I picked up a 79 240D - I drive 50 miles round trip every day for work. I am resurecting the car from the dead and its a rust bomb - so I'll not be too upset if I have to hack a couple of things.

I'm running the ford solinoid / glow plug fix with a push button (I forgot to turn off the switch once).

I have a couple other "fixes" in place too.

Anyway - I don't want to drop too much cash on this but I want to run WVO - expecially in winter when I can't ride my motorcycle.

So - How is it done?

I know the following.

I need a switch on the fuel line (and return line?)
I need some sort of tank for WVO
I need to plumb the tank to the front of the car
I need some type of tank heater

What else? There wasn't a sticky or anything that tells how to do this yourself -

Is it as easy as stuffing in a tank & running 2 lines to a fuel line switch? Maybe a manual switch to cut down on cost?

Fundamentals:

WVO is thicker than diesel. You're goal is to run a fuel similar in viscosity to diesel. Three ways to do it:

- React it into biodiesel. This is not blending, but an actual chemical reaction. Run biodiesel in your main tank...direct replacement for diesel.

- Heat it. Using second tank, which is heated, and fuel lines are heated. Start up on main tank with diesel until WVO is adequately heated, switch to WVO tank, then switch back just before shutdown to purge out WVO from IP and injectors.

- Blend it. Blend it with something of low viscosity...like gasoline. The result is a mixture that stays mixed, but thin enough to run in your main tank. 90% WVO/ 10% regular gas is more than adequate. Many naysayers of this approach, but many (including myself) have put many (50k) miles without incident.

I've reacted over 7500 gallons of biodiesel and run it in two cars and home furnace.

Search the internet for details on any of these three approaches.

__________________
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

Bingo!! This is the only way to safely use the WVO to guarantee that no engine damage will occur. Straight and blended WVO poses very harmful threats to your engine.

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

I hear that alot - but I dont hear specifics? What threats?

I know if I dont purge the WVO from the injectors and let them cool I'll have grease in there instead of fuel. So I get it that clogged injectors are possible, but that isnt devistating - just heat them up.

What other issues can there be?

And - as for internet searches - it seems everyone wants to sell me a book or a plan - I was hoping a forum like this would have a general How To on such an alteration.

Try a blend,add ten per cent gasoline to you wvo and then let it sit for near two weeks (it can be less depending on wvo quality) and then filter to one micron.

Take a sample and place in your freezer and see if it gels up or sets solid.Some will dependent on wvo quality and some will not,others will be liquid after being out of the freezer for a few minutes but it gives you an idea of what each batch will take as to cold weather.

Running my 90 300d w124 non turbo on it at the moment in the UK.

Test samples in a jar to see how long it takes for the rubbish to settle out of the blend,so you can filter when it is ready and not clog your filters.

I make big mixes of 200 liters a time,and my oil quality means just about a week for a 200 liter drum to be ready to filter,I can take the top 40 odd liters off to filter after two days but the rest takes time to settle.

Try to leave the fats out of the drum and just get the oil in,stir it all up and then take a sample in a jar and then add the gasoline percentage to the jar and then the main mix and stir it up and then place the lid on and leave it alone to settle.

Adding the gasoline to the sample jar gives the correct indication of what is going on in your main drum,if you take the sample from the main drum after adding gasoline then it will already be settling and the jar contents will be settled days earlier than the drum.

I find less than ten per cent gasoline seems to take to long to remove contaminants and rubbish.
Basically after a few days the jar sample will start to clear and a layer of fine silt will be evident at the bottom of the jar,leave it a few more days until the blend is crystal clear and it will filter through a one micron sock as quick as it would pour into the car.

To summarize the gasoline thins the wvo to enable it to take the cold weather and not gel up.Plus it removes all the contamination which for me is most of the work running wvo.

Check the video below and also check others by the same author and all will become clear.

Reasons that WVO damages engine is incomplete combustion during cold start or cold WVO. Any residue WVO will leak down the piston and gel up the rings when it polymerizes. That would run the risk the ruining the engine; scraping the cylinder wall or bad blow-by. WVO also will dissolve the rubber hoses but that would take months if not years. It will etch out all crud in the fuel tank and clog the fuel filters.

There are a number of ways to get round incomplete combustion:

1) running two tanks is best, start with diesel and change over to WVO when engine/WVO is hot. The set up is expensive and the initial investment could be more than what the car is worth. It can be done manually or automatically, depending how much you want to spend.
2) Run a blend of filtered WVO and unleaded gasoline, up to 80%WVO/20% gas. Normally no modification is needed.
3) Single tank conversion. Normally only good for warm climate location. Elsbette made a single tank system with modified injectors and other goodies. It is simpler but it may be frowned upon by others.
4) Add an after glow circuit to assist complete combustion at cold start.

There are successful single tank conversion with simple in-line heater and there are sophisticated 2 tanks system. The sky is the limit.

The bottom line is filtering and filtering WVO, and de-watering whatever you do.

BTW: PP is not a very good forum for alternative fuel discussion.

__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

OK cool - I'm learning alot here already - I'll search for another alternative fuel forum though as well - no offense PP -

Looks like the preferred method is blending - I'll start there - seems easy and safe. If I have good success there - maybe I will move up to another - but I like simple.

The key is having a good filter system though right?

How long do the filters last - and how much do they cost?

I know you don't have alot of money, but I would still go over to greasecar.com and start reading up on converting your car over. Your going to need a FPHE to run in the winter time. But still for $1,000 you will be saving on fuel prices once you have the kit installed.

I would stay away from blending, it damages the engine, injectors, injector pumps.

Good luck

__________________
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