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  #1  
Old 02-17-2017, 09:05 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 108
60k miles on veg

I've driven my 84 300D on two-tank WVO system for ten years now, 60k miles, no problem with the WVO, though a lot of tinkering to keep the car running with a/c, heat and vacuum.

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  #2  
Old 02-17-2017, 09:29 AM
greazzer's Avatar
dieselfuelinjector.guru
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: 2021 - The Great Florida Count-down
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Congradts !

Not sure if you did this, but I would toss a penny in a coffee can for each gallon of WVO I burned versus diesel. On January 1st, I would count those pennies and multiply that by my estimation of what a gallon of diesel cost. Some years, it was a surprising amount, over $3,000 ....
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  #3  
Old 02-17-2017, 09:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greazzer View Post
Congradts !

Not sure if you did this, but I would toss a penny in a coffee can for each gallon of WVO I burned versus diesel. On January 1st, I would count those pennies and multiply that by my estimation of what a gallon of diesel cost. Some years, it was a surprising amount, over $3,000 ....
That's a great idea! I use diesel to start/warm up the engine, then switch to veg. I mostly drive long distance. I try to stretch a gallon of diesel to 200 miles and usually do that. That's about 9 gallons of WVO to 1 gallon of diesel. I have had some mechanical hiccups in the past that caused my average to fall for a while though. (Turned out to be a clogged anti-backup valve in my Davco filter...I just took that valve out with a pair of needle nose pliers...it's a ball in cage rig) I have all my receipts for every drop of diesel I have bought over the years. Last time I added it all up, a couple years ago, I figured I had saved 3500 gallons of diesel by that time. That was probably 20,000 miles ago. Since then I have had much better WVO operations so I've probably used 100 gallons of diesel and 900 gallons of WVO to get me that 20,000 miles. It's messy as hell but it definitely works!

I tip the guys at the restaurants a few bucks when I pick up my WVO. I probably pay an average of 50 cents a gallon. Depending on the price of diesel, I've been saving between $1.50 and nearly $4 a gallon. If you average it out, I've probably saved over $6000 in fuel over the years. On top of that, though, I get to claim reimbursement for mileage since I drive it a lot for business. In any case, the car has paid for itself in fuel savings alone.

Jim
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  #4  
Old 02-17-2017, 10:20 AM
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Location: 2021 - The Great Florida Count-down
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I used WVO in my DD; however, my MB is a garage queen with CC insurance now.

My overall thoughts were if an engine would last X of years / miles on WVO, would those savings through WVO exceed the pricing of a used OM617 engine. My WVO days are currently behind me, however, I can say it was well worth the effort and investment as I could buy a lot of engines with the money I saved and I only had 1 engine per car and those cars went to their end because of issues not related to WVO.
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  #5  
Old 02-17-2017, 10:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greazzer View Post
I used WVO in my DD; however, my MB is a garage queen with CC insurance now.

My overall thoughts were if an engine would last X of years / miles on WVO, would those savings through WVO exceed the pricing of a used OM617 engine. My WVO days are currently behind me, however, I can say it was well worth the effort and investment as I could buy a lot of engines with the money I saved and I only had 1 engine per car and those cars went to their end because of issues not related to WVO.
On a similar note, I purchased my W123 five and a half years ago when prices of RUG and #2 were climbing. My daily commute and minimal running around in the PU was $270/month. That monthly cost went down to $140/month for those high cost time and somewhat less of a savings through lower cost fuel times but still a savings.

Thanks to this place and help from many I had it to a shop once in five years, and that was for exhaust work which was <$200.00.

I actually owe that vehicle some money and would gladly pay if the salt did not finally take its toll.

PS I will PM you injector info shortly from it.
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  #6  
Old 02-17-2017, 11:44 AM
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grzpdlr
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 282
Angry Veggi Miles

150K miles on an Ellsbett Single Tank System with Injector Line Heaters then:




Anybody interested in this 87' , 300D? The AMG wheels and almost new tires are worth something.
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60k miles on veg-87mb.jpg  
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  #7  
Old 02-18-2017, 12:24 PM
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Congrats! Last time I checked I was pushing over 80K on a two tank system with a flat plate heater and redudant in line filters. I too start on Diesel and once warmed up switch to WVO. Then back to Diesel about 5 mins before I shut it down. I keep a record of how much WVO I have burned and what I saved in fuel costs. So far I have saved about $9000 in fuel cost on a car I paid $3000 for and have probably put $1500 in repairs and WVO equipment over the years
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1994 Ford F150 4WD 249K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 376K (diesel commuter)
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  #8  
Old 02-19-2017, 04:58 PM
Vege oil rules
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Cowra NSW Australia
Posts: 13
100 000 kms on veg oil w124 om603 n/a
No modifications except swap fuel supply and return lines
How sweet it is ...
Purchased car from OP for $4000 , spent $5000 on her including complete a/c refurb but most importantly saved $14000 in fuel over 5 years
Sweet indeed ...
Cheers from Australia
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  #9  
Old 02-21-2017, 07:17 AM
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Speaking of savings, what about using the engine with WVO to power your house with electricity? I have no clue how much juice you could generate with an inverter, but I'm curious.

What you guys have done to save money using WVO to operate your diesels is amazing. Congratulations. My wife cautions me not to try it. I have a rather substantial proven track record of creating tsunami-like catastrophes whenever I try a little imagination and ingenuity on anything.
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  #10  
Old 02-22-2017, 03:41 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Knoxville, TN
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I've done about 10-20k so far with my grey car and homemade 2 tank system. no real issues other than needing the wvo secondary (heated) filter changed last month.

I'm also heating my house currently with about a 50-50 blend in a beckett afg style burner, and have cast the components to convert to 100% wvo home heat.

The Dodge also had been converted, maybe 5k on it so far on wvo.

The big problem I think people seem to have is poor filtration or not heating their oil. cold oil tends to coke up prechambers and injectors and such, hot oil wont have that nasty side effect.

I use a pressure driven centrifuge to filter my oil, and am working on casting a direct drive style setup to use this coming year.
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1982 300D (w123, "Blue Car")
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  #11  
Old 02-23-2017, 09:35 PM
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Location: Shabbona, IL
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I have 150,000 miles on my car since the wvo conversion. For the past 2 years I haven't ran much oil, thought the first 100000 of those miles I ran oil everyday. my mpg numbers to a gallon of diesel was also in the 200+ range when i was running oil every day. I have had 0 wvo related failures to the car. I am running a frybrid conversion, looped system. id do it again, defientley worth it. just don't have as much time to go get and pump oil anymore.
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1993 Mercedes benz 300D 2.5 Turbo Frybrid powered. (336,000 miles) wrecked and sold as parts car
1990 Mercedes benz 300D 2.5 Turbo (170,000 miles) wrecked and sold as parts car

Check out my Frybrid Vegtable Oil Conversion at http://1990300dfrybridconversion.shutterfly.com/
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  #12  
Old 03-25-2017, 08:48 PM
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I'm somewhere between 30,000-40,000 WVO miles on my 190d so far, no modifications to the car at all. I usually mix in 10-15% d2 to thin it, and try to only run it when it's warm outside. No issues as of yet..think the Florida temperature helps out a bunch!
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  #13  
Old 03-26-2017, 02:20 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Los Angeles
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Two simple things

Quote:
Originally Posted by mbolton1990 View Post
I'm somewhere between 30,000-40,000 WVO miles on my 190d so far, no modifications to the car at all. I usually mix in 10-15% d2 to thin it, and try to only run it when it's warm outside. No issues as of yet..think the Florida temperature helps out a bunch!

Do frequent oil changes and use a can of Gunk Engine Flush.
When you change the oil, change the secondary fuel filter also and fill it with Diesel Purge before installing.


A simple test to see if you're getting any blow-by contamination of your engine oil is to put a drop of engine oil on the back of a business card. If you get a dark inner circle and a lighter outer circle you may have a problem.
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  #14  
Old 09-04-2017, 12:42 PM
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good luck with that
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Los Angeles
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I'm at about 60K on SVO after about 8 years, using a two-tank system, '84 300D. No major problems, bought the car for $1600 and have been steadily replacing all the rubber bits. Front suspension done, need to do some work on the rear suspension. When the trunk is full of 14 cubies she's a low rider. The AC never worked but maybe I'll tackle that someday.

I've taken many long trips with the family, sometimes pulling a trailer full of fuel. I just got back from a 3500 mile trip a couple weeks ago. I wish I knew locations where I could purchase SVO or biodiesel throughout the country. I just started running B99 in the startup tank and need to replace the old (probably original) injector return lines.
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1984 300D Turbo 350K 50K WVO (two tank) "Maeby"
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  #15  
Old 09-04-2017, 08:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmypete View Post
I've driven my 84 300D on two-tank WVO system for ten years now, 60k miles, no problem with the WVO, though a lot of tinkering to keep the car running with a/c, heat and vacuum.

Congrats! Have you limited your choice of WVO in any way?

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