Hi,
Ive been looking around a lot about conversions and still have some questions I was hoping you all could help me with. First of all, I am living in Portland but moving to Lake Tahoe for the winter. I assume I would need a two tank system for this. I was specifically looking at the Plantdrive TTVTS system. Would I need an additional second tank heater for the oil with this system? Also, I was talking to the Lovecraft shop in PDX and they said their single tank conversion would be fine for a Tahoe winter as long as I diluted my oil and ran a tank heater. Is this true? It seemed suspect to me.

Thanks
Sam

You assume correctly.

Search the forum for "Lovecraft" and "Lovecrap" and you can see how extremely poor their reputation is. Not only do they produce the worst single tank "conversion" on the market but they will say/do almost anything to sell their "conversion" to anyone. The product they sell is little more than a heated water strainer with a fine mesh sock zip-tied over the coarse metal strainer.

ForcedInduction is right on the money. Your going to need a two tank system like I have. We install greasecar kits and they have been working out great. Your going to need to order a greasecar kit, with co-polit or vo control. Then replace the plastic pex tubing with alum tubing, and install a 30 fphe. Your also going to want to insulate all of your fuel lines and radiator lines with simply pipe insulation you can get from home depot, or lowes.

I'm sorry to say it, but stay away from lovecraft.

Good luck, and remember to do a lot of research before you spend a dime.

__________________
Professional greasecar installer
Austin TX


98 Jetta TDI with grease car kit + veg-therm (totaled)
87 MB 300SDL running on B99 / greasecar kit + 30 fphe
www.austingreaseguys.com

Go with Frybrid, its the best kit on the market and it will ensure that you are at 160F before switching over, plus there is no cross contamination because of the control unit and dedicated return line to the VO tank. Most kits either loop the return or send the return back to the diesel tank.

The problem with the plantdrive is that it relies heavily on electric heat (which has its benefits in that it will get the oil up to temperature quickly, but if you have an efficient heat exchanger the switch over times will be similar when comparing a coolant based unit to electric heat).

Here is a comparison:

http://www.frybrid.com/kittest.htm

As a side note I am not sure if Plantdrive still uses Pollack valves, but they are trash I would definitely get different valves.

Also if you use PHO Plantdrive kits are NOT compatible with this type of VO. Frybrid kits will burn PHO.

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

Thanks so much for the help. Another worry I've been having is that I have very little shop knowledge of cars. It seems that all the kits are do-it-yourself? Is this something a novice mechanic (as myself) could do or should it be left to pros? If so does anyone know a good person to do the conversion in Portland, Oregon.

Portland, Oregon should have someone that is skilled to install your kit. But if you end up doing it yourself just take your time and do it in steps. If you don't understand or get lost. Jump on the net and start asking questions.

__________________
Professional greasecar installer
Austin TX


98 Jetta TDI with grease car kit + veg-therm (totaled)
87 MB 300SDL running on B99 / greasecar kit + 30 fphe
www.austingreaseguys.com

also remember that you will have to purchase a tank in addition to the TTVTS, the w123 tank is listed at 1250 bucks. If you factor everything in it, that is a lot of money to spend on a kit, add in hoses clamps etc the price could end up being very expensive. It might be easier just to purchase an all inclusive kit and give it to an installer.

If you go with frybrid you could drive up to seattle and have them install it.

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

Or, as Husk mentioned in another thread make your own Bio. Its the safest way to use SVO/WVO. The cost of that 2nd tank and grease kit could be allocated towards a lil processor.

__________________
Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

As well as not having to modify the car to install a conversion and your trunk won't smell like old grease. All things considered, a BioDiesel processor is the best value.

well there are a couple caveats with the biodiesel processor:

1. You have to store methanol in you house, which is very dangerous if not vented properly.

2. Biodiesel is pretty simple to make, but it takes extreme caution, a lot of people arent very comfortable having a Class 3 chemical in their house. For a lot of people the safer choice is to convert their car, as there is a higher risk associated with processing VO to make biodiesel.

3. Biodiesel requires more time to process than VO. YOu have to wait several hours before you can make a batch of BioD and you must keep testing to ensure the titration results are acceptable. If you think you might have trouble converting your car with a VO kit it might be a frustrating experience to process BIOD.

4. Payback on a VO kit will be significantly less than a quality Biodiesel Processor + Chemicals. Remember with BIOD you have to purchase chemicals which cost money, VO you can basically filter and go.

That being said BioD is much cleaner and easier to use than VO. You can seamlessly use this fuel and it works very well.

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

Also if you are running BIOD in cold weather it might be prudent to use your block heater, or add supplemental heat. The w210's have a bult in fuel pre heater which aides in cold starts, the W123 does not and this would make life a lot easier when you are experiencing extremely cold weather.

__________________
2005 SL65
1999 E300
1995 E300
1994 SL320
1988 560SL
1987 300TD
1982 300D
1955 300SL

The W124 as well.

greenzo,

youre on the right track, implement a 2 tank system. but for your sake, dont rely too much on this forum. i asked some very similar questions and there is a 'sect' (for a lack of a better word) that is anti-WVO and to a lesser degree, biodiesel. i would use this site as a reference for general repair and modifications and not WVO questions.

the best place for wvo/BD types of questions are:

biodiesel.infopop.cc
frybrid's forum

i'm on the same path, but have not 100% decided on which route to go.

you are going to find some pro-wvo and BD. just search through the forum and communicate with them and try to ignore the ones that have nothing positive to say. so far, you've been spared the usual wrath.

I looked at both options. I own a diesel pickup and now an 84 300SD.
Converting both for SVO would have cost way too much. The truck was going to be around $4500 and I didn't even look for the Merc.
Making bio was the best solution for me. I am not real concerned over the chemicals, methanol is not a lot worse than gasoline as far as storage. The lye is caustic, but also a common household chemical. Once mixed they are hazardous, but reasonable precautions will protect you. They must be used though!
The final deciding element was there is a great deal of info and history available for both making and using bio. There is info and history for SVO/WVO too but in terms of longevity WVO and SVO are relative newcomers, most have been in use for less than 100k miles.
Because diesels are or can be expected to last many thousands of miles bio seemed the right approach for me.
I have made a few test batches and am building a processor now. Hopefully in the near future I will smile when passing the pumps.

These area great suggestions, and you basically end up with a frybrid kit
But frybrid doesn't have copper in the fuel tank.

I don't think frybrid installs kits anymore, from what they've said on the forums, they're focusing their time making kits and only install on cars that they don't make kits for (probably so they can study up to make a kit for it).


A veggie oil kit requires tinkering with the car from time to time and tinkering with your filtering setup more often...because there's always ways to improve it ...but if you're willing to spend some time with it, the kits are not rocket science and can be installed by home mechanics without too much swearing and wrench-throwing...

__________________
1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now