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Turning waste oil into fuel is feasible and will save money.   If you can secure a source of waste oil, you can sell it or burn it in place of buying fuel.   I had a oil pickup today and it cost me 30 bucks...which seemed like a lot for me to shell out for fuel.  Then I went through the calculations with my 6yr old, 60 x $4 is $240....That's a savings of $210 in fuel costs.  Is paying $240 or $30 better?  $30!   Ahhh, money well spent.  

I mainly calculate my WVO costs in time, the time it takes me to collect the oil and time it take for processing into fuel.  I spend about 3hrs of collecting per month, and 2 for processsing, so I'm at about $40+/hr labor rate for making my own fuel.  Another benefit is that my car smells like french fries, and sometimes steak or chicken.   And last but not least,  I see gas stations solely as bathrooms.    

Just when you though you knew what you were doing with hose fittings, we began upgrading our parts to push lock- JIC and ORB fittings.   The thing is, NPT  just doesn't cut it for fuel systems.    Also, we grew tired of doing sideways-reverse-back-bends to reach in and tighten 10s of hose clamps on each fitting.  So we developed an answer.

All of our conversion parts, FPHEs, Pumps, Hot Sicks, etc. have female threads which need an adapter to plumb fuel hose.    Some of our parts are still require NPT, fittings, but rest assured, we will be changing them to ORB.

NPT

NPT(National Pipe Thread) fittings are commonly available in hardware stores.   They handle high pressure, but the threads require plumbers tape or pipe dope to make a tight seal and prevent liquid and air leaks.  NPT fittings are difficult to remove and service than other style fittings.   NPTF fittings, do not require seal

It's been over a year since I posted something on WVO availability and collection, so let's refresh and update.

I've been running WVO for over 5 years now. No engine trouble and no difficulty finding WVO. One personal secret I must share is that, I did it backwards. Everyone says to find oil first, then convert your vehicle. I being brood from Polish decent and coupled with a strong ancestry from the Kentucky hills, I naturally was driven to go against common, accepted knowledge. I converted my vehicle first, then "magically" I was amply motivated to find oil Since, I've had no trouble trouble fueling my diesels with WVO; while at the same time relieving the oil companies of my financial dependence. I've never used a contract

Oil, or "black gold",  is commonly believed to be from single-celled creatures called Diatoms, a type of photosynthetic algae.  Diatoms make up near 90% of living creatures in oceans, yet also live on land.  These pinhead size creatures are essential to life on our planet.   They convert sunlight directly into stored energy, or oil.  The oil pockets we rejoice in today are thought to be made by thriving pockets of diatoms some 300 million years ago.    Diatoms also produce oxygen, filter water and feed the food chain.

Diatoms tiny silica skeleton remains are mined and used in common filtration products.

How does this relate to WVO, well vegetable oil is a

This 1994.5-2003.5 Ford Powerstroke Diesel is one of the easiest, reliable and popular vehicles to convert to WVO.   These trucks are workhorses and relatively inexpensive.    More importantly, they work great on with alternative fuels like WVO.  Customers often call in and profess over 100k veggie miles on their 7.3s.

The best part of this engine is that the fuel travels through the piping hot fuel rails prior to injection.  That means the Engine acts as a WVO Super Heat Exchanger!  No need to super heat the veggie oil with extra add-ons.  You only need to warm the oil for flow and have a good pump.

There are a host of WVO plumbing configurations, but the slickest way to convert this truck is the "dead-head" style, developed by FN74(Jason) and other forum members back in the day.   In the deadhead style of conversion, WVO and Diesel fuel systems are kept separate meeting at opposing ends of the engine head, fuel rails.  This system works by offsetting pressures and you do

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I've been looking for a quality suction screen for years.  I have tried a number of plastic and metal contraptions and haven't been happy with anything.  This puppy had some nice specs, so I thought I'd give 'er a try.  It is very stout, but unfortunately it won't fit into a cubie as it's 3" wide.   I need the ability draw oil from a cubie.  These are also too tall(6") for cubies or shallow containers.  What this screen did work well for was drawing oil from my large holding tank and into my centrifuge tank.  I would use that for this purpose, but mount on a 90* elbow so cylinder is horizontal.    I would like these to be slightly shorter, so you can skim the good oil from the top of a holding vessel.

For behind restaurant collection, I would recommend these, but choose a model with larger size holes.  Heavy fats and PHO will clog this too quickly.  Different style wvo suction strainers are availa

This red coating on my tank and fuel cap can only be one thing...Algae!  I've been running veg for 5 years and have never contracted an algae bloom in my fuel system before.  Damn.  I should have used protection.  I shouldn't have been sharing nozzles with my friends.    I showed my fellow co-op members and they told me their fuel tanks have looked like that for years.  My friend Steve actually has an appreciation for his now living ecosystem in his fuel tank.   Eh, he he.    I'm not so thrilled.   Apparently this algae can be killed by stuff called Biocide?  The quandary is that once killed,  the algae will clog filters, tank screens et

WVO Designs attended the 7th annual Collective Biofuels Conference this past weekend in beautiful Temecula, CA.   We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the attendees and learning from the inspiring presenters.    The conference was geared towards grease collection along with small-mid scale biodiesel production and distribution.  Although I only use SVO myself, I was able to glean some good information on the oil collection business and further my knowledge about Biodiesel.   I also left with a renewed sense of and enthusiasm and commitment to using alternative fuels.

You can checkout the past present

It's difficult to legally find quality WVO on the road.  Even if you do find a stash out at 12am behind Joe's Grill, you will likely struggle pumping it though filters and be worried about what exactly you are putting in your vehicle.

I have a bunch of 5 gallon carboys I carry with me for shorter trips with my car. Sometimes people tow 275gallon totes or barrels on a trailer or in their truck bed.

For longer trips, I prefer to connect with other Veggie-heads who have some extra oil to sell.   How do you connect with those people?  See the following links:

Fillup4Free - An older, but still fruitful map of people with oil to sell

Forums - Post a request for oil in a specific location or find others selling

http://www.wvodesigns.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?22-Open-Market

Do I sell one of the kids and purchase an over the top, custom made aluminum tank with fuel sender, return line, baffles, slick fill tube, heated pickup and vent?

Or do I get an old plastic boat tank, retrofit it with a heater and possibly sender and rig up some kind of filler neck?

Well, it's nice to have options.  At minimum I recommend a plastic, aluminum or stainless steel tank.   These materials will have less chance of accumulating polymerized oil.  Also, I see it crucial to have a fuel level sending unit in th