Using biodiesel in your diesel engine is one way to fight rising diesel prices. The idea is that the higher the blend of biodiesel that you use in your engine, the more money you will save per gallon on fuel.
Biodiesel is the name for a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from soybean oil or other vegetable oils or animal fats. The concept of using vegetable oil as a fuel dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the vegetable oil fueled engine. Diesel demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. He used peanut oil as fuel.
Today biodiesel is primarily made out of soy or canola oil. Buying biodiesel keeps diesel prices down and farmers in business! Biodiesel fuel is also good for the environment and reduces emissions as much as 80%.
Owners of vehicles with diesel engines can use biodiesel fuel without having to make engine modifications. Some hoses may need to be changed however because vegetable oil degrades certain types of rubber. If you go to the website of the national biodiesel board you can find plenty of information about where to buy biodiesel in your area. The national biodiesel board also has an interactive map that allows you to locate pumps with low diesel prices in your area.
If youre feeling really adventurous, you can make your own biofuel from used vegetable oil, which is available for free at most restaurants. You can either purchase a small production system or make your own biodiesel to add to your diesel engine by mixing up a few chemicals in a blender.
You can also fight diesel prices by converted your car into a SVO (straight vegetable oil engine. In essence these kits, called grease car kits allow you to build a small processor inside your car engine that heats and processes the oil so that it becomes biodiesel. A heating element, thermostat and special rubber hoses that cannot be damaged by vegetable oil are components of this kind of kit. Water heater processors help recovering excess methanol that is created during the chemical reaction that creates biodiesel. This cuts the cost per gallon for diesel even further.
Usually these types of converters cost anywhere from $249 to $3,000.00. Like most products, you get what you pay for. However if you install one that is effective you can fight rising diesel prices and make your own fuel for as little as .70 per gallon!
