Techniques and Descriptions


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The following information on this page will be a technical guide to how the system works. There are several web sites and online stores that will sell you the parts you might need for this fuel system. We believe it is more important for people to get running on vegetable oil than it is for us to make a few extra dollars. Therefore, we are going to share these simple setup techniques with you, so you can visit your local hardware and auto parts stores to find the parts you need.

Another alternative is to download our Installation Manual (Adobe format; will open in new window):


Installation Manual


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Page Contents

Making a Heated Fuel Line

Gathering and Filtering Used Veggie Oil

Heated fuel line

There are a couple of heated fuel lines that people sell at outrageous fees. These vary from simply having polyethylene tubes (white plastic, inexpensive, sold in most conversion kits online) banded together to heater hose banded with the fuel line. These products are supposed to use the heat conducted from a heated hose to heat up the fuel line that is touching it. First, as we have stated, polyethylene is not made to handle this type of heat. Secondly, heater hose is made to insulate heat, not conduct it. Fuel line is made from the same material as heater hose. In other words, with these systems, you have two insulated hoses shown to you as conductors, which they are not.

For the sake of your hard-earned cash, injectors, and engine, I will tell you here, for free, how to make the best heated hose assembly, which can be made on your own, very inexpensively, from products found at any decent hardware store.

Supply List

Fuel System Diagram
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  1. Cut the 3/4” heater hose to size (fit from tank to engine). Cut off 6” from each end of this hose.
  2. Put the T-fittings, one on each end of the hose, and clamp firmly.
  3. Thread the tubing through the fittings and heater hose, leaving 2-4" extra tubing out each end of the hose.
  4. Cut the 3/8” fuel line in half (make two 6-inch pieces) and thread over the tubing and into heater hose so the end of the fuel line is flush with the end of the heater hose (do on both ends). This is how a gasket it formed.
  5. If the fuel line is hard to get over the tubing, spray with WD-40 or wipe with very clean veggie oil to lubricate the tubing.
  6. Take 1/2” I. D. vinyl tubing, cut in half, thread it on both ends over the fuel line, again it may need to be lubricated. Repeat same process with 5/8” ID reinforced vinyl tubing.
  7. Each end must be double clamped at the point where the hoses are overlapping each other. Put a clamp 4” in from end of heater hose, and one 1” in from the end of heater hose. Repeat for other end of the hose. (4 clamps total) This is now a heated fuel line.


Click to Enlarge

This heated line system is now hooked up to the engine by cutting the heater hose coming OUT of the heater coil, and attaching ONE end of the heated line system with a clamp. At the tank, attach the additional piece of heater hose (12-24”) to the heated line, and clamp. Then attach the opposite end of that piece of hose to the tank’s heater line intake, designed to pre-heat the fuel tank, and clamp. Then take the second piece of full-length heater hose, attach with a clamp to the out take port on the fuel tank, and run the line back to where you cut the hose at the engine. Remove the old line leading back into the engine, and replace with the full-length heater hose, and clamp firmly.

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Gathering and Filtering Veggie Oil

When I first started gathering and filtering used oil/grease, I would scoop it out with a 5-gal pail and run it through a sock filter. This is one of the messiest techniques for obtaining oil/grease and is very slow. There is also no way to use this technique in the winter, especially in colder climates. I have developed a way to filter your oil that works at any temp and is quick and inexpensive.

Supply List

Assemble as shown:

Make sure the suction side of the pump is made out of the rigid or reinforced tubing or it is likely to collapse. You will need to either invest in an RV deep cycle battery or you will only be able to pump WVO from containers to which you can pull your vehicle battery close.

Once you have some oil accumulated, you will want to start filtering it. A great way to do this is to put the WVO into a 50-gallon metal drum with an electric water heater element in the bottom and matching thermostat attached.Once it is heated and settled, then the WVO can be pumped through a filter.To do this, you will need the following:

Attach the heater element to the side of the 50-gallon drum barrel, 6" above the bottom of the drum. Attach the thermostat 3" above the heating element on the side of the barrel. Follow the wiring directions that come with the thermostat to connect the wiring elements. If there are no directions, be sure to have an electrician assist you because incorrect wiring can be very dangerous. Set the thermostat to 125°F, then plug it in, after filling the barrel with WVO. If you allow the WVO to "cook" overnight, the larger sediment will fall to the bottom and not plug your filter.

While it is "cooking", assemble your pump and filter. Make sure that no matter what pump you use, it does not exceed the limits of the filter (check PSI, flow rate (GPM), and temperature on filter). For example, many people like to use the blue or clear home water filters because they are inexpensive and easily found at local hardware stores. However, they neglect to see that they are rated for no more than FIVE gallons per minute, and anything stronger is letting particulates through. People on the internet will even sell these filters using transfer pumps to filter then brag that they can filter up to three times as fast as they can.

Filtering your oil as much as possible will allow you to change your vehicle's fuel filter much less frequently, avoiding stops along the road... in the middle of Minnesota... when it is -30°F...and the wind is howling...standing on a sheet of ice... well, you get the picture (been there, done that, wife still loves me - the cat, maybe not).

We recommend at least a 5-micron filter, and preferably 2-micron filter for filtering for newer, direct- injected vehicles. This is especially important if you are using a system where the return line is looped because this only gives the filter ONE chance to catch all the particulates, and anything not caught by the filter continues to circulate through the engine, creating carbon deposits (this is why we leave our return lines intact in our systems and conversions).

The filtered oil can then be put into your Veggie Tank or stored away in a cool place (so it won't grow algae or mold).

TIPS:

***It is important that when you are filtering out of a vat of grease, do NOT let the tubing fall all the way to the bottom because that is where all of the water, cleaning fluid, and congealed fat are found (all of which are bad for your filter and engine!). Do not pump out the bottom 12” of oil in a restaurant grease container.***

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