Storage of VO systems.

Due to the fact that vegetable oil suffers from breakdown through a process known as Oxidative Polymerization it is not recommended that you store vegetable oil for extended periods in your vehicles fuel system. If for some reason you do not intend to use the vegetable oil system for a period of time it is suggested that you purge the system of vegetable oil.

Unfortunately the length of time is determined by a number of factors including the quality of the oil, the ambient temperatures and whether or not the vehicle will be being driven while the vegetable oil system is not in use, so the decision to clean the system for storage will be up to the user. As a guideline the warmer the climate the shorter the time the fuel will remain stable, at or near freezing the oil will last for months on end.

If the vehicle will be being driven during storage of the vegetable oil system it is advised that you install a simple ball valve at the point where you tapped into the cooling system and close that valve (this should be between the cylinder head outlet and the systems temperature sender). This will prevent hot coolant from heating the heat exchanger, filter, lines and tank. Drain as much fuel as possible should be drained from the system and several gallons of diesel fuel put in the tank. The vehicle should then be started cold and switched manually to Vegetable oil mode by momentarily jumping pins 3 and 4 with a coin or jumper wire. This will fool the system into switching to Vegetable oil mode before the engine is up to temperature and allow the diesel fuel in the tank to be circulated through the systems lines, heat exchanger and filter. Once the vehicle has run like this for 10 minutes the entire VO system should be filled with diesel fuel and the vehicle can be purged and shut off. Do not operate the system again without first filling the VO tank with clean VO.

If the vehicle is not going to be driven while the system is not used, you may skip installing the ball valve at the coolant inlet as no hot coolant will be being pumped through the system. Follow the directions outlined above to flush the system and fill it with diesel fuel.

By flushing the system and filling it with diesel fuel we insure that any residual VO in the system will not polymerize in the system causing the valves to stick or the lines or the heat exchanger to be come clogged with polymerized oil.

Again – To begin again using the vegetable oil system, simply fill the tankwith vegetable oil and turn it on.