Run Your Car on Bio-Diesel - Can You Really Make Your Own Fuel?

Run Your Car on Bio-Diesel - Can You Really Make Your Own Fuel?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tony_Kitson]Tony Kitson

If you want to do your bit for the environment, and save a bit of cash too, then you can run your car on bio-diesel. There are many commercially made versions that are widely available. However for maximum savings it is possible to produce your own fuel. If you are wondering how hard is it, and can you really make your own? Read on to see the basic steps you will need to take.

Waste Oil:

The base of your home-made fuel will be vegetable oil. The cheapest sort, and one you may be able to pick up for free, is used oil from fast food restaurants or similar. Many places will be only too pleased for you to take it off their hands.

Additives:

To this oil base you will be adding two chemicals, namely; methanol, and sodium hydroxide, often called lye or caustic soda. These additives will help to prevent the oil producing solid fat particles that will clog up your engine, and also make the fuel burn better, and give it better performance at low temperatures.

Process:

The method of producing a fuel from vegetable oil takes place in three stages.

1) Filtration. The first thing to do is to remove any solid impurities from your waste oil. Pass the oil through progressively smaller graded filters until all solid particles are removed.

2) Remove water. Your clean oil will contain a certain percentage of water. This is unwelcome in fuel and must be removed. The easiest way to do this is to heat it to 100 degrees centigrade. At this temperature water will boil off and some will settle to the base of the oil. After some time your oil will be water free.

3) Introduce additives. Add the methanol, and sodium hydroxide to the clean dry oil. You now need to stir this mixture for some time and then leave it to settle. Glycerol will form, and you need to remove this from the mix, this by-product is basically soap.

4) Wash and filter. After washing and filtering once more your fuel is ready to use.

Precautions:

You should get a good instruction manual to help you get all these stages right, as depending on the type and composition of your base oil the chemical amounts will vary. The process is very safe however, and as long as you take the same safety precautions that you would when deep fat frying, there will be no problems..

It is possible to run your car on bio-diesel, plus you can make your own from waste oil. You will save a fortune by doing this, and it will be the most environmentally sound fuel you can use. Welcome back to inexpensive guilt free motoring.

Make your own bio-diesel:

Did you know you can save money by producing your own bio fuel at home? For comprehensive instructions visit this [http://www.how-to-make-biodiesel-today.blogspot.com/]make bio-diesel website at [http://www.how-to-make-biodiesel-today.blogspot.com/]www.how-to-make-biodiesel-today.blogspot.com/.

Audi A6 Gives Hybrid Car Buyers Another Option

Audi A6 Gives Hybrid Car Buyers Another Option
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Carey]Jeff Carey

Audi surprised many industry experts by unveiling the Audi A6 Hybrid sedan at the North American International Auto Show.

The company was expected to introduce the gas powertrain A6; rolling out the A6 Hybrid was big news. "Many people didn't expect a hybrid model to debut alongside [the new A6 sedan]," CNet reported.

The Audi A6 Hybrid is designed for the U.S. and European markets. The car features a gas-electric hybrid powertrain that combines Audi's 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injected gasoline engine with an electric motor. The combination delivers a combined 245-hp.

The A6 Hybrid has an estimated fuel economy of just under 38 mpg. The hybrid powertrain uses an 8-speed automatic transmission. The transmission sends power to the front-wheels. (Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive system is not available in the hybrid model.)

The A6 Hybrid can operate in gas-alone mode, electricity-alone mode, or a blend of two. When running only on electric power, Audio claims the A6 has a maximum speed of 62 mph, accelerating to that speed in about 7.3 seconds. The car's range on electrical power alone is only about two miles.

All cars in the A6 line (hybrid and gasoline versions) have a new body built of aluminum and high-strength steel. Road & Track reported that this combination "makes the car 15 percent lighter than a comparable one made entirely of steel."

Audi claims that it made a great effort to maintain similar looks to both the gas and hybrid versions. According to Autoblog.com, "Audi officials say they have gone out of their way to keep it aesthetically true to the conventional gas-powered model."

Maybe they shouldn't have tried so hard. Some were not impressed with the looks of the car. When Car and Driver editors got a look at the newly designed car last year they reported "we couldn't help but feel disappointed...the exterior underwhelms."

The car's interior is another story. "The interior is arguably best in class." said the same Car and Driver editors. The Audi A6 has real wood veneers, leather seats, and many other amenities a driver (and passenger) would expect in a luxury car.

As is the case with other Audi models, the A6 features a high-end infotainment system. The Audi Multi Media Interface (MMI) system supports navigation, communication, and entertainment features. Information is presented through an MMI display in the center of the dashboard. In particular, the A6's MMI Navigation-plus system offers HD radio reception and a color display that provides real-time traffic and 3D topography graphics that include the buildings in many cities.

Audi A6   rel=nofollow [http://www.hybrid-cars.org]hybrid cars are expected to go on sale in the second half of the year. No pricing information is available at this time.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Audi-A6-Gives-Hybrid-Car-Buyers-Another-Option&id=5831045] Audi A6 Gives Hybrid Car Buyers Another Option

Hybrid Cars In The Early Twenty-First Century

Hybrid Cars In The Early Twenty-First Century
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Owen_Jones]Owen Jones

You would probably be surprised to know that hybrid cars have been with us since the very earliest days of automotive history, yet you will not be astonished to be told that the technology has come on in leaps and bounds for the last ten years. In fact, the technology in hybrid cars has reached the level where fuel consumption in a hybrid can be half that of in a conventional internal combustion engine only car.

Half or even less than half under sure circumstances like driving in town, especially in heavy traffic. In fact, when a hybrid is either cruising on electric or stopping and starting in heavy traffic, there will be no use of petrol or diesel whatsoever, which means that you are travelling 'without cost'.

I put without cost in parentheses because a hybrid vehicle is still substantially dearer than a car with a traditional engine. However, even given the added price of a hybrid vehicle, you can save that excess cost over the average life time of the vehicle because of the saving on fuel. Naturally, the higher the price of fuel, the sooner you will recoup your extra initial outlay on the price of the hybrid.

Maybe you are thinking that hybrid vehicle manufacturers are profiteering on the backs of car drivers who want to do their bit for the environment. Well, you would not be alone in thinking that, yet the price of developing hybrid technology was and still is costly and someone has to pay for it.

That means you and me, the end-users. Well, that is standard, yet in some countries, the government has stepped in to help sponsor individuals who buy a hybrid vehicle, because governments all around the world are under an oath to reduce their country's carbon footprint.

That means that now is as decent a time as any to purchase a hybrid vehicle.

There are other reasons why a hybrid is costly though. The hybrid really has two engines. A hybrid has a traditional engine run on traditional fuels, yet it also has an electric engine which runs off expensive batteries. It is not that you have to replace the batteries as with a radio. The batteries are costly because they are very heavy duty rechargeable units.

The technology for recharging these batteries is also ground-breaking. The car makes use of traditional alternators to recharge them but it also employs braking power to recharge them too. Not just that but the car's on board computer switches between the two motors automatically, depending on the quantity of power that is required by the driver.

Keep an eye on the hybrid car market because prices are declining and together with subsidies, the time to buy a hybrid car might come sooner than you imagine.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with how to [http://cartyresforsale.com/compare-tyre-prices.html]compare tyre prices. If you want to know more, please visit our website at [http://cartyresforsale.com]Car Tyres For Sale.

vlatko andonovski

vlatko andonovski,