A newbie here. I just bought a WVO conversion of a '59 190D, and am enjoying and learning and driving.

I have noticed that running pump diesel, when climbing a sustained grade at highway speed, the car will sputter and miss and "lose power".

Switching to veggie and looping around to tackle the hill again, there isn't even a hint of a miss or power loss.

Question - could the mechanical injection timing have been previously optimized for WVO, and that timing is not best for diesel when running at high engine speed?

Thanks -

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Sounds like a clogged fuel filter. I'd change your diesel filter. If this keeps happening, your system is mixing VO into your diesel when you change over.

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82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?

Moon161 is probably correct. Adjust your purge time down a tad if you find WVO in the diesel tank.
Your IP doesn't care!

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If you use two valves in a system, switching both back from VO to diesel operation sends the VO between the two valves into the diesel tank. Purging will flush this into the VO tank. Mixing diesel into your VO is preferred to mixing VO into your diesel.

This is where understanding & proper operation of your system come in. The below relates best to my particulars. My system uses (well it's torn apart right now) one valve to switch the supply- For valve 1, the normally open (NO) port is piped to the diesel filter, and the Normally closed port (NC) is piped to the VO filter. The common port goes to the lift pump that has the output directly connected to the IP instead of to the diesel filter. Valve 2 has the NO port piped to the diesel return and the NC port piped to a T in the VO line. The common port picks up the injector overflow.


When no valves are energized diesel is sucked from the tank, and injector overflow goes back to the tank on the return line.
Energizing Valves 1 and 2 runs it on VO. Injector overflow loops back into the VO line.

Energizing valve 2 only runs diesel through the IP and injector overflow and then pushes diesel back down the VO line. The period that valve 2 only is energized is what I call my purge time. I think I used 20 seconds at light throttle. Yours will vary, can be determined by experiment. An inline sightglass may be useful.

I'd verify my purge time is appropriate, run the diesel tank dry and then change the diesel filter out.

__________________
CC: NSA

All things are burning, know this and be released.

82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?

Interesting!

Sounds like I may have caused this by purging too long, even though it happened before my "long purge"

In this case, I drove to work on WVO, purging a mile away; I left the switch on "purge" when I got to work; jumped back in in the afternoon and forgot to switch back to "diesel" (I wanted to save my grease).

Drove 15 miles home on "purge"!

Whoops!

Sounds like I'll run the tank out and swap the diesel filter. Actually, I'd hate to drive four hundred miles this way. Maybe I'll just buy a couple of filters, and change now to start; again when it starts to fade.

Forrest

McD, don't know your system particulars, but it sounds more like you've plurged, than filter contamination. Check your VO tank for lots of diesel. You can test by adding diesel to the diesel tank. If that fixes it, your problem is that you pumped the diesel tank nearly dry, and the pickup is sucking air when you point uphill.

Normal operation for the 61x fuel system is supply to the lift pump> IP > injectors > return line. If if you leave a system on purge, it usually sends the injector overflow to the VO tank. it usually pumps diesel into the VO tank, until you run out of diesel or change the switch.

__________________
CC: NSA

All things are burning, know this and be released.

82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?