Veggie/diesel fuel tank (1 Viewer)

[Radd Cruisers]

Been thinking about a fuel tank for a 60 series that would be split 1/3 for diesel and 2/3 for veggie.

The idea would be to run a heat exchanger in the tank that would use the rear heater hoses(Sheldons idea) to worm the veggie before flipping the fuel switch and switching tanks.

And the idea of the filler neck with a switching valve that changes direction for filling two tanks like the one Slee Off road sells(I think).

Any improvements or ideas on making this a better system would be appreciated.

Rob

 

[HZJ60 Guy]

Well, I guess I have to ask why bother? Why not just do either or both at the same time?

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Been thinking about a fuel tank for a 60 series that would be split 1/3 for diesel and 2/3 for veggie.

The idea would be to run a heat exchanger in the tank that would use the rear heater hoses(Sheldons idea) to worm the veggie before flipping the fuel switch and switching tanks.

And the idea of the filler neck with a switching valve that changes direction for filling two tanks like the one Slee Off road sells(I think).

Any improvements or ideas on making this a better system would be appreciated.

Rob

I think this is a very good idea.
Optimally such a tank would:
drop into the same location as the stock tank
is as big as possibl
have 1 or two filler necks, a 1 neck plus valve is nice, but not essential
use the same fuel lines after the two pick ups
is switch controlled to change between the two liquids, so the system can be easily purged for shut down
is heated (on the veggie sde)

as i said, I think this is a very good idea.
Jan

 

[FL cruiser]

Good idea!
Never thought about that option.

I would like to get my veggie tank out from inside my vehicle.
Not many external tank options. I thought about jerry cans on a roof rack or jerry cans mounted out back. But neither sound as good as a single Large dual tank.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Good idea!
Never thought about that option.

I would like to get my veggie tank out from inside my vehicle.
Not many external tank options. I thought about jerry cans on a roof rack or jerry cans mounted out back. But neither sound as good as a single Large dual tank.

Exactly why this idea came to mind, I met a fellow with a veggie tank in the back of his truck.

Of course he owns a restaurant and drives for free, only fills the diesel tank every couple of months.



Thanks for the input.


Rob

 

[crushers]

sounds like you will be filling a nitch there Rob, good for you... hope it works out well.
cheers

 

[lshobie]

i knew a guy whose truck ran on wood- it was quite the unit. very efficient also.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

sounds like you will be filling a nitch there Rob, good for you... hope it works out well.
cheers

Thank Wayne, just playing around and helping out a local who asked for this.

 

[Island Moose]

Rob, I would think the main (original) tank should be converted completely to veggie, with an in-tank heating element similar to a block heater. Diesel fuel could be kept in a cylinder (stainless?) mounted along the inside of a frame rail.

A junction valve, then an electric pump to send either diesel or oil to the filter(s) and engine pump.

I believe one of the main expenses to veggie oil is that you have to swap out not only your fuel lines, but the gaskets in your pump...am I wrong on this?

I can tell you if you could do it to a 3B for under $1000 you would sell a ton of them.

Did you know that the Biodiesel stations that ust opened in Vancouver are B5?...ie..only 5% of the mix is biodiesel? I though that was kind of a let down, though the truckers are thrilled to have the lubricity back in their fuel.

John

 

[Greg_B]

Did you know that the Biodiesel stations that ust opened in Vancouver are B5?...ie..only 5% of the mix is biodiesel? I though that was kind of a let down, though the truckers are thrilled to have the lubricity back in their fuel.John

It's a start John...and that is great!

Rob, great idea. Just spoke with a lady in Whislter today that has an HJ61. She is part of the bio-diesel coop in Vancouver, makes runs to town to fill spare tanks, and trys to run 50/50 all the time. She wants to run WVO too.

I like the single mega tank option, where you could run diesel or bio on one side, and WVO on the other (heater core lines---slainless bath exhanger inside the tank like the one in the Rad for the A440's). If you were ever in an area where you could not get/run WVO then you still have the option of fill both sides with regular diesel. If effect you have a long range tank that gives lots of flexability...

Build it and they will come?

gb

 

[tlcruiserman]

It sounds good however You do not want to heat the tank that also has diesel in it, even though the tanks are compartmentalized you want to raise the temp on the vegi side to 170 degrees F, you do not want to raise the diesel side to that temperature. Although the diesel has a high flash point compared to gasoline the BTU's put out by Diesel are much greater than gasoline. if you want to run compartments for vegi and diesel I would strongly suggest you use only an inline heater to heat the vegi, which would also mean you want seperate lines. Holding tank good, pre heat tank bad (if its with the diesel.) I have seen several water exchange in line pre-heaters but they do not work as well as the electric inline preheater from what I have read. One company is doing the water preheater tank however it is always a seperate tank.

Just my 2 cents.

Michael

Been thinking about a fuel tank for a 60 series that would be split 1/3 for diesel and 2/3 for veggie.

The idea would be to run a heat exchanger in the tank that would use the rear heater hoses(Sheldons idea) to worm the veggie before flipping the fuel switch and switching tanks.

And the idea of the filler neck with a switching valve that changes direction for filling two tanks like the one Slee Off road sells(I think).

Any improvements or ideas on making this a better system would be appreciated.

Rob

 

[Grease Cruiser]

I believe one of the main expenses to veggie oil is that you have to swap out not only your fuel lines, but the gaskets in your pump...am I wrong on this?



John[/QUOTE]

Actually, you are wrong on this. You are thinking of biodiesel for the corrosion on rubber fuel lines and internal rubber fuel line parts. It is the methanol in the making of biodiesel that is corrosive on the rubber parts. SVO or WVO has no methanol so no rubber deteriation problems. Unless the properties of the veggie oil that you are running is acididc or basic but typically not enough to really matter.

Rob,
I am VERY interested in what you come up with. I am in the process of converting my BTJ60 (Cummins 4BT) to run on WVO. My problem is finding an auxiliary tank for the WVO. I even talked to a welder friend of mine today and we are probably going to end up making an aluminum tank that sits below the original tank. I have relocated my spare to a rear swing out tire carrier so I have plenty of room. I am not too concerned about the tanks hanging too low, I don't do serious off roading in the 60. Even if I did rupture the tank, it will spill veggie oil on the ground and I could still get home on the diesel tank.

I am also a little concerned about the transfer of heat from the veggie oil tank to the diesel/biodiesel tank. I have not heard if this is a problem or not. Keep us posted on what you come up with.

 

[Greg_B]

It sounds good however You do not want to heat the tank that also has diesel in it, even though the tanks are compartmentalized you want to raise the temp on the vegi side to 170 degrees F, you do not want to raise the diesel side to that temperature. Although the diesel has a high flash point compared to gasoline the BTU's put out by Diesel are much greater than gasoline. if you want to run compartments for vegi and diesel I would strongly suggest you use only an inline heater to heat the vegi, which would also mean you want seperate lines. Holding tank good, pre heat tank bad (if its with the diesel.) I have seen several water exchange in line pre-heaters but they do not work as well as the electric inline preheater from what I have read. One company is doing the water preheater tank however it is always a seperate tank.Michael

Yes. So a thermal break is needed between the two tanks. I like the idea of one large long range shell with two thermal broken tanks, rather then two completely seperate tanks. The 60 is bad enough will low fuel and it's fuel pickup. 1/2, side by side, deep tanks, well in the bottom...

Free ranging here...

gb

 

[Radd Cruisers]

It sounds good however You do not want to heat the tank that also has diesel in it, even though the tanks are compartmentalized you want to raise the temp on the vegi side to 170 degrees F, you do not want to raise the diesel side to that temperature. Although the diesel has a high flash point compared to gasoline the BTU's put out by Diesel are much greater than gasoline. if you want to run compartments for vegi and diesel I would strongly suggest you use only an inline heater to heat the vegi, which would also mean you want seperate lines. Holding tank good, pre heat tank bad (if its with the diesel.) I have seen several water exchange in line pre-heaters but they do not work as well as the electric inline preheater from what I have read. One company is doing the water preheater tank however it is always a seperate tank.

Just my 2 cents.

Michael

Thanks, thats the kind of advice I am looking for.

So build the tank with two compartments and run a electric inline heater for the WVO.

Rob

 

[Radd Cruisers]

I believe one of the main expenses to veggie oil is that you have to swap out not only your fuel lines, but the gaskets in your pump...am I wrong on this?



John

Actually, you are wrong on this. You are thinking of biodiesel for the corrosion on rubber fuel lines and internal rubber fuel line parts. It is the methanol in the making of biodiesel that is corrosive on the rubber parts. SVO or WVO has no methanol so no rubber deteriation problems. Unless the properties of the veggie oil that you are running is acididc or basic but typically not enough to really matter.

Rob,
I am VERY interested in what you come up with. I am in the process of converting my BTJ60 (Cummins 4BT) to run on WVO. My problem is finding an auxiliary tank for the WVO. I even talked to a welder friend of mine today and we are probably going to end up making an aluminum tank that sits below the original tank. I have relocated my spare to a rear swing out tire carrier so I have plenty of room. I am not too concerned about the tanks hanging too low, I don't do serious off roading in the 60. Even if I did rupture the tank, it will spill veggie oil on the ground and I could still get home on the diesel tank.

I am also a little concerned about the transfer of heat from the veggie oil tank to the diesel/biodiesel tank. I have not heard if this is a problem or not. Keep us posted on what you come up with.[/QUOTE]

 

[Greg_B]

Thanks, thats the kind of advice I am looking for.

So build the tank with two compartments and run a electric inline heater for the WVO.

Rob

Anyone know the tempurature of the return diesel on the later model Cruisers which return a minimum 1lpm from the pump to the tank?

gb

 

[Radd Cruisers]

I believe one of the main expenses to veggie oil is that you have to swap out not only your fuel lines, but the gaskets in your pump...am I wrong on this?



John

Actually, you are wrong on this. You are thinking of biodiesel for the corrosion on rubber fuel lines and internal rubber fuel line parts. It is the methanol in the making of biodiesel that is corrosive on the rubber parts. SVO or WVO has no methanol so no rubber deteriation problems. Unless the properties of the veggie oil that you are running is acididc or basic but typically not enough to really matter.

Rob,
I am VERY interested in what you come up with. I am in the process of converting my BTJ60 (Cummins 4BT) to run on WVO. My problem is finding an auxiliary tank for the WVO. I even talked to a welder friend of mine today and we are probably going to end up making an aluminum tank that sits below the original tank. I have relocated my spare to a rear swing out tire carrier so I have plenty of room. I am not too concerned about the tanks hanging too low, I don't do serious off roading in the 60. Even if I did rupture the tank, it will spill veggie oil on the ground and I could still get home on the diesel tank.

I am also a little concerned about the transfer of heat from the veggie oil tank to the diesel/biodiesel tank. I have not heard if this is a problem or not. Keep us posted on what you come up with.[/QUOTE]


The first tank we built was 44ish gallons of fuel, it was deep but not too deep. Althought we could make it deeper and bigger if wanted. Guessing the only other problem might be your rear leafs hanging 400 pounds(I think???) worth of fuel out back.

I looked at aluminum, but at over double the price in matterials, more importantly not having the tools to weld that material,.

With the larger tank I put the four original mounting brackets plus add two more in the middle. For those two you have to pull the carpet back and have a real long drill bit, then mount larger plates with holes up top on the bed like a big washer to distribute the force.

 

[Greg_B]

Bear with me here as I have not done much reading on WVO or SVO. If you live in a northern climate, hang the fuel outside the truck, and heat the WVO after it leaves the tank, would there not be a gelling concern in the winter? What is the minimum temp needed to keep the WVO or SVO fluid enough to get to the inline heater so it can be bumped up in temp?

gb

 

[Island Moose]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10428&item=4561048845&rd=1


Check it out Rob.

 

[FL cruiser]

Here's what I did to save from plumbing hot water through the tank.
I put a Fludyne race car oil cooler near the back of the vehicle near the tank. I'm using it as a heat exchanger. It has a tremendous heating capacity.
Before I flip the tank switch, I turn on the WVO electric fuel pump , I heat and circulate the veggie oil through all the filters and lines first.
I put a solenoid valve just before the tank switch up front between the supply line and return line that allows veggie oil to return to the tank via the return line. That way there isn't any cold pockets of WVO.
When I flip the tank switch, the solenoid closes at the same tiime.
I put a temp sensor on the solenoid that connects to guage in the vehicle that lets me know what the WVO temp is warm enough to switch tanks. It also lets me know the temp at all times.