Biodiesel vs WVO
Isn't it great that there are Land Cruiser owners who are discussing the ideas of biodiesel and WVO? Only on the International Board. I just love it! Of course some of the other boards think we are all "Green Hippies". Funny though, they might come around when fossil fuel prices really hit hard like they do in Europe or anywhere else in the world.
Someone mentioned that setting up a WVO system would cost around $2K. This is a little high. I am figuring on around $1,000 for my setup which should be pretty trick.
Here is what I plan to do: First, I need a heated WVO tank. I plan on using the tried and tested method of heating with heated coolant. Some people use a transmission oil cooler or some use a series of copper tubing coils. I plan on tapping off of the rear heater hoses. From the tank, I will have an inlet and outlet for the coolant to run through. i will run my fuel line (metal fuel line) through the inlet side of the coolant line. A line inside a line. By it going through the inlet side, it may be a few degrees hotter than when coming out of the tank.
Some may ask , how are you going to get the fuel line inside and out of the coolant line? There are T-fittings found in hardware stores that I can run the fuel line in/out of the coolant line.
Some people think that you have to heat the entire tank to the optimum temperature (around 170 F) but this is not necessary. This would take hours if you run a 30 gallon tank and the ambient temp is below freezing, In fact, it may never get that hot. Basically, the idea of the heated tank is to get the WVO viscous enough to flow through the lines.
After the fuel line exits the heated line within a line, the WVO will then run through a dual fluid heat exchanger mounted in the engine compartment. These are found at any good plumbing supply store and are roughly $100. This heat exchanger will be plumbed into the top radiator hose where the coolant is at its hottest. After exiting this heat exchanger, the veggie oil will run directly into the injection pump where in turn it will be go through the injectors, combust, and exit the tail pipe where all passers-by will smell it and wonder why they just got the urge for French Fries or other fried foods.
Basically, I plan on running two different fuel systems. One system will be the original diesel system using it's own lift pump (Cummins has a lift pump as well as injection pump) and filter system.
The WVO system will have its own set of filters and electric fuel pump. The only thing the 2 systems will share is the injection pump.
I will do this for 2 reasons. 1) to isiolate the two filter systems. If the WVO filter(s) becomes clogged, I can switch it over to diesel and get home or somewhere safer than the side of the road to change the filter. 2) it will take less time for the shutdown off of veggie. To clear out the injection pump of WVO it might take a minute at the most. More like seconds but I will play it on the safer side.
One other modification that people do is to cut into the return line. While running on WVO the return line goes right back into the injection pump instead of going back to the fuel tank. This allows the heated veggie oil to remain very hot and it's one less line that you have to run all the way back to the tank. You have to cut into the return line as you do not want your WVO to run back into your diesel tank. Bad, Very Bad.
I think if you guys up in the Great White North were to follow this system, you would be fine in the winter. As long as your engine coolant is running hot enough, theoretically your veggie oil is as well. I will probably run a temp gauge with numbers for the veggie line. I will pipe it in right after the dual fluid heat exchanger and before the injection pump. I might also run a PSI gauge to see how well the veggie oil is flowing through the lines. About 5 psi is max and less than 3, your filter are getting clogged.
The idea of running WVO is filter, filter, filter. You can't filter enough. The better the oil is filtered, the better it will run and it's cheaper on filters. I've got some pretty good plans for prefiltering if anybody wants to hear them.
I don't plan on acquiring veggie oil while on a road trip. Too much of a pain in the ass. All of my filtering will be done at home. I have an unlimited supply of WVO so acquiring oil is not a problem. While on road trips, I will just use both tanks full of diesel. Or if I stay in a place awhile, then I would consider refilling the WVO.
I will run a 2 stage switch, like a headlight switch off of 40. First phase (parking lights) will switch the coolant and start running the coolant into the WVO tank. The second phase (headlights on) will run the grease baby!!!
Running on WVO is a problem for those that do not drive great distances. It's just too much work if you can't get your coolant hot enough. Biodiesel might be a better option for these type of drivers.
But, I ask you, why would you run a diesel anyways if you are just running to the grocery store or the bank? Diesels are meant to run. It takes so much energy to get them started and heated (no spark plugs, remember) , why would you fire up your diesel if you are not going to drive it? Use your gasser Cruiser and save your diesel. This is why the big rigs don't shut their diesels off. I have never seen a trucker start their truck and then immediately shut it down after a few minutes. Absurd, totally absurd. I intentionally discourage people from buying diesel equipped cars/trucks for this reason. It's hard on the engines and rebuilding a diesel is quite costly.
So, there's my plan. Any comments, concerns, suggestions are always welcome.
Isn't it great that there are Land Cruiser owners who are discussing the ideas of biodiesel and WVO? Only on the International Board. I just love it! Of course some of the other boards think we are all "Green Hippies". Funny though, they might come around when fossil fuel prices really hit hard like they do in Europe or anywhere else in the world.
Someone mentioned that setting up a WVO system would cost around $2K. This is a little high. I am figuring on around $1,000 for my setup which should be pretty trick.
Here is what I plan to do: First, I need a heated WVO tank. I plan on using the tried and tested method of heating with heated coolant. Some people use a transmission oil cooler or some use a series of copper tubing coils. I plan on tapping off of the rear heater hoses. From the tank, I will have an inlet and outlet for the coolant to run through. i will run my fuel line (metal fuel line) through the inlet side of the coolant line. A line inside a line. By it going through the inlet side, it may be a few degrees hotter than when coming out of the tank.
Some may ask , how are you going to get the fuel line inside and out of the coolant line? There are T-fittings found in hardware stores that I can run the fuel line in/out of the coolant line.
Some people think that you have to heat the entire tank to the optimum temperature (around 170 F) but this is not necessary. This would take hours if you run a 30 gallon tank and the ambient temp is below freezing, In fact, it may never get that hot. Basically, the idea of the heated tank is to get the WVO viscous enough to flow through the lines.
After the fuel line exits the heated line within a line, the WVO will then run through a dual fluid heat exchanger mounted in the engine compartment. These are found at any good plumbing supply store and are roughly $100. This heat exchanger will be plumbed into the top radiator hose where the coolant is at its hottest. After exiting this heat exchanger, the veggie oil will run directly into the injection pump where in turn it will be go through the injectors, combust, and exit the tail pipe where all passers-by will smell it and wonder why they just got the urge for French Fries or other fried foods.
Basically, I plan on running two different fuel systems. One system will be the original diesel system using it's own lift pump (Cummins has a lift pump as well as injection pump) and filter system.
The WVO system will have its own set of filters and electric fuel pump. The only thing the 2 systems will share is the injection pump.
I will do this for 2 reasons. 1) to isiolate the two filter systems. If the WVO filter(s) becomes clogged, I can switch it over to diesel and get home or somewhere safer than the side of the road to change the filter. 2) it will take less time for the shutdown off of veggie. To clear out the injection pump of WVO it might take a minute at the most. More like seconds but I will play it on the safer side.
One other modification that people do is to cut into the return line. While running on WVO the return line goes right back into the injection pump instead of going back to the fuel tank. This allows the heated veggie oil to remain very hot and it's one less line that you have to run all the way back to the tank. You have to cut into the return line as you do not want your WVO to run back into your diesel tank. Bad, Very Bad.
I think if you guys up in the Great White North were to follow this system, you would be fine in the winter. As long as your engine coolant is running hot enough, theoretically your veggie oil is as well. I will probably run a temp gauge with numbers for the veggie line. I will pipe it in right after the dual fluid heat exchanger and before the injection pump. I might also run a PSI gauge to see how well the veggie oil is flowing through the lines. About 5 psi is max and less than 3, your filter are getting clogged.
The idea of running WVO is filter, filter, filter. You can't filter enough. The better the oil is filtered, the better it will run and it's cheaper on filters. I've got some pretty good plans for prefiltering if anybody wants to hear them.
I don't plan on acquiring veggie oil while on a road trip. Too much of a pain in the ass. All of my filtering will be done at home. I have an unlimited supply of WVO so acquiring oil is not a problem. While on road trips, I will just use both tanks full of diesel. Or if I stay in a place awhile, then I would consider refilling the WVO.
I will run a 2 stage switch, like a headlight switch off of 40. First phase (parking lights) will switch the coolant and start running the coolant into the WVO tank. The second phase (headlights on) will run the grease baby!!!
Running on WVO is a problem for those that do not drive great distances. It's just too much work if you can't get your coolant hot enough. Biodiesel might be a better option for these type of drivers.
But, I ask you, why would you run a diesel anyways if you are just running to the grocery store or the bank? Diesels are meant to run. It takes so much energy to get them started and heated (no spark plugs, remember) , why would you fire up your diesel if you are not going to drive it? Use your gasser Cruiser and save your diesel. This is why the big rigs don't shut their diesels off. I have never seen a trucker start their truck and then immediately shut it down after a few minutes. Absurd, totally absurd. I intentionally discourage people from buying diesel equipped cars/trucks for this reason. It's hard on the engines and rebuilding a diesel is quite costly.
So, there's my plan. Any comments, concerns, suggestions are always welcome.
) thread. Did the tank fabrication projects go anywhere. I'm in the market for an aux for WVO - after a year of running bio, I'm very happy with performance (and price!!) but want to spend less time in my shed brewing the stuff and more time driving my Cruiser.
