Ed,
The Olive oil is treated/ modded to make it more like castor in its properties.
Castor is a highly saturated oil that is low in vitamin "E". Saturation level gives the oil its viscosity and its EP rateing , the vit E level determines the stability of the oil , ie lower is less stable, its easier for the oil to form varnish . There are other differences to that make castor stand out as a lubricant.
We use/add 3 things to Olive oil in the mod proces , glycerine(to increase saturation), water and detergent, the detergent acts as a catylist and also is used with the water in the hydrogenation of the oil , so we are doing 2 things to the olive oil , saturateing it and hydrogenating it both of wich improve its lubrication qualities ie make it more castorish.
Both myself and Reg have noted an increase in viscosity after processing so the process must be doing its job.
Reg,
I dont talk all the time with the chemist, but I will ask some more specific questions and allso if she can recomend some more specific quantities of glycerine,water, detergent and anything else that would improve our finnished lube, she is a busy woman so we may need to be patient
Andy ,
I agree we all have learnt a lot through this thread on both lubricants and base fuels and as Reg and others have said there fuel requirements differ from others , but all have benefitted from your/our research , All is good . Myself I like to hand start so am stuck at this stage with at least 20% ether fuel-I think and maybe kero, but who knows whats ahead.
Keep up the good work guys.
Stewart