What color is your WMO?

[leswhitt]

Just an update that it didn't make financial sense (the icky fuel mix might've cost more than the 24 mpg van) or time (we were on a tight schedule) sense to drive the truck so we took the Odyssey instead.

The truck will be used on local trips to try and use up the rest of this troublesome mix followed by a 1200 mile trip in mid March. Hopefully I'll find some WMO between now and then or else I'll be paying for regular diesel....ugggh...

 

[homelessduck]

I know the one main benefit from using wmo is that it can be sourced for free, but I've been paying. 25¢/gallon and because of that little incentive I have secured amazing sources for it. I get large quantities and it's super clean. I'm on the hunt for more cutting oil, I absolutely love it.
At. 25¢/ gallon I am still saving a large amount of money and it saves me time when it comes to cleaning it.

 

[Brad S.]

I know the one main benefit from using wmo is that it can be sourced for free, but I've been paying. 25¢/gallon and because of that little incentive I have secured amazing sources for it. I get large quantities and it's super clean. I'm on the hunt for more cutting oil, I absolutely love it.
At. 25¢/ gallon I am still saving a large amount of money and it saves me time when it comes to cleaning it.

Funny you should mention paying for wmo. Last summer I paid a farmer friend of mine .20/gal or about $10 a drum.
I figured that I'm getting a good discount on a "fuel" source plus it doesn't hurt for future "purchases"
Plus, someone is less likely to turn you in, if your decent with the transaction.

 

[leswhitt]

I'd be amenable to paying a fair price but for the few sources I've uncovered recently, they're asking for upwards of $1.25/gallon and won't guarantee there isn't water in it! Maybe they think it really is black gold but by the time I de-water, filter, and add the RUG, I haven't really saved enough to make it worthwhile.

I'm hopeful that I'll find some WMO once it starts to warm up, I think a lot of guys in my area are fly-by-nighters who are using it to heat their shops but aren't prepared to store it over the summer. That's what I keep telling myself anyway.....

 

[Brad S.]

Les,
$1.25/ gal
Like you said unless that stuff would be "processed"/ filtered thats way to much.
IMHO, when a person starts using wmo, there's a certain amount of DIY that you need to do, to make it
all work.
And it's a given that you could have problems, etc, thats why more convenient stuff is higher priced.
AND I think anyone who thinks using wmo will be just as "easy" as using pump fuel is only fooling themself.
(just my $2 worth, adjusted for all the new money thats been printed lately)

 

[leswhitt]

Just an update that it didn't make financial sense (the icky fuel mix might've cost more than the 24 mpg van) or time (we were on a tight schedule) sense to drive the truck so we took the Odyssey instead.

The truck will be used on local trips to try and use up the rest of this troublesome mix followed by a 1200 mile trip in mid March. Hopefully I'll find some WMO between now and then or else I'll be paying for regular diesel....ugggh...

Well, I'm gearing up for the 1200 mile trip (leaving Thurs night and returning Sun night) and this fuel continues to be a poor performer for me. I put about 37 gallons of the suspect mix in my tank Sat night and right away on Sunday morning while driving to church I could tell that it was down on power, harder to start, and wouldn't maintain hwy speeds as easily. The truck threw a couple of engine codes in protest but other than that and an increase in blue smoke, it wasn't bucking or anything crazy. I added about 1.3 gallons of diesel to the tank which equates to about 3.5% and even with just that minor addition, I regained some of my power, the driveability was better, and the smoke cleared up a bit.

Since I'll only be carrying extra fuel on this trip on my little trailer and not a big load, I won't have to watch the EGT's and plan to only add as little diesel as possible. Where before I was running 25% to get it running right, this oil seems to be a tad better and I'm hoping to go no more than 10% this time around. With about 1400 miles to go and about 140 gallons of the crappy stuff left, hopefully I'll use up the vast majority of it on this trip. After that, I have 160 gallons of good stuff that I'll process and hopefully be back to normal.

In other news, I picked up an International MDT with a DT466 and plan to start experimenting on that once summertime rolls around.

 

[Brad S.]

I put about 37 gallons of the suspect mix in my tank Sat night and right away on Sunday morning while driving to church I could tell that it was down on power, harder to start, and wouldn't maintain hwy speeds as easily. The truck threw a couple of engine codes in protest but other than that and an increase in blue smoke, it wasn't bucking or anything crazy.

In other news, I picked up an International MDT with a DT466 and plan to start experimenting on that once summertime rolls around.

Did you scan those codes, curious how the computer watches wmo when it burns.

That sounds cool, using a "bigger" engine with wmo. Keep us posted on how it likes or dislikes wmo.

 

[leswhitt]

There were three of them, a P1211, a P1316, and I can't remember the last... IIRC, the third one also dealt with the IDM or ICP...basically they all deal with injectors or the injector driver module. I did replace an injector shortly before using this fuel but since I'm not showing any added oil on the dipstick, I've ruled out a leaking o-ring being the cause of my problems. This latest batch is also slightly thicker according to my fuel pressure gauge, I'm down ~18 psi at idle. If I run 25% diesel my PSI oughta rise but at the current PSI I'm just barely under spec so I can deal with it.

It also helps that the upcoming trip is mostly western PA, Ohio, and KY so it should be relatively flat meaning I hopefully won't need the extra BTU's of a good mix.

 

[Brad S.]

Its good to know that maybe wmo was not the cause of the problems, correct??
Just thinking its good news for wmo as a fuel source.

 

[leswhitt]

Bad WMO is the cause of the problems but they're minor ones and will be cleared up once I go back to my cleaner mix. WMO as a fuel source is, and has been, a great option for me but in future, I'll stay away from trying to "cure" any milky oil that comes my way.

Its good to know that maybe wmo was not the cause of the problems, correct??
Just thinking its good news for wmo as a fuel source.

 

[leswhitt]

Well I'm 800 miles into the trip and ready to head back home and so far, so good. I'm running the mix with about 10% diesel added in, running between 73-75 mpg, and getting 14 mpg (pulling a 1K trailer) so I can't really complain. That's also with 7 people inside the truck and all of our gear so that's another 850 lbs.

We'll see how the last 600 miles goes, hopefully the mpg holds up and it's a trouble free ride.

 

[Smoky12v]

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that's what I'm filtering right now. I hope my truck will run good on this stuff.

it consists of 5 gallons RUG, 5 gallons of E85, ~10 gallons ATF, ~25-30 gallons of hydraulic fluid, ~3-4 gallons of Vactra oil.

 

[Brad S.]

The oil your using does it start out this color??? It looks like it might have some water in it??
My guess this starts out with this color.
I'm just used to tar black oil.
So your final mixture is about 60% oil 40% other, just doing some quick figuring???
It all looks pretty good.

 

[Smoky12v]

All of hydraulic oil and ATF I poured in (they came in 5 gallon buckets) and they all vary from very clear/clean to dark.

 

[leswhitt]

I made it the last 600 miles without any problems and since I was out of the rolling hills and more on gentle hills and flats, managed 15 mpg at ~71 mph. The truck ran pretty well, my fuel psi stayed within the safe zone 35<x>65, and aside from a warm up period at the beginning of the day, the engine didn't sound or run any different than usual.

I dunno what's so different about this and the last trip when it would barely run, thankfully it didn't do it this time around though (only variable was trailer weight but it shouldn't have mattered since it wasn't runing right at idle). My best guess is that I had a layer of emulsified oil that I went through and now I'm back into the hydraulic/wmo mix.

Since my mpg was MUCH better than expected, I still have a good portion of oil to burn through. I have another trip in 2 weeks, this one will be shorter at just 600-ish miles and hopefully this hydraulic/wmo/x oil will continue to burn well.

An added plus of the trip was that after I filled up the final time from my WMO aux tank, I was able to put in 35 gallons of gas to mix with my wmo that's waiting to be centrifuged. Since the gas I bought was a full $.45 cheaper than local prices, I saved an easy $16. Thanks Gasbuddy.com