My wto set-up

[88iditurrbo]

I've been burning waste transmission fluid for about three years now. It started with a trip to this site and a bucket of oil and old levis pants leg. Some 30,000 miles later I have the same trucks, one with a documented 26,000 miles on a 66% fluid to 33% diesel mix. The other truck does not have a speedo but 4,000 miles is a low guess. The daily driver is an 88 F450 with a manual 5 speed trans and 5.13 rear ratio. I average 1,200 miles a month now so I burn about 80 gallons of oil a month. I have a good supply of oil from a transmission shop, with several 275 gallon tanks at home to store more than I need. The collection and filtering is very simple, I have a vacuum suction pump to transfer the oil from their tank to mine. Once home I unload the tank and let it settle out for several weeks. I use the same pump to pump the oil into a 55 gallon drum on stilts at about 10ft high. The drum is horizontal with the small bung at 6 o'clock. Plumbed a couple feet below the drum is a 40 gallon tank with a sealed line going to the small bung above( this connection is also vented above the drum). On the side of the lower tank a 1/4" valve with an elbow is attached to control the flow of oil to be filtered. So oil is pumped in the top bung on the drum, it gravity flows into the lower tank until both tanks are full( about 90 gallons). The upper drum has a welded bung on the bottom side with a valve to siphon off whats at the bottom.
The filter is one of the original(less the pants leg) creations. I use a one gallon windshield washer fluid jug with the bottom cut out. The bag filters I use are from duda diesel, 1 micron 4"x 7". I place one filter inside of the other and push both of the filters inside the jug. The bag filters have a cloth strap connected to the top and this is used to hand the filter system from the valve from the lower tank. Below the filter jug is two 55 gallon drums. I screw a funnel on the threaded end of the jug and put it in the collection drums. I open the valve on the lower tank, adjust the flow to a drip, oil gravity flows into the filter set-up down the funnel and into the collection drums, a hand pump is then used to pump the oil into 5 gallon drums ready for use. I pump 5 gallons of diesel into the truck's empty fuel tank go home and add 10 gallons of oil. I drive on the other tank ( factory dual setup) to mix the fuel and switch tanks and start the refueling process over.

If anyone is interested I can give a long winded account of the driving experience over the past couple years. PROs and cons, costs and savings

 

[towcat]

If anyone is interested I can give a long winded account of the driving experience over the past couple years. PROs and cons, costs and savings

YES!
much more info please!

 

[Kevin 007]

Do you have any pictures? And do you have anything more then the factory filter on your truck itself? And I would like to know what your biggest CONS were if you don't mind.

 

[Brad S.]

First of all
Always like to hear success stories with the "evil" wmo.
Sounds like the filtering/transfer/everything else you've pretty much got down pat.
I like to hear about some of the problems youve had with the pickup and how you fixed em?
And/or if you live in a cold area of the country or world, how youve managed with that and wmo?

 

[88iditurrbo]

I guess the pros are fewer to list; however they are worth the cons. The pros,,, 3.79 per gallon for diesel,free oil. So I drive a 88 f450 and get the equivalent to 30-35 mpg, or I buy fuel at a price of 1.25 a gallon.
The cons, (this is my experience and it is not being told to counter anybody's own experience)
<less power < more smoke > less mpg < more work in fueling < more mess > hard starting>
I first started with a 50/50 mix and worked my way up to a 75/25 mix and then decided to try a 66/33 mix. The first thing I noticed with all mixes was an idling haze and it would get worse as the mixture of oil increased. Power loss was also very noticeable and as with the haze it worsened as the oil increased. As time progressed my mpg's went from a solid 15 to 13 and continued to fall to a 12. A 19000 mile running total had the mpgs at 12.5 The original 7.3 bit the dust and I have no reason to think *** did it, I think a few hundred thousand miles, 5.13 ratio and it was a uhaul truck was to blame. Broken wrist pin was what it looked like, coolant hydro-lock?? head gasket or cavitation?? So I put fresh head gaskets on a low mileage 1984 6.9 out of a RV with an auto trans behind it. I left everything factory. The mpg were holding steady at 12 for several thousand miles and began to drop off to 10. This was about 8000 miles into the 6.9 Loss of power was also noticed as well as more smoke. I pulled the injectors and used a soft wire wheel to polish them back to new looking. Inside the pre-combustion chamber I did not notice any build up; however the hole is small so I could not see much. After this and a new fuel filter the problem was gone. Back to limited smoke and 12mpg. At 18000 I decided to add a factory turbo from a 1993 f250, I tied the waste gate closed and added a boost gauge, now making 9psi on a factory 6.9, no fuel adjustments. After some driving I noticed ALL the smoke was gone and I could not make it smoke, that only lasted a couple thousand miles. I adjusted the timing both ways and settled on advanced about the width of the timing mark. I did notice less power as I advanced beyond this point, same goes when I retarded beyond the factory mark. With the turbo power was noticed but only 5 -7 mph on hills traveled daily, mpg fell back to 10. I now have right at 26000 miles on the 6.9 and I have not cleaned the injectors but once. I have been planning on doing this,but time prevents it. As for the mpg I have changed my highway speed from 45mph to 53mph, so I'm sure this has something to do with the drop in mpgs. I decided to leave the 5.13 ratio in the belief that higher rpm would lead to less build up from the ***. The fuel system is all factory, all I changed was I routed the fuel line to the auto trans cooler in the radiator to heat it up as it goes to the pick-up pump. I deleted all every wire to the engine except for the temp gauge, oil gauge,alternator,a/c and the 12 volt pump supply. All things glowplug related was trashed. I have, from the beginning, used starting fluid to start the engine, before the turbo one quick burst would do the trick, after the turbo 2-3 burst does it. The use of starting fluid has never been an issue with me so I have no fear of using it in everything I own except my power stroke. The fear I have is with glow-plug and starting fluid. After I start the engine and warm it up it will start right up.
Winter driving only changes with the use of kerosene instead of diesel, the mixture stays the same, this past winter here in southern IN was a cold one and I drove it every day without one problem. I plug the block heater in, use a trickle charger,and spray in the starting fluid. I thought about mixing a qt of gas, but never did. I may try the gas this winter.
As a mechanic for the past 18 years I feel the engine will stay together, as for the fuel system?? I have only been stranded on the side of the road once in 26000 miles and that was due to the factor wires going to the fuel pump shorted out and burnt off. The math,,,26000/11mpg= 2363 total gallons divide that by 3 = 787. 787 is the gallons of diesel used in 26000 miles. 1576 gallons of oil burnt multiply that by the average diesel price of 3.79 = 6000 dollars saved with a 1500 dollar truck! Or 26000/ 787= 33mpg,,,,,,pics will come later

 

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

Where are you located in Southern, IN? Might be pretty close to me.

Good deal on your waste oil adventure... I'd say its worth the work.

-Chris