How to Convert Your Car to Run on Vegetable Oil

Guide Note: The idea of converting your car to run on vegetable oil might call to mind hours of greasy frustration under the hood of your car. While the greasy part is inevitable, the frustration need not be! This page will give you the instructions you need on How to Convert Your Car to Run on Vegetable Oil.

Disclaimer: The content on this page is presented for general informational purposes, and is not a substitute for the mechanical knowledge needed to convert your car to run on vegetable oil. Table of Contents:



Introduction

You too can run your car on renewable veggie oil. Painting lessons will cost extra. (Creative Commons photo by richardmasoner)
You too can run your car on renewable veggie oil. Painting lessons will cost extra. (Creative Commons photo by richardmasoner)
  • Although biofuel stations have been popping up across the United States, there has been increasingly heated debate over both the feasibility and the environmental effects of mass-produced biofuels. So if you're looking for a definite way to reduce your carbon footprint, converting you car to run on vegetable oil—often referred to either as Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) or Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)—might just be the best option to make your driving as ecofriendly as possible.

Can You Convert Your Car?

  • Unfortunately, vegetable oil conversion is not a universal solution:
  1. Only diesel engines can be converted to run on used vegetable oil.
  2. The conversion process will involve a lot of tinkering with the insides of your car.
    • Even though all the steps can definitely be done in your own garage out of relatively common parts that you can pick up in a store or junkyard, the process requires a fair amount of automotive know-how and can often go wrong.
  • If you're ready for the challenge, the remainder of the guide will instruct you on how to convert your car to run on vegetable oil.

Step 1: Gather Your Equipment

  • The cost of these kits may be off-putting, and that's before the installer fees, so it can be much cheaper to acquire similar parts from an automotive store and make the necessary modifications yourself. The key components for SVO conversion are as follows:
  • SVO Fuel Tank
  1. Size and shape are up to you, depending on your car's configuration.
  2. Tank material is equally flexible, although some research has suggested that copper (and this includes alloys like brass or bronze) may react badly with your SVO fuel.
  3. If you're short on ideas for your fuel tank, you can tap into the creativity of the SVO conversion community for many resourceful solutions.
  • Heat Exchanger
  • The SVO sitting in your new tank needs to be heated to at least 160°F before it becomes thin enough both to be pumped to your engine and to burn with similar efficiency as diesel. This can be done in one of two ways:
  1. Recycle heat from your engine by rerouting the engine coolant line directly through the SVO tank.
  2. Fit your tank with a separate heat exchanger.
    • Although heat exchangers designed specifically for SVO systems are available from specialty retailers like Arctic Fox or PlantDrive, they are common parts that should all work similarly well.
  • SVO Fuel Lines
  1. Avoid rubber fuel lines. SVO is a strong solvent and will dissolve rubber over time.
  2. Synthetic fuel lines like polyethylene or metal fuel lines (that, again, aren't copper-based) are both reliable and easy to find.
Junkyards, while cluttered, can be a good resources for most of your conversion parts. (Creative Commons photo by Philip Cromer)
Junkyards, while cluttered, can be a good resources for most of your conversion parts. (Creative Commons photo by Philip Cromer)
  • Fuel Selector Valve
  • A three-port solenoid valve or a motorized fuel selector valve with at least three ports (any unused ports can easily be sealed) will let you switch between fuel supplies on the fly.
    • As with heat exchangers, specifically designed valves are available from specialty retailers like Frybrid, but selector valves are commonly available in auto parts stores.
  • Fuel Selector Switch
  • Any simple On/Off switch will do. Selector valves will often be sold with one.
  • SVO Fuel Filter
  • Just an ordinary fuel filter, except that this one will exclusively filter your SVO fuel supply.
  • Fuel Line "T" Connector
  • A commonly available automotive part.

Step 2: Install Your New Parts

  • While conversion kits will include the specific instructions for their particular set of parts, they will involve the same general processes:

Assemble SVO Fuel Tank

  1. Install your heat exchanger into the SVO tank.
  2. Secure the secondary tank in your vehicle (typically in the trunk).
  3. Fasten your outgoing fuel line to the tank and run it through to the engine area, but do not yet attach it to anything.

Reroute Fuel Lines

  • The next few steps can be a little confusing to visualize even if you're comfortable under the hood of a car. Two successful SVO converters have put up general diagrams of the SVO fuel system you will be installing, and it would be useful to both study them before beginning modification as well as refer back to them during the process:
    • Peter's Vegetable Oil Powered Car Conversion Log diagram.
    • Vegd VW's less orderly but more detailed diagram.
  1. Alter the existing fuel system to accept your two separate fuel supplies:
    1. Detach the fuel line between the original diesel filter and the injector pump.
    2. Attach the SVO fuel filter to the fuel line running in from the secondary fuel tank.
    3. Attach the output from the diesel filter to the default input port of the selector valve.
    4. Attach the output from the SVO filter to the secondary input port of the fuel selector valve.
    5. Attach the output port of your selector valve into the injection pump, placing the T connector between them.
  2. Reroute the existing fuel return line to feed directly back into the injector pump:
    1. Detach the fuel return line that currently connects the output of the injector pump and the diesel tank.
    2. Reattach this output line to the T connector that you placed between the selector valve and the injector pump input.
  3. Install the fuel selection system:
    1. Place the selector switch on your dashboard where it will be easy to reach while driving.
    2. Wire the selector switch to the fuel selector valve under the hood.


Step 3: Run Your New Fuel System

Run your SVO and harvest the savings! (Creative Commons photo by Cyron)
Run your SVO and harvest the savings! (Creative Commons photo by Cyron)
  • Running on SVO does not mean that your original diesel fuel system will never be touched again! Always remember:
  1. Start your engine initially with your original diesel system in order to warm up your SVO tank.
  2. Before you turn off your engine, switch back to diesel fuel for a few minutes in order to clear out the SVO from your engine.
    • Forgetting to do so will clog the engine with cold oil, and you will need to reheat the engine until the oil can move freely once again.
  3. Give your car regular check-ups.
    • Vegetable oil will push out carbon deposits from your engine, so it is especially important to pay close attention to your engine in the first few months of using your SVO system.
  4. After a few months, make sure to:
    1. Clean your fuel injection system.
    2. Clean your engine pistons.

Conclusion

  • Converting your car to run on vegetable oil requires a significant upfront investment of time and money (most likely both), but after completing your conversion you have made it past the biggest hurdle. With proper care for your engine—especially in the first few months after installing your SVO system—you can keep your car running reliably green and wave goodbye to your old, petroleum-dependent lifestyle. Being greasy never felt so good.

Resources for How to Convert Your Car to Run on Vegetable Oil

Related Searches

Biofuel | Price of Oil and Gasoline | Cars | Car Maintenance | Hybrid Cars | How to Go Green and Save Money | How to Buy a Used Car



Have any great tips on How to Convert Your Car Run on Vegetable Oil? Post your thoughts to the discussion board or email them to Eric: EricC at mahalo dot com.