This is rather long but bear with me…

As many of you know if you’ve been following this forum for any length of time, I’ve been experimenting with WVO in my 6.2L powered C2500 for a while now. I’ve been making decent progress.

I recently developed and constructed a new WVO system, involving better heat and more “safety filters” than my last system. This system incorporates an insulated “hose-in-hose” style heater made from black pipe. I mounted this heater under the truck, along the frame rail. It is temporarily mounted currently… I need to weld up a couple mounts and put it inside the frame rail. I don’t off road, but it makes me nervous having that mounted that low. Excuse the dirt - this system already has a few hundred dirty, wet, salty Michigan miles on it. None of the hose routing has been finalized yet which is why that looks like something of a mess.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/027-1.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/026-1.jpg

I relocated the Pollack six port tank switch valve from its original location under the truck near the fuel tank to the frame rail under the hood, right next to the lift pump (stock mechanical variety). There are about six inches of fuel line between the tank switch and the lift pump, so purging after switching tanks is kept to a minimum. I made a new wire harness for the tank switch and routed it in the wire harness clips along the side of the engine along with the standard engine wiring.

After having some issues with poor fuel delivery in cold weather, I constructed and installed a coolant heated fuel pickup in my in-bed WVO tank (what the tank is keeps changing - currently it is a modified plastic storage bin - 23 gallons - that I bought for $4 at the local supermarket). The pickup is basically a shorter, uninsulated version of the “hose-in-hose” heater I mounted under the truck. I am very pleased with the way the pickup works. Within a few minutes of engine startup I have unrestricted flow through the WVO system, and after about 10-15 minutes of driving the fuel tank is fully liquid (you’ve got to figure I’m in Michigan - it is COLD out here right now). Here's a pic... It isn't currently installed as you can see from the pic. I have my tank and some other things removed right now. Excuse all the junk in the bed of my truck... ):h

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/028.jpg

After installing this system I proceeded to make a few fairly long trips on WVO. The truck performed well, similar performance to standard diesel fuel. I did have a few minor problems with excessive engine rattle when I switched back to diesel, but I traced this back to a restriction in the diesel fuel system (kinked the line going into the tank switch when I relocated it).

Still, I have been having problems with filtration. I got it good enough that it is driveable, but I still have occasional problems with my heated auxiliary fuel filter clogging. It is good for a few hours of driving and then it will clog. Not a big deal (I change it without even shutting down the engine) but I know it isn’t right. If I’m getting enough particles to clog that filter it isn’t clean enough.

So, I’ve been researching different filtration methods. What I’ve found is that there really is no standard filtration method that a lot of people use. Most people let the oil settle/dewater, then filter through “sock” filters, and usually run through some sort of cartridge filter (goldenrod etc.) for final filtration, but there are many variations. Most of the information I found posted by WVO users pointed to a final filtration goal of ~10 microns or smaller.

This is where it gets complicated. I did further research into micron ratings and the like, and found that essentially they are rather arbitrary. Most filters are rated with a simple “micron rating” such as “10 micron” or “25 micron.” What I found during my research is that it isn’t that simple. There is also filter efficiency to consider. The way filter efficiency works is fairly simple. For example, a certain “25 micron” filter might remove 95% of 25 micron particles. This filter would have a 95% efficiency rating at 25 microns. The way it gets complicated is that a “25 micron” filter almost never removes all 25 micron particles. Standards vary, and some filters that say “25 micron” might not remove quite enough of the 25 micron particles.

Considering that all the “micron” ratings in the world really wouldn’t do me much good anyway, and having tried quite a number of commercially available filters with limited success, I came back to the “household” filters (jeans, paper towels, coffee filters, etc.). I had fair success with these. The jeans and denim seemed to be the most practical.

I wanted to know more, so back to my “research lab…” My computer. I spent several hours looking for information on using these materials as WVO filters. I found lots… Many people use only household goods to filter their oil, however none of these people seemed to know how these filter materials compared to commercially available filters. Nor did they seem to know exactly what they were removing.

So I made the same determination about this as I do for so many of the topics I try to find information about on the internet… If you want to know for sure you’ve got to find out for yourself...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/Scope.jpg

Paper towel (Bounty brand) at 40X magnification

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/papertowel40X.jpg

Coffee filter (Mellita brand) at 40X magnification

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/Coffeefilter40X.jpg

Denim cut from a pair of jeans (Wrangler brand) at 40X magnification

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/denim40X.jpg

Evidently, the jeans are the thickest material. At first glance, unmagnified, they appear to be quite a filter… Unlike many other filters, they block even quite a bit of light. However, magnified, it becomes evident that while they do block quite a bit of light and appear to be a decent filter material, they also have some rather large “holes.” I’m not 100% sure how well these actually work as a filter.

The paper towel looks like it would be good for “rough filtration, ” just to get the really big stuff out. It is rather uneven, though, with some spots much more tightly “woven” than others. I think it would make a rather unpredictable filter for smaller particles.

The coffee filter appears much more even than the paper towel (or the denim for that matter). It looks like it would make a fairly predictable filter, but how effective it would be at removing the very small particles I am not yet sure.

Right now I think I will probably try multiple pass filtration through denim. I think that is probably one of the more effective ways of filtering the oil. My next move will be to cut open a few commercially available cartridge style filters (including a stock Stanadyne box filter - don’t worry, not a new one ):h) and compare the filter media with the household filters. Should be interesting…

Anyway, continuing. I decided to also compare the WVO with some fresh VO under the 'scope. I mounted samples of both on slides and looked at them under various powers of magnification and could hardly tell the difference. There were a couple of very, very small particles in the WVO which are visible in the photo, but they must be incredibly small. Of course, this particular part of my research is flawed because chances are that you won't get very many of the particles if you just randomly select a drop of oil from the tub. You would need to take probably hundreds of samples and look at them induvidually to find all the various types of particles that are suspended in the oil. Therefore, this part was rather inconclusive. Still...

WVO after settling for five days at 400X magnification

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/WVO400X.jpg

SVO (canola) fresh out of the bottle at 400X magnification

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/SVO400X.jpg

Note, as well, that the SVO is not devoid of any particles. There are contaminants there as well but they are even smaller than those in the WVO. These particles that can be seen above are clearly invisible with the naked eye. I'm curious if, perhaps, the large, reddish looking particle in the WVO photo is one of many that give the oil its darker color...

Anyway... That's where I'm at. Just thought some of you might find it interesting.

Happy Holidays! :)

This is really interesting stuff, High Sierra, keep it coming. It's amazing that people are clever and industrious enough to make this almost free fuel work in their vehicles.

Without revealing your source, can you tell us about your experience obtaining WVO. Do you just walk into a restaurant and ask for as much as you need? Do you need a pump to extract it from their storage container?

Also, is there no way one could buy SVO in bulk at reasonably low cost? Although from your research it sounds like you'd still need to do some filtration.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for posting that interesting info. Out of curiosity, have you fiddled at all with balancing PH levels? Also, for filtration, have you looked into or tried the flash vaporizer/centrifuge idea?
http://www.xyzworks.com/centrifuge.htm

Before I gave up on WVO due to lack of space (I'm in an apartment complex) that seemed to be the ideal way to do it since it would get rid of the particulates AND water quickly. The only problem I found with the system is if you want to purchase a new pump for the process, they cost some $$$... but if you could figure out that, you could setup some temperature switches and automate the process well.

I've had pretty good luck getting WVO. I use multiple sources, so it really isn't too bad. It is hard to find a place that is very helpful, but once you do you're pretty much set. I just basically "strike a deal" with somebody at the restaurant where I can basically get as much as I want... Usually if they'll let you take it they don't care anyway. Sometimes I use a pump to collect, other times just a bucket will do. Depends. Every place/situation is different.

I've been looking into bulk purchasing of vegetable oil. I think there is a way to get it that is cost effective, but I haven't got it nailed down. It doesn't involve Sam's Club or Costco either... To be cost effective it is going to really be "bulk" (like 55 gallon drum bulk). Not sure if it is going to make sense, but I'm looking into it anyway.

I haven't messed around with PH yet. I've been considering making a small batch of biodiesel and then PH would be more of a priority. I know I should probably be testing it, but haven't gotten to it yet.

I looked at the centrifuge. Looks like a great system, but it does take some money to build one. I thought about it at one time but decided to go with something a little more traditional. I'm at least going to try.

I've got a few fuel filters here. I think I'm probably going to cut them open later tonight, maybe tomorrow morning...

i wonder why your filter is clogging so fast. is the oil warm when flowing? i woud seem that it is.

if the oil is warm say 80-100* it shouldn't be cloging the filter so fast. the only time i have had a problem with the in-line filter is with cold oil, waxy oil, or oil with fatty deposits. i like the oil to be warm as it goes through the lift pump and then heat it up before the primary filter. i am using a 12v lift pump on my K5, and it seems to cook pumps when the oil is 150-170*.

your filtering process seems to be common. if the oil looks clean when you put it in the wvo tank, the filters you have installed should take care of the rest. i change filters every 3k miles.

i have just started playng around with PH. acidic oil seems to cause more problems, it clouds at lower temps, and filters seem to clog faster.

i like the looks of your fuel line. seems like an easy way to add some heat.

Well, I'm pretty sure it is due to insufficient pre-tank filtration. My oil is plenty hot, and I'm getting particles on my filters, not grease or wax. That's why I'm investigating filtration...

Right now I don't really have an established filtration method. I've tried a few, we'll see what I end up doing.

The hose-in-hose fuel filter is great. Easy to make, cheap. Took about 20 minutes (if you don't count five trips across town to Menards for various different fittings). I built it using a pair of vise grips and a couple wrenches... Cost about $20.

i have tried many different filters. being that i own a vacuum store i have acess to many different kinds. i have settled on filters from a back pack style vacuum. it's a 10q bag that will accept a paper liner for the final process. i usually filter the oil 3 times. once hot, and twice cold. the last time i use the paper liner to polish the oil.

the cloth liner costs about $13, and the paper bags are $8 for 10.

i have 4 cloth bags two in use, two being cleaned.

on you oil test, did you measuer the particulates from oil you would be putting in the tank, or is it from oil that has already passed through your WVO system?

I'm interested in this too. I'll keep an eye on this thread. There is actually a coop here in PDX that picks up WVO and makes biodiesel and the coop members can then buy it at 1.75 a gal but you have to put a weekend into working at making it or gathering it. I like the idea of doing it for free. Just need a place to store it and filter it.

Thanks
Renny

Interesting. I actually looked at vacuum cleaner filters when I was at the store a couple weeks ago. I thought about trying one, but decided against it (dinner vs. vacuum cleaner bags = I'll take the dinner ):h). Might try it though. As I recall there was a "sock" filter made from some sort of fabric that looked promising. I believe it was Shopvac brand.

I haven't yet measured any particles. At this point I haven't found a way to get an accurate measurement.

Well, just cut open an inline fuel filter. Filter material reminds me somewhat of construction paper or thin cardboard. Interesting. Much thicker than the other filter materials (except, obviously, the denim).

Now to put it on the microscope and see how it compares...

Interestingly enough, this filter looks very similar to the coffee filter. The material appears to be significantly more "open" than I expected. It is definitely thicker than a coffee filter, and somewhat resembles a sponge, but otherwise appears very, very similar.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/032-1.jpg

WOW this is an interesting thread, I LOVE IT! I've been really interested in WVO for my truck. Up in Canada its $1.14/liter or $4.30/gal for diesel so I need an alternative. Its good to see you are in a cold climate so it proves the system can work here. Is it possible to post some more extensive details on your system? Also, do you have links to other posts that could help?

I'm so excited to see someone doing this because I've always been worried about WVO. On the VW tdi forums, most people say "What you save in fuel you'll spend more in repairs when running WVO". Is this true? Is there anyone here that has run WVO for a while now? I want a truck that is super reliable (everything will take work, but I don't want a bucket of problems to start) because I'll be using this truck for a few years.

Thanks High Sierra and anyone else contributing!

What kind of details are you looking for?

There are other threads that could be interesting, I'll have to look around a bit (lots of discussion on this forum - I have a hard time remembering it all ):h), but be very careful what you read and what you believe. If there is one thing I have learned through my experiments it is that there is a TON of misinformation going around on this topic. Not to discredit anybody, there is a lot of good information out there, but sift through it and evaluate it critically. I've found lots of useful information from many people, here and elsewhere, but a lot of this you've got to figure out for yourself.

I think WVO is feasible and reliable if properly done. Don't do it right, and you're in for a world of hurt and endless tinkering. The keys are filtration and dewatering. I'm still getting it down... Everybody has a different method. All the specs for what is "safe" vary from person to person as well...

Do you have more detailed pics of your set up? Where is the best place to find info on building a home-made system like yours?

busy , busy. good for you i still have ten gallon of golden oil out here on the farm.

High Sierra, what state is your engine in? I remember you saying it wasn't running but how's the compression, blow-by, etc? After reading some material this morning, people suggest not converting an engine near the end of its life because the WVO can contaminate the lube oil and leave harmful carbon deposits in the engine.

I'm EXTREMELY interested in doing a conversion but I'm not sure if its the right thing to do. I want to get at least 25-30k miles out of my truck without serious problems. I know you aren't a complete expert, I just wanted to hear what you have to say.

Nah, motor runs fine. I don't know how many miles are on it, what the compression is, etc. I'm guessing the odometer has probably rolled over a few times, just not sure how many. Been driving the truck every day for several years and the motor has never quit on me or failed to start unless I ran it out of fuel...

After reading some material this morning, people suggest not converting an engine near the end of its life because the WVO can contaminate the lube oil and leave harmful carbon deposits in the engine.


This is exactly what I am talking about... Some say that... Others say WVO actually produces less soot and is better for the engine. Me, I say nobody really knows for sure. I'm guessing it doesn't really make much difference.

It is fairly widely accepted that coking can occur if you run cold vegetable oil, and I don't dispute that, but I've never seen any actual documented occurences of coking on cold WVO. Doesn't matter much to me anyway because I heat my oil plenty hot.

Honestly, 25-30K miles is nothing... :)

I can take some more pics later today. I'm filtering oil this morning (and probably until late this afternoon). I'm going to try a few different methods. I think what the final method is going to be is multiple pass through denim followed by a commercial filter (possibly goldenrod if I can find the cash) for safety. That seems to be a relatively standard method. I've had my oil settling for close to two weeks now so it is pretty clean as it is, and a little testing reveals that it seems to be dry as a bone...

busy , busy. good for you i still have ten gallon of golden oil out here on the farm.


Well, you going to run it one of these days? ;)

Yeah, it's a busy time of year. Been doing all this in my spare time... ):h

If you are worried about engine oil polymerization, try changing your oil regularly! Most of the people that have had their oil tested and had problems with it were postponing their oil changes for 7500 - 10,000 miles - like their manufacturer suggests for normal diesel usage. I've never gone farther than 3k miles. Unless you are logging a LOT of miles in a short amount of time, there's not a good reason to go that far - especially if you are running on WVO.

The problem that 6.2's seem to have with WVO is with that weak Stanadyne IP. It seems that when the pump is cranking with diesel in it, things are fine. When a shot of cold, thick WVO hits it, the shaft breaks - apparently it does not handle the increased load very well. I've always been more concerned about thermal shock - but I'm hoping that my setup will alleviate the possibility of cold WVO ever hitting the IP. I have a controlled loop that allows me to take the IP output fuel and return it to the intake instead of the tank. After energizing this switch and looping the diesel, I then start feeding in hot WVO to the warming diesel. The resulting blend is thinner than WVO - and hopefully puts less strain on the shaft. If there is any unheated WVO in my lines, it's in the 3" of fuel line between my heater and the valve. When I shut down my engine, I've purged the WVO out of my heater - so this 3" of fuel line contains mostly diesel anyway.

I've done this same setup on 2 Cummins engines and a VW. I'll be firing up my 6.2 shortly and will see what happens there.

Yep, definitely the rotary IP is the weak point. The inline injection pumps (such as those used on Mercedes, some Cummins, and other engines is much more durable and better for WVO. But if you make sure cold oil never enters the pump and that the oil entering the pump is plenty clean I think it should be fine...

That sounds like an interesting system. I tried looping the return line to prevent veggie from entering my diesel tank during purging. It creates sort of a "soft" changeover, beneficial definitely, but I could never get it to purge out right and I didn't like the long purge times associated with the system. I didn't spend that much time on it though. I suppose I should probably try it again some time. I think to do it right you need a couple of valves so you can loop the return during warmup and also feed back to the proper tank during purging and shut down... That adds quite a bit of complexity though. I suppose an additional benefit would be that the oil from the tank wouldn't always be circulating...

Well, the oil is filtering right now. As "amateur" as this may sound... I cut off one of the legs off of an old pair of jeans, got the bottom of it sewed closed to make a sort of "bag". Then I got a piece of scrap plywood and cut a 2" hole in the middle with a holesaw. Then I put the open end of the jean "bag" through the hole and nailed the edges to the plywood. I then set the board across a couple of chairs, allowing the bag to hang down above an empty bucket. I took the hose from my pump and stuck it in the hole and pumped a bunch of vegetable oil in...

Pretty easy. Just let it do its thing, go over and pump up some more oil every now and then...

I purchased a Goldenrod filter. Should be ideal. I'm going to pump the oil through that after I get done filtering through the jeans. Nice quality filter assembly, I highly recommend it. I think it should be big enough for the job. I also looked at purchasing a "whole house" water filter and using that... I got to thinking it would make an excellent WVO filter. It is very large and has fine filtration quality. It is also high-flow... It was expensive, though. Maybe someday.

I'm debating on multiple passes through the jeans. We'll see. In the future, I think I will use another filter even before the jeans (maybe an old t-shirt). The jeans seem to be actually "clogging"...

Well, the results are in. And the verdict is... Success! I filtered through the jeans (single pass) and then the Goldenrod filter and got crystal clear, clean vegetable oil. But I knew that could be done, there's nothing new about that.

Now the question... How long will it take for the Goldenrod element to plug? May have to wait a while to find out... I've only got a few gallons of "rough filtered" veg oil to pump through. Doesn't much matter I guess. If the Goldenrod filter lasts only 10 gallons I'll still be saving a ton of money... A filter element is $4.59, ten gallons of diesel would be ~$35... :cool2:

Thats sweet man! I want to get started on my system tomorrow!! In reality, I don't think i'll get started until next weekend. Anyways, I can't wait to see how everything works out for you.

Where did you learn to build a system? It looks like a pretty simple procedure but I don't want to screw up my truck. Post any good links if you have any :thankyou2

The Frybrid website is an excellent one for information - dig around and you'll see schematics and get a bunch of ideas.

It creates sort of a "soft" changeover, beneficial definitely, but I could never get it to purge out right and I didn't like the long purge times associated with the system. I didn't spend that much time on it though. I suppose I should probably try it again some time. I think to do it right you need a couple of valves so you can loop the return during warmup and also feed back to the proper tank during purging and shut down... That adds quite a bit of complexity though. I suppose an additional benefit would be that the oil from the tank wouldn't always be circulating...
I use 2 valves on the return side, that allows me to loop or return fuel to the diesel or WVO tanks. Purge time on my Cummins is about 20 seconds - I end the loop and switch to diesel, returning to the WVO tank for about 20-30 seconds. That runs all of the WVO out of the lines. It's not that much more complex and really makes the system work well. I'll do the same on the 6.2.

DieselBurps, make sure you keep us updated!:D I like to see the systems people are running to give me a point of reference. Great work guys!

to many pokers in the fire to ad veggie oil right now. i did burn some of the lesser quality stuff in my home made used oil shop stove and it did ok.. golden rod also makes a water block filter . i have them on my diesel aux tractor tank in the back of my ctd.

Well, the results are in. And the verdict is... Success! I filtered through the jeans (single pass) and then the Goldenrod filter and got crystal clear, clean vegetable oil. But I knew that could be done, there's nothing new about that.

Now the question... How long will it take for the Goldenrod element to plug? May have to wait a while to find out... I've only got a few gallons of "rough filtered" veg oil to pump through. Doesn't much matter I guess. If the Goldenrod filter lasts only 10 gallons I'll still be saving a ton of money... A filter element is $4.59, ten gallons of diesel would be ~$35... :cool2:


i usually get at least 100 gallons out of a goldenrod, using a system like yours, and sometimes i get well over 200 gallons out of it. filtering through the blue jeans first really helps and, if you are using a barrel pump, you can backflush the oil through the goldenrod occasionally and that cleans them out and makes them last a little longer.

paul

If you are worried about engine oil polymerization, try changing your oil regularly! Most of the people that have had their oil tested and had problems with it were postponing their oil changes for 7500 - 10,000 miles - like their manufacturer suggests for normal diesel usage. I've never gone farther than 3k miles. Unless you are logging a LOT of miles in a short amount of time, there's not a good reason to go that far - especially if you are running on WVO.

The problem that 6.2's seem to have with WVO is with that weak Stanadyne IP. It seems that when the pump is cranking with diesel in it, things are fine. When a shot of cold, thick WVO hits it, the shaft breaks - apparently it does not handle the increased load very well. I've always been more concerned about thermal shock - but I'm hoping that my setup will alleviate the possibility of cold WVO ever hitting the IP. I have a controlled loop that allows me to take the IP output fuel and return it to the intake instead of the tank. After energizing this switch and looping the diesel, I then start feeding in hot WVO to the warming diesel. The resulting blend is thinner than WVO - and hopefully puts less strain on the shaft. If there is any unheated WVO in my lines, it's in the 3" of fuel line between my heater and the valve. When I shut down my engine, I've purged the WVO out of my heater - so this 3" of fuel line contains mostly diesel anyway.

I've done this same setup on 2 Cummins engines and a VW. I'll be firing up my 6.2 shortly and will see what happens there.


i have never had that problem with the injection pump getting damaged just from switching over to veggie. I have had some water damage but that was a long time ago. I think if you have a well-heated system even in cold weather this really should not happen - i have made the switch hundreds of times in all weather and never broke a pump just from that.

Paul

I think if you have a well-heated system even in cold weather this really should not happen - i have made the switch hundreds of times in all weather and never broke a pump just from that.
So far! :D

It may just be a crackpot theory, but many others have reported the problem when making the switchover on a cold day. Perhaps your system does a better job of heating all of the WVO in the lines, or purging. Whatever the case, it's worth taking the few extra minutes for someone building a WVO system for a 6.2 to take into account. Maybe you could take a good look at your system and see how much cold WVO could be in the lines when you switch...

Do you use or recommend the use of injector line heaters on the 6.2 daily temps here right now are 30's lower at night.

Do you have any pictures of your conversion that might help me with component placement?

Well, today I'm using what I learned over the last few days to make a processing system which is capable of producing fair sized quantities of clean WVO in a timely fashion...

I grabbed a couple of 30 gallon plastic drums with removable lids that I had laying around. I found a 500 gph bilge pump with a 3/4" outlet and put a hose on that. I can use that to pump the WVO into the drum. Then I took an old pillowcase, tore it open, layed it over the open drum with the lid removed. I put the lid on over that and clamped it down with the retaining clamp, creating basically a giant "sock" filter. I hooked the bilge pump up to my 15A 12V DC power supply and pumped veg oil into the "sock." It is much slower than I expected. I wonder if the pillowcase does as good of a job as the jeans... I'm going to have to look into that. Originally I planned for the pillowcase to be a quick filter that just takes out the big stuff but it looks like it is doing quite a job...

The plan is to pump all the oil through that, then pump out of that drum into another barrel with the same thing (only with denim for the "sock"). After that I will pump through the Goldenrod filter and call it good...

The thing that bugs me about most of these methods is how long it takes to filter any oil through them. For example, with the "jeans bag" it takes ~1 hour to filter 3-4 gallons. I must not be doing something right... Or maybe I need heat.

I need to get some sort of barrel pump. I'm definitely going to need one to pump through the Goldenrod filter at any reasonable speed.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/008-2.jpg

I will take more pics of the system on the truck... It's just a homemade system. I did many hours of research online and, at this point, about a year of experimentation on my own, before I built this... This isn't my first WVO system, but probably my best. I can't say that I recommend any one source... Read up... But I think that it is pretty basic. Just remember, oil needs to be clean and hot before it gets to the IP. How you do that is up to you... Everybody does it differently.

I like the heated injector lines that tigman built, but I haven't tried it. Looks like a good idea...

Well... I went and got a GPI HP-100 manual piston pump. Should do the job... Now, for a little more experimentation...

All set. I've got it pretty well worked out. Gravity feed through a light mesh (whatever is around seems to work) into the first barrel, then pump into the other with electric bilge pump. Then use the HP-100 to pump through the Goldenrod filter into a collection container and call it ready to use... Good to go. My new pump has two flow rates, 1/4 gallon per stroke and 1/2 gallon per stroke. Pretty nice, works quick too. Now I want to make the whole thing a little more unitized and user friendly...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/010-1.jpg

Virtually as collected (french fries and plastic gloves removed ;))...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/009.jpg

You're all probably sitting in your computer chairs at home wondering why it has taken me this long to come to such a simple conclusion, but I wanted to find the best, most cost and time effective way... Granted, the last few days I worked on this project until 1 am... But the bottom line is I have a workable WVO filtration system now. Just have to tie up a few loose ends, neaten up, put some hose clamps on everything (not to mention the proper size hose - gets a little hectic sometimes when you're just trying stuff)... Not to mention I guess I'd better mop up the kitchen floor... ):h

Now, to finish with the truck. I want to loop my return line one way or another, and I need to neaten up all my hose routing. I'll take some more pics of the stuff on the truck when I do that tomorrow.

I love a good holiday... Gives me a chance to get some work done... ):h

EDIT: Sorry about the pic quality, I've been using Photobucket but I need to upload some of these on here. For whatever reason Photobucket doesn't seem to give me a very good picture...

personally i would love to use a wvo diesel engine on my central oregon farm to pump water my 25hp electric three phase pump is crowding close to 900 bucks a month from may 1st to oct. 1st. sure be nice to run it in a stationary engine during the summer months. running 24/7 would take alot of oil.

There's a couple of ways to decrease the viscosity of the WVO to make it filter faster in cold weather. Obviously the first one is to heat it up. Use a 1 KW bucket heater - that'll help. Another way that works very well is to add ~5-10% diesel to the WVO. It cuts the viscosity quite well, allowing cold WVO to flow through a filter nicely. The side benefit of the diesel blend is that the viscosity is still working in your favor when you inject it into your engine.

I considered mixing in a little diesel or kerosene. You've got to figure though... I've got all this stuff in my kitchen, it's nice and toasty, that's why I was surprised at the slow flow...

I don't know. I've got it working right now though...

What is a bucket heater? I don't know that I've ever seen one... Do you mean like those heaters they stick in a cattle or horse trough to keep them from freezing?

personally i would love to use a wvo diesel engine on my central oregon farm to pump water my 25hp electric three phase pump is crowding close to 900 bucks a month from may 1st to oct. 1st. sure be nice to run it in a stationary engine during the summer months. running 24/7 would take alot of oil.


~250 gallons/month if I figured right. :eek: It'd be cool though, walking out to the pump and smelling french fries... ):h

I've been following this thread closely, as I am ready to make the switch to WVO and wanted to hear about everyone elses experiences. I'm located in North Florida where COLD is an occasional freeze (like tomorrows predicted hard freeze-in the high 20's). I liked the idea of using a bilge pump, as I am and have been an outboard/marine mechanic for the past 35 years, and have an abundance of marine related parts laying around. I have what was an oil cooler or heat exchanger with 3/4 inlet and outlet fittings as well as two smaller, about 5/16 fittings for the oil to go through. I'm thinking I can use this heat exchanger for the cold oil and run it through a Racor filter (already available). Along the lines of heating...Has anyone experimented with using the heat from the exhaust pipe to heat the oil. I wondered one could tightly coil tubing around the ex pipe and route the heated oil to the IP? PROs-Cons?
Another question: How damaging is the wvo to rubber. I have several pressure pumps in my collection-all marine-that use rubber impellers and considered using them. For some of them a nitrile impeller is available, would this hold up better? Also available is called a macerator pump-basically a fairly high volume pump with a blade like a garbage disposal before the impeller, used to evacuate sewage holding tanks and grind solids and paper before discharge. I thought this might make a good collection or transfer pump, but it is not submersible. If somehow I could get it to prime, It would quickly transfer the oil to the collection tank and solids would be no problem.

WVO is not damaging to rubber. Biodiesel is problematic but WVO doesn't hurt a thing. That is one of the nice things about WVO, it is pretty safe stuff. After all, you cook with it. I know the kind of pump you mean, I just had to replace one on my boat last summer. ):h

I was thinking a little about using exhaust heat. Not sure how well that would work. Seems like it should work, but I don't know. Vibration dampening might be an issue. You'd have to route the fuel line very carefully to reduce fire risk, and it would have to be clamped tightly to the manifold... Worth a shot I think. I guess I would use a steel line, like a brake line...

What would you use to heat the oil cooler?

I would use the engine cooling system. I was thinking of locating it on the starboard-er- I mean passenger side in the engine compartment, near the lines running to the heater core, then run the fuel line in-line to and from it before the switching valve. I was also thinking of a pump between the inlet and return line (before the switching valve)to circulate the warmed fuel back to the tank, but I don't know if that will work. I do have the dual tank setup so I think I could run wvo when possible and switch back to the diesel as needed.

Sounds like it would work.

You wouldn't need a pump to circulate the oil. The return system already does that. As a matter of fact, on a long trip the tank will get fairly warm by itself because of that. However, I would highly recommend heating the WVO tank. I thought I could get by without it at first and people told me I would end up heating the tank... Well, I finally did end up heating the tank and I'm not going back.

You'll probably want to move the tank switch under the hood. I started with it in the stock location, but it takes too long to purge when you switch tanks... I'd have to let the truck idle for a good ten minutes before I could shut it down. With the tank switch up front it is fairly quick.

By the way, HS2500, I love your ideas and input on this subject, you seem to be the adventurist type, not afraid to try what is not known. Thank You.

If I added that pump, I would hope to use it as a heater when the truck was warming up before switching over from diesel to wvo. I would like to have an "in tank heater" but if I can get by for now, I'd like to use my presently available materials. I will have to remove the drivers tank soon though, gauge not working in that one, so if I do then I might try fabbing a heater.

As far as the exhaust idea goes, I also think thats feasable. While the flamable issue exists, I think it's a matter of doing it safely, carefully. Hydraulic, braided,type fuel line could be used between the "hard line" on the exhaust pipe and the tank, and valve. For now I will stick to the heat exchanger idea, though.
Thanks,
Tom

Glad it is of some use... :) I'm kind of just trying things to see what works and what doesn't... It's hard to tell from what is spread out all over the internet.

A tank heater doesn't need to be complicated. The hardest part would be getting it in the stock fuel tank, but if you intend on doing much with WVO I think you are better off with a tank in the bed. For one thing it is, in fact, nearly impossible to get coolant heat in the stock tank so you would be fairly limited in that respect, and for another thing I think it is a good idea to keep it all very accessible. I can't tell you the number of times I would have had to drop the tank if I used the stock fuel tank. Really the best thing is a custom built tank, welded from steel or aluminum, with the heater built in... Maybe I'll see if I can build one of those. My storage tub really isn't the best, but it was easy to heat.

I might try wrapping a line around the exhaust later today. You never know... Might help...

How's the system treating you? Any updates?

Pretty well... Seems to work nice. I drove around town a bit and then made a 3 hour trip on veggie without issue. Previously when I attempted this I had problems with fuel filter clogging. I did run out of veggie (found a return line in the veggie system leaking - I must have forgotten to tighten the clamp) when I was almost at my destination, but otherwise it works fine...

I have to say, I really love running vegetable oil...

What are you using for a valve?

Six port pollack valve... Coincidentally that is the stock valve they used on these trucks...

Six port pollack valve... Coincidentally that is the stock valve they used on these trucks...

When you say that you mean came standard on the 2-tank trucks?

Another question, how long is your purge time? I really want to get my system going, can you post more extensive pics so I can have an idea of the full system? How did you tap into the coolant lines?

Yeah, I'll get some pics in the morning. Oh wait... It is the morning... Well, after I get up later... ):h

Yes, it is the stock valve on trucks equipped with dual fuel tanks.

I used the heater hose... Just bought out the stock of heater hose at the local auto parts store. Instant heat wherever you want it... I'll show that in the pics.

Sweet, I appreciate it. I want to have all the kinks worked out ASAP since this is my daile driver truck. Thanks!

That's the cool thing about the dual tank system. You can work on it step by step, leaving the diesel system intact while you hook the rest of it up. ;)

So far! :D

It may just be a crackpot theory, but many others have reported the problem when making the switchover on a cold day. Perhaps your system does a better job of heating all of the WVO in the lines, or purging. Whatever the case, it's worth taking the few extra minutes for someone building a WVO system for a 6.2 to take into account. Maybe you could take a good look at your system and see how much cold WVO could be in the lines when you switch...
I have also heard the opposite, starting the engine with hot fuel on a cold IP. I am about to start running a blend and was considering using electric inline heaters to make sure the WVO was hot all the time. Now I am going to just use coolant heaters along with electric injector heaters (I can use these until the fuel gets hot since they are after the IP) so everything warms up at the same time to about the same temperature. I am trying to figure out a blend that won't be too thick when cold, I live in the south so I think I can still get away with around 70% WVO 30% ? most of the time.
Rusty

I ran 70% WVO 30% kerosene for a while. Worked OK. Still, I definitely think the best system is a fully heated two tank 100% WVO system... I wanted to get by without it from the beginning but now that it is finally built I wouldn't mess around with other methods much. It's just too easy to build the heated system.

I also think the 2-tank system is the way to go, especially in the cold climate we live in.

P.S. any pics yet? :)

Yes, I got some pics. It is difficult to photograph, though. Excuse the mess and ice... It is snowy here and I don't have a garage, park in a parking lot.

To make it a little clearer how I have this set up I made this simple block diagram...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/WVOblockdiagram.jpg

Pics...

Tank switch under the hood (and the heater hose I tapped into for my heaters)...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/001.jpg

Hose in hose heater...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/002-2.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/004-1.jpg

Fuel tank (temporary) and heater hoses (the fuel lines come up through holes in the bed floor)...

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/003-2.jpg

Sorry about the size, I guess I forgot to resize those...

Wow, thats a surprisingly simple system. What is your purge time when you are about to park the truck? Also, whats the normal operating temp of the engine?

Do you have to purge each time you start or stop the engne? As in when you get to , say the hardware store, would you purge then, or for short stops can you just restart it on the oil, or do you need to purge before each stop and go back to the diesel to restart. I know you could just keep it running, but if the engine is still warm is it ok to just go on the veggie?

Do you have to purge each time you start or stop the engne? As in when you get to , say the hardware store, would you purge then, or for short stops can you just restart it on the oil, or do you need to purge before each stop and go back to the diesel to restart. I know you could just keep it running, but if the engine is still warm is it ok to just go on the veggie?

I think being in FL it isn't much of an issue for you if the stop is only a few minutes long. For High Sierra and myself, it is and issue because of where we live and I'd bet he purges everytime (He lives in MI, I'm in Ontario, Canada).

Not really a big deal... I just leave it running a lot of the time when it is cold. For a real quick stop if I want to shut it down I will. It will still start. Anything more than ten minutes or so I would purge before shutdown. I forgot to purge once when it was about 25 degrees... An hour later... I'll never do that again, but it did still start. Took about 20 seconds of cranking. It's really not that big of a deal. The oil will stay fairly hot for a while after shutdown.

Purging doesn't take long. How fast it is depends on how fast you're going when you switch tanks. Purging to the injection pump takes hardly any time at all, it is purging out the injector lines that takes the time. When I come home I usually switch tanks about a mile before my driveway.

I have been trying to automate the system with thermostatic controls (which was planned originally before I started building this) so I wouldn't have to mess around with switching tanks. The only problem is shutdown. The vehicle has no way of knowing when you are approaching your destination without an input from the driver. The solution I've come up with so far... Timed shutdown. You turn the truck off but the engine keeps running for a few minutes to purge out and then automatically shuts down. It wouldn't be much good for somebody who parks in a garage, but hey... How many of us actually park our '85 Chevy pickups in garages? Obviously it would have to have a manual override for safety, but otherwise I think it would work. I seem to remember reading about something similar that allows for a safe turbo cooldown on turbocharged trucks, so maybe it is already out there. I don't know. Wouldn't be too hard to rig up.

WVO systems are, in general, pretty simple. There are lots of variations on the basic design, but they're all pretty close to the same thing. I've been thinking about an improvement or two... I want to relocate the tank switch to near the engine valley on the firewall, leaving an insulated hose to the IP. Then I want to add a second fuel filter, put them side by side on the firewall. One for each tank. Then flexible hose in hose heaters (not built from rigid pipe like my current heaters) right up to the tank switch. I actually have all the materials on hand to do this, I just have to do it. There are some big advantages here. More heat, closer to the IP (the engine runs at about 190 degrees - maybe a tad more - since you asked). Independent filtering raises the safety factor of the system. The more separate the two systems are, the more redundant it is if something breaks in the WVO system. With the current system if, for some reason, my fuel filter clogs (not likely because it is protected by a prefilter in the WVO system, but if it did), and I switch back to diesel, I can limp to the next parts store lacking fuel pressure. With independent filtration I could go on my merry way. Also, there is slightly less purge time because the tank switch is closer to the IP and the filters don't need to purge.

I've just been lurking and learning so far. Thank you for posting all of your findings and pics!
Here is a temp-delay shut-down. It might be a good place to start, to find exactly what you want.
http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?Ntk=KeywordSearch&DDS=1&N=+115&searchinresults=false&Ntt=bdd%2D1081150

Yeah, that's what I was talking about. Kind of expensive, but maybe eventually that's what I'll go with. I think they can be gotten or built cheaper than that.

I've been considering making a couple upgrades to my WVO system. I want to move the tank switch to the firewall right behind the injection pump. I want separate filtration for each fuel system, meaning two fuel filters side by side. To keep the switch close to the injection pump and keep the filters after the lift pump I am thinking of adding an electric lift pump for the diesel system and using the mechanical lift pump for the WVO only. Then I was thinking of installing a second tank switch wired in with the other one that switches the lines around on the WVO system, allowing the lift pump to circulate the WVO back through the return lines while running diesel. This would facilitate better fuel warmup before I switch tanks and insure that no cold WVO reaches the injection pump during a cold start. Then I could loop the return line after the final tank switch so that no fuel mixing between tanks occurs...

This project continues to snowball into a bigger project than I intended.

Has anybody run a Goldenrod fuel filter on their vehicle as partial or primary on-vehicle filtration? I don't know how much pressure these need to flow well...

the goldenrod is by far the most cost effective even though a bit challenging to mount (i made a bracket for U bolts around the ports and used elbows so the hose barbs both pointed down when i used it) and you can even heat the inlet port with a relay-activated, thermostatically controlled glow plug if you want to be sure it is warm enough to get oil flowing though it in cold weather. I was actually using mine for diesel because when i set up my system to have the lift pump pulling through each filter i problems with the stock, box filter getting air leaks.

Paul

Yeah, the lack of mounting is kind of a problem but not a big deal. I was thinking it might be a better filter for the WVO than the box filter. Plus you can pick the whole thing up for $25 and the filter elements are only like $5, making it cost effective. Probably the best thing would be a coolant heated filter, but I haven't found one on the market that is cost feasible.

Did you try the glow plug heater? If so, how exactly did you do it? Some pics would be great...

I have been exploring different ways of heating the WVO for my project. I thought that maybe a pelteir device might do the job. I just ordered one from that -bay site. http://cgi.ebay.com/Gigantic-62mm-545-Watt-Thermoelectric-Peltier-Cooler_W0QQitemZ270203497580QQihZ017QQcategoryZ466 0QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem . I'll post results with it here. Looks like I could mount it with the heating side to the tank and add a heat sink on the cooling side. If anyone else has any experience with it, please let me know.

That's interesting. Never seen one of those before. Basically a thermocouple in a case...

Be careful with glow plug heaters - part of the problem is that the glow plugs get VERY hot - and the flow of fuel is not enough to keep them from burning some WVO into carbon. These particles will flake off and drift downstream - to your IP. The small particles are pretty abrasive - make sure you put a filter between the glow plug heater and the IP - or start saving for a new IP! They work well to heat the fuel, but too well!

Flat plate heat exchangers are ideal - they limit the fuel temperature to slightly less than that of the coolant. They are pretty efficient - and not too expensive.

I've played around with some peltier devices also - they are pretty cheap on ebay. Haven't put them to good use yet - they didn't heat up a flowing fuel stream too well in my initial tests. I've got a couple of VegTherms that do a pretty good job of heating fuel without burning it.

Yeah, I would think the glow plug would get pretty hot. I know it is supposed to reach something like 1400 degrees in operation.

I wonder if you could run the plug on lower voltage if that would prevent it from getting too hot...

I know very little about electrical components but from the little I know it seems like if you use 24V glow plugs on a 12V system would they burn at half what they are suppossed to? I have one of the glow plug heaters (not using it yet) but was considering trying that since I have some 24V plugs laying around.

[quote=DieselBurps;2309751]Be careful with glow plug heaters - part of the problem is that the glow plugs get VERY hot - and the flow of fuel is not enough to keep them from burning some WVO into carbon. These particles will flake off and drift downstream - to your IP. The small particles are pretty abrasive - make sure you put a filter between the glow plug heater and the IP - or start saving for a new IP! They work well to heat the fuel, but too well!

quote]

the application i referred to was mounting the glow plug heater at the inlet of the filter so there should not be any problem with carbon chunks reaching the IP. If you mount a thermostat directly on the T that the glow plug screws into and inlsulate well it can keep the temperature where you want it even if the glow plug tip gets hotter. I definitely would not mount one after the filter. Basically it is a good way to thaw out the veggie in your filter very fast, faster than what coolant can do in cold weather.
I am using mine for the diesel because my diesel filter tends to clog in very cold weather and once i even stalled out on the highway even though the filter way new. So I turn it on from the dash and that allows me to drive long enough to switch to veggie then i turn it off.

here is a link that has info about this kind of heater:

http://gcforums.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!75E40D64A82D30D4!105.entry?_c=BlogPart

Interesting! Worth a shot I guess...

The idea is to separate the diesel and WVO systems as much as I can and get the heat as close to the IP as I can. To do this I want separate filtration. I was thinking about using a second "box" filter as I have a couple of them around but they are hard to heat effectively enough...

yeah those box filters cartridges can cost up to $20 each and are hard to heat, and there is another major problem with them: they don't work well in suction applications. Most two-tank systems have the lift pump pulling the fuel through the respective filters, which means on diesel you have to have the fuel being pulled through the stock, box filter and they tend to allow air leaks. That is why i sold mine on ebay and bought a racor instead. And the air leaks get much worse if there is some restriction in the box filter like if it starts getting clogged or if it is really cold out. I had some really bad experiences in cold weather until i got rid of that thing.

as far as the glow plug thing, i would not necessarily say it is the best way to go, but i brought it up since you were talking about using a goldenrod and they are a challenge to heat since you can not easily wrap heater hose around them like i do with my racor 1000 filter for veggie. I think it can be done (and of course it is the cheapest way to go) but you have to do so in a way that will allow you to unscrew the bowl for changing filters. Perhaps you could wrap a thin layer of aluminum flashing or something like that then wrap the coolant hose and hold it all together with twist ties, then support the hose unit to hold it up with more twist ties.

Paul

Go easy on the coolant wrap - each turn puts some restriction into the flow. I went that route for a while - until I noticed how much the coolant flow was reduced because of it.

To keep the switch close to the injection pump and keep the filters after the lift pump I am thinking of adding an electric lift pump for the diesel system and using the mechanical lift pump for the WVO only. Then I was thinking of installing a second tank switch wired in with the other one that switches the lines around on the WVO system, allowing the lift pump to circulate the WVO back through the return lines while running diesel. This would facilitate better fuel warmup before I switch tanks and insure that no cold WVO reaches the injection pump during a cold start. Then I could loop the return line after the final tank switch so that no fuel mixing between tanks occurs...

I was going to say, you'd have to recirculate it with the manual pump if the switch is past it, or it will build up pressure there until something breaks. The only issue this way is you may need to heat it some before you crank the truck, so it's not gelled up anywhere in those lines.


I think if I was wrapping something with a coolant line, I'd bend it up out of metal tubing rather than use hose (wrap it in a piece of rubber or some other thing to insulate it if necessary), and install a bypass with valves in case I had a leak down there.

I found out the hard way about the restrictions from wrapping the fuel filter. I haven't noticed any restriction with the long lines, but when I wrap a filter it starts slowing down.

I think the best solution is a filter with a heated base. The element could be insulated, but I think it is probably best left unheated directly.

The cool thing about recirculating the veggie is that it gives it some chance to thaw the tank out a little when it is really cold. The other way to do it would be to loop the return... I thought about doing that.

The thing about wrapping metal tubing around stuff is that it can crack if there is any vibration or flex. You have to be really careful mounting the stuff.

My diesel fuel system should be about the same as it originally was, with the filter after the lift pump. Why would you put the filter on the suction side if you have dual pumps and a switch after the pumps?

I've been looking at aftermarket fuel pressure gauges. Any recommendations (preferably nothing too expensive)? The main reason I want the gauge is so I can measure fuel pressure under load so I can see if I am underfueling the engine somehow so I would need a remote gauge that I can read from the cab...

Bounty paper towel filters that really work.

http://www.gulfcoastfilters.com/gulf_coast_filter_fuel_polishing_system.htm

http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com/howto/captnwil.html

Does anyone have any experience with using a glow plug as a fuel heater? I am going to attempt to use a glow plug in a spare port in my fuel filter as a fuel heater after trying several other methods. Should I put it on the intake or outlet port, or both? Or should I abandon using it altogether? Somehow, I'm going SVO, sooner or later!

Does anyone have any experience with using a glow plug as a fuel heater? I am going to attempt to use a glow plug in a spare port in my fuel filter as a fuel heater after trying several other methods. Should I put it on the intake or outlet port, or both? Or should I abandon using it altogether? Somehow, I'm going SVO, sooner or later!
Intake only! The glow plug wants to heat up cherry-red, even a high pressure stream of fuel will result in some charring of the fuel - and when that scorched chunk of carbon flakes off, you want it caught in the filter, not flowing to the IP and tearing up the internals there. I stopped using them when I saw how many carbon chunks were caught by my inline filter and got nervous about how many smaller ones got through...

Just a few thoughts:

Have you thought about playing with an old washing machine for filtering WVO? You could sew a large bag from denim, put it into the drum of the washing machine and fill it up with WVO. Even if it doesn't work out as a centrifuge, the drum would hold a lot of WVO so that you could just let it sit for a day or so letting it run through all by itself.

If you are going to build a VO-tank, you could make it with a double bottom and run engine coolant through the bottom to have a heated tank. Instead of a hose-in-hose heater, a plated heat exchanger would be nice. They are efficient and small enough to be installed under the hood.

For a shutdown timer, any suitable timer could be used. Just supply the fuel shutoff solenoid directly from the battery with a relais. The relais can be energized by either the timer or by the pink wire that would go directly to the solenoid. The problem would be to find a suitable timer ...

I researched it also and decided to go with the inlet side like DB said. It fits real nice in the filter inlet, with the gp going in straght into the filter housing and there's another port 90 degrees to it, so the fuel hits the gp about in the middle of the element. I bored out the inlet hole to allow for the room the gp takes up in the inlet hole. The element for the water separating fuel filter is 12 micron, and will go to the stock filter after that, so I don't think I'll have to worry too much about the carbon problem. The filter and housing is a common one used on outboard and inboard/outboard marine engines. I'm also going to run a coolant heater in a loop to the tank for some preheating.

Well, I'm building up a new wiring harness in the next few days for a dual tank switch system, allowing use of two pollack valves on the same switch. This will allow me to use a dual fuel pump system and independent filtration on each system. Also, I plan to have an inline coolant heater near the injection pump for optimal heating. With the dual switch system I will be able to use that without heating diesel fuel, which I don't think would be a very good idea. The idea here is to make a system that works equally well on all types of fuel, so I don't want to gear it too much towards veggie only.

Well I "Temporarily" got my veg system to work. I put my marine heat exchanger inline with the fuel pump supply. For now I didn't want to permanantly install, so I used a small enough tank to fit in the engine compartment. from the tank to the heat exchanger, to an electric fuel pump, to a 12 micron marine filter with a glow plug in the inlet to further heat the fuel, from there to the stock filter. Actually before hooking up to the trucks fuel system I just ran the oil through the heat exchanger/heater setup and looped it back to the underhood tank to get an idea of how hot I was getting the oil. I could only measure it to about 139 degrees, but this was using a non-contact IR thermoter. I felt the oil was not hot enough, so I went out and bought another glow plug to insert into another filter inlet port. This seems to have done the trick. I measured 183 at the fuel pump outlet, and decided it was time to "geterdun". Everything was already Hooked up under the hood, the electric pump, filter and glow plug heater, tank, hoses etc, so I just put the new heater/filter outlet to the inlet of the stock filter (after removing and plugging the line from the mechanical pump). I turned on the electric pump and she purred like a kitten. I even managed to get everything tucked in enough to take 'er for a spin. I am impressed! It ran beautifully, I only put about five miles on it because I was using a small tank and didn't have the return line going back to it, but made it back home just fine. The power seemed better, but that's probably biased, and the clattering was greatly improved. I even took my wife with me and she commented about how quiet it was now. And, Yes it did have that fries smell--AWWW, nothing like the smell of french fries in the morning......

Anyway thanks for all the help and inspiration, especially 2500, I'll soon have a permanant installation and show MY details, to maybe help someone else.

Well, Also, I plan to have an inline coolant heater near the injection pump for optimal heating. With the dual switch system I will be able to use that without heating diesel fuel, which I don't think would be a very good idea. The idea here is to make a system that works equally well on all types of fuel, so I don't want to gear it too much towards veggie only.
I agree, I don't plan to heat the diesel either, I'll have a switch or relay for that, but I'm interested in the dual switch setup. Is there a way you could make a drawing or diaghram of your idea on the dual pollack switch?
Thanks,
Tom

Congratulations on your first veggie experiment... :D

I remember my first test drive on veggie about two years ago, running literally with a couple fuel hoses stuck in a bottle of canola oil I took out of my kitchen cabinet. Makes me smile just thinking about it. ):h

180 degrees is excellent. That's plenty. I haven't measured my fuel temp yet but I'm guessing I'm at about 150. With another heat exchanger I think I'll be getting it a little hotter, we'll see.

I'll draw up a little diagram of the changes I plan to make and post it.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/HS2500/WVOblockdiagramdualswitch.jpg

EDIT: Sorry about all the blank space, I forgot to cut down my paint file... ):h

I came to this solution because I realized I needed to get the heat closer to the injection pump and I realized how limited I was by the location of the lift pump and the need to have the lift pump after the tank switch to provide fuel pressure on both tanks. Rather than go to an electric pump for both systems or even just the veggie system I opted to go with the mechanical lift pump as my WVO pump. It is much better than an electric pump for the application in my opinion, but the electric pump is pretty much fine for a diesel fuel application. I decided the second switch is required because the mechanical pumps can't be shut off and will therefore keep pumping whenever the engine is running... Might or might not hurt anything, but I realized I can use this to my advantage. This way I can circulate the oil prior to switching, allowing the filter to warm up. In the diagram I show the return line "teeing" back into the feed line before the lift pump, I might do that or I might run it back to the tank. I'm actually leaning towards running it back to the tank.

A sidebenefit... This would make any fuel line purging a snap... With the electric pump I could purge the diesel system in about two seconds, and then purging the veggie system is done simply by running the engine on diesel fuel... :D I have a remote mount purge valve I intend to T into the feed line right before the injection pump too.

The more I think about it the more it looks like an all around good solution.

If I understand this right, the mechanical lift pump would be pumping WVO all the time, regardless of the temperatures. That might be troublesome when the WVO is at (low) ambient temps to start with. The membrane in the pump might not be able to hold up to the high viscosity of the WVO. The inner diameter of the pump outlet is rather small. Without a fuel pressure gauge, you never know if and how well the mechanical pump is working. After having had trouble with the mechanical pump _apparently_ working fine, I'd be worried about that.

Using an electrical pump for WVO would have the advantage that you could wait until the WVO tank is warmed up before starting to pump it. And it's not only the pump itself to consider: How would the filters take it when you force WVO through them at low temperatures? Will the filter media eventually be damaged?

As it is what happens when you switch to WVO... Let's see. There's a few feet of hose with cold WVO in it. That stuff runs through the lift pump, straight through the stock fuel filter (I plan to use a goldenrod filter in the WVO system), and to the IP. No problems as yet. Those pumps are pretty durable, and the oil doesn't get THAT thick, it just doesn't run like water. I'm not too worried about it. The electric pump on the other hand... I've used those before. They just plain freeze up and won't spin. The mechanical pump is far better. Unless you can find a piston electric pump that lasts and isn't ridiculously expensive I think the mechanical pump is the best option.

I'm at least going to try it... No big deal if it does ruin a pump, I don't really care, it's only $15.

I was planning to install a remote fuel pressure gauge that I can read from in the truck.

There's a few feet of hose with cold WVO in it.


A few feet shouldn't matter much unless it's really cold. What I was thinking is that you would start the truck on Diesel in the morning, so everything is cold in the winter. But the mechanical pump has to pump WVO immediately, and it's very thick or maybe even frozen solid. It takes quite a while before the engine warms up and before there is enough heat to get the WVO flowing.

If the WVO is (close to) solid in the pump, how could the pump survive that?


Those pumps are pretty durable, and the oil doesn't get THAT thick, it just doesn't run like water.
Hm, I still have my old pump in the garage. I could try to get the pump open and post some pics.

And I want to do some experimenting with VO: see how it mixes with Diesel and put it into the fridge and into the freezer to see how thick it gets. I guess many people have already done that, but I want to see for myself :)


I'm not too worried about it. The electric pump on the other hand... I've used those before. They just plain freeze up and won't spin. The mechanical pump is far better. Unless you can find a piston electric pump that lasts and isn't ridiculously expensive I think the mechanical pump is the best option.
Yeah, there are not so many electrical pumps that can be used for VO. It's too thick to pump when it's not heated, and when it's heated, the pumps get too hot. But there seem to be some that work for this application.

Heating is the key ... like heating the tank and the lines, and then use a plated heat exchanger to get it up to the right temperature just before it goes into the IP. As for a pump ... I've been reading an article about using an oil pump that was put into the tank and driven by an electric motor. It worked fine until the VO was hot and got too thin to keep up a sufficient flow. Using a PS pump might give better results ... see here: http://www.offroad-forum.de/viewtopic.php?t=4851&highlight=servopumpe

It's in German, but you may get the idea by looking at the pictures. In this case, he wanted to use a PS pump from a passenger car (Audi 80) as a hydraulic pump to drive a hydraulic winch. It's a rotary vane pump, but the vanes don't have springs behind them to push them out. That would make a very reliable pump for VO which could be put into the tank.


I'm at least going to try it... No big deal if it does ruin a pump, I don't really care, it's only $15.
What if it leaks VO into the crankcase?


I was planning to install a remote fuel pressure gauge that I can read from in the truck.

Did you find a good one yet? I'd like to have one, too. Eventually, I'll replace the brick filter with something else, and it would be nice to see what pressure the IP gets.

Well, my opinion is that the pump will be fine. I used to rebuild the old mechanical pumps at one of my old jobs (same as the new kind only made so you could disassemble and repair them) and they're not as fragile as you might think. If you don't think they'll work, that's okay. You may be right. I'm going to try it though.

Heating IS key. I've found that out for sure. I've also found out that it doesn't take that much heat to make it workable. Obviously you need plenty of heat before the IP, but just for the lift pump and lines it doesn't take much. 80 degrees is fine.

I did the experiments mixing diesel and WVO in various proportions and freezing it. You don't get anything too dramatic until you get temps below about 10 degrees. It thickens up significantly and turns opaque (gels) but it doesn't turn really solid until it gets very cold.

I haven't found a gauge that is suitable yet. I was looking at some gauges at the auto parts store, just haven't settled on one.

Well, my opinion is that the pump will be fine. I used to rebuild the old mechanical pumps at one of my old jobs (same as the new kind only made so you could disassemble and repair them) and they're not as fragile as you might think.


Oh, ok, it won't make sense then to try to get one open.


I did the experiments mixing diesel and WVO in various proportions and freezing it.
How well do they mix? A few days ago, I added about 1/2 gallon of SVO to the fuel for lubrication, and a few years ago I tried running about 30% SVO mixed with Diesel on the Tahoe. The 1/2 gallon seems to be a good idea; the 30% worked without problems, but it seemed to be somewhat hard on the IP. Anyway, I don't know how well they mix or if they tend to separate if you let the mixture sit.


You don't get anything too dramatic until you get temps below about 10 degrees.
Hehe, you should come to Texas :) It's about 70 during the day and 65 at night now, like the "winter" is already over.


I haven't found a gauge that is suitable yet. I was looking at some gauges at the auto parts store, just haven't settled on one.Yeah, I did that, too. They all seemed to be for gassers that have the fuel pressure a lot higher. A 15 PSI boost gauge would be fine, but I guess it won't be a good idea to use them for fuel.

Hey, take the pump apart if you want. Like I say, the pumps I've worked on were the older style, they may have changed materials. I doubt it, but who knows. I think it would be fine, but again, the more research gets done on this the better. I'm all for actually looking at the exact stuff we're dealing with here. Like I say, I'm just guessing here.

I didn't notice any separation. As long as they were mixed to begin with they seemed to stay mixed.

How could you tell it was hard on the IP running 30% veggie? That should be hardly enough to make a difference other than smell... A lot of guys will run 50/50 without much difference when it is warm out (did that for a while), and some guys run 70% veggie 30% kerosene (did that too)... They all work fine, it's just that those mixes aren't very good in the cold. Even 100% veggie unheated will run without a noticeable difference other than noise and smell as long as it isn't too cold out (did that for a while too), but it's not supposed to be good for the engine as it causes coking.

I haven't found a gauge that is suitable yet. I was looking at some gauges at the auto parts store, just haven't settled on one.

You might try a marine gauge-they use a water pressure gauge. They usually sell a 0-15 and a 0-30psi gauge. The Mercs used the 0-15 mostly and OMCs the 0-30. You might get lucky and find one in an old junk boat dashboard. They usually dont fail, plus some of them look pretty nice. I might have a couple old used ones around here. I'll probably use one on my setup now that you mention it, and if I have a spare I'd be glad to send it to someone for shipping cost, just to repay for some of the valuable advice I get here.

HS2500, did you fully bypass the cabin heater and add your WVO system before the heater core? I've seen people install a T and have hot coolant go to the cabin and the WVO but was wondering what you chose.

thanks.

Hey, take the pump apart if you want.


If I had a vise bench, I might --- without one, it would be hard to get it open. I don't think they changed them, either. If they did, they would have to put them through whatever testing process they used when they were designed, and that would probably not worth it.


I didn't notice any separation. As long as they were mixed to begin with they seemed to stay mixed.


good to know :)


How could you tell it was hard on the IP running 30% veggie?


It was a bit harder to start and was louder until it warmed up. It just felt like the pump didn't like it.

I have been experimenting with blends as well, I have posted the results on this site
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9751014871/m/8221090622/p/4
It starts towards the bottom of this page.
The results are pretty interesting, there really isn't much of a difference in thickness until you get to about 15º from what I have found. Makes me feel pretty good about blending in my 6.2 especially since I live in Texas where I should be fine with it about 9 months out of the year. I may use a little WVO in the winter months and the rest of the year I will gradually increase my percentage of WVO according to the temperature. I hope to run around 75-80% WVO during the warm months. Not sure what my final blend is going to be but probably not diesel. I am thinking a kerosene/gas blend but need to mix some up and freeze it next.

I have been experimenting with blends as well, I have posted the results on this site
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9751014871/m/8221090622/p/4
It starts towards the bottom of this page.
The results are pretty interesting, there really isn't much of a difference in thickness until you get to about 15º from what I have found.


It seems that the folks there confuse what's called "Diesel Oil" on http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2625&location_id=3046 with what's called "Fuel Oil". Fuel oil is Diesel; Diesel is very much like Kerosene, and as you can see in the table, fuel oil has almost the same viscosity as Kero --- while "Diesel Oil" is close to "Crude Oil". They shouldn't call it "Fuel Oil" though, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_oil.

On a side note: "Diesel Oil" or even "Crude Oil" is afaik used in the Diesel engines (of building size) in ships, though at least some of them can be switched over to Diesel. They do that because when running crude oil, the engine may miss one stroke and another every now and then: that doesn't matter when they are out on the sea, but they want the engines to run more steadily when approaching or within a harbor and thus may switch to Diesel. The stuff they burn leaves afair about 1% unusable residue in the tanks, stuff almost like tar, which has to be pumped out when the ship is docked since it has become illegal to dump the residue into the sea.


Makes me feel pretty good about blending in my 6.2 especially since I live in Texas where I should be fine with it about 9 months out of the year. I may use a little WVO in the winter months and the rest of the year I will gradually increase my percentage of WVO according to the temperature. I hope to run around 75-80% WVO during the warm months.
Hm, I've been reading that there seems to be some agreement that afair 170F is a good temperature for VO when it is to enter an injection pump. Even in the summer heat here, with a blend of 75--80% VO, I would heat the fuel. And if you do that, you can as well run 100% VO.


Not sure what my final blend is going to be but probably not diesel. I am thinking a kerosene/gas blend but need to mix some up and freeze it next.Gas is a bad idea to use in a Diesel engine. You can blend some into Diesel to prevent the Diesel from freezing if you have to, but not very much. People (in Germany) did that before gas stations started to winterize the Diesel by default in the winter, about 25 years ago. Add too much gas, and engine damage can result. I think some manufacturers specified limits of how much gas could be blended in ... Buy Diesel in Sweden, I'm sure it's winterized to at least -40C/F by default --- if it was not, people would have trouble with it, but they don't.

Kero is fine, you can run 100% Kero if you add something for lubrication. Jet fuel is Kero, with special additives and very high requirements about the water content. It's a bit easier to ignite than Diesel and burns with much less soot ...

Highserria, you said about rubber hose being alright, well, not rubber heater hose or fuel hose. It has to be viton to work. I have had breakdown of regular rubber hose due to WVO through the lines and no doubt other lines that I am using for my fueling station will begin to show.

Here are a few pics for you (http://www.frybrid.com/forum/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=71), I mostly get info at Frybrid as I feel he has the best system, no matter how pricey you try to tell me it is.

My experience with a centrifuge has been very positive for filtration as I can just start it up, make sure it is working correctly, then just leave a 55 gal barrel circulate trhough the CF for 9 hours while I just go and do whatever. No major problems (so far!) I have good hose for that, and good fitting. http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562219895kvBjai

Your diagram also shows no return from the IP, where is that at anyways?

My system is such that atmospheric pressure pushes the fuel through, therefore making the IP pull a slight vacuum on the WVO to get it through (not the best idea, DB, I know, but..........) Right now it is about 1.5" Hg right now that the IP is pulling when I am going about 70mph freeway driving.

The pics make your system in the truck look cobbled together. Well, dont feel bad, mine did too when I first started doing my own stuff in '06. And I still am adding stuff(though on a smaller scale)
Anyway,just dont do it so badly that it kills the engine because of something you did.......

Alright Brad, speak to us about your centrifuge!!!

I do like the CF method, there is less plumbing involved and I think it takes less time. The bowl does not have to be perfectly clean, as it will just go through another batch of oil the next time i CF it.
I set a timer for an immersion heater in the night for it to start heating a 55 gal barrel of unfiltered(except for a suction screen) oil. It starts to heat the oil at 3:00 in the morning. Making sure not to have filled the barrel too much, or the expanding oil will overflow and make a big mess! The oil will be hot enough to then start the centrifuge in the morning, which comes out the barrel, and goes into another one (This is so that any oil I pump from a dumspter is kept the same dirty barrel) . When that other barrel is full, the first one is empty. I can then start the CF to run continiously, just pumping and dumping from/to the same barrel, and also put the immersion heater into the barrel I am now CFing into. Leave this go for 8-9 hours doing whatever else it is I am doing for that day, come back and pump the filtered oil into my clean tote with a transfer pump already in the barrel.
Also, always clean the bowl after letting all the liquid oil drain, then just sracpe away the solids and later use it as fuel in my stove.

How much did it cost you Brad, and where did you get it?

How much did it cost you Brad, and where did you get it?

Hard to really calculate since I played around with different things so much. I tried different pumps, but couldnt get them to work, power steering pumps didnt seem to work. So one day a friend of mine who works at Marathon said about some pumps they were changing out and were just throwing the old ones away, would I like them? SO I jumped at the chance to test them and found the gear pumps work great.
Total was around $250. A reletive had a 1 hp motor $15. Gear pump was free, Spinner II (http://www.spinnerii.com/index.cfm/div/divID/40/divid/0) centrifuge (used on ebay) was $180 and other lines, fittings, a pressure gauge, pressure releif valve to keep the pressure below 95 psi

Rubber is fine with WVO. DO NOT confuse WVO and biodiesel, they are totally different animals. Bio will damage natural rubber fuel lines, vegetable oil won't hurt a thing.

I left the return out for clarity, it basically follows the same routing as the rest of the fuel system. I have six port pollack valves so it will get switched with the feed lines. I have played around with different variations of looped returns and nont looped, as yet I haven't decided what is best.

As far as my system being cobbled together and me feeling bad about it... Well. Glad to hear somebody noticed. I am still developing this stuff. I've been working with this for a lot longer than you think (since 04 or 05, I can't remember) and the system has gone through many different formats, this is just the next phase, not my finished product. In addition, it is a homemade system built from stuff around the house and it isn't finished either so yeah, it looks cobbled together and I know it. I'm proud to have a workable WVO system whether or not it looks homemade (at least I didn't spend a fortune building it either). I know enough not to destroy my engine or parts of it experimenting with this stuff. I've been working on diesels and experimenting with WVO for years. I have a clue, believe it or not.

You need to fix your system so you get positive fuel pressure. That isn't good having a vacuum at the IP, and I would not run the truck like that. That's not a finished useable system if you ask me.

Rubber is fine with WVO. DO NOT confuse WVO and biodiesel, they are totally different animals. Bio will damage natural rubber fuel lines, vegetable oil won't hurt a thing.

I left the return out for clarity, it basically follows the same routing as the rest of the fuel system. I have six port pollack valves so it will get switched with the feed lines. I have played around with different variations of looped returns and nont looped, as yet I haven't decided what is best.

As far as my system being cobbled together and me feeling bad about it... Well. Glad to hear somebody noticed. I am still developing this stuff. I've been working with this for a lot longer than you think (since 04 or 05, I can't remember) and the system has gone through many different formats, this is just the next phase, not my finished product. In addition, it is a homemade system built from stuff around the house and it isn't finished either so yeah, it looks cobbled together and I know it. I'm proud to have a workable WVO system whether or not it looks homemade (at least I didn't spend a fortune building it either). I know enough not to destroy my engine or parts of it experimenting with this stuff. I've been working on diesels and experimenting with WVO for years. I have a clue, believe it or not.

You need to fix your system so you get positive fuel pressure. That isn't good having a vacuum at the IP, and I would not run the truck like that. That's not a finished useable system if you ask me.

No, WVO WILL INDEED ruin natural rubber for some reason. I have it happening right now. That, and others have expereinced it.
http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9485
I know that bio-d will, but also WVO will too, just a lot slower.
So, make sure to get good viton hoses for this fuel, otherwise, a bit down the road and you could be stranded.

I also would not use a pollack 6 port valve, as both return and supply switches at the same time and therefore some diesel is returned to the WVO tank and some WVO to the diesel tank. Diesel to WVO is fine, WVO to diesel is not OK at all.
I have gone through several phases including timing two different valves to return WVO to purge it out when switching back to diesel, and vice versa.
It used to have a single valve and both fuels looped back to the IP inlet, but I didnt like that design, air issues, filter chages were hard, etc.....

You have some sort of contaminant in your WVO that is causing fuel line issues. I assure you vegetable oil itself is very much a safe substance that will not damage your rubber fuel lines, and this fact is well documented.

I assure you vegetable oil itself is very much a safe substance that will not damage your rubber fuel lines, and this fact is well documented.Dear Mr. High Sierra,
Would you be so kind as to forward me your mailing address.
I have a total of about 40 feet of hose that has infact been damaged by VO that I would like to send to you.

After about 4 months, regular hose gets [literally] eaten away into the consistancy of slimey jello.

The offer to send you a sample is REAL... I do not wish to debate with you what I have seen with my own eyes.

Send me your mailing address to Pir8Darryl [at] hotmail [dot] com, and I will be more than happy to snip off a few inches of hose and send it to you.

Pir8Darryl

That's okay, I absolutely believe both of you. Generally people don't make this stuff up. BUT... I DO NOT believe the damage was caused by the vegetable oil itself. I believe there is something IN the vegetable oil that is causing the problems, not the oil itself. Unfortunately it is very hard to nail down exactly what it is...

Have either of you Ph tested your oil?

Have either of you Ph tested your oil?

Yeah, but too long ago to remember what the results were. :)
What difference does it make when you are going to run it through your engine, you still should have hoses that stand up to what is running through them. Think of the mistake that Ford did with their wet sleeves and had cavitation problems..... then again, to keep it in good condition, that relied on good antifreeze,..
But I still say use viton hose.:p:

Right. But I say I don't want to run it through my engine if it has an unidentified contaminant in it that is strong enough to melt my fuel hoses... ;) The identified cause in biodiesel is another thing, but this is something unidentified.

Just my way of thinking.

The biodiesel spoken of here is it the biodiesel from WVO using a processor like an appleseed processor?

Just wanted to give this a bump. Too much good info and links to let it fall off of the thread list.

I'd have to agree with HS2500, WVO shouldn't melt rubber hose. overcooked highly acidic WVO will. PH test your oil, if it's acidic, try mist cleaning it, you'll be suprised what will happen :)

I'd have to agree with HS2500, WVO shouldn't melt rubber hose. overcooked highly acidic WVO will. PH test your oil, if it's acidic, try mist cleaning it, you'll be suprised what will happen :)

OK, MrBanjo, I'm listening because I have an endless supply of oil that is too acidic to make BIO out of and I would rather it be more nuetral for simple blending as well.

I just found out about mist cleaning from a friend of mine.

I built a 10gal container with a drain valve on the bottom. heat the oil to 100-110*. mist a fine spray of water on top of the warm oil. i use 1 gallon of water to 10 gallon of oil. the misted water will falll through the oil taking with it suspended fats, sugars, debris, and water.

give the water 30min-1hr to settle, then drain off the water. usually it'll be really dirty the first time. it may take 2 or 3 trys if the oil is really dirty.

when you are done the oil will be more basic, and much cleaner. filter it one more time (i'm using a transfer pump with an inline filter) and put it in your tank. :)

I just found out about mist cleaning from a friend of mine.

I built a 10gal container with a drain valve on the bottom. heat the oil to 100-110*. mist a fine spray of water on top of the warm oil. i use 1 gallon of water to 10 gallon of oil. the misted water will falll through the oil taking with it suspended fats, sugars, debris, and water.

give the water 30min-1hr to settle, then drain off the water. usually it'll be really dirty the first time. it may take 2 or 3 trys if the oil is really dirty.

when you are done the oil will be more basic, and much cleaner. filter it one more time (i'm using a transfer pump with an inline filter) and put it in your tank. :)

Have you ever done a before and after titration? I let my oil settle for so long that filtering isn't as much a problem as acidity.

Anyone with any experience converting a gas truck to a 6.2L? I have a 1990-1991 Chevy Dually with a THRISTY 454. I want to swap in a 6.2L. If I have a complete running donor truck with a 6.2L, how much more difficult would this be than a normal engine swap? I thought it would be a good candidate because it already has 2 switched tanks from the factory. Thoughts?

Anyone with any experience converting a gas truck to a 6.2L? I have a 1990-1991 Chevy Dually with a THRISTY 454. I want to swap in a 6.2L. If I have a complete running donor truck with a 6.2L, how much more difficult would this be than a normal engine swap? I thought it would be a good candidate because it already has 2 switched tanks from the factory. Thoughts?

You are hijacking other person thread. This is not about gas to diesel conversion. May want to create your own. Just my 2 cents.

Actually, I am in the process of converting a Mercedes 240D right now, but I have the Dually truck so I thought I would ask if anyone currently running Veg oil in a 6.2L is doing it as a result of an gas to diesel/veggie swap. If so, how tough was it. Guess I could have phrased it differently. But Veggie is the only goal with this.

Do a search in the 6.2L forum, it is a pretty common swap...

New sideline here, they're stealing the drums of WVO from the back of restaurants.

A quick look at this thread made me think of other filter applications. Maybe you have thought of this as well, but I did not see it mentioned....
I would suspect that the filters commonly used, and the ones you have been trying are designed to catch the occasional particle, but you are dealing with many particles, quickly causing the single stage, one layer filter to clog. I would guess that what you need to do is to thoroughly pre filter the oil/fuel and the filter that I think of for that would be a cartridge filter, the kind commonly used to filter water for a whole house.


I would make a system to pump the oil/fuel through one or two large cartridge filters, then into the fuel tank, from there, through the largest fuel filter to the engine.

Also worth noting, as the cartridge filter is used, the larger pores clog, making the filter more effective. Less flow, but more effective.