is vege oil the way to go?

[wilely250]

around here there hardly anyone running on vege oil. and there are lots of fast food places, haven't checked yet , but oil supply should be no problem. what im wondering is if the government will try to collect road tax. but even with that it should still be cheeper. one could be awful creative about the actual millage driven.

 

[dwaymar]

been running veggie for almost 100000 miles on the 85 she used to smoke oil and used a bunch but after a few 1000 miles of veggie it stoped using oil and runs great just make sure you filter and filter and filter mine goes thru 4 filters before it hits my truck and also is a good 145 durring summertime in az it maybe hotter but winter it will tell if it is not hot enough

 

[hheynow]

and also is a good 145 durring summertime in az it maybe hotter but winter it will tell if it is not hot enough

What's 145 during summer?
ambient temp?
veggie oil at IP?
145 mpg?
coolant temp?

 

[dwaymar]

temp coming to the filter maybe coler in winter but still its hot thats the main thing along with no water in the oil this makes a mess i have many stories about that to much in a hurry and end up on the side if the road saying some real harsh words

 

[jimraelee]

I thought I saw a post where somone had some pipe wrap that was heated, that they wrapped around the eng side of the oil line to keep it up to temp... I know Ive also seen filter heaters online. One could also use an engine oil cooler as a rev to heat the oil up and filter it... I know fords used oil coolers on Thunder chickens and also late model Olds silhouettes/venture vans use oil coolers at the filter

 

[LA350]

Some folks tap the supply line of the heater core and use a flat plate heat exchanger and/or will make a hose on hose (HOH) or hose in hose (HIH) type fuel line heating system.

There are arguments on bosth sides which is the best/worst. The simpliest is the HOH using zipties wrapping the whole deal w/ pipe insulation.

A heated fuel filter can be made easily using aluminum or copper line wrapped around a metal filter body then tap into the heater supply.

 

[hheynow]

A heated fuel filter can be made easily using aluminum or copper line wrapped around a metal filter body then tap into the heater supply.

Or it can be done THIS WAY for cheap.

 

[jimraelee]

ummm Sir your link takes us to a error window, saying we cannot download the image directly.... OH this is Dana's site... been reading a bit there for a couple of weeks, seems to be good "do it your self" kind of place

 

[hheynow]

ummm Sir your link takes us to a error window,

Try THIS LINK and click SIMPLE COOLANT JACKET FILTER HEATER pdf file.

 

[jimraelee]

nice... I never saw that on his website... well there is much to still read and links to follow on that site...

 

[crossbones]

Hello. There is a lot of good information about filtering and heating the VO fuel system. As some have said above, a dual tank system would be a must in your climate. I highly recommend the following basic stuff before you ever run a drop of VO in your truck.

clean the injectors very well and set the pop off pressure to speck, make sure they Do Not Drip a Drop(leak down) at pop off speck....

set the injector timing

make sure your engine thermostat will get the temperature of the top radiator hose up to 190-195°F and maintain that temperature under all driving conditions...

make sure that there is always a positive pressure of at least 6 PSI at the IP inlet under all driving conditions (never ever a vacuum)

I prefer a VO temperature of about 150°F at the IP.......

crossbones

 

[jimraelee]

tanks for the info

 

[BigRigTech]

I've been considering veggie oil too but it sounds like a lot of work too....Has anyone figured out the man hours/per gallon to make it ready to use? This conversion hasn't really caught on in my area so the fryer grease would be cheap and plentiful for me...I have dual tanks so that's a good start.

 

[LA350]

I suggest that one does some reading on the subject. There are several great sites and these are great starting places:
http://vegoilconversions.netfirms.com/
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/voconversionbasics
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums

If you do not want to venture into a full on conversioin one may choose to blend but the formula is dependant on your own locale. What works for someone lin the deep south will not work for you in Canada. It can be done easily though.

 

[hheynow]

Has anyone figured out the man hours/per gallon to make it ready to use?

Efficiency is the key. I pick up my oil one day per month. I don't figure in my man hours but do figure my costs of filters and electricity. It works out to about $.25 per gallon. I filter and pump only when I have 55 gallons collected and in my down time at home.

It's not for everyone, but once you pass the learning curve it's a permanent grin every time you pass a service station.