Waste Vegetable Oil

DRussell

Well-known Member
It used to be that you heard a lot about running a diesel on waste vegetable oil, but I've not heard anything about it for a few years. What is the reason? Did the price of diesel drop to the point it is no longer viable economically? Did the veggie oil ruin enough engines/injection pumps that people got too scared? Was it just too much hassle long term with collecting and dewatering the veggie oil? Did any of you ever do this?
 
I did it for about 5 years, then I sold my truck, and changed over to natural gas for heat. Never had any problems with it. Just got to be too much of a hassle. Sold my processor for what I paid for it.
 
(quoted from post at 14:31:37 07/30/20) It used to be that you heard a lot about running a diesel on waste vegetable oil, but I've not heard anything about it for a few years. What is the reason? Did the price of diesel drop to the point it is no longer viable economically? Did the veggie oil ruin enough engines/injection pumps that people got too scared? Was it just too much hassle long term with collecting and dewatering the veggie oil? Did any of you ever do this?
did a little research on that several years ago. A lot of restaurants are reluctant to give their grease to someone that is not bonded. Their fear is that you will get in an accident on the way home and they will get sued for the damage. The best grease comes from high-end restaurants. They change it more often. The low end chains such as McD's and the King use it until it's so used up you can't get all the water out. I also read from some experienced users that using it in a modern computer controlled diesel was just asking for some expensive trouble. I decided against trying it.
 
The issue is the contaminants in the oil are very hard on the fuel system. Modern Diesels run very expensive high pressure systems with tight tolerances, not worth risking the repair bills that can be in the thousands.
 
I know a guy but he was in his eighties and he got sick of humping five gallon drums of vegetable oil Plus he said dogs would hang out by his car because it smelled like French fries .
 
I ran pure biodiesel in a couple of tractors years ago it did good, then the supplier went it partners with a man from out of state,the product went downhill fast.The last I heard the partner split and he lost everything due to being sued,for all the fuel system that were damaged.
 
What really happened is, it started getting popular and there just wasn't enough waste veg oil to go around. Restaurants got greedy; whoever would slip them the most cash got the "free" grease. The stakes got too high. Most said, "enough of this cr@p," and went back to running regular diesel.
 
Willie Nelson had a biodiesel plant near his home town in TX. Not been there for sometime. Don't know what ever happened to it.
 
I burned veg in my 1984 MB diesel for many years then the People's Progressive Paradise of NY passed a regulation requiring resturants to dispose of grease through licensed haulers only. Local DOH was on top of it and within a few months my sources dried up. At the time I was clocking 70K-80K miles a year. I started burning veg with 90K on the odometer and it was at 468K when the grease supply ran out.
I did not make bio, but had modified the car to burn straight veg, which it was quite content to do. Calculating the true cost, using my hourly billable rate at the time, for all time spent collecting and processing (filtering) my cost averaged $.60 a gallon, compared to pump diesel at near $3.00.
 
(quoted from post at 09:08:24 07/31/20) I know a guy but he was in his eighties and he got sick of humping five gallon drums of vegetable oil Plus he said dogs would hang out by his car because it smelled like French fries .

I use the old Evelyn Wood speed reading method and thought at first that you said the dogs were humping the car... Thought either big dogs or small car.
 
(quoted from post at 11:12:07 07/31/20) Willie Nelson had a biodiesel plant near his home town in TX. Not been there for sometime. Don't know what ever happened to it.

I think you're referring to Carl's Corner,Tx on on I-35E just North of Hillsboro,Tx. I'll bet they're still selling Alcohol for human consumption! LOL
 

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