Plantoil/diesel conversion basics

Coolant not flowing

legasea — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:18:10 GMT

I have just completed my conversion in a 83 Benz 300D Turbo. I started the car to check for leaks and test to see if the FPHE and Vegmax is getting hot from the coolant. It appears the coolant is not flowing through my new coolant lines. I purged all the air out of the new lines with a mityvac. I spliced the supply line right behind the oil filter and the return line right in between the aux pump and water pump (i think). Anyone have any ideas why the coolant does not want to circulate through my new lines? Thermostat? Aux pump? Monovalve? I also tested the lines with the heat on, still doesnt flow and now it takes a lot longer for heat to come out of the vents.

Forum: Mercedes Benz Conversion

WVO temperature in 97 powerstroke

joeblack5 — Sun, 04 May 2008 01:02:07 GMT

Hi,

I have read that WVO temperatures should be between 200 and 220 F at the injector tip for optimal combustion.

My WVO is heated through HIH to 150F and then super heated with a 200 Watt induction heater around the metal fuel lines from the fuel pump to each cylinder bank.

I am trying to increase the WVO temperature from 160F to 200F but am failing.

I assume the fuel gallery in the head cools the fuel down to 160-180 F depending on environment temperature / engine oil temperature.

Has any body has realized higher WVO temperatures in the powerstroke.

My truck:
WVO converted E350 (quiqley 4x4). 175000 miles, 3000 on veggie, replaced fuel pump ( high pressure side failure due to broken check valve)

Thanks Joeblack5

Forum: Post your question here.

WVO - how much $$$, FFA, etc.

MMH — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:37:54 GMT

I'm in Northern VA & am trying to get some sources of bulk WVO.

What should be the max. FFA%? how much water is acceptabel w/o me having to dewater? What does the oil need to be filtered down to for me not to bother with the filtering?

Saw someone selling "10% FFA, less than 2% water, screaned to 1/2" for $1.65 per gallon. I assume that this must be filtered & dewatered before I can use is. Nonetheless, at $1.65/gal. it would save me $$$.

Forum: Post your question here.

Where to Buy 'new' Veg. Oil

MMH — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:35:22 GMT

At Costco, I saw that you can get a cube (35 lbs. which is approx five gallons???) for $30. Where can I buy some veg.oil in bulk (55 gallons drum or even get it pumped directly into a transfer tank) and how much would that be? Where would I find some non-FDA vegtable oil? Does it exist? I have to believe that it would be even cheaper.

Forum: Post your question here.

Good mercedes conversion year

jnschulman — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:58:29 GMT

I'm new to this forum so first of all hello to everyone.
I'm looking for a good first conversion. I noticed a 1994 s 350 with 172K turbo diesel for sale $6950. Is this a good candidate for conversion? The price seems good, need help on what to look for. Any help or opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jonathan.

Forum: Post your question here.

Heating With WVO

bioheat — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:14:13 GMT

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but I'm on about a half a dozen other forums, and I can't seem to get a question answered that is central to the whole discussion of heating with WVO. What can I use for an oil preheater that will give me 180-200 degree temps for the furnace?
I've had a thought that I could use 3-4 glow plugs in a machined block, where 1 plug maintains the temp, and others switch on with the furnace to maintain hot oil to prevent flame-out. Anyone think this could work? Or am I in the wrong forum?

Forum: Post your question here.

WVO Tank Temperature

stheriau — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 07:12:13 GMT

This is a great forum. I've learned more in an hour here than I've learned in the last month of research elsewhere.

In one of your other threads, Dana, you wrote:
"I prefer to keep VO tank temps to under 100F. This is plenty warm enough for even high fat/hydrogenated wvo to be in a flow-able state."

This temp has been a concern in my design stage. I'm concerned about getting rear ended and having 160 degree oil all over me after a fuel-tank rupture.. Have you found a good way of regulating the temp on a coolant-heated WVO tank? Have you heard of anyone using an electrically heated tank?

Thanks in advance

Forum: Post your question here.

overengineered system....just too hot!!!

hvacr9 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:03:37 GMT

I installed two parallel heating loops off heater hose.The first goes to heated goldenrod 3/4 hih to tank in tank HE 1/2 aluminum tubing 5" diameter 4 coils thick with fuel pickup in center.I am using a 14 gallon tank.

the second parallel loop goes straight to final HE frybrid style coaxial.

I commute 70 miles twice a day.In that time my tank temp pushes 160-170 by itself ip temps are 180 with a ball valve that feeds it almost shut
is there a 2 way vave available to handle 1/2 od 190* coolant? I want to install it at my tank hooked to a thermostat with a bybass to return line just behind. I have already installed a bypass teeing return and supply together right at tank but it didnt help much.

Forum: VW conversion

forgetting to purge/not purging long enough

hvacr9 — Thur, 17 Apr 2008 01:52:02 GMT

I have a tendency to forget to purge until I exit my vehicle.Dana can you elaborate on the quickest purging configuration using stock lift pump.
How then do you know when you are purged.Does the sight glass on ip return work?

Forum: VW conversion

VW specific conversion configurations

danalinscott — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:43:10 GMT

(Under construction)
VWs have an unusual fuel system in that the lift pump and IP are incorporated in a single unit. This means that some of the configuration options commonly used for conversion are not appropriate. This discussion is focused on conversion configurations that work best with VW diesels.

Several previous discussions are applicable to this.
They are at: http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/voconversionbasics/vpost?id=2499016&pid=25418037#post25418037

and the below schematic may be a good starting point.

I think that possible improvements might be to re-route the purge line that goes to the diesel tank to the VO tank and leave a capped line to the diesel tank return so it can be easily switched back (if diesel fuel needs to be run for a long period of time at any point).

The limited return line also needs to feed into the bottom of the VO tank. This is not clear in the current schematic.

Any other suggestions?

Forum: VW conversion

limited return loop problems

hvacr9 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:25:37 GMT

I was running a fully looped return and decided to install limited return loop.I installed a needle valve in a tee,and ran a hih back to tank.I drove about 10 miles and started losing power.I was pulling air through return circuit i assume.I am using my stock ip on vw rabbit no additional pump.Do I need a check valve in return to tank line to avoid sucking air?Or is there another way to do it?

Forum: Post your question here.

92 F-350 not starting, stalling

rwford81 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:36:16 GMT

I have a 92 F-350 converted to VO. It starts up great on diesel, I let the oil warm, switch it over to VO, runs great all day long on VO, no problems oil temp is around 165. When I switch back to diesel the truck will run, but stall out when it returns to idle. It will start back up but if you shut the truck off for more than 3 hours it will not start at all. I have to tow it to make it run. If I run it on diesel for an hour the stalling will clear up and will have no problems untill I decide to use VO again. Then the cycle will repeat itself. I've tried changing almost everything and still have the same problem. I've had a looped fuel system as well as a return to VO tank. Ive replaced all fuel lines, filters, lift pump, valves, and injection pump, still same problem. I have a dodge with the same exact set up and I have no problems. I'm about ready to throw the ford away, I'm spending to much time with it and its not worth it. Any advice would be a big help.
Thank You, Rick

Forum: Houston...I have a problem

84 rabbit injection pump leak

hvacr9 — Thur, 10 Apr 2008 02:39:34 GMT

I am running a full 180* vo temp at injection pump.I thought that was ok...now my pump is leaking at the cold start lever seal.Does anyone have the part number for this seal kit?What is the maximum injection pump temp?

Forum: Post your question here.

Is this engine/vehicle well suited to conversion to VO fuel?

danalinscott — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:17:55 GMT

The best way to determine if an engine is well suited to VO conversion is to search this and other VO conversion forums for posts on the specific engine/vehicle you plan to convert. If you find a lot of first hand discussions of how well the engine has held up long term it is a very good indication that this engine is a good candidate. But don't just check for positive posts. The posts/discussions on problems that occurred with specific engines/vehicles are much more valuable. THEY will alert you to specific problems you should keep an eye out for..and possibly even ways to avoid them.

This works best for older engines/vehicles since newer engines may not have many who have converted them..and even fewer who have run VO in them long term. If you want to convert an engine/vehicle that has not been available fr more than a few years you will be assuming some additional risks and should probably expect to either discover problems the expensive way or set up a simple monitoring plan to check for small problems before they become large/expensive problems.

This is true for any engine for which there is not a lot of long term data.
There is very little public data available on small diesel engines, large truck engines, and farm/heavy construction equipment. Much of the data collected regarding these engines is considered proprietary by those that have developed it. In the interests of full disclosure I am one of those individuals who has developed data on some of the above and does not share all of it publicly. If you are considering converting heavy construction equipment, large trucks, or tractors to VO fuel please contact me privately.

Here are some rules of thumb regarding engines on which little public information exists.
1.Liquid cooled diesel engines are more suitable than air cooled ones.
2.Indirect injection type diesels are more suitable than direct injection types.
3.4 cycle diesels are more suitable than 2 cycle diesels.
4.Diesel engines with deeply cupped piston tops are more suitable than those with flat piston tops.

In addition engines run at a constant load for long periods of time (such as those powering generators and pumps) are not well suited to conversions...though in this case there are some fairly simple "tricks" that can be used to adapt constant duty engines to VO fuel.

Forum: FAQs

How's this configuration?

bombthreat — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:32:38 GMT

I'm very new to this and planning a system for my 1993 7.3L Ford. Which will be used in Upstate NY. In this configuration, I deleted the stock mechanical fuel pump and replaced it with electric pumps, also plan on using HOH for the fuel line heating.. I'd really like to hear what your thoughts are. Thanks!

Forum: Pre-Powerstroke Ford Diesel Conversion