Deep fryer oil in diesel

[Lepke]

Originally Posted by Compass790

Was wondering about the filtered waste engine oil as well, what % do you mix that at?
I can recycle used engine oil so not so worried about that but still might try it.

I burned my oil at 10:1 or better. That's 10 gallons of fuel. I didn't notice any difference in running or starting. Oil ran thru a 5 micron filter. I premixed the oil/fuel or added it while running the main so the day tank was circulating. I never had any trouble.

[Compass790]

Originally Posted by Lepke

I burned my oil at 10:1 or better. That's 10 gallons of fuel. I didn't notice any difference in running or starting. Oil ran thru a 5 micron filter. I premixed the oil/fuel or added it while running the main so the day tank was circulating. I never had any trouble.

Thanks for that, also is a pointer to the added lubrication question if you noticed no difference.

Mind you I'm underpowered & overpropped as so easy to notice small changes.
I'm still leaning towards improved combustion with WVO until proved otherwise

[dpons]

One of the reasons biodiesel runs cleaner and possibly increase power is that it has some oxygen as part of the oil. Regular hydrocarbons don't, they rely on the air's oxygen.

[CaptainDana]

I’d hazard a guess that the flashpoint of the oil you added is lower than diesel’s flashpoint. So, yer detonations are happening a little sooner. That’s like advancing the timing in a gasoline engine.

[SailingInfidels]

Your (perceived) power increase is due to lubricity and cetane rating but given how little VO was in there I think you noticed something that is almost imperceptible.
Also, you didn't actually "mix" your fuel, unless you used some type of emulsfier.
The viscosity of VO is so much different than diesel fuel that they don't mix. When you run straight VO your engine will rattle a lot less than on diesel and that is because of the relatively thick fuel, (even when heated to reduce viscosity, as it should be)
Just as with engine oil, you should not mix oils. Think of oil as millions of ball bearings. All the balls in a given viscosity are the same size. If you ad another oil with bigger or smaller balls, the oil with smaller balls will not be able to do its job because the balls will not be able to contact both surfaces that need to be lubricated.
So by putting VO into your diesel fuel you are feeding your very expensive injection pump two oils of differing viscosity and if you do that enough, you could cause premature wear on the finely machined, internal surfaces of the pump.

[dbraymer]

Best Forum question ever!

It says a lot about our group that no one ever thought that maybe it would not be a great idea to throw used/fried vegetable oil into the diesel tank!

And then the guy who does the admittedly questionable act is rewarded with an engine performance increase!

I know, I know, Rudolf Diesel himself wanted to use vegetable oil in his just invented engine, but had to settle for hydrocarbons!

I nominate this question as "Question of the Year", perfectly fitting for the year 2020...

[bermynick]

There's a Cloggie gypsy in the North Atlantic named Martijn in a heavy steel double ender with a japanese van engine from the dump. He runs straight fryer fat from restaurants [they put it out in 5gal jugs and it saves them having to pay to have it trucked away] Runs like a top! Fantastic!

[lynnrichard]

Great post. Informative and entertaining.

[Cgstock]

I run all my old diesels on WVO (waste vegetable oil), what you described is a bit of both, new clean VO and filtered WVO. You can run this on any older diesel engine that does not have plastic parts, the vegetable oil will degrade the plastic. ALSO, very important, VO (or WVO) will clean out your fuel system of deposits, it's cleaner than diesel. You will clog up fuel filters at first, have some spares handy and change them when you first start using it. After a time it will run on normal filter changes.

It does NOT need to be heated up as one person said, BUT it does need to be in a warm environment. I live in the North East and run straight filtered waste vegetable oil all Summer, then mix it 50/50 with diesel in Spring and Fall to keep it from gelling. When Winter sets in, I run diesel again (or bio-diesel).

[Nibiruwayne]

Originally Posted by Compass790

Had a puzzling experience so I thought I'd consult the hive.
I had 2 litres of old vegetable oil out of deep fryer, mostly soybean oil but some that bottle just said vegetable oil & I wanted to dispose of it. Know that they use it in boidiesel so filtered it & put in 20 litre diesel tank on boat. Topped up tank with pump diesel.
Boat is powered by a Yanmar ysm8 hp single that was rebuilt some 300 hrs ago. Got rebuilt injector pump, new injector, new piston & rings, good liner, new exhaust v/v, rebuilt oil pump & new big end & main bearings. The boat is overpropped ( long story) & will normally only rev to 2200 rpm before starting to blow black smoke. Motor has good compression.
Just had 4 days out & motor would rev to 2500 against a 15+ knot wind & small chop & still burn clean. Gained a knot in speed.
My question is : Why the sudden change in performance with a 10% ratio of used deep fryer oil???
Vegetable oil has slightly lower BTU's than diesel so it theoretically should make less power but it clearly is producing more.
Anyone know whats going on or would like to hazard a guess what happened? I drank a lot of beer puzzling over it & have a few ideas but nothing that sticks out as the smoking gun.
Help! I'm at my 1/2 wits end

This is a good thread- I drank a beer before writing this so as to be sociable. No fish though. Biodiesel has 10% less CO and pollutants as emissions. BioD is non toxic and biodegradable- no carcinogenic benzene and low or no Sulphur.
B D also has 78% less carbon monoxide emissions and is non-toxic and biodegradable.
Caution - left too long in a warm tank it will grow mold and create fuel clogs-
Too cold and it won’t pump.
Risk- if used on an old engine it can Release deposits on tank walls and pipes
And clog fuel filter. I’d check your fuel filter and maybe swap it out.

[RossD]

The answer is in your first post. You had assorted fish oils high in Omega 3 fatty acids mixed with your fryer oil via the frying process. These oils are known to lubricate joints, clear blockages and make the mast and prop shaft stiffer, longer and stronger. Bottle it!

[svDrifter]

Next you might try re-routing your blackwater plumbing into your engine's cooling sytem. That way you won't need to add coolant OR do your normal pump-outs. Should the engine start to run a little "crappy", then try placing a piece of window screen, hardware cloth or chicken wire in the loop.

Who knows? If you can filter off the methane from the cooling system and divert it to the intake manifold, you might even increase your HP a bit.

[The Sun King]

I think I recall that Rudolph Diesel's early engines ran on veggie. A conventional diesel engine will run on just about any oily liquid that you can get through the filter. The WVO and SVO crowd tends to preheat the oil, though that is not necessary in warmer weather and in high dilutions, such as yours.



In my numerous truck and tractor engines, I have poured in transmission fluid, hydraulic oil, engine oil, paint thinner, Jet A, gear lube and actual diesel fuel. The particular type of injector may foul more easily with some brews. On engines with pointy injectors I never had any issues. On injectors with flat tips, I could get fouling, especially when burning used motor oil containing a teflon additive. My current pickup has a notoriously sensitive and expensive fuel pump, so I am staying with pump diesel in it.



I applaud your experimentation, but advise against going crazy with it if you'll be far from port. Keep a spare fuel filter in the cupboard. Smaller engines have a lower flow through their tinier nozzles, so are more particular about good filtration.

[BarryB]

I checked Specs, engine is RATED AT 2100 rpm
So don't over rev. 2500 rpm.
Be kind to engine with good clean water free fuel and it will be kind to you. It is maybe the most reliable diesel EVER produced in Japan.
Be Nice to it!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by SailingInfidels

Your (perceived) power increase is due to lubricity and cetane rating but given how little VO was in there I think you noticed something that is almost imperceptible.
Also, you didn't actually "mix" your fuel, unless you used some type of emulsfier.
The viscosity of VO is so much different than diesel fuel that they don't mix. When you run straight VO your engine will rattle a lot less than on diesel and that is because of the relatively thick fuel, (even when heated to reduce viscosity, as it should be)
Just as with engine oil, you should not mix oils. Think of oil as millions of ball bearings. All the balls in a given viscosity are the same size. If you ad another oil with bigger or smaller balls, the oil with smaller balls will not be able to do its job because the balls will not be able to contact both surfaces that need to be lubricated.
So by putting VO into your diesel fuel you are feeding your very expensive injection pump two oils of differing viscosity and if you do that enough, you could cause premature wear on the finely machined, internal surfaces of the pump.

Do you have a source for the idea that diesel and vegetable oil won't mix?

Viscosity has nothing to do with the ability to mix. Oil and water don't mix but it's not related to viscosity but a molecular process whereby they repel each other. Oil & oil doesn't have that same effect.

Also, your typical diesel is set up to pump more fuel to the engine than the engine will use with the excess dumped back in the tank. Given a little run time, it mixes and warms the fuel.