Alternative Fuels & Better Fuel Mileage

[IHDiesel73L]

Doing research into the WVO (waste vegetable oil). As most know, certain diesel trucks and cars are better suited for this than others. One thing that didn't occur to me is the diesel engine itself better be in pretty good condition. None or very, very little blow by, good ability to maintain pressure, etc. Or the WVO will trash it from what I've been reading.

Blow by is the biggest factor-the issue lies with the fact that when WVO gets into the lube oil via blowby it causes problems by causing the lube oil to thicken. Even with engines that are in good condition, rigid adherance to recommended oil change intervals is extremely important. I change my oil every 5000 miles on the dot.

 

[crazy]

I'm not confused at all about the difference btween biodiesel and WVO, quite a few other people are though. Quite a few people think biodiesel=WVO, they don't understand biodiesel is WVO that has been altered chemically and is no longer WVO.
I have no problem tracing a WVO system out and understanding what does what as long as the customer is willing to pay me for my time. Its when they don't want to spend the money that I have a problem with. Here is a description of all the WVO systems I have seen come into shops I work at. Usually they have a van or motorhome that they are living in and don't have high standards of hygenie. The first thing that hits you like a brick is the smell, then you stick your head inside to see if its as bad as you think, usually it is. You fight the gag reflex as you pull the doghouse off to access the rear of the engine, usually you have to move a bunch of crap to do this. You haven't lived until you work on something that has crap, trash, and God knows what in it for God knows how long. You try to hurry as quick as you can, by the time you are done your skin is crawling and you feel the need to take a shower and change into clean clothes. This is why I say I have never seen a good WVO system, I know they are out there, I just have never actually worked on one.

That's what you get for living in the land of ganja.:bigbossHL:

Did the van look like this?

 

[Darwin]

Did the van look like this?

Pretty sure it wasn't a 4x4 land yacht.:sombrero:

 

[shortbus4x4]

That's what you get for living in the land of ganja.:bigbossHL:

Did the van look like this?

Yes I work on vehicles that smell. I don't mind the ones that smell like the van in the picture, they have money and it usually smells too but in a good way.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Blow by is the biggest factor-the issue lies with the fact that when WVO gets into the lube oil via blowby it causes problems by causing the lube oil to thicken. Even with engines that are in good condition, rigid adherance to recommended oil change intervals is extremely important. I change my oil every 5000 miles on the dot.

I learn something new everyday.:Wow1: I didn't even think about the possibility of oil contamination in the crankcase from the blowby. Thats another reason why its important to make sure the engine is up to operating temp before switching over WVO.

 

[poriggity]

Does anyone run WVO in a Common Rail Cummins? I'd love to run a WVO/Diesel mix in my truck, but I've heard that the CR does not fare well to WVO..
Scott

 

[Terrainist]

Maybe that is what they are calling crank case oil "polymerization" (crank case oil contamination) which in turn tends to lead to cylinder and bearing damage. Another problem is accelerated coking on pistons/lands/grooves due to partially combusted VO (vegetable oil) in the blow by gases.

While proper temperature for both the engine and the VO when using VO as a fuel is a must, you can see how a diesel engine with too much blow by isn't going to be able to sustain using VO as a fuel even if both are at optimum temperature.

Did the quick blow by test on my truck today, a deflated plastic bag over the oil fill on cold start. Not a whiff of blow by to inflate the bag. I still have to do a compression test and a pressure hold test after adjusting the valves, but so far it still looks like my truck might be a good candidate to run WVO as fuel. This truck has 300,000 miles on it, so it's not a given that it is.

The plan, if everything goes right, is to use the WVO for extended highway driving. Switch to the regular diesel fuel for the in town driving. But that's a ways out yet.

 

[Terrainist]

Here is a diesel engine with too much blow by. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmvlFIW4CUY"]YouTube - 1982 Mercedes 300CD blow by[/ame]

A diesel engine with acceptable blow by out the oil fill. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4puPoZpdJQA"]YouTube - Mercedes Turbo Diesel Blow-by test[/ame]

 

[Darwin]

Not a good idea to run unheated wvo even mixed with diesel in any vehicle.

 

[Terrainist]

Alright, taking the plunge. Picking up a 50 gallon aluminum tank for the WVO. I'll have 50 gal of WVO and 50 gal of H20. If I break down I can still deep fry a deer. And drink water.

The word is, aluminum tanks only for the WVO. Steel and WVO don't work together.

 

[IHDiesel73L]

Alright, taking the plunge. Picking up a 50 gallon aluminum tank for the WVO. I'll have 50 gal of WVO and 50 gal of H20. If I break down I can still deep fry a deer. And drink water.

The word is, aluminum tanks only for the WVO. Steel and WVO don't work together.

Yes, aluminum is the way to go-what kind of tank did you get? Toolbox combo, etc...?

 

[Terrainist]

No tool box combo, just an auxiliary tank made for a truck bed. It's a big box essentially, 16t x 22d x 36w from memory. It's used, supposed to pick it up tonight. Trying to fit it all under a sleeping platform inside a camper - water, fuel, batteries - inside a '93 dodge diesel.

Going to accumulate parts for the system. Have to get a coolant heated fuel pick up, etc. By getting the tank first and installed where it's going I can get the interior built out enough to still get out and use the truck as I keep working on the WVO fuel system.

IHDiesel73L - trying to remember, do you filter your WVO yourself before it goes in the tank? Do you buy it prefiltered/cleaned? Do you use a centerfuge to clean it up? Thanks. Guess I'll begin with the 5 micron filter bags once I get there. A centerfuge would be sweet though.

 

[Terrainist]

IHDiesel73L - just read thru the thread again, I see you use a centrifuge. Cool!

 

[HMalice]

Another cheap tank option I've used in the past is a 26 gallon polyethylene sprayer tank from Northern for $60. Held up to a ton of abuse and the poly stands up to grease without issue.

 

[Deleted member 12023]

No tool box combo, just an auxiliary tank made for a truck bed. It's a big box essentially, 16t x 22d x 36w from memory. It's used, supposed to pick it up tonight. Trying to fit it all under a sleeping platform inside a camper - water, fuel, batteries - inside a '93 dodge diesel.

It can be done. Here is a picture to prove it, only in a '96 instead.

50 Gal tank, 40 extra gallons (a total of 125 gal fuel capacity on that trip), 10 gallons of water, gear for two people for 6 months, aux battery system and filtering equipment, all under that platform. The fridge and food is inside the cab. We could successfully fold out the bed and sleep incognito if needed as well.

One thing to keep in mind, vent your tank to the outside. We had ours vented inside. It did not smell or anything, but we filled it to the brim and immediately hit the trail... veggie oil spill, in bear country, at dusk. Talk about being nervous. We had the truck stripped, scrubbed with dawn, and put back together all in a matter of 25 mins. I have never been so nervous when cleaning something before. Oh and to top it off, we only had about 1 1/2 gallons of water to do the cleaning with. This all could have been avoided if the vent tube ran outside of the bed.

On another note, have fun with it. It is definitely a different way of life running on WVO. Please feel free to ask questions if you have any.