I want to upgrade my 84 300SD to run on Straight Vegetable Oil or Waste Vegetable Oil. There are some kits out there that let you modify your car and let you use your existing gas tank to run SVO/WVO.

I had always thought that you had to have a second tank to run the veggie oil conversion. So that made me wonder if you could combine regular diesel or biodiesel with svo/wvo in the same tank at the same time?

I live in the hot Arizona desert so warming up the veggie oil isn't all that important.

Any opinions or running SVO/WVO on a single tank versus getting the secondary tank?

Thanks

You mean downgrade.

You do.

Wrong. Heating it up is important in ALL climates. The oil should never contact your injection system until it is at least 160*f. I doubt even the desert gets that hot.

There are plenty of folks who have run WVO in a single tank system for a long time and are still going. But-------from all I've been able to learn (no first hand experience here) it is not a good idea. Two tank is considered by most to be a much better practice. Biodiesel is a great way to run with the existing setup, but cost of purchase or the mess of making the bio is a consideration. In this area I have lots of experience and I would highly recommend it. I enjoy the hobby of making bio and drive for about $0.70 per gallon. And-yes- I'd consider a two tank system (a good one) an upgrade from burning petro.

__________________
John Schroader
bio burnin' 83 300D, '83 300 SD, '79 240D
"I've never met a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else" Ben Franklin
"You cannot permanently help a man by doing for him what he could and should do for himself" Abraham Lincoln

Before you believe all the "sky is falling" posts, here's some firsthand experience and nothing further.

36,000 miles (by me) on my 83 300SD. The first 8,000 were on homebrew BD, the next 28,000 on a blend of filtered WVO and regular gasoline. 90%WVO/10%RUG. No mods to the car whatsoever.

11,000 miles (by me) on my 97 E300D. All 11,000 miles on the WVO/RUG blend. No mods to the car whatsoever.

Both cars run great, and smell great. Slight drop in mpg on both cars...maybe 10%.

Lots of fuel filter changes, especially early on.

The WVO must be filtered to 5 micron or better.

__________________
Mark in MA
05 MB E320CDI 402k Granite Grey Metallic
05 MB E320CDI 267k Black
05 MB E320CDI 232k White
05 MB E320CDI 209k Tectite Grey
99 Dodge 2500 Cummins 5sp 148k
62 Jeep CJ-6 120k

Are you heating the SVO/RUG mixture, or is the 10% RUG enough to thin it out?

__________________
That's All I Got
Joshua Coder
Green Isle, MN
------------------
1980 300SD Turbo In a 1974 Ford SuperCab Pickup
1964 Parts Car

It is encouraged to have a two tank system, but not required (wrt Benz Diesels).

There are a lot of different kits out there Frybrid, Greasecar, etc. or you could DIY.

Check out General SVO/WVO Forum. Read the 'sticky' threads (first three) and then search for single vs dual tank threads. Lots of info to be had.

Heating is important. It is not just about the climate when you drive the car, but all around climate. I am sure it gets chilly at night sometimes in the desert.

__________________
Big Fred

(RIP Sept '10) 83 300SD Turbo Diesel (aka "Rocky")
(RIP April '10 - Accident) 86 Chevy M1009 CUCV (Blazer) - 6.2L Diesel (aka "Ogre")

i've been running svo in my 82 300sd for a year now with no kit. i filter and dump it straight into the tank. i live in central Texas, and we only get maybe 3 nights below freezing per year. what is most important, from my experience, is the quality of your oil. the oil i usually get will still flow when it's in the 30's outside, with no visible milkiness. in colder months, i ad 10 to 20 % rug. just this month, i added a diy inline glowplug fuel heater for grins but my battery isn't getting charged while driving, so i may pull it or get a high output alternator.

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1982 300sd from craigslist $800 greased on one tank with NO CONVERSION in the Hot Texas Sun. (currently dead & awaiting engine damage investigation and/or longblock swap)
new daily: '03 vw 5speed jetta tdi wagon. bagged&chipped

Thanks for the help guys. I will probably go two tanks, just wanted to get everyone's opinion on the stc versus dtc.

The single greatest insuring factor, regardless of all other debates, in obtaining the second tank, is that it serves the very reassuring purpose of providing a "backup plan" or a "get out of jail free" card for that unfortunate day when, through accident, inattention, fate, whatever, you get bad vegetable fuel. Something slips through a filter, something had just a little too much unanticipated water, etc... your original diesel-filled tank is still intact, ready to function with the vegetable system all but bypassed until you have time to sort the problem out.

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Have only been burning WVO for about 1 year with no real problems.
I heat the WVO in a 30gal drum to drive off the moisture, let it settle for a week or more. Then filter down to 3 microns after blending with 5gal diesel fuel and 1 gal GUG to 10gal WVO. So I end up with 16gal of my home brew cold weather fuel. Later when it gets warmer up here will increase the WVO to 15gal. so far so good, runs and starts well with about a 3-4 mpg loss. no noticeable power loss.

__________________
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
-Arthur C. Clarke

"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people. I require the same from them."
--John Wayne.

OBK member#16
77 300D
75 300D (rusty parts car)
73 220D (Dad's)
98 Jeep Grand Cherokee
82 Kawasaki M1

Feel like slamming Lovecraft yet again?

__________________
1998 E300 +310,000K
1996 E300 +460,000K

No mods to the car(s) whatsoever.

__________________
Mark in MA
05 MB E320CDI 402k Granite Grey Metallic
05 MB E320CDI 267k Black
05 MB E320CDI 232k White
05 MB E320CDI 209k Tectite Grey
99 Dodge 2500 Cummins 5sp 148k
62 Jeep CJ-6 120k