winterizing my LA two-tank setup

[Jack None]

I've got about 15k miles on straight WVO in the southwest. So far so good, including three long trips. I'm thinking to take her from LA to Chicago and back to visit the folks for Christmas.

I designed my LA-rated two tank system, here's a diagram.

What do you recommend for upgrading to winter?

I was thinking to run coolant to the WVO tank (it's the stock tank so this may not be easy), insulate the fuel lines and maybe run them along the exhaust. Do the vegtherms work? Someone speaking from experience told me they create "fruit leather" which gums up the works, but other people seem to like them. If you've been running vegtherm for 10k miles or more, have you had trouble? Does anyone sending coolant to the WVO tank have a manual valve for the tank loop, in order to cut it from the system in warm weather and get to operating temp faster?

[Jason SVO]

Hello,

First, will you tell me the 2-D modeling program you used on that drawing.

Secondly, I would recommend heating your tank for operation in sub-freezing temps. I like the idea of a ball valve on the loop so you can shut the flow off in warmer climates. FYI, The mercedes returns a ton of fuel, so once the fuel is flowing back to the tank, the tank will warm.

You will also need to wrap the coolant lines on the veggie fuel lines coming from the tank. You don't want frozen veg in the lines when you go to switch-over.

Jason
WVO Designs

[Jack None]

Thanks. Has anyone put in-tank heating into the stock 300D tank? The other option would be to weld a new trunk tank, or get one of those plastic pickup truck tanks (if it would fit) and use the stock tank for diesel. This would just require switching the hoses on the two sets of fuel lines above the steering column.

I'm also considering blending, just for this trip. It would certainly be way less work.

Any strong opinions on the vegtherms?

[grease lightnig]

I think you should have a tank made. I get mine made locally for $10 a gallon. Remove the stock tank and make it fit so that you have lost of capacity and can still fit 8 cubes of grease in the trunk for long trips. You will have to run coolant to your new tank, a nominal expense. Just bundle the coolant and fuel hose together maybe with insulation if you think it is needed.

You stock tank is probably growing polly right now. So it is really a good time and a good idea to put a real tank in. The long trip will pay for the moey and effort.

Good Luck. If you want me to be more detailed just ask.

PS I do not think Vegitherms are worth the money or effort. Sorry Plant drive. A good FPHE is the way to go.

[oldsinner111]

I found a 12 gal plastic tank at the flea market for a dollar
I now carry wvo in iot,take it from me don't use you diesel tank.

[oldsinner111]

Forgot to add something.For 2 years now after changing back to diesel,I have to,change primary filter every 150 miles.I clean them out and reuse.
This is what happens when you use your tank for wvo.Sources for oil dried up here,because large rendering company.They have the health dept. mandating wvo pickup. For health reasons.

[GregMN]

Here is a cold climate conversion.

1991 350 SDL Conversion to WVO

Do that, or visit Chicago for the 4th of July instead of Christmas.

If you don't want to do that, then just run diesel.

[oldsinner111]

I did n't heat tank,I sent cold vo at 50/50 diesel to engine were a hot plate heated vo,then fattywago injection line the fuel to 185 before
injectors
I mixed my fuel too flow

[Jack None]

Greg, lots of great ideas in your setup. Thanks for doing the detailed write-up. I like the idea of going to pick-a-part for the tank ($50) and heating it externally. I also like the idea of being able to see both fuel levels. I will try keeping my filter and FPHE under the hood, but I will wrap them with insulation.

I think what I need to do is go get the tank, run the coolant loop to it, and add some insulation to the lines, the filter, and the FPHE and then I should be good for moderate winter temps. I'll wrap the coolant lines with the fuel lines, to melt the gelled VO all along the path.

Here are a couple of questions. First, with your setup I'd be concerned that the VO was significantly cooler by the time it gets to your injectors. Do you have a temp gauge close to the injectors? Second, what is your switch-over temp, and how many miles does it take to reach it (in summer, and in winter)?

Has anyone experimented with higher-temp thermostats? Has anyone used heat from the exhaust system?

[Jack None]

Huh, and after rereading oldsinner's post maybe I'd be wise to keep using the stock tank for VO since it already has run 10k+ of VO in there... judging by the gunk around the fill cap it should be grim but I've recently checked the tank strainer and it is pristine. Maybe because it stays submerged. There may be a lot of crud higher up on the sides of the tank which would come off into diesel. (Is diesel a mild solvent for this stuff or something?)

Hmm. I'll see if I can mate up the coolant lines to the stock tank like Greg does with his second tank. This would save me a trip to the junkyard anyway.

[oldsinner111]

Hey Jack yes keep the tank you were using for wvo,like I said 2 years and I'm still fighting with this film

[Jack None]

Winterized my fuel system and made it to Chicago.

Had a small problem with air leaking into my Davco WVO filter after an element change which had me confused for a hundred miles or so. The top seal wasn't tightened down enough.

I have a couple of questions. First, how cold are you guys able to start your cars without a block heater? It has been about 20F here in the morning, and my car starts but requires some serious cranking.

Second, has anyone had trouble damaging a MB IP due to making it work too hard? Before I put in the line/tank heat I could tell the IP was working (this was in LA). So I wondered about this. With the line/tank heat it seems much happier.

[GregMN]

Water in the fuel will damage the IP.
Injecting too cold WVO will cause damage in the combustion chamber.

[Jack None]

Got back fine, but ten below temps in Utah were a little too much for my system. I had to burn a few gallons of diesel to get home. Fats were clogging my prefilter, which I didn't think to heat, so after a while I figured it out (I could see the coating of "lard") and bypassed it. It's possible I also would have needed some electric heat to supplement the coolant heat on the main veg filter, but now I may never know as shortly after bypassing the prefilter I came down from the Utah mountains and out of the cold.

A challenging trip for me. And therefore fun.

I could redesign the end-to-end system better after this. There are a few things I'd change.

[jim_22]

You may want to feed the veggie return back into the heated veggie filter.