Converting a Volkswagen to run on waste vegetable oil can save fuel costs in the long run.
Converting your VW diesel engine to run on waste vegetable oil (WVO), a type of straight vegetable oil (SVO), involves a fair amount of labor and expense up front. However, over the long term you will save money on fuel because you can get WVO for free from restaurants.
Most diesel engines can run on vegetable oil, but it must be preheated in order to flow properly. This requires a dual tank system which allows you to start the engine with diesel, then use heat from the engine to preheat vegetable oil in a a separate tank before switching fuel types.
Instructions
1. Mount the radiator-heated fuel tank. Most people choose to place it in the trunk, but you can also put it on the floor in the front or back seat area. Make sure you can access it easily to fill it with oil.
2. Drill a hole in the VW's firewall with the hole saw attachment and run the triple hose from the engine bay to the WVO tank. Attach the two coolant hoses to the radiator in the WVO tank with hose clamps. Attach the fuel line to the tank's outlet with a hose clamp.
3. Split the hoses going into and out of your VW's radiator. Attach the coolant lines in the triple hose to the split radiator lines using low pressure T-valves.
4. Attach the fuel filter to the fuel line in the triple hose and mount the filter to the engine bay in an accessible location. Wrap the fuel filter heater jacket around the filter.
5. Run the fuel line from the fuel filter to one of the entry ports of the solenoid valve. Split the diesel fuel line at the solenoid. Attach the the end coming from the diesel tank to the other solenoid entry port, and the end going toward the engine to the exit port of the solenoid. Install the solenoid switch on your dashboard to control which tank supplies the engine with fuel.
6. Loop the diesel return line around so that fuel returns to the engine without returning to the diesel tank first. Use a high-pressure T-valve to join the diesel return line to the fuel line going into the engine. This prevents unburned WVO from being shunted into the diesel tank.
7. Bleed the air from all of the fuel and coolant lines. Top off the coolant level, since it must now fill the hoses going to and from the WVO tank.
Tags: fuel line, diesel tank, fuel filter, triple hose, Attach coolant