The vegetable burned better than the motor oil because in vegetable oil there are a lot of all natural oils in the plants used to make vegetable oil. Some produce more energy than others. For example, rapeseed has a higher oil content than other vegetable plants, which means rapeseed can generate more energy when burned. Perennial plants, such as switch grass, provide a bountiful source of power, generating five times the amount of energy as they take to grow. Any oil that is derived from a plant, as opposed to an animal, can be called vegetable oil. In practice, though, about 85 percent of what’s labeled vegetable oil in the United States is pure soybean oil. The other 15 percent is likely to be a blend of soy and other oils; the ingredients (but not the exact percentages) must be listed in order of prominence on the label. These could include corn, canola, soy, peanut, olive, sesame, safflower, coconut, sunflower, cottonseed, or palm. All of those are very high oil content plants, and that’s why the vegetable oil burned better.
I believe that the way the vegetable oil or motor oil is put on the cotton cordage effects the burning. My dad and I soaked an