Anybody can make biodiesel. It's simple, you can make it in your kitchen area-- and it's BETTER than the petro-diesel fuel the big oil companies offer you. Your diesel motor will run much better and last longer on your home-made fuel, and it's much cleaner-- better for the environment and much better for health.

If you make it from utilized cooking oil it's not only low-cost however you'll be recycling a troublesome waste item. Most importantly is the GREAT sensation of freedom, independence and empowerment it will give you. Here's how to do it-- everything you need to understand.

Straight grease fuel (SVO) systems can be a clean, efficient and cost-effective alternative. Unlike biodiesel, with SVO you have to modify the engine. The very best way is to fit a professional singletank SVO system with replacement injectors and glowplugs optimised for veg-oil, in addition to fuel heating.

With the German Elsbett single-tank SVO system for circumstances you can use petro-diesel, biodiesel or SVO, in any mix. Just launch and go, stop and turn off, like any other car. Journey to Forever's Toyota TownAce van utilizes an Elsbett single-tank system. More

There are also two-tank SVO systems which pre-heat the oil to make it thinner. You have to start the engine on common petroleum diesel or biodiesel in one tank and after that change to SVO in the other tank when the veg-oil is hot enough, and switch back to petro- or biodiesel before you stop the engine, or you'll coke up the injectors.

More information on straight veggie oil systems in my blog.

3. Biodiesel or SVO?

Biodiesel has some clear benefits over SVO: it works in any diesel, without any conversion or adjustments to the engine or the fuel system-- simply put it in and go. It also has much better cold-weather homes than SVO (but not as excellent as petro-diesel-- see Using biodiesel in winter). Unlike SVO,

it's backed by many long-term tests in many countries, miles on the roadway.

Biodiesel is a clean, safe, ready-to-use, alternative fuel, whereas it's reasonable to say that many SVO systems are still experimental and require more development.

On the other hand, biodiesel can be more expensive, depending how much you make, what you make it from and whether you're comparing it with new oil or used oil (and depending upon where you live). And unlike SVO, it has actually to be processed first.

But the large and rapidly growing around the world band of homebrewers don't mind-- they make a supply each week or when a month and quickly get utilized to it. Many have been doing it for several years.

Anyway you have to process SVO too, particularly WVO (waste veggie oil, used, prepared), which lots of people with SVO systems use since it's low-cost or complimentary for the taking. With WVO food particles and pollutants and water need to be eliminated, and it most likely ought to be deacidified too. Biodieselers state, "If I'm going to need to do all that I may too make biodiesel rather." But SVO types belittle that-- it's much less processing than making biodiesel, they state. To each his own.