SVO blending question

[Cheaper Jeeper]

A buddy found a source for SVO (corn/soy blend) for $12 a 16 liter (4-1/4 gallon) cubie - that works out to about $2.80 a gallon.

I'm thinking of buying some and blending it with diesel over this summer. I figure one cubie per 20 gallon tank - basically 20% SVO and 80% diesel. With summertime temps, anybody think there would be any problems with this mix? Any danger of long term damage running 20% SVO?

 

[hheynow]

That's a great price for 2008. It was that low during 2006.

I'd suggest a few things:
1) Only blend in one tank.
2) Start up on diesel tank.
3) Flip to blended tank ONLY when fully warm.
4) Flip back to diesel tank ~5 miles prior to shutting off.
5) Start on a low blend % and work your way up.
Dunno what % will work best for you.
I run WVO in my converted '97.

 

[RLDSL]

how bad has global warming caught up with you ? used to be your area still got kind of chilly at night. Definitely would only want it in one tank and would want to make sure to shut down on diesel just to be sure, but 20-30% ought to be fine for the rest of the time in the other tank.

 

[Cheaper Jeeper]

We're still getting down into the 50s at night, but no colder. Starting up and shutting down on straight #2 is no problem for my F250, but what about my old Mercedes? As my DD, it is the one I'd probably be burning most of it in...

 

[RLDSL]

We're still getting down into the 50s at night, but no colder. Starting up and shutting down on straight #2 is no problem for my F250, but what about my old Mercedes? As my DD, it is the one I'd probably be burning most of it in...

As far as the merc, load that bad boy up. it's got a bosch pump in it, not one of these wimpy stanadyne jobs. I used to have a 300sd and ran it on wvo single tank straight veg 3 season blend 70%veg 30%unleaded winter and it would start on the glow plugs down to 12 deg f no problem. All that thing had on it was a veg therm heater from plantdrive.com. granted, winter is short here and not many cold days and summer is long and the oil is kept hot all the time.
Just start low and build the blend and pay attention to how it starts. Those veg therm heaters are great low cost heaters that don't require a ton of modifications . you can mount them right before the pump and you will have full heat fuel to the pump within about 30 seconds of startup.

 

[Cheaper Jeeper]

As far as the merc, load that bad boy up. it's got a bosch pump in it, not one of these wimpy stanadyne jobs. I used to have a 300sd and ran it on wvo single tank straight veg 3 season blend 70%veg 30%unleaded winter and it would start on the glow plugs down to 12 deg f no problem. All that thing had on it was a veg therm heater from plantdrive.com. granted, winter is short here and not many cold days and summer is long and the oil is kept hot all the time.
Just start low and build the blend and pay attention to how it starts. Those veg therm heaters are great low cost heaters that don't require a ton of modifications . you can mount them right before the pump and you will have full heat fuel to the pump within about 30 seconds of startup.

Well, it is even milder here than in Arkansas. You guys get down below freezing for weeks at a time. On the other hand you also see temps above 100 for weeks at a time. Around here freezing is about as cold as it gets and not even that for any length of time. On the other hand temps much above 95 for more than a day here and there are also rare.

We just bought our first batch of 50 cubies for $12 apiece and I'm going to pick up my half tomorrow. I doubt that I'll ever blend at much over 25%, just to be on the safe side. That still puts my fuel cost down below the price of regular unleaded, and I'm satisfied with that. I also have most of a 55 gallon barrel of WMO to filter and use as "supplimental" fuel, so between that and the SVO, I figure I ought to be set for the summer.

I am thinking of making a glowplug heater and installing it just ahead of my pump on the old Mercedes for a little extra heat. I'm actually more concerned with heating the injector lines between the pump and the injectors - don't want to be injecting any cold SVO into a cold cylinder and coking things up...

 

[RLDSL]

On my old merc, I had the veg therm mounted on the injector lines so it did dual duty. It was heating the metal lines up at the same time as it was heating the fuel going through it. I imagine you could rig a glow plug heater up the same way. build it into a brass or aluminum housing that will heat up fast and exchange heat fast and make it long enough to spread across the injector lines and rig it up the same way.

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

I think I answered about the merc in the Schuman's forum, but I also run the same 75% wvo in my 94 IDI. I was worried about it when I first started, but my IP is worn out anyway. I am in my second year now with no mods and no problems. I don't do it in the winter, but 50 F is not a problem if you start up on regular diesel and then switch to veggie once the engine is warm.
My ip is worn to the extent that I cannot hot start during the summer on ULSD. It runs like a champ on veggie.
Incidentally it will start at 50F on a 75% mixture, but it doesn't like it much.