| The Moishe Mobile- How The Heck
Does it Run on Veggie Oil?
The Moishe Mobile is a 1996 GMC Vandurra 3500 short school bus
(yes, we drive a short school bus) powered by a 6.5 liter diesel
engine. Thanks to LoveCraft
Biofuels, our bus runs on straight
veggie oil (SVO).
 Painted by hand, the bus shines “go-go green" in the
sun. With the icon of our fearless funder Moishe
wearing 70’s aviator glasses, the slogans “Make
The World a Better Place” and “You Have the Power to
Mobilize Change,” the vehicle brings
hope and inspirations to the people it encounters.
The LoveCraft conversion, unlike other veggie transformations,
is a single tank system that is compact and simple to understand.
It consists of a single unit consisting of a heated high flow filter,
heat exchanger, booster pump, with custom glow plugs, relays replacement
fuel lines, and "T" fitting to tap into the engines coolant
lines.
The Moishe Mobile will be using the LoveCraft Home Fueling Station
to clean and filter waste vegetable oil (WVO) when not running
off of straight/clean/new veggie oil.
Three basic steps are used to filter the WVO:
- Settling (settling is the most important, and removes the majority
of debris that can clog your fuel system)
- Filtering (removes
any remaining debris that can clog your fuel system)
- De-watering (water can get through just about any filter,
be sure to settle water out of your oil)
First, we want to be
sure that our oil is not hydrogenated or shortening based.
After collecting the oil, we will let it settle for at least
24 hours (2 weeks is ideal) until the top layer becomes
translucent, shiny, and has a brown to yellow tint. After
settling, the top layer of oil is poured into the fueling
station and the lower dirty level of non
translucent oil will be poured out and composted.
We let oil sit in the fueling station
24 hours before pumping into the Moishe Mobile.
 History of Veggie Oil and Diesel
Using vegetable oil as fuel in diesel engines isn't a new idea.
Rudolf Diesel's first engines were built to run on peanut oil
for the developing world, which had no petrochemicals industry.
Running your modern diesel car or van on veg is just going back
to what the designer intended. But why should you make the change?
Vegetable oil is renewable: it's not a fossil fuel, so it doesn't
contributes less to global warming. By using vegetable oil as fuel,
you're making a positive environmental move where it matters
the most. Plus it supports the American Agricultureal industry.
It's not just green, though Vegitable oil is also cheaper than
regular diesel: even if you buy supermarket oil and pay the full
duty, it works out cheaper. Use waste oil, and the price is virtualy
free. Who doesn't want to save money?
Even better, veg oil has cleaner emissions and is good for your
engine. Compared to regular diesel, veg oil has massively less
sulphur, so there's less sulphur dioxide emmitted when you drive.
Sulphur dioxide is one of the pollutants that makes kids wheezy,
so you're cutting your contribution to childhood asthma. And, because
veg oil has better lubricity, it's kind to your engine, too: a
veg-fuelled engine runs just a little bit smoother. Fuel efficiency
is unaffected. (ravenfamily.org)
 Environmentally Friendly Fuel
Plants use sunlight and photosynthesis to take CO2 out of the Earth's
atmosphere to make vegetable oil. The same CO2 is then put back
after it is burned in the engine. Thus vegetable oil does not
increase the CO2 in the atmosphere, and does not contribute to
the problem of greenhouse gas. It is really a way of catching
and storing solar power. It is a true renewable energy.
Burning fossil fuels releases sulfur dioxide and other harmful
air pollution.[2] Because vegetable oil has not been inside the
earth for millions of years, it is not contaminated with things
like sulfur and burns much cleaner, even than Ultra low sulphur
diesel. Burning fossil fuels also contributes to the greenhouse
gas problem. (Wikipedia)
“Carrying Extra Oil In Your Car, That’s not Safe..” my
mom said
Vegetable oil is safer to use and store than gasoline, diesel,
hydrogen, ethanol, or methanol as it has a higher flash point.
It is biodegradable, so a spill is not such a problem. It is not
toxic, in fact it is edible. The standard cooking oil is a mixture
of vegetable oils, and it is safe to put in a pan over an open
flame in your kitchen. This is not something that would be safe
with most fuels. (Wikipedia) |
