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Wvo?

5K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  guardrail 
#1 ·
anyine running some sort of WVO setup?
for as cheap as the kits are im considering it. just dont know how it would work w/our injectors.

thoughts?
 
#2 ·
ch,
help us igno's out what the heck is a wvo set up ???
j.schall
 
#3 ·
Waste Vegetable Oil I am assuming...
 
#4 ·
Its Waste Vegetable Oil....And its basically taking used oil and adding stuff (things that I dont know...lol) so it will run in our trucks.
 
#5 ·
WVO is waste veg oil just like FFpsd stated, but it is run as is after filtering.You need a good heater to keep the oil thin enough to pump and warm enough to burn. check here for lots of good info http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/groupee/forums.
You can also check the diesel stop, biodiesel forum( only if we cant answer your questions)

Taking wvo and adding "stuff" is biodiesel.
The stuff needed is wvo, methanol, and sodium hydroxide.
 
#6 ·
as you guys have said, its waste vegetable oil. ive seen kits for around 2g including the tank w/ heater, etc. everything.
im not exactly all that worried about fuel prices, but i figure the cost of the system is about the same as 25 tanks of #2. so in under a year it should about pay for itself if i get anywhere near the same MPG.
not to mention its just cool :Thumbup:LOL

nope.... i stay away from TDS:barf:
 
#7 ·
CH,

That is a valid point on the cost. If you live in a warm climate, you can skate on the heater system.

I suggest finding a "Webb" fuel filter/heater in a truck salvage yard - look for one with the greenish mesh inside, it is a reuseable filter! Clean and re-install. Then go thru the pump and onto the factory filters.

WVO contains NONE of the "nasties" that newer diesels are working around for emissions - like sulphur. You will pass 2010 emissions with a 7.3L PSD using WVO or 80% biodiesel. The lubricity is also pretty good as I undrestand it.
 
#9 ·
guardrail said:
There's a great step by step write up on the a 7.3L conversion. I'll see if I can find it, it listed part numbers and routing etc.
awesome! that would be great!
 
#10 ·
_CH_ said:
awesome! that would be great!

If you can view Pirate 4x4 the thread is here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400760&

If not here's the writeup, i don't know that the pictures will load or not.

OverThrottle said:
I thought some of you guys might be interested in how I di d my conversion, since I see some of you guys are getting itno it as well.

My system's switchover is based off of thedieselstop's FordNut74's idea to use check valves and differential pressures to control switchover, and to have added reliability to the system. The system keeps two separate fuel systems up to the motor, so that with a pump failure or plugged filter you can still drive on diesel. In fact, the switchover to diesel is so smooth, you wouldn't even know if you didn't see it on the gauge. He is working on a kit using the same concept as I used for mine. I believe he also has a patent pending on the check valve switchover. Visit his site at http://www.vegistroke.com/ for more info. I also have incorporated ideas I have seen from various other member's conversions. Here is a diagram I drew up that shows the basic layout of my conversion. I simplified it by leaving off the coolant hoses to the various parts. The coolant is sourced and returned via the cabin heater hoses. The final heater exchanger, aluminum fuel lines (HOH), Davco filter, and Hotstick tank heater are all heated by the coolant, and in that order.



I colored the components based on which fuel is flowing through them. As you can see the stock fuel system is mostly unaltered. The only change is that instead of being routed straight from the stock filter to the heads, it goes through a check valve and into the FN74 heart instead. The stock design is to have the heads dead-headed, meaning that fuel goes into the heads as it is consumed, and the stock fuel return is from the integrated FPR in the filter housing. The powerstroke engines have the fuel rails integrated into the heads. This is a nice plus, because it keeps hot oil hot, and may even heat it more. The other side of each fuel rail in the head has a port that is plugged in the stock configuration. The WVO FPR is attached to these ports, and then set to a pressure high enough that it will not return any fuel at the stock pressure. The veggie FPR and purge valve actually have just WVO in them most of the time, but I colored them as both fuels because a small amount of diesel will pass through them during the fast purge cycle.

I currently have a 50 gallon Mueller crossed-poly marine fuel tank for my veggie use. I welded together a frame made of 1" square tube to mount the tank within. It is surrounded by 1" rigid Styrofoam insulation on all 4 sides and the bottom. Also, my tank frame has a 2.5" tall, 8' wide opening across the bottom to allow me to still haul a few sheets of plywood, or one layer of 2" thick lumber and use the full length of my bed. The tank frame is mounted down to the bed on each side with Grade 8 5/8" bolts. I am using the stock tank sending unit that came with the tank I also have a hotstick tank heater on order, but it has not come in yet. It is currently using the stock pickup tube, connected to a ½" push-lock hose to the veggie filter. Once the hotstick comes in, I will use that for the pickup tube.



 
#11 ·
more:
OverThrottle said:
The veggie filter is a Davco 234+. I ordered it from www.davcotec.com, and it includes the 12V heat option, though I am not sure it really adds much more heat then what the coolant heat already provides. It is installed on the vacuum side of the pump. I had read many concerns about mounting the pump this way, so I did some flowtesting with the Aeromotive A1000 before I installed them. I ran a ¾" hose form a bucket of room temp WVO, to a ½" alum. tube (the same one I am currently using) to the A1000, and then a ¾" hose back to the bucket. There was no regulator in this test setup, so that the pump should flow as much as it possible could. The filter seemd to flow fine, and the pump ran well without any sign of cavitation. This was with the Fleetguard Stratopore 5 micron absolute element, so I am not sure it would flow as well with a non-stratopore element. As this filter is quite large, I was unableto find anyplace to mount the filter underneath that I was happy with, so I decided to mount it, along with the pump, in a crossover toolbox. I mounted the the relays and fuses for the pump and Davco 12V heat at the same location. The fuel pump is an Aeromotive A1000, that I purchased at a local Jegs.




The fuel supply and return are both soft 1/2" alluminum that I purchased at the local Jegs. It is coolant heated in a Hose On Hose (HOH) with a 3/8" copper coolant line, all ziptied into a bundle, and then wrapped in foam pipe insulation. The returning coolant line (5/8" heater hose) is not run in the HOH bundle, because I believe the coolant returning after running through all the stuff would be colder then the oil in the lines, and actually reduce the efficiency if it was included in the bundle.

The truck runs in stock form until the coolant reaches a certain temp (I have been using appprox 160 F). Then it is safe to turn on the Aeromotive pump. The A1000 is a high pressure, high flow pump, and easily pushed the hot WVO with enough pressure to close the diesel checkvalve, forcing it to just continually return through the stock FPR. The A1000 pressurizes the fuel system up to whatever pressure the WVO FPR is set to and then operates the heads in a looped return configuration. My setup is running the pressure at 70 psi at the FPR at rear of the heads, this causes a pressure of about 100 psi in front of the heads due to the high flow of the A1000. When I am ready to shut the truck off, I shut off the A1000 pump, and then open the fast purge valve for about 10-15 seconds. This causes the stock fuel pump to push all of the veg.oil out of the fuel rails, and into the veg. return line. Then I close the purge valve and the truck is again running in stock form. The only thing left to purge would be a very small amount of WVO in the injectors themselves, and should only take a few more seconds. Thats it. The truck is purged and ready to shut down in less then 30 seconds.



 
#12 ·
more:
OverThrottle said:
I mounted all the guages and switches into a box I purchased from radio shack. I have an Autometer economy coolant temp guage (sending unit mounted on coolant output of final H.E.), an Autometer economy Oil temp guage (sending unit mounted in allimum junction manifold just before heads), an Autometer digital fuel pressure guage (sending unit mounted in same allum. manifold), and digital fuel tank guage, using the marine sending unit that came with the tank.



OverThrottle said:
Here are pictures of the gauges in various modes. The first one is shrotly after start up (engine was still warm), still running on diesel. Notice the fuel pressure.



The second is while running on WVO. Notice the higher fuel pressure, and much higher WVO output temp (190 F ). It does not take more then a few miles to reach this temp, and stays pretty constant.


The third is during a quick purge. Notice the extremely low fuel pressure. This is due to the purge valve being open, allowing the #2 to force the WVO out of the heads.
 
#13 ·
and finally, more:
OverThrottle said:
I used the following vendors to purchase pretty much all of the parts:

Aeromotive pump, Mallory FPR, allum line, Automterer guages, some of the AN fittings: The local Jegs.

Davco 234 Plus: www.davcotec.com

Final Heat Exchanger, checkvalves, 12V purge valve, AN fittings, other misc. www.mcmastercarr.com

Hotstick, Digital fuel gauge, and replacement fleetguard filters for the Davco: www.vegpower.com

Other fitting and misc. came from the local Lowes.

I actually knew virtually nothing about WVO conversions before this project, and learned most of what I needed to build this conversion from www.thedieselstop.com, http://biodiesel.infopop.cc and http://www.frybrid.com

Mark
OverThrottle said:
I just finished the setup and so far only have about 700 miles on WVO. However I know of several late model 7.3L PSD's that have been running WVO for about 30,000 miles with no problems so far.

I have not been able to notice any difference in performance or mileage with the WVO. It is more difficult to meter how much WVO you put in the veg tank, so it is harder to calculate, but it seems to get about the same mileage for me. Also, I tend to drive faster and accelerate harder when I am on WVO since the fuel is free :D .

The only problem I have had so far was found to be due to a defective Mallory FPR. It had a split o-ring on the piston seat, so that it allowed some fuel to bypass even if the fuel pressure was not as high as the regulator setting. This resulted in my returning a small amount of fuel to my veg tank when running on #2. I didn't even realize it was happening until I was out of vegetable oil, since I spent so little time on #2. After I had to use #2 constantly it didn't take long to discover the problem. I was using a small 15 gallon tank at that point and it overflowed (no sending unit at that point either) spilling diesel into the bed and then all over both rear tires. While pulling off the freeway onto a curved exit ramp the rear of the truck slid out from behind me. Completely caught me off guard as it was very hot and dry out. I brought it back under control and pulled over to figure out what went wrong (good thing I like to play in the snow/ice, it was very similar feeling :laughing: ). Jegs replaced the FPR under warranty and have had no problems since. I did include a ball valve after the FPR in my current design just in case I ever have a similar problem again. I am now certain the problem was not a result of the WVO, though but thought it would be a nice thing to have in case of a similar problem down the road.
OverThrottle said:
I have approx. $2500 into mine. That is higher then it needed to be because I tried to use the highest quality components, and purchased more gauges then most. I used AN flared connections where many have just used hose barbs and clamps. I wanted to be able to easily work on my system, and I liked the neatness and ease of working with those style connections. also, most of the PSD's I have seen are not using a final heat exchanger, and so far they have had no problems without it.

Fuel here is currently $3.10. With my typical driving style I get about 16 mpg. Assuming I can use WVO %80 of the time (may actually be higher) I will have saved what my system cost in 16,129 miles. After that I will be saving almost $5,000 dollars every 30,000 miles. Since many PSD's have already hit that mark with no problems, I feel this should adequately cover any engine damage down the road.
 
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