Okay, my friend Rob sent me his response to my questions! If you want to read them with pictures, you can go here:
http://letsbeselfsufficient.blogspot.com/2010/07/veggie-oil-interview-with-rob-d.html
Otherwise, here you go!
1. How much does it cost to convert a vehicle to veggie oil?
There are several routes you can take and they depend on how much initial cost you want to cough up, what your resources are, how much you know about cars and whether you like to get greasy. You can buy a kit from a veggie conversion company and pay around $1500 for a setup that may include a tank, then you install it yourself or have them do it (See resources list). There are many places to choose from, some have good reputations, others sell people garbage that ruin perfectly good vehicles. So buying a kit is the expensive initial cost option, but you will have all the parts you need for your particular vehicle in most cases and it will save time you might otherwise spend during.....
Scrounging at the Junkyard. Its not hard and you can save lots of cash using parts from other vehicles to build up your conversion, and its nice because you can be very creative with the process. You have to learn how your vehicle works with this option which is something people should be doing anyway. If you are willing and able to get dirty, have your own tools and "shop", you can do a very basic conversion for $200.
Other considerations for running on Waste Veggie oil are filtration, sources of oil and time. This process takes time, not just money. So if you work a lot and don't have a lot of time, this might not be something you want to do. You will spend money on a filtration setup, something simple like a Cold Upflow system might run you a couple hundred bucks. It all depends on what resources you have and how much time/money you want to put into it.
To sum up, your initial cost will be anywhere from $400-2500.
2. How do emissions compare to a regular car?
Running WVO will save you some cash, but is it greener? Well yes, apparently it is carbon neutral due to some fancy idea scientists have about plant based fuels. VO will burn less efficiently (because it has less energy than diesel), but emissions are lower across the spectrum with the exception of Nitrous Oxide (NO) or smog. Late model diesel engines are incredibly clean compared to those popular models from a few decades ago. Diesel is now ultra low in sulfur content which has an adverse effect on older injection pumps; no lubrication (another reason to run VO), but it burns cleaner. Point being made here is that older diesel vehicles do not run as clean as new ones, so the emission question really comes down to what you drive.
3. How long did it take to convert?
A conversion can take a day, or it could take a month. All depends on time, having the parts and how your vehicle works. The School bus that my band tours in took about a week to convert, a week of 10-12 hour days, and it still needs adjustments.
4. Where did you learn to do it?
Most of my knowledge about converting vehicles came from talking with folks and forums on the internet. There is an insane amount of information out there. I converted a bad idea* in 2006 and have been part of several other conversions since then.
5. Is there any advice you would give to someone that wants to do this?
Advice, where to start? There is a lot to know when it comes to running an engine on VO. If you've never worked on a car, doing a conversion will be very difficult, so it is important to find someone that has already done it, and can show you the ropes. Here are some general guidelines to follow:
Find a source of waste veggie oil and start filtering it.
Figure out what kind of shape your vehicle's engine is in. Check the glow plugs, the compression, injection pump and test your engine oil. If you drive something that is hurting on diesel, its going to hurt even more on VO. So make sure everything is working the way it should.
Learn how to properly clean WVO. It needs to be filtered AND De-watered. Dewatering is settling the water out of the oil, there are simple and effective ways to do this. You need to hot pan test the oil, if water bubbles pop up there is suspended water in the oil (ouch)! You can run WVO that has not been dewatered in your engine, but its life expectancy will be much shorter. People generally accept the 30,000 mile rule before catastrophic failure occurs. If you have spare injection pumps and don't mind replacing them, than don't worry about water.
Figure out a budget for your conversion. What is your initial investment vs long term investment? Also, if you are driving three miles a day around town, converting your car doesn't make sense. That is not enough time for the engine to hit running temperature and heat up the VO. Riding a bike is a better idea in this instance.
Try to run VO only when your engine is at running temperature, otherwise you are creating a bad environment for proper combustion of fuel. You want the VO to be as hot as possible when it enters your engine due to the viscosity.
Yes, some vehicles operate better than others on VO.
Do plenty of research and find out what works and what does not. New experiments happen everyday with running VO, some of them are great some of them are not. Often, old methods are no longer acceptable, so talk to people and find out what will work for the long term.
Converting your car to run on WVO or straight veggie oil is not the same as Biodiesel.
You will fail, you will get greasy, you will ruin your car. Well maybe not the last one but you are going to run into problems and its good to be prepared. This is another reason why having an understanding of how your conversion (and car) works is so important.
Learn something new everyday, whether its about your own car, or something that can make your conversion experience better.
Make sure what I am telling you is correct. WVO conversions have been a sort of grassroots jam for a long time, with some folks capitalizing on the process. So information is highly experiential in most cases. Cross check your info!!
Oh and the process should be fun, not boring!
6. What's the cost of general maintenance?
Not much changes when you do a conversion. You'll pay for filters of course, but that cost should be minimal if you do things correctly, and you are saving money not paying for fuel anyway. Aside from the usual vehicle maintenance, its a good idea to change your engine oil more frequently, as well as keeping a close eye on how your machine performs (compression, starting etc). You can catch problems before they destroy anything if you just pay attention. There are many options for filtering VO, so different methods yield different costs. Doing some research will help you figure out what makes the most sense.
* 1997 Chevy Van with 6.5L turbo. Notoriously bad engine, especially the injection pump*.
Resources:
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums - one of the oldest and best for information.
www.burnveg.com/ - Newer and to the point. Centrifuge haven.
Youtube
Companies:
Greasecar.com (forum too)
Frybrid.com (forum too)
Plantdrive
Fattywagons
