Best FPHE ? recommendations ?? Flat Plate Heat Exchanger (FPHE)
 

I am looking to add a FPHE to my 240D - i've been running 100% WVO for over a year now with no issues, single tank system with injection heaters 12v and 12v fuel line heater, im in los angeles so it doesnt get that cold ever, this sytem has been working great. - but, i'd like to add a FPHE just for insurance that my WVO is getting hot enough now that the "colder" weather is coming here.
I see lots of copper brazed/ stainless steel FPHE on ebay 20 plates for about $60- i've heard copper isnt so hot for WVO as far as poly goes..? any other options, or are folks having ok results with these?
I also see arctic fox has a couple stainless steel tube type exchangers, more like $150.
ideas?

FYI
 

For those who do not know what a FPHE is.

Flat Plate Heat Exchangers (FPHE)
Flat Plate Heat Exchangers - Google Search



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Any thats UL rated meets quality issues.You sure don't want your fuel mixing with coolant.I have a 20 row.
Next If your using your steel fuel tank,its a &^%$#@* after you start running diesel due to oil shortage.I bought a 12 gal. boat tank for $2.00,and should have used it.
No veggie around here anymore large rendering company got all eateries.They clean their grease traps for free.
It should take me 6 months before old chicken skin off steel tank is gone.

thats a good idea about using a different tank- the couple times ive had to run on diesel for a few days is usually when i need a filter change..! were you just gonna use a different tank for veg and switch back to the original when using diesel?

Yeah I had a two tank system.

I purchased my FPHE(s) from DudaDiesel.com

I may have even gotten them for less than $60 each.

So many to choose from. 16 to 20 plates should be fine for our benz diesels.

Consider getting 1/2"FIP ports for a more compact install. Attach the appropriate 90* fittings given what type of connections you wish to use. barb is simplest as hoses can be attached directly. 5/8" heater hose for the 617 and 3/4" on the 603 and 606 unless a 3/4-5/8-3/4 Tee is used for tapping into the cooling system.

Factory fuel hose sizing is 5/16". bumping up to 3/8" for as much of the VO segments makes it easier when sizing components. Use which ever suits you best.

Pex fittings at your local plumbing supply are a good choice for a compact T fitting. Be sure to measure your hose inlet and match it to the fitting size as the numerical sizes dont match.

thanks for the recommend renntag - i'll prob go with dudadiesel- im adding a FPHE to both my 240Ds so they look to have good options. thanks for the clarification of the hose sizes, etc too- makes it easy to reference when ordering parts! i believe i have the 616 in my 240D so i think 5/16 fuel and 5/8 heater hose. i'll probably go with 20 plates.
where did you plumb in your FPHE?
the 240s are pretty straightforward,
the water pump sits on the head, and goes to either the radiator or shoots off to the heater core... i think its a matter of tapping in after the water pump , before the heater core and then again after heater core where it goes to the back of the head...?

i think im gonna go with a 20 plate from dudadiesel... now i'm wondering if i understand correctly where to plumb it in... i (THINK) it goes like how i have it marked in the photo below, tap in behind the head to go to FPHE and output of FPHE taps in after heater core before the metal pipe that goes to the water pump...
is that right??
there is also a short hose after the metal return pipe right before the water pump, is there any advantage to tapping in there instead?
are my "flow arrows" on the heater hose correct in how the coolant flows in the system?

http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/z...G_3877FPHE.jpg

Did you buy the 1/2" hose barb version?

i ordered the 1/2 FPT version, and i got some 1/2 MPT to 5/16"barb for the fuel lines and 1/2 MPT to 5/8" barb for the coolant lines

if any one else has a 12v/coolant combo set up i'd love to hear what order you put things together in- i have a 12v inline fuel line heater (like a vegetherm) and am adding the FPHE and i think an electric boost pump... coming from the fuel tank, which order should the heaters & pump be in? i realize once the engine is up to temp, it probably doesnt matter much as the FPHE will be getting me good WVO temp, but since im starting on wvo as well, i'd like to make sure im getting the most heat from the 12v heater- so maybe i should put that one last in the chain, right before the lift pump?

The lift pumps work best back at the tank pushing the fuel rather than pulling it.

You can loose a large amount of heat in a relatively short amount of uninsulated fuel line. Your 12v heater should be as close to the injection pump as you can get it with nothing more than a small inline filter between it and the pump.

Some people have reported clogging there FPHE the polymerized oil and having to clean them out. The more animal fat you run the more problem you would have with this. I use the arctic fox stainless heat exchangers. You won't get as much heat gain from them but they don't build up with polymerized oil.

Is your fuel return looped back to the supply or does it still return to the tank? Looping your fuel will increase your fuel temps and put less strain on your lift pump. It will also trap any air in the fuel system in that loop so you'll want to make sure you have no air leaks.

i dont have a looped system, but have been seeing that term a lot- how do i go about plumbing a return loop on a single tank system?

maybe i'll try to plumb in the boost pump right at the tank output..? been awhile since ive slid under there, but i think there is a little bit of hose between the tank and the metal lines i could tap into...

my oil is pretty fat free, settled for a good time and then CF, so hopefully wont have the poly issues..

Couple ways...

You could simply take the line where fuel exits from your fuel filter and tee it into the fuel supply line just before your heaters. This would be always looped. The draw back to that is that if you get some air trapped in the system it no longer has a way to get back to the tank and will have to be run threw the engine.

Another way is to take the line exiting the IP and the injector return line and tee them together before the filter. Send that to a valve(mechanic or solenoid) that gives you the choice to run looped return or full return. The valve could either send fuel back to the tank or to the filter then back to the fuel supply.

There is plenty of room to mount an aux pump at the tank output and that would be a great place to put it.

Settling will remove a lot of animal fat if temps are warm enough. Centrifuge really doesn't remove much fat because you have heated the the fat enough to turn it into liquid and it passes threw the centrifuge. Filtering at ambient temps will remove a lot of fat but you will go threw a lot of filters.

Installing a fuel temp and fuel pressure gauge are also a must for me when running any wvo. They can really tell you a lot.

http://www.dudadiesel.com/img/items/HX1220_ID654-L.jpg
So I presume I'd want the 1/2" NPT male version? (There seems to be no FPT version)
www.dudadiesel.com/img/items/HX1220_ID654-L.jpg