!!! to make a fuel.
i'm gobsmacked,
who remembers castrol r and the glorious smell etc from a racing bike, but do you also remember how we had to carefully strip and remove every trace of the oil before we swopped either way to the opposite based oil, and the dire warnings about what happend if the two mixed and the resultant sticky cack that blocked the oil ways,

and people are putting such stuff thru v expensive injectors and injector pumps ?

mind you am not surprised after seeing where the advice is coming from,

oh well best of luck to them, i can advise on how to clean and fettle injectors,

pumps need a bit more specialised equipment to set up !
s


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[rog1111]

FWIW, the way I see it, straight veggie oil shouldnt be used due to the gum content, and the residue that will result under high temperatures. However, veggie oil converted with methanol to produce the methyl ester will burn beautifully (better than diesel) with no residue, and makes an excellent fuel.
Rgds
Roger

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Heckler]

Used chip shop veggie oil !!

.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Tantalus]

Matter of fact...it's been proven to be much more environmentally friendly than regular diesel.
In the states, a number of docks are now selling an 80/20 blend. In the event of spills the bio-diesel is said to help eliminate many of the effects of the straight diesel.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[BarryH]

I had a go just to see if it really worked. I don't use it on regualar basis as I just ain't got the time to filter the amount I would use. FWIW, after the filtering the oil actually came out quiet clear and with a fairly yellowish colour, suprised me!

Anyway, I got the recipe from a web site about alternative fuels, I'll dig out the addy if its still on my desktop. I just compared the running results with 'normal' diesel in an engine I was messing about with. I did'nt say that the thing run clean, just that it ran a bit smoother. From what I've read its basically the same as bio stuff, but obviously the oil companies have got a lot more in the way of labs and resources than me!

The mixing of synthetic and mineral oils, as you say, is not the done thing. What you've got to remember is that the oils that your talking about, castrol R, are lubrication oils. Thes a bucket load of addatives in them so it will retain is lub properties under heat and pressure. Where as, the stuff I was doing is in a totally different vein. Its got to burn! Yep theres buckets of addatives in diesel as well, but they're more for cleaner burn and anti waxing agents.

It all stemmed from the fuel blockades a couple of years ago, thats when I found the web site with the recipe. I also run my Range Rover on a petrol/parafin mix to get me by. The only alteration was to the ignition timing.

I've used castrol R fully synthetic in my racing bikes and in a various engines that I,.....ahem,......slightly tweeked! I now use Rockoil in the boats and cars as its a bit cheaper and readily available. I only know of one place that stocked R until recently.

<hr width=100% size=1>

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by BarryH on 11/04/2003 20:49 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[bob_tyler]

Be careful that HM Customs don't trace you regarding the petrol para mix for your Range Rover. Strictly illegal.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[BarryH]

It wasn't used on the road, it was a tug, not taxed or insured either.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[bob_tyler]

An amphibious Range Rover?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Weatherlawyer]

I thought the idea of adding castor oil to a cafe racer was to help lubricate it and make up for removing the air filters. When you removed the air filters you had to change the jets.

After the race you put the others back in, there was no problem with the oil unless the bike had stood in a shed for ever. Castor oil still is the most lubricous lubricant for steel. The only problem with it is in overusing it. It does not burn well not in petrol engines at least.

Very high revving engines such as those used in model aircraft use it for the same purpose as bikers used it for in the good old days. Getting the mixture right is critical with the quantities used in those things though, as the ratio affects compression/ fuel/air mixes.

I don't believe alcohol is miscible in vegetable oil nor any of the alkanes either. Not ethyl alcohol at any rate.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Dean]

Re: Chip scratchings in your injectors

A very useful site I have found is:

www.veggiepower.org.uk

This give the recipe for Bio-Diesel,

I actually know someone who runs a fork lift truck on this stuff, only he buys fresh cooking oil for the job.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Weatherlawyer]

Re: Chip scratchings in your injectors

I would leave the veg-oil for the drain and sewer inspectors if I were you. Not only is a boat engine a pig to work on, they are something you don't want to have to mess around with in an emergency.

That stupid site looks like a right cowboy idea, you'd be very silly to spoil an engine on the road with any of that stuff. Anyone who put any faith in something like that at sea would deserve his Darwin.

Wait until you have engine trouble with a deisel on a motorway before you try it on a seaway. Or take a video camera with you. It might be worth £250, making you famous for 15 minutes.

Post humerously.

Very.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[stubate]

i have never in all my life

read such a load of twaddle!
castor oil was used in racing engines because it was a better lubricant for the purpose, what burning it in petrol engines has got to do with it i dont know. its a lubricant not a fuel. cafe racers used to add a bit to their petrol to make the exhaust smell like a racer
the reason we removed air filters was to improve air flow and i dont see how the lube oil comes into that equation?
in the immortal words of Del Boy


<hr width=100% size=1>