i am now running the VW on vegetable oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[jkeiffer_gearhead]

after talking about doing it for quite some time, i finally got everything hooked up last night and tested it this morning on the way into work, it took a little while to get up to temp but i was doing a lot of stop and go driving, i switched it on for a little while and it seemed to run alright, maybe a little loss in power but that was probably just getting air out of the lines

anyway i cant wait to run waste oil, i have a source for about 36 gallons a week for free, and thats enough for about 3 weeks worth of fuel so i wont need to get it everyweek. i have a lot of other sources for the stuff so if any of you guys are in the mid michigan area and need oil just email me.
later
justin

[Fatmobile]

Congradulations.
I'll be taking mine up to the MREA's energy fair, in northern Wisconsin, again next weekend.
5th year for me. I was the only vegy burning car there for the first 2 years, the 3rd year there were 4 of us, last year there were 9 vegy burners. Kinda wondering if there will be room for me this year, ha.

http://www.the-mrea.org/

The venders usually have enough fuel to get me back home.
Tell us a little about your setup. Looped return?

[jkeiffer_gearhead]

hey guys i need to check to see that my wiring is still good to the fuel tank selector but I am suspecting that it might have went bad, if it did then i will have to fight with JC Whitney to get a new one, where do you guys get your selectors for you WVO conversions.

later
Justin

[Fatmobile]

What do you mean by selectors?
Fuel level senders?

[jkeiffer_gearhead]

no i mean the tank selector (to switch from the diesel tank to the WVO tank) its an electronic selenoid valve, i just goback from alaska so i will dig into it tonight and see what i can figure out

later
justin

[Fatmobile]

Oh, the FV1.
I get them at a local autoparts place. Part # FV1
3 port Pollack valve.

[jkeiffer_gearhead]

yeah i just had some wires pinch somewhere so it just grounded out, i am going to re run my wires tonight or tomorrow and get the system up and running again.

i am using the 6 port pollak setup

later
justin

[petec]

The Pollack 3 port selectors WILL leak and are not rated for the pressure you are putting on them.

Go to
www.greasecar.com
or
www.frybrid.com

They both sell 3 port selectors that can take the pressure and will not leak.

Veggie on !!!

[Fatmobile]

They will leak if you don't have a vacuum gauge on your fuel line, your filter clogs and the pump pulls more than 8 in hg.
Which bring up the second point. They can't handle much psi but since the pump pulls fuel towards it, there is no pressure on them... unless you added a helper pump.
I did get a greasecar fuel solenoid for the Mercedes I'm trying to convert ... very nice. Better looking than the frybrid ones and cheaper.
Using the 6 port eh? Half for the input and the other 3 ports for the return line?
If so, you might be dumping an injection pump full of vegy into the diesel tank everytime you flush the pump.

[Guest]

yeah i realize that there is mixing of the diesel with the veg oil but so far I have not had any problems even when the tank is real low, and the veg oil is out in about 3 to 4 tenths of a mile. when you get done with your new set up post some pics, I always enjoy looking at good examples and ideas to draw from.
later
Justin

[Fatmobile]

This Mercedes has been beating me down. Tank is in, lines are all the way to the engine bay.
Some of the wiring is done.
I had a hard time finding a 3 port fuel solenoid I trusted to handle the pressure at the front of the MB injection pump. The technology finally showed itself when I met the greasel folks at the energy fair.
Looking for a check valve, couldn't find one I liked. Finally got 4 from mcmaster and they don't seem like they will flow enough and 1 of the 4 doesn't even work.
Get a vacuum gauge on your fuel line. Your pump might be having a hard time pulling cold vegy through the diesel filter and you wouldn't even know it.
I concider it manditory even if you are not running vegy.

[jkeiffer_gearhead]

yeah i need to get a vacuum gage on it, i did put a copper coil around the veg filter to heat it up and reduce the amount of cold veg oil, so right now there is about 6 inches of un heated line

later
Justin

[Fatmobile]

Unheated between the filter and injection pump?

[Guest]

yes between the filter and injection pump.

[Fatmobile]

I was sending the return line back to the vegy line. Right before the fuel select solenoid that was right before the injection pump.
This way the returning vegetable oil had to go through the fuel select solenoid to get back into the injection pump. If the fuel select solenoid was switched back to diesel the returning fuel had to go backward down the vegy line, back toward the vegy tank.
When running on vegy, in cold weather the fuel temp dropped off and the car ran like crap, even at 35F when I was trying to idle. I couldn't drive through town below 18F because the diesel used so little fuel that very little hot fuel was being added to the loop. Out the top of the pump back into the aluminum heat sink (slang for injection pump).
Now I run the retrun line to the output of the vegy filer (while on vegy or flush mode) it has to go through about 10 inches of HWH to get back to the pump. Now 5 cups go into the pump and 4 come back out the top to get heated and then loop back into the pump.
I can now idle at 35F and drive through town at 18F without losing any fuel temp at the front of the injection pump.
Lesson is have a heated section in the loop or the fuel temp will drop off at low speeds. I use a colant heated section between the filter and injection pump.