Convert Your Diesel

Installation is DIYS or Hire a Pro

The included Conversion Manual is straight-forward for someone with basic auto mechanic skills and know-how. "Veg My Ride" on DVD is also included which walks through the process of converting an 84 Mercedes Benz, plus it looks at other vehicle types, provides an introduction to filtration, and shares plenty of helpful tips and background. In a nutshell, the conversion requires locating and tapping into radiator and fuel lines. It entails drilling a few holes to mount the tank, heat exchanger, system preheater, and fuel valve. Electronics arrive to you mostly pre-wired and are relatively simple to connect with the guide.

Make sure to work with an experienced mechanic for best results or if you are not educated in how to work on automobiles safely. Always work in safe, well lit, dry conditions, with a buddy - two heads are better than one. Tools and materials required are: drill with cutting and screwing bits, screwdrivers, knife, teflon tape for fittings, zip ties, tubing cutter, adjustable wrenches, wire cutters, hose clamps or vice grips to hold hoses closed, mityvac or other siphon pump for priming lines, extra engine coolant, vegetable oil for the conversion kit, hand towels, and safety equipment like safety goggles & latex gloves.

Installation typically takes between 6-12 hours depending on the vehicle and experience level of the installer. Professional installations can be arranged from installation shops and experienced mechanics for typically between $500-$2,000. Common Rail fuel systems and vehicles mentioned as not recommended for conversion are more complicated so a professional experienced with that type of conversion is recommended.

Finding & Filtering Vegetable Oil

A. Collect Waste Oil

Most people choose to collect the used cooking oil from local restaurants, who are usually happy to give it to you for free, as they typically have to pay to have it removed. Check out how to Find & Filter WVO for Fuel for a more detailed look at the best places to find the best quality and how to ask for it. You can also use a portable Filtration Unit or Centrifuge for filtering your oil, which are designed for biofuel applications.

B. Purchase Oil in Bulk

Generally off the shelf food grade oil is in perfect condition to go directly into your heated tank. Sometimes vegetable oil can be purchased economically from farmers, in bulk, or even at the pump in some places. If you are buying vegetable oil in bulk, filter it again for your self to be sure, or make absolutely certain that it has been filtered down to 10 microns or lower, ideally under 2 micron, with the water removed.

Your heated fuel filter catches 99.9% of water particles, and the water sensor will alert you in the event of too much water in the system, however you will be taking a chance if you do not know the quality of fuel going into your tank, as well as using fuel filters faster than necessary if it is not already filtered well.

C. Grow Your Own Oil

You can also grow your own biofuel from a variety of crops such as soy, canola, flax, cottonseed, olives, sunflower, jatropha, walnut, hemp and even algae oil. Basically if you can use an oil press to derive pure oil from a plant you can use it for fuel in this conversion kit. Some people have even used animal fats, such as duck drippings from a factory, and it works just as well. Even oils that are thick at relatively warm temperatures such as coconut oil will thin out quickly in the heated conversion kit.

Vegetable Oil is the Original Diesel Fuel

Environmentally Smarter Fuel

Carbon emissions are reduced 40-60%, plus growing plants absorbs CO2 from the air, so burning it is not introducing new C02 into the ecosystem as petroleum does. The ability to grow more plant based oil means that it is a renewable energy source, while petroleum is running out. Vegetable oil is non-toxic & biodegradable so spills are not dangerous to life, water, or soil. Sulphur is typically added to diesel fuel to lubricate the engine, so since vegetable oil is so well lubricating no sulphur is required, which are very poisonous and contribute to health and environmental problems.

Plus vegetable oil can be cost effectively produced domestically so you support your local farmers, or even in your own backyard for energy independence. If you are using cooking oil you are reclaiming a waste product and putting it to good use, which is recycling. Recycling a waste oil product is great, however the question arises if the waste oil resources are going to run out eventually? If enough people use them, or in areas where industries are collecting the oil for their own uses, yes supply becomes an issue.

There are additional questions about the viability of large scale biofuels. Are there situations where rainforests are cut down to make biofuels? Unfortunately, yes. Are some crops like soybeans driving up the price of food crops and competing for scarce water and soil for very minimal energy gain? Yes again. On the bright side though there are high yield smart crops like algae, jatropha, hemp and so on that hold incredible potential for biofuels – you bet. Overall, people being able to repurpose a waste product or to grow a vastly environmentally healthier fuel – which also saves a lot of money and facilitates more energy independence - is a step in the right direction!

Mechanic Friendly

Regular mechanics will still be able to work on your vehicle. They may be a little confused or resistant at first, but this usually gives way to fascination and excitement once they see how it works. The systems are straightforward enough that an experienced mechanic will be able to see how the system is installed and how to work around it, and you can provide the installation guides for more details if required.

Warranty Preservation

Warranty work from a dealership typically can only be refused if a vehicle problem can be directly proven to have resulted from your modification. So if anything happens to your vehicle other than in the fuel system, the dealer warranty will be fully preserved. Ultimately warranty coverage for your specific vehicle may vary, so consult with your provider about this conversion for certainty. The Conversion Kit components carry a 1 Year warranty. Due to the variable nature of fueling with vegetable oil, Organic Mechanic offers no warranty on the outcome for your specific vehicle, as is described in the Terms.

Vegetable Oil is Safe

Vegetable Oil is actually a much safer fuel than either gasoline or diesel. When looking at the flash point - the temperature at which the liquid will ignite - diesel fuel is 143* F (62* C) and vegetable oil is nearly 5 times hotter at 620* F (327* C). Not only is it less dangerous because it will not ignite as easily, if vegetable oil is spilled on the ground, it is not poisonous to people, animals, or the environment. The Conversion Kit is engineered with high grade automotive parts, and has been thoroughly tested in order to be approved by TUV - the strict German standard for reliable automotive application.

Minimal Upkeep

The heated fuel filter will have to be changed every 1,000 to 3,000 miles or more, depending on the quality of oil you put into the tank to begin with. Filters are $35 for cars and only $15 for larger vehicles from Organic Mechanic or at auto parts stores, and are even less when purchased in sets.

Also you will likely require a filtration method for your oil. Finding good oil and using a smart filtration system will keep this cost minimal, often only 5-30 cents per gallon. It is safe to say that even with these costs your fuel costs will be dramatically reduced!

Reversible Conversion

Your vehicle can be returned to its original state, except for a few small holes where items were mounted. These are hardly noticeable and can be patched if necessary. All of the components are exceptionally long lasting, and can be reused on another vehicle if desired. Optionally most of the time converted vehicles can be sold at a premium!

Run on Diesel, Pure Vegetable Oil, and/or Biodiesel!

Since this is a dual tank system the original diesel fuel system is left fully intact. You are always free to run on diesel with a simple flip of a switch on the Smart Controller. You may also consider chemically converted biodiesel to replace diesel fuel as your startup fuel in your vehicle's stock tank. Biodiesel, as described earlier in this FAQ and in this Ultimate Biodiesel Guide, is vegetable oil converted into a diesel fuel replacement using a biodiesel processor.

Cold Climate Performance

Straight vegetable oil becomes more viscous (thicker) at lower temperatures. The heating devices in the system thin the oil and the vehicle will only switch over to vegetable oil operation when the correct temperatures have been reached. In colder environments driving a few extra miles before switchover is common. 

To accelerate this warmup process, especially during winter, plug in the included System PreHeater to add circulating heat to the system before you drive. This process takes between 1-4 hours, depending on the size of your engine and weather. The included outlet timer allows you to easily program the heater to come on at the same time each day, so for instance it begins warming your fuel system at 4 am for your 7 or 8 am departure.

You may also choose to add some percentage of diesel fuel into the vegetable oil tank to assist the oil in thinning, especially in extremely cold temperatures. Also recommended for all conversions is to add high temperature insulation wrap around vegetable oil fuel and radiator lines wherever possible to bundle them together. This will maximize heat transfer throughout the system and reduce heat loss especially in cold environments. 

Why a Conversion Kit is Necessary

Vegetable oil which has not been heated to be thinned properly before being used as fuel leads most often to difficulties starting the engine and negative effects on the performance and life cycle of the vehicle. Cold and viscous vegetable oil strains the injection system and burns incompletely. This causes excess smoking, difficulty in starting, and in the long term unburnt fuel can lead to deposits in the combustion chamber of the motor, causing loss in efficiency or worse. This is why a properly heated system such as this Diesel Conversion Kit is so crucial, as it ensures that optimum fuel temperature is always reached and maintained, and that startups always stay smooth.

In extremely hot environments where no cold or cool weather operation periods will be required, a conversion with less heating equipment is possible, however the full conversion kit is recommended for optimum performance, best feedback from the sensors and intelligent switching from the controller system, plus for the the versatility and assurance of being able to run in multiple environmental conditions, day or night.