| RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK |  | REUK Shop | Directory | About Us  

Vegetable Oil Fuel Heaters



Vegetable Oil Fuel Heaters

Inline fuel heaters for vegetable oil conversions

biomass | transport
  Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

Vegetable Oil is much thicker than mineral diesel at typical ambient temperatures. Therefore, if a vehicle is to be powered by vegetable oil, the oil must be heated in some way before it reaches the fuel filter and the engine's injectors, or a two tank vegetable oil conversion needs to be carried out on the vehicle so you can switch between vegetable oil and standard diesel/biodiesel fuel when starting (and turning off) the engine.

12V Inline Fuel Heaters


Range of biofuel heaters from Vow2.co.uk

Pictured above is a range of fuel heaters from Vow2 suitable for biofuel conversions. They are inline glow plug 12V heaters which are very easy to fit requiring only a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. It will raise the temperature of vegetable oil fuel to 90 degrees celcius (thermostatically controlled). As soon as the oil is hot, you can start the car like normal.

The disadvantage of this method is that only 70-90% oil can be used (10-30% diesel/biodiesel required) and the fuel pump is stressed by the thick cold oil at start up. Adding a water heater as well increases the percentage of oil that can be used in the fuel and the fuel pump will not be so stressed. During cold weather you would have to use straight biodiesel/diesel or fit a fuel tank heater.

These heaters are available from around £30 - £100, with new glow plugs costing under £10. Replacing glow plugs is very easy requiring just a 12mm spanner.

Find out more about processing Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) into a car friendly fuel here.



Article Last Modified: 09:47, 20th Dec 2006

Comment on this Article

If you have any comments on this article, please email them to neil@reuk.co.uk.


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

Can You Run Your Car On Biodiesel
Is your vehicle suitable for running on biodiesel?
Article Last Modified: 15:40, 2nd Jul 2008
biomass | transport

Vegetable Oil Two Tank Conversion
A two tank conversion to vegetable oil fuel
Article Last Modified: 15:23, 18th Dec 2006
biomass | transport

UK Feed in Tariff to be Cut by 50 Percent
UK government announces 50% cut in feed in tariff payable on new solar PV installations
Article Last Modified: 12:42, 4th Feb 2012
solar | news | wind | general

200W 12V Immersion Heater
Using a wind turbine to heat water for your home via an immersion heater element
Article Last Modified: 12:21, 4th Sep 2008
heating | wind | water

Waste Vegetable Oil
Processing waste vegetable oil (WVO) to use as a fuel
Article Last Modified: 10:28, 16th Dec 2006
biomass | transport

Immersion Heater Elements for Wind Turbines
Details of a range of immersion heater elements designed for use with wind turbine generators
Article Last Modified: 08:19, 22nd Dec 2008
wind | heating | water

Convert to Run on Vegetable Oil
Find out how to convert a diesel car to run on vegetable oil
Article Last Modified: 11:14, 22nd Mar 2006
transport

Introduction to Biodiesel
A brief introduction to Biodiesel
Article Last Modified: 20:04, 20th Mar 2006
transport | biomass | education

Water Heating with Surplus Solar PV
Heat water with surplus solar generated electricity
Article Last Modified: 10:58, 4th Feb 2012
solar | water | general

© 2006-2012 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 4th February 2012 at 12:42:53pm

Latest
Articles


Make a PICAXE Repeating Timer
Make your own repeating timer with our automatic PICAXE Basic code generator
education
12:42, 4th Feb 2012

Karasouli SCC 20 Wind Turbine Charge Controller
Find out more about the SCC-20 wind turbine charge controller and dump load controller
wind
12:42, 4th Feb 2012

UK Feed in Tariff to be Cut by 50 Percent
UK government announces 50% cut in feed in tariff payable on new solar PV installations
solar
12:42, 4th Feb 2012

PIR Sensor Circuits
Find out more about using PIR sensors within renewable energy applications
electronics
12:42, 4th Feb 2012

Water Heating with Surplus Solar PV
Heat water with surplus solar generated electricity
solar
10:58, 4th Feb 2012

Hacked PIR Sensor
Cannibalise a cheap PIR sensor to put it to other uses
electronics
10:44, 4th Feb 2012

Make a Still
Find out how to make your own still for distilling ethanol fuel
biomass
13:49, 31st Jan 2012

PICAXE Microcontrollers
Find out about PICAXE microcontrollers and their use in renewable energy projects
electronics
13:12, 30th Jan 2012



REUK Shop

Popular Items


REUK SUPER LDR DUSK DAWN RELAY CONTROLLER
Multi-function light detector triggered light/dark dawn/dusk relay controller
£18.95 each.
Complete Circuits



KARASOULI SCC 20 CHARGE CONTROLLER
20A rated wind turbine charge controller and dump load controller with blocking diode and heatsink
£43.95 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
Solar water heating system microprocessor controlled circuit with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



REUK SUPER POULTRY LIGHTING CONTROLLER
Control up to 8 Watts of LED spotlights to stimulate egg production in birds
£29.99 each.
Complete Circuits



REUK SUPER TIMER 2
User programmable 12VDC powered 16A rated repeating relay timer. 1 second to 99 hours ON and OFF times
£23.99 each.
Complete Circuits



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



CONVERTED PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL TIMER RELAY
Mains powered programmable timer converted to low voltage with relay board
£21.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



12 VOLT REGULATOR
Supply a fixed 12.0 Volt DC to your devices (up to 1 Amp output)
£4.99 each.
Complete Circuits



MR16 CERAMIC BULB HOLDER
Bulb holder for 12 Volt LED spotlight bulbs
£1.39 each.
Energy Efficient Lighting