Veggiestroke/Plant Drive info request

[jtomasik]

First, is it reliable in weather that can get down below 0 degrees Farenheit?

Second, I noticed the Veggiedrive says it'll pay for itself in 14 months (including the tank), but they don't put down any cost for the waste veggie oil. Where do you get the stuff???? How much is it?

Third, does it affect reliability of the engine?

Fourth, what is the change to the power output of the engine?

Veggiestroke or Plantdrive owners, let's hear from ya. Even though diesel is supposed to drop with gas, I'm tired of being subject to the petroleum industry.

[Banshee34]

Clay should along soon to answer some of your questions!

[CHenry]

Maybe someone should move this to the alternative fuels thread section.

Originally Posted by jtomasik

First, is it reliable in weather that can get down below 0 degrees Farenheit?

If done properly, yes. Some Conversions are geographically sesitive. Frybrid is the only conversion i know of that will work the same in south texas as it will in the Yukon without issue. I have a vegistroke and have yet to use it in winter. Jason Crawford (Vegistroke owner) will tell you he has tested his system in cold climate and had he not, wouldn't be selling them untill he had a winter proof conversion. He is very particular about the product he sells. So i'm not worried about it. I will be installing a temp gage just before my fuel rails for curiosity only to see what temp its at right before the rails. Plantdrive operates mostely on 12v heat. So they will sell you the appropriate number of 12v heat exchangers for your climate. just don't travel to the Yukon in January if they sold you a system to operate mainly in south Texas. They do not engineer anything they sell, they sell other peoples products and are less familiar with the overall design and function of a robust conversion. The components they sell are good but you as the customer need to know exactly what you need from them to get the right setup for your specif. application.
I prefer a simpler system than Plantdrive or Frybrid. Vegistroke is the most simple system for the PSD.

Originally Posted by jtomasik

Second, I noticed the Veggiedrive says it'll pay for itself in 14 months (including the tank), but they don't put down any cost for the waste veggie oil. Where do you get the stuff???? How much is it?

This is dependant on diesel cost. WVO is free and can be found at any place that cooks alot of fryed food. Ask a resturant for there oil and 9 times out of 10, if you have a good repore with the manager, he will let you take all you want. Fuel cost where i live is the cheapest in the nation probably and my system has already paid me back 1,400 dollars since June in free fuel.

Originally Posted by jtomasik

Third, does it affect reliability of the engine?

Again, this depends on the proper system design and installation. If you get a proper system and it heats the oil to the proper temps before injection, no, it should not harm your engine in any way. There are other variables to this though. If you do not filter and dewater the used oil, you can count on replacing your injectors early. If you repeatedly forget to purge the system and then start up on cold WVO alot, you will damage your engine but the systems I am speaking about have automatic controls that prevent this possibility. Homemade systems are the ones that will experience this when the operator forgets to purge the WVO from the lines before turning off the engine.

Originally Posted by jtomasik

Fourth, what is the change to the power output of the engine?

I havne't noticed any change at all.
I can assure you you wouldn't be disapointed with the Vegistroke system for a PSD. Now if you want to convert some other engine, i would then recommend Frybrid all the way.
Hope that helps.

[jtomasik]

Clay, what does the filtration/de-water process cost you? Is it a special system you set up?

[CHenry]

Originally Posted by jtomasik

Clay, what does the filtration/de-water process cost you? Is it a special system you set up?

There are many methods people have come up with to properly do this either with a very inexpensive system (very time consumming process to filter and dewater) or with a more expensive setup (less time consuming process).
I used the design of the "Frybrid Still" Here you will see plans to build a collection barrel which can be set out back of a resturant for them to pour oil in for you and at the bottom of this page you will see the plans to build the "Still". This is what I built. It takes very little of my time and works well. So far i have not filtered a batch of oil that tested to have any water in it afterwards.
This cost me around 800 bucks to build. The fiter housing and pump are your main cost and if you can find a used water heater thats not rotted out, you'll save a couple hundred bucks. I couldn't find a used heater so i bought one at home depot. here is a picture of mine.

I added to this design and put a "prefilter barrel" next to the heater. The blue barrel has the white bucket setting in it about 3", bucket has 1/4" holes drilled in the bottom with a filter material (old T-shirt) lining the bucket. I pour my 5 gallon jugs of oil into the white bucket, it filters through the T-shirt and runs into the barrel. Then adjust a couple of ball valves and pump it into the heater....the rest of the process is spelled out in the link above.This extra step just allows me to keep larger chunks of crud out of the filter when i polish filter it with the X-100 and makes those filters last longer. This thing holds 100 gallons so i can process alot of oil in very little time.

Get on the Forum at Frybrid and ask questions about other peoples filtration methods. They will be glad to help.

Good luck!

[Veggie-Destroyer]

ok hi ppl i am still runnen wvo in both the excurion and 96 e 3oo.

may of 07 will be 4 years

However be warned wvo is acidic to some diesel injection pumps corrodes copper and other stuff . my stock fuel preassure reg melted in excursion. 1,595 to fix mb injection pump.
I have met Jason and i think he has put Alot of work into designing the best system he could
. collections of wvo is the big variable because filtration methods are so different and quality of oil between similar resturaunts is vast. i found its not dark colored oil thats dirty but the cloudy oil. anyway i need to learn about ph testing my oil and would advise the same for any one using wvo or homebrew bio diesel.

[Maintain]

Veggie Destroyer - long time no post!

[CHenry]

Originally Posted by Veggie-Destroyer

However be warned wvo is acidic to some diesel injection pumps corrodes copper and other stuff .

There is no proof of this shown here with your statement and i know if you have talked to Jason, he didn't tell you this. Please don't post things like this unless you have the test to prove it. I have the test to prove that your statement here is wrong.
Contaminants from the dumpster you collect from may be acidic but t he VO itself is not corrosive to metals.
I myself just went though injector failure from contaminated WVO from a dumpster. It tested to be ladden with Sodium Hydroxid which just happend to be what the cooks used to clean there kitchen with and then dispose of the chemicals in the same dumpster that I pumped oil from.
So if you know something that you can back up, please share it...i would like to know.

[Veggie-Destroyer]

I think for my self and i would said jason said this or that ..
he didn't .. after the next stuff melts ill get u a pic .
I dont sell anything here or anywhere . i met jason at a party in the bay area . he was down from portland to do an install . he is very dedicated and has great customer servivce ..Jason and craig goodwin of frybrid are at the forefront of this veggi stuff. .
I was simply stating what cloggs my filter box the fastest.
I not have proof !!!!! im a liar marc at oregon Fuel injection (diesel injection pump rebuilders) told me the glycerins are the same as putting sugar in the fuel tank..I answered him with"car runs ok after three years of sugar . the mb injection pump is toast . and as you concurred with me, you dont know whats in the oil or how they clean their equip.

So who read Joshuas tickel first book from the fryer to the fuel tank ..
that one showed how to set diesels up to run on wvo ..
Well did you also read his second book . where his says he woluldnt' recommend the use of wvo as a fuel but bioidiesel , because of many catastrophic engine failures.

BUT UNDERSTAND THIS " I SALUTE ALL AMERICANS WHO ARE WILLING TO PUT THEIR RIDE ON THE LINE IN ORDER TO PIONEER NEW FUELS .
the rest of u wait for the gov they will take care of u AHAHAHHAAAhttp://www.powerstroke.org/forum/images/smilies/smiley_chicken.gif



ok if u couldnt tell i'm not a speller . im just a high leee edumacated mathamagician . who fixes all things with duck tape vice grips and BFH's
I will take more pic so i have proof the next time somthing melts .
Happy- Holidays.

Its good to be back http://www.powerstrokeforum.com/foru...es/biggrin.gif

[CHenry]

A picture does prove anything other than in fact you had a part go bad...it doesn't tell us what caused that part to go bad.
When i fryed my injectors, i had Jason test the vegi oil i was using and also had an injector specialist tear down the injector to further determine what happend. This specialist said he sees ALOT more of this from home brew Bio-D that has not been mixed right and has too much Lye in it. He said there is NOTHING in vegi oil that could corrode an alloy like this. Vegi oil is a food grade product that you are using in your kitchen. If it were this corrosive, it would destroy your cookware the same way, it would rott out your stomach likewise. Don't listen to hearsay when someone tell you a blanket statement like this unless they have done test to prove it.
In my case, the oil had been contaminated and we proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt with testing. I too have pictures of my injectors that shows the damage, it just doesn't show what caused that damage. Heres my injectors posted on Jasons website.