OM603 wvo winterproofing

[KarlGustav9]

Hello, i have a w124 with a 3.0 diesel engine that i drive on wvo. So far i have driven on wvo for about 2years and 50 000km, the only time i haven't driven on wvo is in the winter, but this year i would like to try. Right now the only modifification i have on the car is a heat exhchanger. I have bought a new battery and a starter last year and changed the glowplugs. Right now if the car has only wvo in the tank i have to crank the starter some time for it to start, if i add about 5l of diesel then it starts normaly. Now what could i do for it to start better and heat up faster during the winter time (winters in Estonia go down to -30C).

[97 SL320]

Have a look at this thread. https://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/400369-300d-no-start-only-gas-held-floor-no-power.html

[moon161]

How cold does it get in Estonia? As it gets colder, the oil can solidify and then it won't pump any more, and you've definitely got a problem then.

I've driven an OM616 motor on old fryer oil in the northern US winter, probably as cold as 10-20 F so maybe -6 to -12C with no issues, but it was a 2 tank system, with a heated tank and lines for the fryer oil. Start the motor on diesel, switch to oil when warm and flush with diesel before shutting it down.

The first motor in it had wicked blowby that only got worse, the second one was OK.
A friend of mine drove a W201 190D with an OM602 motor on just straight fryer oil, and would switch back to diesel when it got 'too cold', I never did determine how cold that was. I did notice the little heat exchanger that heats fuel with hot coolant right out of the head on my OM602. That, of course does you no good till hot coolant is coming out of the motor though.

What fouls the rings or hone is usually a debate about WVO burning, and partial combustion from starting with cold WVO comes up at the top of the list.

Look up this guy who uses the name 'John Galt' on biodiesel and WVO forums.

http://www.make-biodiesel.org/Drying-Oil/cold-upflow-settling.html . What this page talks about is a system to separate the fats out of WVO to lower the pour point- the lowest temperature it still pours at.

He says he lives in the extra cold part of Canada and burns a diesel/vo mix all the time. I think he keeps his motor under an electric blanket in the winter.

Best of luck!

[oldsinner111]

had a problem one time at 0f degrees.I ran half wvo,half diesel. I had to add 2 gallons gasoline to get it liquid again.

[97 SL320]

Originally Posted by moon161

He says he lives in the extra cold part of Canada and burns a diesel/vo mix all the time. I think he keeps his motor under an electric blanket in the winter.

Best of luck!

Electricity to keep a diesel warm in winter is a neglected / hidden cost of operation regardless of the liquid fuel used.

[shadetreemechan]

I add 5% unleaded to my regular 80% WVO 20% diesel blend in winter to help with cold starts. I usually start adding the gas once temps drop below 40F and run it till they stop. I still need a block heater to get going once things get below 20F. One tank system, no heat exchanger. Been running this way for 12 years and 200K miles so far on a 617.

[GregMN]

This conversion will run WVO down to about -20 degrees F.

1991 350 SDL Conversion to WVO

Keys to success:
WVO heated to at least 160 degrees
Complete purge of WVO from engine compartment fuel line before shutdown
Keeping diesel lines, filters, and tanks, free of WVO contamination.