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...

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

Is it just me or does that site sound a little too much like a sales pitch? The sun shines awfully bright over there, never a dark cloud in sight.

Could it be that burning veggie oil instead of petroleum just makes people feel good? ;)

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

Twitchkitty,

It's just you.

Peter

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 :rolleyes:. 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 :D.

Here Here Im with Joe. That being said though check this web site for those looking for filtered oil while on trips thru out the US. ALSO ADD YOUR NAME if you have it available at times.

http://www.geocities.com/biofuelstations/

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

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.

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.

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.

old300D,

Who washes your tee shirts?

Peter

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

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:eek:. LOL.