# Sunflower oil for fuel



## Faith Farm (Dec 13, 2004)

Does anyone have experience with sunflower seed oil for a diesel fuel
additive? What variety seed would be the best? How about canola/ rape
seed oil for fuel and the byproduct for hog feed?
Thanks,
Paul


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hi,
You can split it to remove the glyceryn molecule and turn it into biodiesel or modify the diesel feed system to burn straight vegitable oil.
So the answer is yes with some work.
Dutch
I own an 83 Mercedes 300D that has been modified to burn used vegitable oil. I'm now looking for a diesel F350 to modify.


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

Paul, I missed your post until searching for another one but somewhere among this here world wide liabray called HT, there is a site about a man that grows sunflowers for his diesel fuel. He has a screw press that runs 24/7's (I think I am right there) and he mixes 10 to 15% regular gasoline and swears by it. The difference in the 10% or 15% is what the temps are outside. The colder the higher amount of gas. 
All he does is filter it good, mix the gas and runs it as is in all his farm equipment. 
This was a site someone else posted, I thought to a question I had but I can't find it anywhere so far. 
If any one knows the link, please post it again while I still have some hair. 

Thanks, Dennis


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## Dahc (Feb 14, 2006)

This page lists oil yields per acre for different crops. I don't know how to make biodiesel but this information would probably be helpful.

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

Paul, I posted this on another thread because me and my dumb self got side tracked, but this is the site about the man making his own diesel fuel.
http://www.oilcrusher.5u.com/

I thought it was a very interesting link. Sure is food for thought. He is running his whole farm off sunflower oil and pressing oil for other farms as well. 

Dennis


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## unioncreek (Jun 18, 2002)

crafty2002 said:


> he mixes 10 to 15% regular gasoline and swears by it.


You have to use old gas that has gone stale, they call it RUG. That much gas will thin the oil too much and you will loose it's lubricating ability. You can put some additives in to increase it though. I run 50/50 diesel/waste vegetable oil above 50*'s in my Dodge Cummins and have had good luck, but I'll probably switch to making bio since it's cheaper in the end.

Bobg


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

unioncreek said:


> You have to use old gas that has gone stale, they call it RUG. That much gas will thin the oil too much and you will loose it's lubricating ability. You can put some additives in to increase it though. I run 50/50 diesel/waste vegetable oil above 50*'s in my Dodge Cummins and have had good luck, but I'll probably switch to making bio since it's cheaper in the end.
> 
> Bobg


From what he said on the phone he buys a 250 gallon tank of regular gas and in the summer months mixes it to 2,500 gallons of sunflower oil. When it is cold and I am not sure what he said the temp was but somewhere down the thermometer he mixes it with 1,700 gallons of oil and that is as rich as he ever mixes it. 
According to him it does fine. Not only is he powering his farm this way but several other farms around him. They are actually growing their fuel, or at least 85% of what they use. Now that's a big knock down on imported fuel. 

I can't help but give it a try if I can afford to do so. And if the prise of fuel goes where I think it will, I won't be able to not afford to try it. 
I am stuck in a rut.
JMHO
Dennis


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## Metcalf (Feb 15, 2007)

Mixing RUG with SVO as far as lubricity goes was addressed in the above link. He did some tests to evaluate this with the mixed fuel. 

Filtering the oil very finely with a centrifuge is the key. Clean fuel is best....


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

Dahc said:


> This page lists oil yields per acre for different crops. I don't know how to make biodiesel but this information would probably be helpful.
> 
> http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html


Im not sure I trust these charts they seem to be leaving out some important info.
For instance they list soybeans as making 48 gallons a acre but is that with a crop of 24 bushel to the acre or 60?


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

Some figures from a farmer in NW Wisconsin, from 2006:
Sunflowers, oil type
2000#/A yield
seeds are 48% oil
can extract 78% of that oil

Oil production about 730# or 105 gallons per acre plus 1200# of sunflower meal with 9.5% moisture

He uses it on-farm, burning it as straight vegetable oil in his farm equipment.


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## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

So about $500 worth of fuel and sunflower meal worth how much?


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