Canola oil as fuel additive?

TribalMinds

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I thought I read somewhere here that some people are adding canola oil to there dino diesel with no modifications? If that's true, what is a safe mix ratio? Could this be done with WVO as well? Thanks, I'm learning many things here!

Did a search on canola oil, they it is not fit for human consumption! web page
 

McBrew

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It depends on the engine. Canola/rapeseed is the most common base for biodiesel in Europe. You could use normal Canola in a blend, but you'd probably want to stick with a pretty low percentage because it's harder for your fuel injection pump to pump it -- especially in the winter. It works better with some older cars, like the diesel Mercedes from the late 1970s and early 1980s. You can use 20 or 30% without a problem (in warm weather). I wouldn't fool around with it in my TDI, but I doubt a 5% blend would do much of anything. I'll stick with biodiesel for my biofuel thirst!
 

MrMopar

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You can do it in smaller ratios, and your fuel pump will love the lubrication that Canola provides. Like McBrew says, some mix up to about 5% shouldn't affect anything. The diesel in the tank will dilute it so much viscosity won't be affected much at all.

WVO is a whole different beast for sure. Provided the oil is free of water, and filtered down to at least 15 microns or so, there is no reason you couldn't add it to a tank of diesel in small bunches. But if you're getting to the point where you'd want to add Canola or WVO to a tank of diesel it might be time to start looking into purchasing biodiesel or brewing your own at home in small batches. Biodiesel is a much better additive and fuel to be using than straight WVO or Canola.
 

TDiMike

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Milligan BioTech out of Saskatchewan is selling canola-based diesel fuel additive. This is more than just biodiesel, but also contain additives.

WVO is higher in sulfur and raises cloudpoint more than canola, so there's 2 knocks against it as a fuel additive.
 

TribalMinds

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Is Canola the best one to use if you were to use one of the oils? In that case I guess making biodiesel from the same would be the way to go as well or is just important to have oil which is clean? To biodiesel or SVO, that is the question. . .
 

Couleetdi

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<font color="blue">Ok. I can now post the results of running two tanks of the same fuel, from the same pump, with the saem amount of Milligan Canola Additive.
I've run four consecutive tanks of Cenex Roadmaster Diesel. The last two had two ounces of Milligan Biotech Canola additive.
Results: my mileage is up about 2.5 mpg. 51+mpg. Can post the data if you like. I filled to the rim both times, so that's a wash. Most noticable the engine runs quieter like they said it would. My driving is to work and home, and on each tank, I've driven to River Falls, Wisconsin once, 147 miles round trip. Other than that, its' 10 miles to work, 10 home. About 7 miles rural, rest in town driving. My driving don't vary and I try to keep the rpms around 2K-2.5K before I shift. I'll keep a tally going, and repost. Oh yes, I continued to add 4 oz of Standyne with the Canola oil, as I had added that in the first two tanks before Canola oil additive. The only thing I did not add on the last two tanks was Standyne lubricity additive, 2 oz, bu t used 2 oz of Canola oil. My next objective, move down to 1 oz Canola oil, which is what is specified for a fill about.
will keep you folks posted, but I like it already. </font>
coulee
 

Stampfan

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I'm questioning whether it is cost effective. I can get it here for $16 Cdn, but if you're adding this and Stanadyne Performance I wonder about whether Milligan is worth it...its more expensive per bottle/dose than any other additive I can find.
 

dezeljunky

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Resurrecting an old thread. Anyone have experience using new canola oil(SVO not WVO) as an additive for lubricity? I have heard folks using ATF and 2-stroke engine oil for lubricity. I think that canola has very good lubricity based on the fact that it's preferred for Biodiesel and it's safe when added in small amounts like at 2%(1 litre with each fillup of about 50 liters) with D2. Plus canola oil is cheaper when bought in the 16L jugs. :) Just wanted to get an idea if anyone tried it on an ALH engine.
 

dezeljunky

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Thanks bluesmoker but that first video is talking about WVO damage and likely caused by running with a high % of WVO.

I am referring specifically to *NEW* canola oil in lower % blends with D2 diesel ~2% as a lubricity additive(1 liter per fillup). I would never consider using it straight in lieu of D2 diesel... that's just suicide :eek:

I guess I should not have used the term SVO as that means using ONLY Vegetable oil in lieu of D2 diesel.
 
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Dieselfitter

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I thought I read somewhere here that some people are adding canola oil to there dino diesel with no modifications? If that's true, what is a safe mix ratio? Could this be done with WVO as well? Thanks, I'm learning many things here!
Did a search on canola oil, they it is not fit for human consumption! web page
That site is a Stretch! Any kind of Fat or Oil is bad for the digestive system.
 

philngrayce

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Canola oil is most definitely edible; people eat it all the time.

If you are buying new canola oil just for the lubricity, I think you'd be better off buying biodiesel or an additive specifically designed for diesels.
 

K5ING

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I used to add about a quart of new canola oil to a full tank every time I filled up, and it did make the engine a little quieter, but I only did it for a few months (driving 400 miles per day and filling up every other day), so I can't speak to the long term effects of it. It didn't seem to hurt it though.

My girlfriend sometimes drove my route for me during that time, and she used to love it when she filled up. She would add the canola oil right out of a store bought Wesson oil bottle I kept in the car because it had a longer neck on it, and someone would always rush up to ask her "what the hell are you doing??!!". She would give them her best "dumb female" look and say "it's my boyfriend's car, and he told me that I should probably add a quart of oil to it the next time I filled up, so I got this at the grocery store". The look on their faces were priceless. :D
 
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dezeljunky

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Thanks for all your responses. I guess with biodiesel being more common and the price nearly the same as fresh canola oil, there aren't a lot of reasons to do this anymore. I do believe that in *small* amounts where it's completely dissolved/diluted into the D2 diesel, that the risk is minimal.
 

T'sTDI

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I can't believe this thread isn't getting flagged down like every other WVO thread ever created. Mix biodiesel in with your D2 all day anyday... Mix WVO/SVO whatever VO you want to put in your diesel fuel NEVER regardless of quantity...

There is no way of knowing how dilluted your d2 tank is with the SVO. You have no idea if it is even mixing correctly... Come on people, practice what you preach on these forums... Even a small quantity of SVO without a conversion can cause disasterous effects.

I can see this scenario unfolding into a big problem... This is when people tend to get greedy and will add a little more each time... The whole logic "my car has done fine with that amount, lets add some more." See K5ING's post...

If you want lubricity or are worried about it add power service or biodiesel PERIOD!

Save me and a few others the WVO/SVO pissing match when you come back crying 4 years later saying your engine is burning oil and your car smokes on startup... Take my thoughts constructively... it will save your engine... Thanks!
 

K5ING

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I can't believe this thread isn't getting flagged down like every other WVO thread ever created. Mix biodiesel in with your D2 all day anyday... Mix WVO/SVO whatever VO you want to put in your diesel fuel NEVER regardless of quantity...

There is no way of knowing how dilluted your d2 tank is with the SVO. You have no idea if it is even mixing correctly... Come on people, practice what you preach on these forums... Even a small quantity of SVO without a conversion can cause disasterous effects.

I can see this scenario unfolding into a big problem... This is when people tend to get greedy and will add a little more each time... The whole logic "my car has done fine with that amount, lets add some more." See K5ING's post...

If you want lubricity or are worried about it add power service or biodiesel PERIOD!

Save me and a few others the WVO/SVO pissing match when you come back crying 4 years later saying your engine is burning oil and your car smokes on startup... Take my thoughts constructively... it will save your engine... Thanks!
Lighten up, Francis... :rolleyes:

In my case, and most of the others on here, we're talking about around a quart of fresh, new canola oil added to 15 gallons of fuel, not WVO. It's not going to hurt anything and will improve lubricity. Biodiesel may be better, but it's not always available, especially in B100.
 
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vwcampin

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Lighten up, Francis... :rolleyes:

In my case, and most of the others on here, we're talking about around a quart of fresh, new canola oil added to 15 gallons of fuel, not WVO. It's not going to hurt anything and will improve lubricity. Biodiesel may be better, but it's not always available, especially in B100.
I think the bigger issue that T's is relating to is the constant thrashing the WVO users on this site put up with. While the majority of us try to be upfront about WVO usage, and have told most who come into this forum that WVO is probably not for them after indicating what is needed to be successful, we are still accused of being zealots. So when we see someone indicating it is ok to put vegetable oil straight in their diesel tank, we can hear the vultures circling.
 

dezeljunky

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Sorry to stir up the pot guys.... my bad :D

I was just seeing if someone had used this as an additive before... (ie. a poll)

I don't claim to know it's 100% safe and only base it on other's testimony. I completely agree that biodiesel is best when available. No doubt about that :p
 

Power_Not_Speed

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My girlfriend sometimes drove my route for me during that time, and she used to love it when she filled up. She would add the canola oil right out of a store bought Wesson oil bottle I kept in the car because it had a longer neck on it, and someone would always rush up to ask her "what the hell are you doing??!!". She would give them her best "dumb female" look and say "it's my boyfriend's car, and he told me that I should probably add a quart of oil to it the next time I filled up, so I got this at the grocery store". The look on their faces were priceless. :D
Still laughing about this. I'd love to see the reactions.
 

K5ING

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Still laughing about this. I'd love to see the reactions.
This was back in 2002-2004 timeframe, and my route covered a large portion of south-central Oklahoma (Atoka, Ada, Madill, Sulfur, etc). VWs of any kind were really rare in that neck of the woods, and the locals had seen more UFOs than MkIV Golfs. She used to get the same reactions when filling up with diesel up there. Someone would usually come running up, shut off the pump, and tell her can't put diesel into a car. She would give them the same "dumb female" look and tell them that her "boyfriend just said to put the cheapest stuff she could find into it" (this was back when diesel was cheaper than gas) and then see how long she could keep a straight face. She had the whole thing down to an art form. :D

Back to the topic... I've never been in the WVO-as-a-fuel crowd either, T. I would never run more than just a little as an additive. That was especially true back then when biodiesel was rare, and some of it was of questionable quality. I did run the canola oil in it for about 50K miles and was happy with the results, but eventually went back to regular pump diesel with no additives.
 
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philngrayce

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My wife has almost never been able to put diesel in her Jeep Liberty without somenone running over and trying to stop her. I think I'll pass on those little stories. (I'm also very proud that she has only put diesel in it, something I was very concerned about in the beginning, but that's another story.)
 

flatlanded

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Lol @ that website. I guess we must be poisoning ourselves daily.

A little bit of bio is the best additive you can get. Don't just dump a jug of canola in the tank and call it good.
 

Mike_V

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we're talking about around a quart of fresh, new canola oil added to 15 gallons of fuel, not WVO. It's not going to hurt anything and will improve lubricity.
If it's enough additive that it is meaningfully altering the properties of the fuel, then I don't see why in principle it's not enough additive to cause damage. 2% of your fuel isn't that much, but obviously nobody would want their diesel to be 2% water!

Given the proud mileage count on your Golf, I assume the majority of the mileage at the time you were using this additive was long highway drives? If so, the majority of vehicle operation would have been in a "VO-friendly" regime of full operating temperature. Somebody using 2% canola but driving short distances might have had a very different experience, because of the far more frequent warm-up/cool-down cycles with SVO in the system.
 

philngrayce

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Is the OP still around? If so, I would agree, you should not put vegetable oil in your diesel tank. If you are concerned about lubricity, use a VW approved additive (are there any?) or biodiesel.
 

Mr. Flibble

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For added lubricity non WVO canola is ok in small amounts - I use it frequently in my Delica L400. Two stroke oil is another good choice. Both oils are known for high lubricity, and they both burn well in a Diesel engine.

However.....

My Delica L400 uses a 4M40 engine. It is an Indirect Injection Diesel with a MECHANICAL pump. The mechanical pump is key here - the older pumps suffer added wear from low sulfur diesel - and the pump seals degrade much faster. This is why people add canola or two-stroke oil to the older diesels.

Most of us here have engines designed to handle low sulfur diesel, also, they are direct injection diesels. They use common rail injection and are electric. These engines do not handle veggie oil as well as the older engines do - you can do it - but you usually want your oil heated to about 60c before it enters the engine. Furthermore, you want to avoid leaving it in the engine after running - this is more for WVO, but holds partially true for clean SVO.

The real question is, if you have an electric injection system, why do you need the added lubricants? Unless it is winter, and you are running full winter kerosene (what is used in very cold climates as winter diesel) you don't need the added lubricity.
 

dweisel

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dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
I remember probably 5 years back. Someone stated in a thread here that Canola oil would separate out of diesel fuel if used as a lubricity additive . I mixed up some 50/50 ULSD and Canola oil. It's been on a shelf in my garage for 5 YEARS! NO SEPARATION AT ALL. LOL. Looks the same as the day I placed it on the shelf.
 

BioDiesel'

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"It's been on a shelf in my garage for 5 YEARS! NO SEPARATION AT ALL. "

yes. But of course you had to PROVE it to the naysayers here.:rolleyes:

IIRC a moderator here was the one who claimed wvo would settle out.
Absolute unsupported superstition, but it would get picked up and parroted.

BTW, my wife has a 2010 Mercedes-Benz ML-350 Bluetec CR, and I have been adding 2-4% WVO for the last 15K miles, no problems.

Several studies have shown veg oil has BOCLE numbers similar to biodiesel, and also is the CHEAPEST, at $4/gallon, and most readily available, lubricity additive.
 
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