i just got back from a 1500 mile trip in my 10 mpg step van and did not use a drop of diesel - my system involves starting up on home-brewed biodiesel (made for about $.70/gallon) and driving a few miles until normal operating temp, then switching to second tank (through a solenoid valve) with heated vegeble oil in it. All together, i consumed about $10 worth of fuel, doing a lot of starting up/shutting down during various business ventures along the way.
The secondary tank contains waste vegetable oil from restaurants, obtained for free, which has been filtered to 10 microns, and dewatered so it is crystal clear before putting in the tank, and it is heated to about 170F before reaching the injection pump; and aside from the exhaust smell there is no difference at all in how the truck runs.

I am just curious, for the pro's on this list with like 20,000 posts to their name, or anyone for that matter, if you take this concept seriously. I am continuously researching this concept, looking for reasons that suggest it will not work in the long term, but i don't find many at all except when people don't do it right, like running cold grease through the engine or allowing water to get through, etc.
I know that the modern engines are more complex to convert, but the 6.2/6.5 is fairly straight forward with lots of others doing it.

Basically, i am asking the people with more diesel mechanical experience than me (which most likely is everyone on this forum) what kind of reasons you can think of that would suggest this is not a good idea; or if you would ever consider doing this yourself?
I think when diesel gets up around $5/gallon everyone will be interested, but by then it will much harder to score free oil because there will be so many others doing it. At present i have about 600 gallons stockpiled and unlimited sources from various restaurants, some of whom even cancelled their deals with the grease collection companies that were taking it, just so they could give it all to me. One place along gives me about 100 gallons/month.

So what do you guys think? Tex, Cougarjohn, Camilleri,etc? Opinions or even harsh criticism welcome.
thanks,
Paul

You are half a step ahead of me. Good choice. You are doing it right by eliminating the water first and using good filtration. Your engine will last longer on wvo than diesel based on everything I have read.:)

Very good question. You may want to ask at the Biosiesel website
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve?a=cfrm&s=447609751
at the SVO forum if you haven't already. If there are any long time users of SVO & WVO, they will be there. Although it doesn't hurt to get opinions from other people in different forums too.
I have posted the same question as to the long term effects, and haven't got a real good answer. Biodiesel has been around a long time, but I was told SVO has just started to have been used widely only the past few years. I had one person reply that he had 130K miles on WVO and still using it.
Looks like you're doing it right.
I've only been running WVO a couple months.
My only complaint is it's time consuming to go out and get the WVO.

Just a little bit of trivia, Diesel the german inventor, orignally intended the engine to run on SVO, but then he died an untimely death and the petrol company got a hold of his patent and converted it to run on petroleum.-:t

I thought that ol Rudolf Diesel made his first engine run on coal?

Thought I read it was peanut oil. :confuzeld

i think he tried one with coal but it exploded, then he started working with vegetable oil.

Paul

Your system sounds :cool2: , how do you filter and dewater the wvo ?
And I would love to know how to set up a system like that for my truck.

John,
filtering and dewatering are by far the most important part of a conversion. I start with the best oil i can get (NOT from american fast food joints, asian restaurants are usually the best) then pour it through sock filters made from used demin jean pant legs sewed up at the bottom (got the pants for $2.50 a pair at thrift store, in good condition to) and i hang them inside a steel drum with removeable lid, three socks per drum.
Pour the wvo in, then use a water heater element with thermostat to heat the filtered oil to about 90 F for about 8 hours, this causes any emulsified moisture to settle out. Then i use a barrel pump to hand-crank the wvo through a Goldenrod 10 micron fuel filter, and it picks up the wvo several inches above the bottom of the barrel. The filter socks are washeable and the goldenrod filter element only costs $5 to replace, every couple hundred gallons usually i replace it so this is very cost-effective filtering setup.
-Paul

What is an "n/a replacement engine"?

I'm impressed with your "refinery". I was picturing a barn-size system of pipes and flames and coolers and blast-furnaces, etc (I lived next to a gas refinery on the Puegot Sound by Bellingham. It is not simple - and it is toxic and you should see the "three disaster sceneros" they have printed and given, grudgingly, to the public. Bellinham could be wiped out in hours from one refinery - and there are dozens in that area!

Next question: I live in a corn area - what's involved in corn to bio-diesel? My guess is lots of revenue agents!!!???

Dennis

it is a naturally-aspirated (non turbo) 6.5 that was designed by GM to install in trucks that had 6.2 as a direct replacement, that's all i know.
Why do new heads cost $2000? i had no idea they were that expensive, i hope mine last!
Making biodiesel from corn oil is simple but expensive - most people start with waste veg oil they get for free. It probably would not be worthwhile starting with new oil - but the process is basically a reaction with Lye and Vegetable oil, with methanol as a catalyst.
There are a number of forums with tons of info on it, let me know if you want the links i can post them.
Paul

Hey greasefire, how has the wvo to bio conversion experience been for you? I know it looks like a lot of trouble but I have been thinking about trying it and have read enough on the subject to last a lifetime. What is your take on the whole experience?

...- but the process is basically a reaction with Lye and Vegetable oil, with methanol as a catalyst... Paul

Just for the sake of clarity, you have that the wrong way around. It is a reaction between the fatty acids in the oil with methanol (making a methyl ester) using sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. If you react the fatty acids with the sodium hydroxide you get soap, not fuel.

thanks for clearing that up! I must have read that from someone else who thought the same thing. I did tons of research before starting, i guess i just misunderstood the chemistry of it.
but the process of making it has gone fine with no real troubles. Never had a problem with the initial reaction, although i do start with good oil which helps. Mist washing can be a challenge, sometimes the water will emulsify somewhat with the bio but there are ways to fix that.
If you have questions about how i built my setup let me know.
-Paul

N/A = Normally Aspirated = No Turbo.