Frequently Asked Questions
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What's the story behind vegetable oil as an engine fuel? |
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Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the highly efficient engine that bears his name, designed it to run on peanut oil to allow farmers to grow their own fuel. The modern diesel engine, including models with Hydraulic Electric Unit Injectors, is no different. It can still operate on fuel derived from plants and animal fat, though addition of an alternative fuel system, cleansing of the grease, and treating it with stabilizing agents are necessary to ensure the engine’s longevity. |
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Is straight vegetable oil (SVO) fuel the same as biodiesel? |
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No. Vegetable oil is nature’s fuel. It is a 100 percent renewable fuel for use in a diesel engine. Biodiesel derives from vegetable oil, but it takes a complicated and costly chemical process called “transesterfication” to arrive at the end product. Biodiesel does not require the installation of an alternative fuel system like straight vegetable oil does, but it has significant drawbacks: in addition to its higher cost, biodiesel will gel in colder temperatures, rendering your engine difficult to start. Unless it is heated in cold weather, vegetable oil will also thicken: think of putting a bottle of vegetable oil in your fridge! The POP Diesel Fuel System™ is carefully designed and constructed to segregate the vegetable oil fuel from the petrodiesel in separate fuel tanks and lines, allowing you to start your engine as normal on 100 percent petrodiesel. The POP Diesel Fuel System™ switches the fuel supply automatically to SVO once the SVO has liquefied and engine operating temperature is high enough to ensure clean and efficient combustion. |
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Which fuel is more environmentally friendly, vegetable oil fuel or biodiesel? |
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Because its source is entirely plant material, SVO fuel captures the full benefit of the carbon cycle. It is 100 percent carbon neutral and does not make any net contribution to greenhouse gases. On the other hand, biodiesel is usually blended and sold commercially as B-5 or B-20, meaning that it is mixed with 80 to 95 percent petrodiesel, a main contributor to greenhouse gases. |
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What is the carbon cycle? |
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The carbon cycle is short-hand to describe the tremendous environmental benefit of fuel that derives from plant material, such as SVO fuel. All combustion engines produce carbon, a key constituent of greenhouse gases, as a waste product. A diesel truck will emit hundreds of pounds of carbon out the tailpipe whether it is running on petrodiesel or SVO fuel. In the case of a fossil fuel such as petrodiesel, the carbon released into the atmosphere has been sequestered in the Earth for millions, if not billions, of years. In this sense, fossil fuels, when burned, contribute “new” carbon to the atmosphere. On the other hand, the plants from which SVO fuel originates, have extracted carbon from the atmosphere during their growth. Every tank full of SVO fuel contains the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere that will be emitted through the tailpipe of the vehicle. This carbon cycle renders SVO fuel “carbon neutral” and makes it an ideal way to prevent global warming while allowing us to meet our future transportation and industrial energy needs. |
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What is the POP Diesel Fuel System™? |
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The POP Diesel Fuel System™ is an auxiliary (secondary) fuel system that enables a diesel engine to run on straight vegetable oil. The POP Diesel Fuel System™ contains only three moving parts. It does not modify or interfere with the engine or the original engine fuel system. The POP Diesel Fuel System™ uses a coolant and electric heating system that is controlled by an onboard computer to manage the petrodiesel and POP Diesel Fuel Systems™ to maximize performance and safeguard your engine’s longevity. |
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How does the POP Diesel Fuel System™ enable straight vegetable oil to power my engine? |
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Once the POP Diesel Fuel System™ has been added to your engine, you start andT drive the vehicle normally. The POP Diesel Onboard Computer™ monitors coolant and fuel temperatures and when the engine reaches a safe operating temperature, usually after just a few minutes, the computer switches the POP Diesel Tri-Valve Manifold™ to allow the flow of fuel grade vegetable oil instead of petrodiesel to the engine. When you turn off the engine, the computer keeps the engine running and automatically switches back to petrodiesel to purge the engine’s fuel system of SVO and replace it with petrodiesel for your next start. Then the computer shuts off the engine. |
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How long does the engine take from a cold start to switch over from petrodiesel to SVO? |
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During most of the year, the POP Diesel Fuel System™ will enable the switch-over to take place after only a few minutes; in wintertime, the switch-over time will be slightly longer. Because of its custom engineering and unique features, the POP Diesel Fuel System™ has been proven to function effectively in temperatures below 0° F. |
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Do I have to do anything to operate the POP Diesel Fuel System™? |
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No. The POP Diesel Onboard Computer™ controls everything. No operator intervention is necessary. The computer keeps a log of your fuel use which is accessible, along with other data, via simple hook-up to a laptop computer. A keypad option enables real-time access to this data without need to resort to a laptop hook-up. |
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Does the POP Diesel Fuel System™ require any extra maintenance? |
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No, other than routinely changing the vegetable oil fuel filter every 3,000 to 10,000 miles. There is no increase to your OEM service intervals as long as you put clean, safe POP Diesel Fuel™ into your POP Diesel Fuel System™ and engine. |
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Will my engine performance diminish after it is fitted with a POP Diesel Fuel System™? |
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No. A POP Diesel Fuel System™ operating on POP Diesel Fuel™ retains the lifetime performance you expect from your vehicle’s original equipment. We have gone to great lengths to manufacture parts that are specifically designed for vegetable oil fuel. We have customers who have driven more than 100,000 miles on their POP Diesel Fuel System™ with complete satisfaction and without mishap. Use of POP Diesel Fuel™, the safest and cleanest on the market, is necessary to ensure maximum lifetime performance. |
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Is the POP Diesel Fuel System™ safe for my engine? |
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Yes. Many of the other kits available on the market use off-the-shelf parts that are thrown together haphazardly. Our system has been designed and engineered from start to finish specifically for the unique qualities of vegetable oil fuel. The POP Diesel Double Pass Filter™, POP Diesel Tri-Valve Manifold™, POP Diesel Inline Heater™, and POP Diesel Onboard Computer™ work together to monitor and control fuel temperature and monitor engine speed, coolant temperature, and fuel pressure to intelligently manage both your petrodiesel fuel system and your POP Diesel Fuel System™. No other kit is as thoughtfully conceived and comprehensively designed as the POP Diesel Fuel System™. |
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What is POP Diesel Fuel™? |
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POP Diesel Fuel™ is our proprietary, carbon neutral, alternative fuel. It is the only fuel that we recommend you use as a petrodiesel substitute in any engine fitted with a POP Diesel Fuel System™. POP Diesel Fuel™ derives from specially processed and treated 100 percent recycled waste vegetable and animal oil. To begin with, we filter and de-water to meet the most exacting standards. Then we mix in special additives to prevent the fuel from gumming and reacting with the metal parts in your fuel system. So far as we know, POP Diesel Fuel™ is the only alternative fuel derived from vegetable oil which, in combination with the POP Diesel Fuel System™, will protect your engine and ensure maximum performance throughout its life. |
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Does straight vegetable oil affect my engine’s power? |
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While we can’t speak for other sources of vegetable oil, you will most likely experience more power running on POP Diesel Fuel™, our proprietary brand of SVO fuel. Because POP Diesel Fuel™ is made from high fat-content waste grease, it has more energy (BTU’s) in it than petrodiesel. Most of our customers report that their engines have more power when they are climbing hills and running in the flat on POP Diesel Fuel™ than on petrodiesel. |
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Will operating my engine on straight vegetable oil reduce fuel mileage? |
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While we can’t speak for other sources of vegetable oil, you will most likely notice an improvement in fuel mileage per gallon of fuel used. Remember that POP Diesel Fuel™, vegetable oil that is clean and safe for your engine, costs far less than the price of petrodiesel. By its lower cost and enhanced fuel economy, POP Diesel Fuel™ will greatly reduce your per-mile expenditure on fuel. |
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Will the supply of POP Diesel Fuel™ ever run short? |
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POP Diesel Fuel™ is different from other vegetable oil fuels you may have heard of because it derives from all of the grades of waste grease available on the market, including the lower grades which are higher in fat content. This flexibility gives our customers access to the full range of inexpensive waste grease feedstock available in North America. In other words, we can assure our customers that they will have access to inexpensive fuel for a far longer period of time than other vendors who rely solely on non-fatty sources for vegetable oil fuel. However, because high fat-content POP Diesel Fuel™ will gel at a higher temperature than SVO fuel derived from non-fatty sources, only those engines affixed with the POP Diesel Fuel System™, which is specially designed to handle high gel-point fuel, are equipped to run on POP Diesel Fuel™. |
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Where can I get the POP Diesel Fuel System™ and POP Diesel Fuel™? |
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A certified POP Diesel Fuel System Installer™ can install the POP Diesel Fuel System™ at our Albuquerque headquarters and at other locations around the country. You may purchase POP Diesel Fuel™ at one of the fueling stations around the country we are in the process of establishing. Or, we can deliver POP Diesel Fuel™ to you. |
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What if I run out of POP Diesel Fuel™ or can’t find any to fill my POP Diesel Tank™? |
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If you run out of POP Diesel Fuel™, your engine can continue to run on petrodiesel from the other fuel tank, no problem. If you activate an over-ride feature on the POP Diesel Onboard Computer™, you can even put petrodiesel in your POP Diesel Tank™ after it has run out of POP Diesel Fuel™. If you can’t find POP Diesel Fuel™ to fill your POP Diesel Fuel Tank™, you can also use other forms of straight vegetable oil. However, we advise against using any alternative fuel in your POP Diesel Fuel System™ other than POP Diesel Fuel™. Only POP Diesel Fuel™ is cleaned and treated to standards exceeding even those of petrodiesel and only POP Diesel Fuel™ contains special additives to prevent vegetable oil polymerization, which will shorten the life of your engine. |
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Can I operate the POP Diesel Fuel System™ with conventional biodiesel? |
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Yes — but why would you want to spend more money purchasing biodiesel and contributing its greenhouse gases to the atmosphere when you have a cleaner, greener, far less expensive alternative available, POP Diesel Fuel™? If you put biodiesel in the POP Diesel Fuel Tank™, the POP Diesel Fuel System™ will de-gel the biodiesel, allowing year-round use of biodiesel even in extreme cold weather. But as stated, if you do this, you are sacrificing the lower cost and more environmentally friendly alternative we recommend, POP Diesel Fuel™. |
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Is POP Diesel Fuel™ more expensive than petrodiesel? |
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No. POP Diesel Fuel™ can cost one-third less than petrodiesel, depending on market conditions. POP Diesel™ makes every effort to keep a $1 difference between the price of our fuel and the local market price for petrodiesel. |
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How much does it cost to purchase the POP Diesel Fuel System™? |
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$3,999 per engine, but this can vary slightly depending on the engine. This price includes a 50 gallon auxiliary tank that meets U.S. Department of Transportation standards. Options include a keypad control for the POP Diesel Onboard Computer™ and a heat jacket for the POP Diesel Double Pass Filter™ for extreme cold weather operations. |
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Is installation extra? |
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Yes. If you are a fleet operator, we will train your mechanic to become a certified POP Diesel Fuel System Installer™ so that he can install the POP Diesel Fuel System™ on your vehicles and the vehicles of other fleets in your area and you can collect the installation fee. |
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How about if I am interested in sponsoring a POP Diesel Fuel Station™ in my area? |
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Our consultants will work with you to design and build a fuel station that meets your needs and any interest you may have in making POP Diesel Fuel™ available to other fleets in your area. Financial incentives are available. |
