Waste motor oil as a fuel?

[JeffMoss1]

Alright...if I die before I'm 100 years old, it'll be curiosity that will have killed me.

Have any of you WVO guys ever tried burning waste motor oil as a fuel? I have a heated tank and a heated fuel line system and I decided to give it a try.

I'm in the process of rebuilding a 6.9 engine to stick into my van, so I decided to make my current motor (that was still running quite well) into an experiment. I put a whole bunch of waste motor oil through my filtering system, just like the wvo I use, and then drove on it (heated.)

It seemed to work fine, just like the wvo. Burned probably like 30 gallons of it. Shortly after, I had a charging problem (voltage regulator/alternator). Whichever the problem was, I replaced both, and the batteries charge again, but all of a sudden, I'm having issues starting up.

One might say it obviously was a result of something I just did with the batteries/alternator/charging system, but I can't think of what it could be. The engine seems to have good RPMs when turning over, but it sounds like there isn't enough fuel getting into the cylinders right away or something. It cranks fast for 10-15 seconds, struggles a bit, then finally roars to life.

The only thing I can think of is that I made belts to tight or something and it's putting a bigger load on the starter to turn the engine over.

When driving, i've noticed a buzzing sound with the engine (buzzing gets louder with throttle.) I have no idea what's making the buzzing sound. Also fuel mileage is getting slightly worse (with diesel.) Lastly, I noticed that the fuel filter mounting bracket also came loose (the nut is nowhere to be found.) I haven't fixed that yet either. I wonder if that's causing anything.

I looked around for air leaks in the fuel lines and couldn't find anything. Engine doesn't squeal at all.

Anyway...thoughts?

 

[snatchal]

I have been running all summer on WMO. I keep a few 55 gallon drums in my garage. I fill each barrel one third full of diesel and fill the rest of the way with waste motor oil that I get from several sources. I mix it ahead of time so it has a chance to sit for awhile to allow any water to settle to the bottom. I have a Air Pressure Operated Pump that I mount on the barrel and keep the intake tube a few inches off the bottom to stay a way from any possible water. My truck seems to run better on this mixture than straight diesel.

 

[timebomb101]

When driving, i've noticed a buzzing sound with the engine (buzzing gets louder with throttle.) I have no idea what's making the buzzing sound.

Hey...I got the same noise and it is driving me crazy, And getting louder
Anyone got any idea?

 

[f350flatbed]

Sounds like burning WMO would be terribly bad for the environment, no?

Paul B

 

[JeffMoss1]

if it burns hotter, than it creates more NOx, if it burns cooler...less. It's also heavier, so it probably emits more unburned hydrocarbons.

So yeah...probably worse. Not much worse. Maybe I should start walking everywhere with my one-ton loads in my backpack.

Anyone have any ideas about the engine?

Has anyone ever had any problems starting following an alternator replacement? Or does this sound like an IP problem?

 

[JeffMoss1]

Hey...I got the same noise and it is driving me crazy, And getting louder
Anyone got any idea?

Do you run anything besides diesel?

 

[Agnem]

I've been running some percentage of WMO in the Moosestang since I built it. No issues. Generally no more than 50% though. Scott from Iowa ran 100% WMO to the Michigan hosted IDI Weekend back in 04' and had to change his filter once.

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He like his WMO so much he slept with it.

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[Fordsandguns]

That buzzing could be the filter mounting nut. Get another nut and see if that fixes it. Mine had a buzzing I traced to the a/c line that runs on the firewall. I strip tied the plastic brackets tight and stopped it.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

I burn my own waste oil. It goes into a CLEANED catch pan then straight into the fuel tank.

The problem with using other people's waste oil is you never know what else they have dumped in there (brake fluid etc).

 

[timebomb101]

Do you run anything besides diesel?

Every once and awhile i'll dump in some wvo and wmo. but not much really. The noise was there when i got the truck a year or so ago. Was real faint in the begining. But now it is pretty loud now. starts great and runs fine. as in the other post it is related to throttle. off throttle no noise, give it throttle and there it is. loudest in OD, but it can be heard a little in 4th. I want to fix it before i am sitting along the road. lol

 

[JeffMoss1]

turn the ignition key, engine starts spinning fast, but won't even start trying to catch until about 10 seconds later. Then it'll rumble a little bit every few turns. then finally it'll catch and start up.

What would be your guys first thought with a symptom like that? All else aside

Lift pump?

~Jeff

 

[hoodshauler]

have you changed your fuel filter? If not I would start there! If that does not help then the problem could very well be your fuel pump is on its way out.

 

[JeffMoss1]

fuel filter is a regular swap for me...though I haven't had the time to put in a fuel pressure readout, I just change it when I see the fuel filter idiot light turn on. I just drove 5 hours yesterday and it didn't turn on...but only idiots rely on those lights .

I'll swap it...but I'm thinkin' lift pump.

~Jeff

 

[subway]

the oil shouldn't be related to your electrical system. i run up to a 50/50 mix of wmo and never had a problem. i do filter it though down to 1 mic.

if you dont have any air in the system and ruling out the filter i would suspect that lift pump to. might want to take a look at the lines running back to the tank though. any pin hole there and it would kill any vacuum the pump could pull.

 

[poolguy]

Hey...I got the same noise and it is driving me crazy, And getting louder
Anyone got any idea?

I recently had an odd buzzing sound that followed the engine RPMs, turned out to be the turbo rubbing its housing! I mean completely shot. It had 1/3" lateral end play. I'm suprised it didn't explode the impeller. I found a good used one for $400.
Whats wierd is that it ran just fine!