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I had a similar issue on my 1984 300D. Temp was barely above 40C when I bought the car. There were TWO problems. First, the thermostat was old/tired, replacing it helped somewhat... but the gauge was still below 70C. Next I replaced the sender in the cylinder head (a whopping $10), and THAT cured it completely. I knew it was getting hot as the heater worked great.
With everything working properly, an OM617 engine should NEVER get below 80C when warmed up. Mine stays at 85-90C almost all the time, year-round. Anyway, heating VO shouldn't be necessary if you're in a warm climate, and if you're in a cold climate, you'd be better off making biodiesel in cold weather. There are lots of folks running VO straight in the main tank, no heaters or other junk, as long as ambient temps are high enough (something like 50-60F or higher, I think...?)
HTH,
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