Anyone modified their diesel car to run on used vegetable oil? Has the fuel savings been worth the expense?

Question

Anyone modified their diesel car to run on used vegetable oil? Has the fuel savings been worth the expense?

Answer 1

I haven't done a S.V.O. mod, but I have made bio diesel.

I found that the time and money I spent making bio diesel was better invested in riding a bicycle.

I now commute daily by bicycle and don't hesitate riding distances up to 25 miles.(each way) I've also tackled distances well in excess of 100 miles.

The benefits to my health, wealth and environment have been substantial. Added bonus I really enjoy it.

I still have a diesel vehicle that I fill with bio diesel (when I can get it). I use it when the bicycle is not practical (loads and family). Considering the amount of use my vehicle now gets it is doubtful that modifying it to run on S.V.O would be worth the hassle.

It would all depend on how much you use the car. How available the supply of vegetable oil is.  There is a lot of running around to get vegetable oil in the quantities to make it worthwhile.

Where I live bio diesel is on a par with the cost of mineral diesel but it is hard to come by. In my case savings would only be few dollars a week (at most). I prefer to pay the commercial manufacturers.

Answer 2

Depends on how good you are at selecting and filtering the fuel.

Tax evasion... I could be wrong but I believe fuel is taxed by the dollar, not by the gallon.  After all, different fuels have different energy-volume,  so taxing by the gallon would be absurd, especially for stuff like CNG.  So what's the tax on free fuel?  Maybe I'm forgetting to carry a 0 somewhere, but seems to come out to... 0 :)

Still, check the tax laws, esecially the part about incentives.

Answer 3

There should be no additional expense just a super fine filter so it will not stop up your injectors.

Answer 4

Hundreds have.

Some report clogged engines, others are fine.

Some put in twin tanks, some risk it.

And then there is the tax evasion issue.

Quick google will give you thousands of links.

Just buy biodiesel instead.  Its becoming widely available.