Why the Average Diesel Vehicle Should Be Run on Bio Diesel & Not Straight Vegetable Oil

Posted: May 28, 2013
Author: Bumgarner Oil

With all of the talk in the press and elsewhere lately about bio diesel and running diesel vehicles on fuel made from various vegetable oils, it is very easy for some misunderstanding to creep in.

It is all too easy to assume that bio diesel is simply vegetable oil with a fancy name. In fact, bio diesel is based on vegetable oils, but has been heavily refined to make it suitable for use in standard diesel motors, which cannot safely be run on straight vegetable oil (SVO).

Part of the confusion may stem from the fact that there are indeed some vehicles running on straight vegetable oil, but these vehicles are powered by engines that have been custom-built or specially adapted to run on straight vegetable oil.

Standard diesel motors cannot be safely and efficiently run on straight vegetable oil. Bio diesel, on the other hand, is a direct substitute for petro diesel (diesel produced during the process of refining petroleum). Bio diesel can either be used mixed with petro diesel in varying combinations or on its own as a completely non-fossil fuel alternative.

Bio diesel has 5 major advantages over straight vegetable oil when it comes to suitability for use in unconverted diesel engines:

1. It has a viscosity close to that of petro diesel at normal operating temperatures, so no extra heating is required within the fuelling system as is the case in converted motors.
2. Its pouring ability is not heavily impacted by temperature, and it can be used untreated right down to about normal freezing point. SVO, by comparison, becomes progressively thicker as it gets colder.
3. It has smaller molecules than SVO and is therefore suitable for use in direct injection diesel systems.
4. It is purer than SVO, as waxes and other materials have been removed. If these materials are introduced to a standard diesel system, they will lead to damage to fuel pumps and injection systems.
5. It is directly compatible with petro diesel and can be used and stored mixed in any ratio, unlike SVO, which is not compatible with either bio diesel or petroleum diesel.