Local "Kook" dumpster dives for WVO.
 

The "kook" is me, and I took the plunge for the first time last night. It turns out that one of my neighbors manages a Ruby Tuesday's restaurant, and he is happy to let me take all the WVO I can use.

I went to the local farm supply store, bought a drum pump and some hose, and went to the restaurant with an empty 15 gallon drum (plastic drum with 2 bungs). Got myself about 12 or 13 gals to start with.

I pumped from near the top of the tank, and the oil looked good to me. (100% Canola oil). Kind of honey colored, and looked clear going through the discharge hose on the pump.

I'll let it settle until after the weekend, then start filtering into smaller "cubee" containers. (I still have to learn quite a bit about pre-filtering)

I plan to start running a 50/50 WVO/Diesel mix to begin with. The temps here are fairly warm (80's and 90's).

My main concerns are compatibility of the fuel lines, and filter clogging. Any other last minute pointers?

SteveM.

Just make sure to filter down to about 5 microns or so, and then if you have any weird power issues, add more diesel. Also it seems better if you add a fuel additive too. Don't worry, it will work great!

Welcome to the greasy drivers club.
I have 3 MB300ds on a 50% WVO:Biodiesel blend with no problems in mid winter in West Oz (Temperatures regularly hit 5 degrees overnight - Oh yeah that's 5'C, not F ;))
One of these (the '84) is now running a second tank on straight WVO, with a heat exchanger in the engine bay and a separate fuel filter.

Water in the oil
 

You might want to heat the oil to above 212*F just to make sure there is no water in the fuel. This has been recommended in some of the "biodiesel" forums. You shouldn't need to cook it for long, just bring it up to about 250*F for 15 minutes. If is stops at 212 for any length of time as you heat it up, you know you have some water in it.

This I dont understand.

Why would the heating process stop at 212? If so, why would this then indicate the presence of water?

I have also read that water particles imulsified in the oil may not remove using heat method.

Removing water is the greatest challenge using WVO as fuel.

Quick reply to your question: during the phase change of water (liquid to gas), temperature is constant.

Nate's right. I might get the terminology wrong, because I'm working from memory.

I think that should be something like the "latent heat of vaporization" that must be overcome.

Even though liquid water and steam can both exist at 212F, a phase change must occur from liquid to steam. That phase change requires an input of energy, which will show up as a thermal arrest at 212F.

SteveM.

In theory you are correct. But you are going to need some pretty precise equipment and lab conditions to observe this. The amount of water 'suspended' percentage wise in the WVO is most likely small (several hundred to several thousand ppm).

i have been useing svo for approx 3 years now in my 95 300d and 87 sdl,i really encourage you to read up on infopop svo forum.gathering oil is just the first part,its essential you make sure suspended water is removed and hot pan test needs to be done-this info is available on svo forum.you cannot really tell much by looking at oil other than really dirty black oil.it can be a steep learning curve-good luck

I've been burning WVO for about 5 years now. Two cars blending and one with a Greasecar kit and a FPHE.
Rosenfe is right on with the research bit. There is A LOT to learn about this.
One mistake I made early on was mixing in some used motor oil. That wasn't the problem though. What created the problem was adding Diesel Kleen additive. This made the motor oil precipitate out of the mix and collect on the bottom of my tank in a tarry like substance. What a mess that was.
Best advice is read, read, read. If you like PM me and I'll send you several sites for WVO where you can do your research.

Running a Mix?
 

Hi Muleears, wondering if you run a mix in your 98 e300, have been running a two tank greasecar system in an 85 300dt for about 4 years and +40k miles and recently acquired a 96e300. Waht type of mix do you run, did you change over to viton (assuming not necessary for wvo), run any heater (know this car has built in fuel heater) or run a different type of filter or remove in-tank screen. Any info greatly approciated, thanks.

That is really dangerous. If you have any water present, it can flash into steam and throw hot oil all over, including your burner. Far safer de-watering methods abound - do check out the forum at http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/cfrm/f/2191066562

So who else is using WVO/SVO?

Roll Call !

I do,but stop in the winter to burn off carbon.For me anything over 50% wvo causes more blow by.Next year I'll run 50/50 in my heated tank.Burning now 25% wmo/watf,no blow by,heaters on.Damn Oil Speculators,should be shot.

Jet,

here's the best idea.
take that oil and make bio diesel out of it.

It won't kill your engine, and the car will run "right".

I fix these cars for a living, so experimentation is not my method of research. Rather, its observation, and what I observe is that WVO kills Mercedes engines.