Been buying cars at the local car auctions on the cheap, and was wondering if you think a used vegetable oil conversion on a 3rd(1996-99) or 4th(2002-03) generation VW Jetta 1.9L TDI would be worth it? (I only plan on spending less than $1000 on the car and $500 for parts to convert) PS-Biden is killing me
PS-Biden is killing me
He's killing all of us.
Amen!
If you do convert, share the details with us!
I had a friend with a conversion. He used it as his daily driver and even long distances. I was quite surprised at how it ran.
I’d have to do the math to see if it were worth it. If you can get a cheap reliable source of veg oil, why not. But if it costs more than petrol or diesel, then not worth it.
First find a source of oil
All depends on your climate. Veggy oil tends to gel up in cold weather. It also has to be filtered . Restaurant waste oil has a lot of debris that will clog the injection pump and injectors. There are a couple of guys refining veggy and waste oil and mixing it with diesel to save money. There is a way to distill it using lye but then you have the hazardous waste to deal with. Most of the kits I have seen require you start the car on diesel and then when it warms up switch to veggy. The kits include a preheat-er that uses exhaust heat to thin the veggy for the injector pump and injectors. the biggest problem is the raw material. Individual restaurants don't produce a lot of volume. So you have to line up a bunch of them and agree to have them save it for you. I ran so called bio-diesel in a generator a couple of years back and it worked but ran a little smoky. Despite the rumors it smells just like fossil diesel not french fries. Try the archive at utterpower.com for making the fuel from restaurant oil. Bear in mind technically it is illegal as a motor fuel on public highways. That's because they want the vehicle use fee (tax) built into every gallon of vehicle diesel. People would use home heating oil in their diesel vehicles and get caught because one is dyed red. I know truckers would get fined. I don't know if they target passenger vehicles as much.
Good Luck with it.
All comments are welcome
'I know truckers would get fined. I don't know if they target passenger vehicles as much.'
Where I live, they do.
Over here in the UK they're starting to make hydrotreated vegetable oil that is supposedly a "drop in fuel". I'm keeping an eye on its prices as it's currently the same price as diesel. Not sure how it will run on a 2006 Lexus IS220D with a common rail engine, but not prepared to risk it yet.
Apparently in the Netherlands (somewhere like that) they sold it without VAT and tax, and it was really popular. But I suppose that was the problem as it meant most diesels were as climate freindly as Evs (on the road) so they put a stop to it.
