Do You Have a WVO Converted Car? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

83-240D · #16 01-04-2005, 03:14 PM

i have a greascear sytem planned for my car. i like the aluminum welded tank. i don't like losing the spare tire space. maybe i will ask for a special tank behind the regular tank.

1983 300TD · #17 01-04-2005, 03:30 PM

If so, where did you put it? I recognize that your going to lose cargo room no matter what, but is there a way or style of tank that won't look and be overly obtrusive?

phidauex · #18 01-04-2005, 03:39 PM

You've got to want WVO to do it. The little spoken secret of homebrew biodiesel and WVO is that no one amortizes their time into the cost, and only some people amortize in their equipment costs. Biodiesel we are making in town ranges in cost from .50c per gallon to .80c per gallon, depending on how much we've made on that reactor, but if I were 'billing myself' 15$ an hour... Boy I don't even want to KNOW what my fuel costs would be.

WVO and homebrew biodiesel is only a cost savings if you have the time to spare, and don't mind doing the work. If you have to take a day off work to make it, then your cost savings evaporates.

Commuting is a good use of WVO if you have a long commute, I have a 5 mile commute, and I would barely get the tanks up to heat before I was at work.

The WVO school bus I was traveling in for a while made great use of WVO. The bus had a 70 gallon diesel tank, a 70 gallon filtered WVO tank, and an additional 120 gallons of 'raw' oil storage, with all the filtration equipment onboard (not inline, yet, but onboard). Since it was only for making long trips, it was perfect. Our fuel capacity meant that we had over 2000 miles of range on a full load, with plenty of diesel to start. We could stop at restaurants anywhere, and get a fillup, and since we could store raw oil, we didn't have to process in their parking lot (which they appreciated).

However, despite the positive experience I had using the bus's WVO system, it wasn't really worth it for my 300TD, which I bought for its storage capacity (and don't want to compromise with an additional tank), and is used for mostly around-town stuff, with road trips being in the minority.

Anyway, I've never heard of properly done WVO systems compromising an engine. However, I've heard of many poorly done systems causing all manner of problems. If you are gonna do it, do it right the first time.

peace,
sam

Old300D · #19 01-04-2005, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phidauex

Commuting is a good use of WVO if you have a long commute, I have a 5 mile commute, and I would barely get the tanks up to heat before I was at work.

Only some systems heat the oil tank. Mine, like Dana's, heats the oil as it is needed, keeping the tank unheated. This is safer, less risk of getting coolant in the fuel, and more practical for shorter drives. My commute is 20 miles, and I can switch over after a mile. 18 miles on WVO, 2 on diesel.

aklim · #20 01-04-2005, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phidauex

You've got to want WVO to do it. The little spoken secret of homebrew biodiesel and WVO is that no one amortizes their time into the cost, and only some people amortize in their equipment costs. Biodiesel we are making in town ranges in cost from .50c per gallon to .80c per gallon, depending on how much we've made on that reactor, but if I were 'billing myself' 15$ an hour... Boy I don't even want to KNOW what my fuel costs would be.

WVO and homebrew biodiesel is only a cost savings if you have the time to spare, and don't mind doing the work. If you have to take a day off work to make it, then your cost savings evaporates.

That is EXACTLY my point. To be realistic when you say you save money, you have to figure out ALL costs not just certain costs. Of course, if I dug a hole in the ground, extracted the oil myself and made diesel, I could say it was pretty cheap to run dino-diesel. Now, just like reloading bullets, there is savings there IF I don't count the time I spend in my basement working the press, buying the bullets, etc, etc. The advantage to loading my own bullets, especially 40 S&W is that I can load lead bullets because my indoor range only allows leaded bullets. Also I can control the load and do experiments.

I seem to see WVO as basically a hobby thing. You do it for the hell of it all.

Something to consider. If WVO gets really popular, restaurants may start selling us the oil instead of just giving it away.

KansasDiesel · #21 01-04-2005, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1983 300TD

Do you have a car that runs on WVO? (not biodiesel,sorry)

If so, what rig are you using? (greasecar, greasal, Dana Linscott, homemade)

What range of temperatures do you face?

Has it been a success or a bust?

I have a Greasecar kit in my 300TD and have about 2000 miles on veggie with no problems with the kit or performance. Temps here have gotten to 17 degrees and the old girl starts right up and when the temp gets to 80C switch to veggie and your running next to free fuel.

I researched for months, was going to build my own and use danlinscott and other ideas that I picked up on fourms, bought the greasecar kit due to fuel prices and wanting to get it done quickly. The tank was the plus in buying a kit. I feel that the kit was overpriced for what came with it.

I have not had to replace the filter on the car as of yet, but I filter my veggie to 2 to 5 microns before it putting it into the tank.

It has been a great success

My bigest problem is getting a good resource of veggie.

My next project is doing my own conversion to my '96 F350 PSD with a 100 gal collection tank, and run it on WVO.

JamesStein · #22 01-04-2005, 07:55 PM

Time is one of the reasons I don't make biodiesel. It takes enough time as it is to filter WVO. I can't imagine more time converting it to biodiesel.

My main time investments are collecting the oil and cleaning my filters. I typically filter the oil over time and normally don't spend more than 2-3 minutes at one shot dealing with the oil once its collected.

I typically have oil in various stages all ready. Settling, Settled, Siphoned, Filtered (75 mic), Filtered (5 mic). So I don't really notice the time hit during the filtering process since its spread out.

That said. You also have to wait in line at stations. At least where I live there are actually only a handfull of places that sell diesel, at least around where I live. The best priced place typically has a wait of 10-20 minutes when I am getting fuel.

rwthomas1 · #23 01-04-2005, 10:25 PM

The more you drive the more WVO makes sense. My fuel bill for my work truck was $2345.38 for '04. An elaborate conversion will likely cost me @$900 and then I figure using about 10% of that petrodiesel figure (startup/shutdown)=$234.50/year. So even with the cost of the conversion and the petrodiesel I figure a total cost of @$1300/year. I just saved myself $1000. Now I get to take a writeoff on fuel so I will be loosing that writeoff by using WVO. I will however have more money available to purchase needed tools and other items that can be written off to better support my business. Time is anticipated to be @3 hours a week collecting and filtering. I think I can find 3 hours or more a week if it allows me to spend more money on tools and things that build my business. Regarding the "limited" range on WVO. It is a simple thing to carry some extra fuel in the trunk, bed, etc. Besides, how often is any of us making a 400mile trip from home? Most people travel less than 100miles to work and that makes WVO a great option for the commuter. RT

JamesStein · #24 01-04-2005, 10:40 PM

It sure does get more economical the longer you drive. Of course the processing time increases as well. Whats not worth the hassle are short trips where the car barely gets warmed up before its time to stop.

Its extremely easy to carry more fuel for long trips or install a larger fuel tank for WVO. I typically get around 125-150 miles out of a 35# jug of WVO (4 to 5 gallons).

phidauex · #25 01-04-2005, 10:48 PM

I've filtered a large amount of WVO, and trust me, with a good reactor, it takes about the same amount of time to make biodiesel, and then you subtract the amount of time you spent working on the car.

I don't filter the WVO I make biodiesel out of, most of the crap falls out in the byproduct layer, and then the final biodiesel goes through a fuel filter before entering the vehicle, which doesn't get overloaded, since, like I said, most of the crap ended up in the byproduct layer.

Aklim, I bet you enjoy making your own bullets, it doesn't feel as much like a chore, because its tied to something you enjoy. Biodiesel making is that way for me. Using biodiesel, on the other hand, is purely business.

peace,
sam

rwthomas1 · #26 01-04-2005, 11:14 PM

The are several problems with biodiesel for my usage. I use a lot of fuel. I know biodiesel takes the same processing time for 1 gallon or 100 but there are other issues: Biodiesel gels in the cold-must have reliability in work vehicle. Biodiesel processor big enough would take up even more space. I don't care for transporting and handling that much methanol or lye. Large amounts of byproduct to deal with. Difficulty in building a "fumeless" processor for indoor winter use. WVO it is. RT

Mango · #27 01-05-2005, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

WVO, OTOH, strikes me as a application where it is warm and you are going to be near a fuel source. Home. IOW, I cannot take that car out for a vacation or to drive around and it is confined, for all practical purposes, to near my home.

Why not take your car out for an extended vacation? The first tank from home and you run on WVO. When you need more fuel just pull into a gas station and fill it with diesel. If you have a heated system you end up heating your diesel, not a problem. If you are worried about heating your diesel install a valve on the coolant line that is used to heat the fuel.

In the summer I run both WVO and diesel in my Ferd F250 with no mods at all and have never had fuel swapping issues.

TwitchKitty · #28 01-05-2005, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phidauex

I've filtered a large amount of WVO, and trust me, with a good reactor, it takes about the same amount of time to make biodiesel, and then you subtract the amount of time you spent working on the car.

I don't filter the WVO I make biodiesel out of, most of the crap falls out in the byproduct layer, and then the final biodiesel goes through a fuel filter before entering the vehicle, which doesn't get overloaded, since, like I said, most of the crap ended up in the byproduct layer.

Aklim, I bet you enjoy making your own bullets, it doesn't feel as much like a chore, because its tied to something you enjoy. Biodiesel making is that way for me. Using biodiesel, on the other hand, is purely business.

peace,
sam

How would I go about finding a cheap supplier for Methanol? Look up chemicals in the yellow pages? Petroleum jobbers?

I run a WVO/RUG blend. The only modification I have made to the car is an electric pump back by the tank. I do have to change filters more often running WVO than running diesel.

Old300D · #29 01-05-2005, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwitchKitty

How would I go about finding a cheap supplier for Methanol? Look up chemicals in the yellow pages? Petroleum jobbers?

I run a WVO/RUG blend. The only modification I have made to the car is an electric pump back by the tank. I do have to change filters more often running WVO than running diesel.

Methanol is available from just about any dragstrip.

dwferg · #30 01-12-2005, 12:06 AM

I have ran my 1984 300sd on WVO for 12,000 miles now and love it, I haven't had any problems with my Greasecar kit (which is installed in the rear trunk on the drivers side Parallel with the body of the car just next to the drivers side storage compartment in the trunk) I still can fit my golf clubs in and a few of my friends clubs in also those trunks are massive. Down side my Mountain Bike won't fit in my trunk anymore. I set up a filtering system just like the one on the grease car sight and it seems to work good (note if you are going to filter than buy the gear oil quality pump not the diesel pump it burns out due to the oils viscocity the gear oil pump is on this web sight http://www.biofuels.ca/ it is more money though) There is a great feeling of satisfaction knowing that you are reducing our nations oil dependance on the middle east. In the summer I don't even start and stop on dino I just run WVO all summer come October I start switching tanks back and forth to help out with the starts when it gets alittle cooler. Not that it gets to cold in the Bay area in Northern CA,
hope this helps.