WVO for 80's Mercedes Newbie Questions

[jdouglas55]

So, I've found what seems to be a VERY good condition 82 300sd that I'm looking at and hopefully buying in the morning. Great mileage, pristine condition, seems like a rich oldster who has garaged it and maintained it, so fingers crossed.

I'm really interested in trying to do a single tank conversion and have been trying to read up on it but there is SO much info out there and it all assumes that everyone is an expert in the area, so kind of at a loss.

I live in central NC so I would only run the wvo from say April/May through October. Can the cleaned wvo be left in the tank when diesel is added? I read somewhere it shouldn't be more than 5%, so does the system have to be flushed to go back to straight diesel? Also, is there a simple kit for sale anywhere with decent instructions and all the parts I'd need (other than stuff I can get locally at an auto parts store) for a REASONABLE price? I keep finding sites that say kits, and then just have all these diff parts and I'm not sure which ones I need, which ones I don't, etc etc. Or a simple manual that shows the parts needed for a single tank system would be nice, about how much would I be looking to spend for all the parts?

Finally, when it comes to filtering even more varied opinions. For light usage could I just get by with filter bags and an old 55 gal drum I find cheap? Someone locally on CL has a centrifuge, tanks, the whole shebang for sale and if I could get it at the right price I might go that way. With the centrifuge it is my understanding I would just run the veggie oil through that and viola be done, right? Or am I missing something and there are more steps needed?

Thanks in advance guys, like I said I'm usually the research figure stuff out on my own type but there are SOOO many sites with differing opinions I just need to know the BASICS before I can understand a lot of what they are even saying.

[Drago]

the biggest challenge you'll have is getting the WVO. I struggled nearly a year to find a regular source of WVO. You are in direct competition with several waste oil companies that pay the restaurants for their wvo under contracts that make a cable tv provider blush.

[GregMN]

Originally Posted by jdouglas55

could I just get by with filter bags and an old 55 gal drum I find cheap?

My advice is to change your mind set from "just get by" to finding the "best practices".

I am not a fan of single tanking it for SVO unless you have a real cheap beater that you plan on just running into the ground in a year.

I have no experience with blending, but you might want to research that for single tank use.

A two tank system is not that hard to do, or expensive.

If you do single tank SVO, install a water injection system and use it regularly to try to clean the carbon out of the piston rings. And change your oil more often.

[spark3542]

A quick primer on alternative fuels.

In short, the goal is to make your alternative hydrocarbon based fuel to have a viscosity similar to diesel fuel. Veg oil is thicker than diesel, especially in colder ambient temps.

Options to run veg oil to get it closer to diesel viscosity
- Heat it. That's what two tank systems do...run diesel until veg oil is heated, then switch to veg oil, and switch back to diesel before shutdown...therefore need two tanks
- Blend it with something thin, but still hydrocarbon based. Regular unleaded gasoline (RUG) is an excellent choice. it is much thinner than diesel, so makes a nice viscosity with only about 5-10% RUG, 90-95% WVO. Stays mixed well, and even works well at low ambient temps.
- React it into something thinner....namely biodiesel (BD). This is a chemical reaction that breaks the glycerin molecule from the triglycerides and substitutes a methanol molecule to make methyl esters. This is not blending, its a chemical reaction. Methanol and Lye (NaOH) are needed for the reaction.

I ran blends for years ~80k miles, but also BD. I never ran a blend in my '05, but it has run the last 121k miles on homemade BD.

There is obviously more detail needed to learn about any of these choices, but this is the high level summary to get you focused on your options.

[Timmeeh]

Don't know about the temperatures you will get, but i bought my 300GD in august full of veg oil from the previous owner. Ran it on diesel after i bought it, and changed filters. When the winter came and the temp reached -13 deg C, it suddenly lost power and stopped. Changed filters, but still same problem. Turned out the strainer in the tank was clogged. So I would make a valve or some easy way to flush through the tank before the winter if i were going to run single tank...

My suggestion to you is... Change out the fuel lines with some 1/2" ID hoses/lines and remove the strainer in the tank. Then you will see in the prefilter when it clog, and the bigger hoses/lines makes it easier for the lift pump. Some say heating is needed to it to burn completely, so you might want to add a heat exchanger... Problem then is you can't heat the diesel. Solution; put ball valves on the "tee" from heating hose, and close them when you're driving diesel.

But ofcourse a two tank system is better and safer in the long run. I'm installing one now, said to myself i will never get a breakdown in the middle of the city again. For example with kids in the back seat

[math]

ou guys must be getting some seriously bad oil.

I filter mine down through a 1/2 micron filter, put it in the tank and away i go

50,000km so far and just changing the sacrificial filter every 1000+ km

so, $5 fo 1000km of fuel. No heating required.

when collecting oil, best places are mexican and thai places that use real oil and not fat like the fish and chip/takeaway stores do.

[oldsinner111]

god diesel is cheap right now,hope he uses another fuel tank.

[moon161]

GregMN did a neat install where the VO tank is a stock tank mounted back to back with the original.

My 240 sedan had a fabricated steel tank.

I picked up a plastic 15 gal. tank at harbor freight, made for pesticide spraying I think.

[moon161]

Originally Posted by math

ou guys must be getting some seriously bad oil.

I filter mine down through a 1/2 micron filter, put it in the tank and away i go

50,000km so far and just changing the sacrificial filter every 1000+ km

so, $5 fo 1000km of fuel. No heating required.

when collecting oil, best places are mexican and thai places that use real oil and not fat like the fish and chip/takeaway stores do.

Year, make, model?

[oldsinner111]

I had a boat tank 12 gal. I paid two dollars at yard sale

[math]

Originally Posted by moon161

Year, make, model?

1984 mercedes benz 300 D