Cars That Run on Vegetable Oil

As vegetable oil becomes an increasingly popular fuel choice, many drivers are becoming more interested in how it works to power vehicles.  This fuel source is a great alternative to traditional gasoline and diesel fuels.  It is both eco friendly and an effective fuel source.  As its popularity increases, so does the questions surrounding it.  The better drivers understand the fuel, the more likely they are to make the eco friendly choice, and lower their carbon footprint.

Which vehicles can successfully use vegetable oil as a fuel source? Most any diesel vehicle can be successfully converted to run on vegetable oil.  It is very important to use a proper conversion process because vegetable is thicker than traditional fuel sources.  It also must be preheated so that it creates the necessary combustion properties.

Where does the vegetable oil come from? There are two sources of vegetable oil.  Pure vegetable oil is pure oil straight from the plant.  The plant is very often specifically planted and harvested for fuel use, and therefore is only limited by the number of plants that can be sustained.  Pure plant oil is often referred as PPO (Pure Plant Oil) and SVO (Straight Vegetable Oil).

The second source of vegetable oil for fuel is waste.  Every day, many companies discard vegetable oil as a waste product.  This oil is cleaned out of deep fryers, processing plants and fast food places.  Many of these places will happily give away this waste to drivers who have converted to eco friendly vegetable oil.

Does the quality of vegetable oil really make a difference? Yes, the quality of oil does make a difference.  If you are running an SVO (Straight Vegetable Oil) system in your vehicle, you want to make sure that you are using vegetable oil that is high in quality and condition.  To be safe, secure a trusted source for your vegetable oil.  A reliable vegetable oil fuel source is pretty important.

Once my vehicle is converted, can I just fuel up and go? Not necessarily.  Because the vegetable oil has to be preheated, the vehicle must be powered on while flipped to the diesel (or biodiesel) tank.  Once the temperature is sufficiently hot, you can switch over to the vegetable oil.  It is also important to turn the vehicle off while it is switched to the diesel (or biodiesel) tank.   Following these few simple steps will help to ensure proper engine function and result in better power and performance.

Does switching over to vegetable oil really help the environment? Yes, it does.  While offering mileage comparative to normal diesel, vegetable oil is also cleaner.  It gives off fewer polluting emissions, while lacking the traditional black smoke cloud that follows most diesels around.  It is also a more secure fuel source.  It can be grown locally and is always available.  It is only limited by the amount of plants grown. Using waste vegetable oil also helps to dispose of it in a more eco friendly way.