I'm the Mercedes guy on here as well as an International IDI lover. What sub model 300D, there are three or four types and each has a different engine. I run two 87 300D Turbo type 124 with 603's in them. I just started dumping my fuel in them regularly a couple months ago maybe three months ago.
The Aluminum heads make the OM603's and 606's not so great candidates. Injectors and pumps are pretty robust, but as another user reminded me on here the aluminum heads transfer heat out of the combustion chamber faster and therefore top of the chamber temps are a little lower. They do ok, keep the RPMS up and they do fine. My mail car sees lots of idling, and starts to run like crap very quickly when a wet batch or a dirty batch goes in the tank. I have never blinded out a fuel filter on my Old ford, probably due to the fact that my pickups are broken off inside the tanks and I cannot draw the last 4 or 5 gallons. but have changed three filters in the last few weeks on the 300's because I let a wet/bad batch get into the tank. I just changed my wife's fuel filter for her this morning because it was showing signs of being water blinded. Car wouldn't accelerate and ran like SH%$. New filter fixed it.
Please, I know a lot of people come to this board to save quick money, and it WILL NOT WORK in the long run. I got into burning WMO because I couldn't afford 140 to 160 dollar fill ups. I wanted to try the dump it in and run method but was talked out of it, and glad I was. Best case scenario is if you filter and dump is water blinded filters. Worse case scenario is cavitation pitting in the pump and injectors from water or other contaminate intrusion. The latter means new fuel system. I have heard of water ruining injector pumps almost immediately. $$$$$$$$$$
I saved a little money and started out like this.
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After I made a few tankfuls I spent a little more money and added a second centrifuge, installed everything on a stand and upgraded to a 55 gal drum. In ver. one I had less than 150.00 invested. Thats what it cost me to fill up both tanks on the truck. The way I increased was every time I filled a tank up I would spend a little money on something else I wanted to make my system more efficient or automated.
I just spent what it cost to fill another tank up this morning on a goldenrod water block filter and the needed plumbing to also make a water catch basin before I go into my mixing tank. Ive been doing this for almost two years and have learned a whole lot of what not to do. You can filter out dirt, and you can settle out water, but you can do nothing but heat or use water block filters to get rid of emulsified or dissolved water. Every batch I dump in the mixing tank has some form of water in it. I now heat way beyond boiling temperatures to ensure water removal. Even batches that I would swear are dry will crackle and pop upon adding the heater element. I heat til the oil is around 300 350 range and no more crackle snap popping is going on then start processing. I usually have to add 5500W for about 4-5 hours on a 45 to 50 gal batch. I used to only heat to 150 to 180 only to lower viscosity. I started really heating after I saw condensation in my filler neck and had to make roadside filter changes. All of my fuel goes through a filter finer than my under hood filters so I can rest easy knowing soot and trash won't block my filters.
Before I added a second fuge and increased my run times I was blinding my finishing filters so fast that they weren't saving me a whole lot of money. I rarely change them now because my fuges do all the dirty work. The batch I am working on now has some fine metal shavings in it that can be seen trapped inside the fuges when I clean them. There is no evidence of the filings in the finished batch before or after my finishing filters.
This is my current setup.
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All in all I have maybe 1500 in it and it has paid me a LOT more than that.
(diesel fuel here has been north of $4 per gal. for several years... so thats 1k in fuel savings... so we are closing in on or passing the break even point... its all gravy from here.)
