New to WVO Have a few questions

[05powerstroke88]

Hi guys,

I have been reading alot of posts the past couple days and trying to absorb as much information as I can. I have a 1994 7.3L PSD that i want to start running on WVO, and save myself some money!

From what I have gathered heat and filtration are the 2 main components that can cause you problems with WVO. Obtaining and filtering the WVO in my garage is not the problem i have sources where I can get the WVO and building a filter system wont be difficult.

My question is about the truck, as i dont want to purge the system and have a 2 tank set up. Would it be possible to run a new tank in the bed of the truck, that is heated with a 110V plug in, much like a block heater, then have the fuel lines connected to a similar system, in order to warm the fluid enough to start and run the truck on WVO.

This is question 2, What if i simply park my truck in the garage every night here in michigan, we keep our garage at 65 degrees, and never below 50 degrees. Would this be warm enough to run the truck 24/7 on WVO?

My goal here is to find a way to run the truck on WVO all the time, not have to do a switch between 2 tanks.

Again, I am a rookie, but my gears started turning thinking about how to keep the tank warm without using engine coolant. Even if i could take a Hot water tank apart and use the heating elements from the tank and attach them to my Fuel tank in the truck to plug in and warm the tank.

Thoughts?

[erbilabuc]

really wont work that way because you will park your truck and it will cool off. As long as the oil is over 140 degrees it doesnt matter how you do it. You can heat the tank with a 110v heater (Im planning for this also), and also the block heater will help.

[ridiculously_necessary]

we generally dont reccomend this method. your rails will still cool off.

you could use your front tank as a vo tank, install a hotfox and seperate line.

the tricky thing about your truck is to do it "right" youll have to remove the mecanical fuel pump and go electric, so electric pump fro D2 and electric pump for wvo.

there are people who just run wvo in the front tank and cut it with diesel, but noy fully purging the rails, injectors and such will eventually cause problems. your regular D2 will mix with the wvo in your fuel bowl too whcih is nearly impossible to flush. Aaron or someone around here has a pic of some carnage from that.

[greenbeast]

If its not done right here is what can happen...

[E'sStrokr01]

Yeah if you run a seperate tank and heated system then you will need to run the truck and heat the fuel before switching over to 100% WVO.....

Since however you asked for thoughts......here is one....And this will get thrashed but just remember 4 out of 5 people that tell you not to do this have never tried it themselves, and those who did try it did it wrong, but in this video is one proper way of blending.

It's worth at least looking into so here it is.....and Cheers

Blending Kerosene with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel - YouTube

Blending Kerosene with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel - YouTube

[E'sStrokr01]

Some of the key points in this process of blending WVO with ANY solvent, and if you watch that guy's other YouTube videos you'll see him test many other solvents such as MEK, acetone, and even RUG (regular unleaded gasoline). But back to the key points, in one or more of his videos he mentions the key points of allowing a proper settling of the WVO before blending, and then of course proper filtration of the oil.

John Galt has a really nice article online (and I'll try to find it and post the link here), but in his article he talks about his preferred method of settling, which is cold upflow settling. And he lists a drawing illustration of his barrel setup. This type of settling works both for blending as well as preparing WVO for straight use in a heated system, and actually would work well for making biodiesel too. Anyway, the cold upflow system basically is for allowing an enviroment where the oil in a barrel to consistently range in the 65degree fahrenheit or under for several hours before pulling the good oil off the top. In theory, anything 65 degrees or under for some consistent amount of time will force all chunks, fat, water, and all other bad stuff that would ordinarily make blending a nightmare to just fall to the bottom, then pull the good oil off the top and then filter that oil through a bag filter and then a 5 micron filter then the oil is ready to be blended.

1) proper settling
2) proper filtering
3) allow the blending to take place and settle for at least a few hours before putting in the tank of your vehicle. Do small test samples to make sure the blending is completely uniform without any emulsions or seperations of any kind.

[05powerstroke88]

I understand the need for two tanks and switching from D2 then to WVO, once the WVO is heated through, then purging the system before shut off to ensure an easier start up.

Im just curious is there anyway to heat the fuel rails in the engine, as you guys have spoke about how the fuel in the rails will still become too cool.

Im really just trying to see if i can come up with a way to run on the WVO all the time no need for switching between D2 and WVO. I know it isn't the way things are done and I'm ok with running the two tanks, I just wanted to explore the option of being able to keep the fuel at all places in the system (Tank, lines, rails, etc) warm enough to run without D2.


Just curious though, What does it cost to retrofit the vehicle with the 2 tanks and all the hardware to switch between D2 and WVO. I have seen kits for the 7.3L PSD for around $1500, but im sure i could gather the components and make the systems on my own.

let me know your thoughts guys! and thanks to those who have responded already

[E'sStrokr01]

According to some of the most recent threads and posts that I have been reading, even after you have been running your truck while up to full temp, and then if you bring it to a stop and allow it to idle, it's really not good to allow it to idle for more than a minute or two, IF even that long, due to coking in the combustion chambers, etc. This is of course while using SVO. Our diesel trucks run cool at idle, OR better yet, they cool off considerably while at idle even after being run. So with this in mind, trying to start the truck knowing that you haven't acheived at least 140 degrees before the injection pump wouldn't be to say that it wouldn't work entirely, but I WOULD cringe at the thought of what it would be doing to the pump and the engine itself while the fuel was that thick.

I guess to answer your question, the only way to heat up anything is run the truck for about 5 minutes or so to get the SVO temp high enough.

If you make a lot of short trips it might not be the most cost effective way for you by converting the truck itself instead of the fuel. Everyone has their poison with this, and mine happens to be converting the fuel...ONE big reason being I make alot of short trips in my truck. This point has been debated but when it's done I have chosen to convert the fuel itself and I have found what works for me. I'm about to log 6000 miles on biodiesel and blended WVO. I have had no noticeable power loss or rough running engine, no fuel mileage loss, not one irregularity regardless of weather, even on mornings of starting the truck in the low teens. I do always plug in at night or cold starts in the mornings, etc

Keep reading and then read some more and you'll find what works for you. Cheers