Picture of Brian, Zeke and Noah (the baby). We are staying with Brian's friends from Virginia, Zeke and Heather. Rained all day so far but it is now just starting to clear up. We are about to drive back to Kansas City so I can drop off this rental car and Brian can get a new battery for the veggie mobile. So I thought this would be a good time to explain some things that I have just learned.
1. Brian's car will run on just about anything dieselesque. As he says, anything that burns and doesn't explode will work. We stopped at a coop that had a grease bin out back, and we are heading back there later to siphon the old grease. Now once we get the grease, he has a filtration system that we will run it through to clean it so it can be put in the engine without leaving residue.
2. To burn fuels like vegetable oil you need to add heat. Once you add the right amount of heat it will burn like diesel. If it is not hot enough it will smoke and residue, but if it isn't smoking, it is happy. Pure veggie oil needs to be 180 degrees. Regular diesel fuel is not meant to burn at that high a temperature, so Brian had to modify the engine. Brian's engine loops the fuel so that the fuel gets hotter and hotter, constantly being pushed in and out of the fuel pump. Since the engine gets up to about 185 degrees when running. Of course if it is a really hot day out and you have been driving through, say, the Nevada desert.....
3. So veggie oil is thicker than diesel oil before it is heated up, so Brian had to modify the fuel line that goes from the gas tank to the engine. The original one was a skinny aluminum tube, and he said it was like sucking a milk shake through a skinny straw. So now the line is fatter, like the McDonald straws. Once it is heated the oil has same consistency as diesel and can run through the engine as normal. .
Oh boy, just discovered spell check on this thing.
OK, pictures coming
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