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• ELSBETT Conversion Technology
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• Vegetable Oil
  • Information
  • Vegetable Oil Standard
• ELSBETT Diesel Technology
  • ELSBETT Engine
  • ELSBETT Piston
  • ELSBETT Oil Cooling System
  • ELSBETT Injection System
  • Duothermic Combustion System
• General Terms and Conditions
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ELSBETT Conversion Technology - Fundamentals

• being a product of nature, its quality varies considerably,
• it has a higher flash-point than diesel (which is why you can cook with it!),
• it flows less freely than diesel (higher viscosity),
• it ignites less readily (lower cetane number).

As the quality of plant oils vary, it is up to the driver to buy an adequate quality fuel. The most commonly used fuel in northern Europe is Rapeseed oil, and there is a special quality standard for rapeseed oil as a road fuel. This should be adhered to, to avoid the most common cause of driving problems.

A good conversion will cater for the other special characteristics of vegetable oil, by including the following features:

• Pre-warming of the fuel, fuel lines or motor,
• Modifications to the fuel system / pumps,
• Additional filter stages,
• Adjustment of the electronic engine control,
• With the (1-tank conversion), possible modification to the injection system
• Control elements and relays.

We do not offer conversion kits for any vehicles (whether car, van, lorry or tractor), fitted with a distributor-injection-pump made by CAV, Lucas, Stanadyne, RotoDiesel or Delphi. These are not suited to vegetable oil.

However other injection systems apart from these makes are suitable (e.g. Common Rail-Systems from Delphi and Lucas).

The engine, injection system and electrical system of the vehicle must be in good condition. If that is not the case, for example if the vehicle has been run on Biodiesel in the past, then we CANNOT garantee the conversion. If in doubt, then the Decompression and Injection pressure should be checked.

Vehicles that do not regularly reach a good working temperature by running under load for longer journeys should not be converted with a 2-Tank-System. On journeys of less than 20 miles, the motor will not reach an optimal thermal position. Besides the reduced savings, there may be a sharp increase in possible defects, such as mixing of vegetable oil in the motor oil, or wear and tear.

The more fuel you use, the greater the cost savings and environmental benefits of switching to vegetable oil.

The more often you can fill up at home, the less you will have to visit filling stations and fill up with petro-diesel (though you still can use petro-diesel)

The more you can approach the conversion with a technically minded and inquisitive attitude, the more you will find the conversion straightforward.

Driving on vegetable oil won't cause you any great inconvenience, but there are some guidelines you should follow to avoid any problems:

• Shorter service interval between oil-changes. Alternatively, you can have your engine oil analysed. These measures prevent potentially damaging "Polymerisation" of vegetable oil mixing with the engine lubricating oil.
• Adding normal Winterdiesel to the vegetable oil in the tank in sub-zero temperatures.
• On 2-tank conversions, running on diesel for the last few miles before letting the motor cool. This flushes the vegetable oil out of the injection system ready for a cold start next time.

These requirements are described in detail in your ELSBETT conversion kit, or when you have your ELSBETT conversion done.

This german presentation by Günter Elsbett gives an overview of the development of vegetable oil technology.

This "Presentation for Shanghai International Symposium" gives a brief view in English of the whole subject as ELSBETT see it.