I have been thinking about doing this and making my own diesel from veggie oil. http://thedieselpageforums.com/tdpforum/index.php? http://www.gassavers.org/index.php ( gas mileage)
Our national TV had an interview with a few guys making their own biofuel from Veggie Oil. They're paying a select bunch of restaurants about 30 cents a litre (quart) for the oil and its costs them another 30 cents to distill it to a highgrade biofuel (space, equipment, electricity and yeast) no labour included. Their concern is that you'd get a price war on veggie oil, the more guys got doing it. AND then, they said they pocket some of the fuel savings, in case the road-tax man comes along. The main guy said he needs six restaurants to keep his cars and trucks going (small farmer) and makes a bit more for his buddies. You're looking at a fair chunk of change. Building, drums, a still, recovery drums, and a good old stove oil drum and pump, before you get a drop.
Have you checked the 2nd link? It's more about gas mileage than anything. I need to check out the 2 you linked to.
Good info, but a lot of guys are having similar debates about grade of fuel B100 vs B200. Then switch to #2 diesel for the winter months. Same problem with Hydrogen/Water electrolysers. You can't store the water. Even the New 2010 Fuel Cell cars from Toyota won't run below -20C (-30F). The gaskets and seals and hoses issues are common with either bio-diesel or hydrogen or even straight 100% ethanol fuel. That's sort of a given, but it's manageable. It's a beach, RK! If you've got the right climate, then go for it.
Another one of those "maybe someday" conversions in my head is a '74-'76 Ranchero but with an OM 617 Mercedes diesel and 4-speed automatic with lockup. I'd pretty much have to find a running 300SD to do the conversion. And at that point, I'd probably just drive the Benz until it dies, then rebuild the motor, and put it in the truck. Then again, an OM617 would be a great powerplant for the Torino...it's got torque...it's used to pulling around 4000lb S-Class Mercedes sedans...and...and...I can't do it...
I have 2 Olds Custom Cruiser Wagons with their original 350 diesels. Rather than make bio-diesel, I mix the filtered and settled oil with kerosene at a 35/65 percent mix during the warm months, lighter percentages as the weather cools and park both of them for the winter. The '82 with overdrive gets up to 29mpg on the highway and 24mpg in local driving. These cars still turn up at reasonable prices.
I don't think I'd do it. First, you'd have to invest a lot of time into collecting and processing the veggie oil, plus it's not recommend for use in the 2008 and newer diesels. Many restaurants have committed to commercial collection companies or regular collectors. Also, if you read the diesel truck boards fairly regularly, some states are cracking down on folks running home grown bio diesel and gigging them for taxes and penalty for road taxes not paid on the fuel. They look at it as though you're running off-road diesel and not paying the road taxes, even though you are "making" your own fuel. Plus, I don't know what kind of vehicle you're considering for conversion, but if it's an automobile, you'll have to do extensive modifications to the vehicle to accommodate the higher power and weight of a diesel engine. After purchasing the diesel and making the modification, you'll probably never recover the costs of your investment due to better fuel economy. The diesel engines in my E350 van and Excursion weigh about 1000 pounds. If you approached it as being "green" and collecting and using it for fun, go for it!
