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WVO on the go
I'm going on a road trip with some friends in the wagon next month, and one friend suggested collecting and using small amounts (5 gallons at a time or whatever) of WVO when possible to cut down on fuel costs.
I've been meaning to, but i haven't yet gotten around to experimenting with WVO. How feasible is this idea? I can get a 5 gallon bucket w/ hand pump for twenty bucks, so storing the oil and getting it into the fuel tank wouldn't be a problem. I'm wondering how easy it is to clean the oil sufficiently - do we have to let it settle for a few days (not feasible) or is filtering enough? Any other thoughts/ideas? I'm guessing this idea is either not workable or not worth the effort, but I thought I'd throw it out here anyway to see what the rest of you have to say...
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'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel) '83 300SD 180k '84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out) |
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I'd say it's feasible, especially if all you're talking about is blending with regular petro diesel to stretch your dollar. You'll have to spend a portion of your trip looking for restaurants to give you waste grease. And you'll want to carry extra fuel filters, because clogging is common when initially switching to WVO (because it acts as a solvent). You also might want to carry a supply of rubber fuel hoses to replace those on your car, as WVO or biodiesel can corrode them.
The good news is that the M-B w123 cars are among the easiest to run on WVO, and tolerate the stuff much better than most other diesels. I've just started testing blends with new soybean oil in my own wagon, and it works like magic. I'll start collecting WVO when this supply runs out. The short version of using the stuff is that you need to filter it down to 5 microns, and make sure there's no water in it. You can 'dewater' the WVO by simply letting it settle or letting it bake in the sun. Everything you want to know can be found on this forum: http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x?a=cfrm&s=447609751&f=898605551
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'81 300TD turbo <<sold 12/05 to another diesel nut |
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Quote:
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Quote:
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'81 300TD turbo <<sold 12/05 to another diesel nut |
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I wouldn't try it for the first time while on a trip. There are any number of things that can go wrong, and a $400.00 repair bill fro removing and cleaning the tank (minus the tow and hotel) will go a long way towards buying fuel for the trip...and that's if it's a small problem. Try the veggie oil when you're closer to home.
my 2 cents. Joe
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1978 300SD Running Biodiesel/SVO, 2 tank system 127,000 Miles |
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Twitchkitty,
It's just you. Peter
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Auto Zentral Ltd. |
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Good thoughts. I imagine it's doable, but from what I've read on the biodiesel forum, getting the water out of the used oil would be a big hassle (we wouldn't really have any time to let it settle out, and heating it out is definitely not an option). Not to mention the potential mess in my car . It doesn't seem worth the hassle (or the risk, as joebiodiesel pointed out) for the $200 or so in savings it would bring us.
Stay tuned for more roadtrip related questions in the following weeks .
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'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel) '83 300SD 180k '84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out) |
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Quote:
http://www.geocities.com/biofuelstations/
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"If anyone knows other lessons I need to learn, please tell me. I'm tired of learning them the hard way". by JerryBro The Glow Plug Wait: This waiting period is a moment of silence to pay honor to Rudolph Diesel. The longer you own your diesel the more honor you will give him". by SD Blue My normal daily life; either SNAFUed- Situation Normal... All Fouled Up, or FUBARed- Fouled Up Beyond All Repair 62 UNIMOG Camper w/617 Turbo, 85 300SD daily driver- both powered by blended UCO fuels |
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You can go to a marine supply and buy something called a Baja filter which I believe takes water out. If you get serious, you can also buy a Vormax filter. They are pricey, but do an excellent job.
Peter
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Auto Zentral Ltd. |
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I personally use a Racor 330 filter / water seperator.
You still need to dewater the oil depending on where you get it from. Unless of course you don't mind stopping every 20-30 miles to drain the water out of the filter.
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'84 300CD Turbo 132k (Anthracite Grey) - WVO - My daily driver - Recently named coo-coo-coupe by my daughter. '84 300D Turbo 240k (Anthracite Grey) - Garage Queen '83 300D Turbo 220k (Orient Red) - WVO - Wifes daily driver I'm not a certified mechanic, but I did stay at a HolidayInn Express last night. |
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It all depends on the quality of the oil you can get. I get my WVO in the original 5 gallon cubes, and filter it cold through a t-shirt and 5 micron polyester filter bag. I can filter 5 gallons in an hour or two, and it would be easy to take my equipment on the road.
Personally I would never "dumpster-dive" as I'm not set up to filter large amounts of crap, especially water, from the unknown type of "oil". I've run at least 100 gallons of filtered soy WVO since the spring when I installed the system, and have not clogged my car's Permacool 2 micron filter yet.
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'83 240D with 617.952 and 2.88 '01 VW Beetle TDI '05 Jeep Liberty CRD '89 Toyota 4x4, needs 2L-T '78 280Z with L28ET - 12.86@110 Oil Burner Kartel #35 http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oD/bioclip.jpg |
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Unfortunately the place I am getting oil from won't repack it. So I've got a 55gallon drum out back he fills for me. And it gets water in it.
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'84 300CD Turbo 132k (Anthracite Grey) - WVO - My daily driver - Recently named coo-coo-coupe by my daughter. '84 300D Turbo 240k (Anthracite Grey) - Garage Queen '83 300D Turbo 220k (Orient Red) - WVO - Wifes daily driver I'm not a certified mechanic, but I did stay at a HolidayInn Express last night. |
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old300D,
Who washes your tee shirts? Peter
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Auto Zentral Ltd. |
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boring water separation stuff
Diesel fuel filters that have water drains on them are "coalescing filters". As small water droplets hit the filter element they will join up with other droplets and fall to the bottom of the filter, where the water can be drained off. Sometimes there is a relatively weak centrifugal force action going on as the fuel spins whe it enters the filter, but not on all filters. Coalescing filters are nearly 100% effective at removing water in diesel fuel, but nearly 95% ineffective at removing water from Biodiesel or WVO. Water needs to be boiled out of WVO before making Biodiesel, or adding WVO directly to your tank.
Old 300-D-, I prefer dumpster oil to any other kind. The good oil floats to the top and the sludge drop to the bottom. I just pump off the good stuff and leave the rest for the rendering company. The dumpster oil I come across has virtually no water or food particles in it, unless it's cold out and the oil stays sludgy... Joe
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1978 300SD Running Biodiesel/SVO, 2 tank system 127,000 Miles |
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in my recent brain storms (boy those cause headaches:p) on boiling out water of WVO I have been thinking about a collection system that puts a vacuum on the collection tank and a water collection resevwoir. Under vacuum it takes less heat to boil water. The boiled out water will rise and drain into the water resevwoir. With the right design this will save you in some time and energy needed to remove the water by boiling it out.
I have not yet come up with a design to do this. I got a migrain so I stopped thinking about it for now. LOL.
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"If anyone knows other lessons I need to learn, please tell me. I'm tired of learning them the hard way". by JerryBro The Glow Plug Wait: This waiting period is a moment of silence to pay honor to Rudolph Diesel. The longer you own your diesel the more honor you will give him". by SD Blue My normal daily life; either SNAFUed- Situation Normal... All Fouled Up, or FUBARed- Fouled Up Beyond All Repair 62 UNIMOG Camper w/617 Turbo, 85 300SD daily driver- both powered by blended UCO fuels Last edited by coachgeo; 06-30-2004 at 11:42 PM. |
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