Vegetable Based Fuel Rig

[gd51474]

Vegetable oil fuel a.k.a biodiesel, straight vegetable oil (svo), farm juice, peacefuel and beutifuel is a great alternative that seems to be working very well in Diesel's everywhere. This information is only from my 81 LX as my personnel experiment and many shared stories with the veggie fuel activists all over North America. Some quite interesting!!

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/truck.jpg

Biodiesel can be run interchangeably with dino-diesel in any concentration and is made by mixing vegetable oil, (20%) Methonal and about 4g/l of lye. The result is 20% glycerin falling out of the remaining liquid or biodiesel. This is definitely possible in a garage so consult your local biodiesel community to learn more. Here are some samples from mine.

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/IMG_1151.JPG

SVO can be run completely interchangeably if it is heated to 160F. SVO comes from your local restraurant. Just filter it to 10 microns.


http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/Oil.jpg

To run these fuels have two tanks. Use the regular tank for biodiesl and build a second that will heat vegetable oil. Start the engine on biodiesel until the coolant is hot enough to heat the veg. Then switch and run svo until a few miles before you need to stop. Switch to biodiesel to flush the pump and injector nossels.

Of course there are many different ways to achieve this basic rythmn. This is just one example you all might find interesting being a Caddy and all. The engine is a new 1.9L and has about 10,000 miles on it, mostly SVO.

This is my second tank with filters and assist pump behind.

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/Tank.jpg

From the tank I go through an assist pump…

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/pump.jpg

then through two filters. Just for fun as one is all you need. I also built this one from hardware store parts and I got 5000 miles of veg through it before clogging.

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/fitler3.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/filter2.jpg

After the filters I go through a hose in a hose system using ½” copper fuel line and ¾” coolant hose that runs under the carriage along with a return line, both taken from the heater core supply.

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/coolantap.jpg

Switch between fuel tanks with two 3-port selector valves one for the supply fuel and one for the return. Right before the injection pump, run the fuel through an inline hose heater, this one is called a Vegtherm. These are controlled by toggle switches near my knee.

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/Selectorvalvesvegtherm.jpg

This allows for running a free fuel while out and about kickin it.

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/SVOonthegoUT.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/hardworkingtruck.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/sustainablecity/biodiesel/lastmessage.jpg

Used 6 gallons of dino-diesel once and it started the typical diesel knocking along with added a toxic smell to the exhaust. I recommend avoiding this completely inferior fuel in any rig.

This is just a quick recap of the veggie fuel situation and I’d be happy to expand on any part. In addition I would enjoy hearing more about other experiences with the veggie fuels.

Now if I could just get the steering column tight and brakes pads changed, temp guage, speedometer, odometer and the passenger door… all projects that took a back seat in a caddy to the fuel!

[zelreth]

you really put a lot into the veggie thing. anyway of putting the second tank under the bed with the original tank? just curious

[gd51474]

Wow those are big pics...sorry about that.

The second tank can go just about anywhere. Some cars put them on the roof. I wanted at least 15 gallons for some real range so I am not too sure where to put it. I've seen several dodge cummins with a tank inserted under, but there is alot more room on those rigs. I have a spare under but without that it would fit well.

On a rabbit I've seen a small 3 or 4 gallon tank in the engine compartment right below the windshield wipers for the biodiesel and then veggie oil in the regular tank.

All simple parts that can go just about anywhere....

[Darth Garry]

That's a thing of beauty my friend. Diesel engines are truly amazing. It's great that you can run your car without supporting OPEC and the oil industry.

One question - Where's your timing belt cover? If something got jammed in there, you'd be in for a bad day.

Garry

[dang]

I love that pick with the 55 gallon drum in the back. How slow does that thing go with it full? I have converted a jetta and now drive a Mercedes on a veggie/diesel mix. I will soon have an 80 caddy that will be converted. My goal is a big tank in the back and the ability to go 3000 miles between fill ups. Just be sure to filter your oil good and have a diesel fuel filter with a water seperator. Heating your oil is important not only for proper combustion but also for the fuel easily passing through the fuel filter.
Here are some sites
http://biodiesel.infopop.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vegoil-diesel/
You can also buy kits from:
http://www.greasel.com/
http://www.biofuels.ca/
http://www.greasecar.com/
Here is an awesome place to get fuel pumps for extracting the oil from the dumpster:
http://ruralking.com/rko/cart.cgi?PRODUCT=001053548&SPD=VAw59299852Feuk
Have fun.

[vwabbitman]

so is there any way i can just dump some vegy oil into the tank and get the effects of it without all of the conversion stuff

[dang]

Yes, sort of. Fat is a bad thing in veggie/diesel mixes. It can quickly clog a fuel filter and leave you stranded. After you collect your oil, let it settle in a cool place (60F) for at least a month. All of the fat and crud should settle to the bottom leaving you good clean fat free veggie oil. Take that and mix thouroughly with diesel fuel. Take care not to disturb the crap off of the bottom. I am not sure of the ratio. It depends on the outside temps and what the vw diesels like to run at. When its above 70 you could probably go up to 50% maybe even 75% in the hot summer. Its all about experimenting I have never run a vw on a mix only heated oil. When its colder the mix will precipitate out the veggie similiar to diesel gelling. Try some experiments with various concentrations of veggie and diesel and see when they start to cloud and gel. Below freezing you could maybe only use 25% to 33%. You will also want to some extra diesel in a seperate container to put in the tank in case the oil starts to clog the system and an extra fuel filter would not hurt. If you have a lot of crud in the fuel tank it might react with the mix and clean it out similar to bio diesel. Be sure to filter your fuel really good before using and keep an eye on your fuel fitler on the vw. You might also want to install a clear filter to see if the oil is clean and help save your primary filter. I would install a second tank and keep the stock tank for diesel. Even a 5 gallon bucket of fuel could get a couple of hundred miles and when it runs out you could just replace it with another bucket plus its always nice to be able to flip a swith and run on straight diesel if things start to clog up. Its also easy to mix in a 5 gallon bucket. Good luck.

[evan]

cool pics too bad they're so big though makes it hard to really get a sense of what's going on.

I've also converted my caddy and had one main question...

why are you using the assist pump?

I'm only using one Racor 90 filter but it seems to suck the fuel through just fine...

Well i should say that I did have the O Ring for the high pressure pump go out on me as soon as i ran veggie but my understanding is that part of the injection pump wouldn't be affected by needing to draw fuel from the tank. So why the Assist pump and what kind is that?

[waterboy]

Just incase anyone in uk wants to do that, the item he is using to move the oil through and heat it to a working temp (you know the pic of the transparent chamber with a heater matrix in it)

That is a Water filter housing you can buy from any good plumb center, we have them at work.

Than he seems to have made his own heater to put inside it and done away with the filter.

Right i'm off to get some petrol before we run out.

[regcheeseman]

The main problem (apart from legality and smell) with this setup in the UK, is the distance involved in warming the fuel.

As a nation the UK tends to do much shorter journeys.

If you allow 4 miles to heat and flush the system, then the UK drivers normal journey is less than this.

My brother runs a bio setup in his 4x4 and is bitter because most of the time he can't get to switch it on

Other friends run heating oil (21p per litre :thumbs_up ) which is a direct replacement with no additional plumbing.

I know, I know it's not eco friendly, but if you think switching from dino to eco/bio fuel is gonna save the planets resources then you may as well believe the bull they spout about personal vehicle emissions having any real effect on global warming.

[waterboy]

regcheeseman international eco warrior!! :D

[artry]

Nice rig, have been considering something like that myself. Explain how you keep the veggie from mixing back into the diesel tank as the return lines carry a large percentage of the pumped fuel back to the tank. Also love the additional info about direct mixing with "dino", I miss the old days when it was called fossil fuels.

I know it's not eco friendly, but if you think switching from dino to eco/bio fuel is gonna save the planets resources then you may as well believe the bull they spout about personal vehicle emissions having any real effect on global warming.

I can add my dad's old addage "The VW diesel is not the solution to the world's fuel crisis, but it's mine!"

[regcheeseman]

Nice rig, have been considering something like that myself. Explain how you keep the veggie from mixing back into the diesel tank as the return lines carry a large percentage of the pumped fuel back to the tank.

You switch the feed AND the return lines via solenoid. Though you still get the odd bit of veg back in the dino tank and vice versa.


The main problem for my brothers install is stopping hilarious twats (like me) for leaning in his window and saying - "kebab meat and chips please mate"

[evan]

two other options for keeping veggie oil from getting in the diesel tank are

-loop the return line back into the input side. this is how i've got mine setup. It's simple but it slows down the purge time. if anyone wants pictures i could put them up at some point. I think this is sometimes called the Greasel set up. I didn't get a greasel kit but they're the main ones that are known for this...

-connect a second 3 port solenoid for the return side and set it up so that a purge setting is available in which diesel is being drawn into the Injection Pump and the return is being sent to the veggie tank. you get some diesel in the veggie tank this way but it's better to have diesel in the veggie tank than veggie in the diesel tank ya know... then after you've purged you switch that return solenoid so that after you feel good that the pump is full of diesel, the diesel gets sent back to the diesel tank...

the worse thing i've heard about this setup is that it's possible to overflow your veggie tank if you forget and keep it on the purge setting and are sending diesel to an already full veggie tank...

[punkvideo81]

cool post! i have a similar setup in my 81 caddy, it is a kit from greasecar.com and it is great. i posted many pics of it here a while ago. keep up the good work!
- Evan

[58custom]

http://www.freewebs.com/vegtruck/

The lift pump has been removed and I installed new injectors. Even on a 50/50 blend with diesel I could tell that it was coking up again. I am thinking it's a combo of not enough heat with just coolant heating and the fact that my cylinder walls are well worn. Lots of taper. You can tell when it's coking up because you lose compression and the idle speed starts to drop. Eventually it gets harder and harder to start.

How many miles do you have running on veg?

[evan]

58custom a couple questions...

-what were you using as a lift pump?
&
-why did you decide to remove it?

are you just using the IP to move the fuel?

[58custom]

After I coked up the engine the first time, I decided to try to eliminate possible sources for excess fuel. That is I thought that my old injectors might be producing a poor spray pattern or allowing a longer squirt due to weak springs and I also thought that maybe the lift pump was pressurizing the IP input resulting in higher outlet pressures. Assumptions to be sure, but my solutions were simple.

I replaced the injectors with a set of new ones and removed the lift pump. The IP pulls the warmed veg oil just fine without the pump.

The fuel pump was a simple electric one that was in the engine compartment when I bought the truck. A previous owner had installed a small gas fuel filter and I assume shortly after this pump. I assume that because when I bypassed the pump the engine would not run. I found a stock filter mount and added a new stock-type filter and all was fine and normal without the pump. I don't know what brand it is, but here is a pix

http://www.freewebs.com/vegtruck/fp1.jpg

Since there are so many people running veg without coking problems I believe I must build a decent short block (the head was recently rebuilt) and add some electric heat just before the IP.