Lectraplayer

I'm wondering about being able to run a gasoline-powered car or other gasoline-powered engine off of vegetable oil, which may make McDonalds very happy. Upon Googling this, I found a load on setting up a Diesel engine to do so, but absolutely nothing on the gasoline variant. Has anyone heard anything about this?

Volt-Schwibe

the thing about SVO (straight vegetable oil) is that it doesn't have the required octane.

there is a gigantic difference between the way a diesel engine, and a gas engine run.

for instance, a gasoline engine, mixes the fuel with the right amount of air, compresses it to around 10:1 (less on many cars) and then touches it off with a spark.

a diesel, mixes it with the right amount of air, and then compresses it literally to the point where it self combusts in the heat that is provided. (around 25:1)

unfortunately, the nature of oil is more like diesel, where, even at 10:1 compression, and given an actual spark, it still won't burn.

alcohol is more like gas, and will burn in a gas engine, as will butane, propane, methane, and many other "light bodied" fuels.

"heavy bodied" fuels like diesel, and straight vegetable oil, require the intense heat and compression that a diesel engine is built to provide.

now, since gasoline and diesel both come from the same distilling process, from the same raw oil, it tells me that in fact, there has to be some light bodied fuel inside SVO, but, it may take a long time, and alot of researchers to get it out. until then, the veggie oil is more or less useful only as SVO and biodiesel for diesel engines only.

Lectraplayer

...so I guess the answer to my question is "not without a specially built ignition systm!". It may be possible with an ignition system that's several times hotter than would require to literally blow apart normal spark plugs, but there would be so much danger and cost there that it wouldn't be worth it. I guess I'm gonna have to build a fuel still.

Also, I know that if you try to light a puddle of diesel fuel by throwing a match in, it does burn, but if you try the same thing with SVO, it does not burn. ...so I guess the compression is what sets it off. ...now I wonder if I can run a nitro engine off of it. Probably not.

Volt-Schwibe

i might add, that a diesel engine can run off of SVO, but only once it has been running long enough to reach operating temp.

and it's more about the compression required than the heat. too much heat will burn through the pistons anyhow.

Lectraplayer

I was wondering how you could start off of svo. I know the oil has to be heated before it goes in, and electrically heating it at startup would probably deplete your battery.

Volt-Schwibe

well, there could be some sort of a propane warmer built...

but that there's a petro product.

as far as electrically heating it, it still wouldn't take more than another 100 lbs of battery.

and then yeah, it's probably possible somehow.

Lectraplayer

This may show the amount I know (or really, how much I don't know ), but it seems like you could simply use a more powerful super-high-pressure fuel pump, and just use the electically-heated glow-plug to touch it off, which you do anyway. I know that often (especially on those cold days) the glow plug is electrically heated up before the engine is turned over to start it up with diesel. The same thing could likely be done with svo, plus maybe a heated/insulated fuel tank to keep the fuel flowing on those cold days once the engine got warmed up (you know how that stuff jells once it gets down around 50 degrees!)

MickeyFouse

I was intrigued: Biodiesel comes from renewable resources. It's made from soybeans, corn or other oil crops, saving America's farmers. Or it comes from recycled kitchen grease, saving America's sewers. It pollutes remarkably less than petroleum fuel, and could potentially make the U.S. energy self-sufficient, freed from bargaining with dictators and terror-sponsor states.
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rsguy4

I've seen several cars that run on vegetable oil!!

Cirx

If it could be done, it would of been done by now.

Volt-Schwibe

It appears that someone stumbled across a 4 year old thread while searching google, and decided to ressurect it. :p

I want to point out that i wasn't saying it's not possible to run a gasoline engine off of veggie oil, i was saying that it's far more complicated to make it burn in an 8:1 gasoline engine, when you can simply burn it in a diesel style 25:1 engine with very little modification. (someone could do it in a 4 hour day with moderate auto experience)

This was the case 4 years ago, and not alot has changed since then.

RODERICK GOUIN

I was desperate! I had very little gas money in 2006. I added on several occasions, one quart of pure vegetable oil to ten gal of gas because i recieved food stamps. When added i saw no performance degredation. My six cylynder gas dodge van ran great! I know it was a chance of failure, but no problem. It makes me wonder just what is marvel mystery oil? Marvel says to add it to your gas tank? My experiment was a sucess. I cant gurentee long term results because i only did it three times with 10 gallons each time. If you can afford possible failure, try it. I had no problems.

VP705

My dad ran a 2005 Jeep Liberty Diesel on vegetable oil. I've never heard of it being done on a gasoline engine though.

RODERICK GOUIN

Ive read up on more of this subject, and thought I could add a few more thoughts. Mixture of gas and oil in my case was 1 part clean veg oil and 40 parts gas. I was told this is only 8% oil. 1. A thicker mix was tried in the same gas engine at 1 qt oil and 3 gallons of gas, which is a 1 to 12 ratio. the engine ran great with no power loss or smoke as well. The 6 cyl engine suffered no performance that I noted. 2. To have to purchase new oil is not worth the cost at $2.00 a quart. However if you were to filter used oil from a restaraunt it would be free of charge. 3. I read that veg oil and gas mix easily once in the tank. In addition to my mix the ambient temp outside was about 60*. In colder weather this may become another issue. I would be able to refridgerate the mix and observe any new annomalies, and then try the freezer at a colder temperatue and again observe for any physicle changes. One could further experiment with an old lawn mower engine and if it is damaged you would be out of a lot less money. 4. Restaraunts cook chicken in their deep fry, so a certain amount of animal fat would be present later in your mixture. Ive not tried used fatty used oil. I expect chemicly the animal fat may get sludgy residue in the combustion chamber called coking. This burnt oil krap is called coke. However since I didnt try fatty oil yet as a long term experiment this would be only speculation.

RODERICK GOUIN

I remember now one more fact I learned from Aviation School. Aircraft often use a engine oil cooled turbo for grater performane at altitude. Running your engine to lean increases temperature greatly. This too can cause coking in the turbo and that is a very bad thing.