The first is dealing with carbon deposits that will appear in the combustion and exhaust locations. It’s important that you routinely clean the valves and ports to ensure that the carbon buildup doesn’t cause potential damage to the engine.

Piston ring sticking is another area of concern. This is caused by the SVO turning to sludge and becoming thicker than traditional oil. While running Straight Vegetable Oil engines, it is important that you add detergents that are designed to prevent the oil from thickening too much, so the piston ring doesn’t experience any problems.

In addition to this SVO does thicken and gel, so you need to avoid contamination of the vegetable oil. If it thickens too much, the oil no longer lubricates and this can lead to oil starvation in the engine, which will result in damage.

When running SVO based engines, you also need to use a biocide in the mixture. While SVO is a powerful choice for your vehicle, bacteria and fungi grow easily in it. This will lead to blockages and damage if you continue to ignore the problem. Instead, it is a good idea for you to avoid any potential problems by proactively using this biocide in the oil.

Additionally, Straight Vegetable Oil is essential for use in your engine. You need to make sure you aren’t using bottles of cheap vegetable oil off the shelves of your grocery store. The reason is they aren’t the right consistency to operate any engine running SVO and this will lead to potential mechanical problems if you end up attempting it.

If you aren’t sure on the grade of SVO to use, you may want to contact a local auto repair shop who can determine the right SVO for your vehicle.

At the same time, make sure you routinely check and replace the oil filter, even when you aren’t changing the oil. The problem is this type of oil can draw in a considerable amount of debris with it. That means your oil filter may clog quickly.

It won’t take long for you to realize just how incredible Straight Vegetable Oil engines are. Take a moment to contact a professional to help you with the conversion process on your favorite vehicle.

When that is done, you can continue to reduce your carbon footprint by routinely using this engine type and that is going to help to give you some peace of mind. After all, more people should do what they can to embrace clean burning engines.

If you want more in-depth info you might try this free download.​

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The good news for off grid living enthusiasts, is that making biodiesel at home is possible with easily obtainable ingredients and methods. The following method is a simple experiment that will introduce you to the basics of biodiesel production, on a small scale. Even if you don’t complete the experiment, it’s an excellent indicator of just how simple it is to create this clean burning fuel.

If you’re thinking about making biodiesel, you will need to familiarize yourself with the process. You will also need to work in a ventilated area that is well supplied with water, a spill kit, and a fire extinguisher for emergencies.

It’s a good idea to wear light protective clothing, such as a lab jacket, and you will need protective goggles and long butyl rubber gloves that provide protection up to your elbows.

This experiment also requires glass measuring utensils, a scale, a food or laser thermometer, a blender with a glass jar, and a separate glass container for resting the mixture.

Basic Steps for Making Biodiesel at Home

Vegetable oils are best for first time experimentation in making biodiesel. For the best results us canola or sunflower oil. It is possible to recycle oil, but make sure that the cooking oil has been filtered to remove traces of food and other contaminants.

Inside a glass mixer or container, safely pour 200ml of methanol and gently stir, or set the blender to low. Incorporate 3.5g of lye into the mixture. A chemical reaction will occur, creating sodium methoxide.

Allow the mixture to sit for two to five minutes, after which the lye will dissolve. You will know that this step is completed when the mixture turns completely clear, with no visible trace of the lye.

Now it’s time to heat your oil. You will need 1 liter of vegetable oil for this experiment, which should be heated to approximately 55 degrees Celsius. You can use a cooking thermometer or a laser thermometer to check the temperature.

You can now combine the oil and the previous mixture in the glass blender container. Mixing gently for up to 30 minutes, two substances will develop. These will be the biodiesel itself, and glycerin as a side product.

Carefully pour the mixture into a new glass container with a wide rim. The mixture should be allowed to sit until the two products are completely separated. After separation, the biodiesel will rest at the top of the mixture, as it has a lower density than the glycerin. The biodiesel can then be carefully removed and transferred to a glass or HDPE plastic storage container.

Is it Truly This Easy?

As evident from the experiment, making biodiesel is relatively simple, and is safe when proper precautions are followed. Producing biodiesel for off grid living is a real possibility, and wide scale applications are also promising.

Many proponents of biodiesel see it as a logical replacement for fossil fuels in industry and consumer use. However, it is still important to ensure that oil production methods are environmentally friendly and sustainable, so that the numerous environmental benefits of biodiesel are not negated in any way.

If you want more in-depth info you might try this free download.​