Steve's foray into Waste Vegetable Oil

Reducing carbon footprint, saving personal fuel costs, inventing new technology.

This post is long overdue. I have been running for over a week on vegetable oil, but went back and changed a bit of the water lines going to the heat exchanger to see if I could generate hotter heat. I don't have a thermometer on the oil itself, but attached to one of the barbed fittings that the oil goes through as it exits the heat exchanger. Today I recorded a temprature of 143F degrees there which is good. My goal is oil of 160F and the oil should be hotter than the fitting it is going through.

Here are some pictures of Items that I have been working on.

Items added to burn vegetable oil

A - is the electric fuel pump installed to help get the oil from the back of the car.
B - is the two electric valves the let me select fuel using electric switches installed in the dash. One valve chooses the tank, the other valve switches the return line from the injector pump.
C - Is the heat exchanger that has a NAPA 5 micron fuel filter also installed on it. It uses hot water from the engine to heat the oil. I also have a glow plug to give it more heat as well so I can switch quicker. I have wrapped the heat exchanger and filter in insulation to keep the heat in.
D - This is a set of manual valves to control the hot water when it leaves the heat exchanger. This allows me to do a summer or winter configuration. I am using hot water that normally would go to the heater of the car. In the summer I don't want to have to send that hot water through the heater, so I can close one valve and open the other that goes across the front of the engine.
E - The electric relays I added to give power to the glow plug heaters in front and back of the car and also the fuel pump. This allows me to have very little amperage going through my switches in the dash.
F - Is the glow plug in the top of the heat exchanger which also has a thermostat controlling it so that it can shut off automatically when the water heats it enough.

This is a closer view of many of the parts.

This picture shows the hose H as being the source of the hot water for the exchanger. It normally would go into the inlet for the heater, but now it goes to the heat exchanger first. I can then direct it back to the heater inlet through hose I and the manual valves.

I replaced the cigarette lighter in the dash with a plate containing 4 switches.
Top left switch will choose the diesel / oil for both the fuel tank and return valves.
Bottom left switch turns on an auxillary water pump that normally pulls hot water through the heater. It normally only comes on only when the heater is turned on. I spliced the wires so I can turn it on with this switch so that it pulls hot water thorugh the heat exchanger. That is why I added the manual valves in the hoses. In the summer time I don't want the water also going through the heater, instead it will go from the heat exchanger directly to the pump. In the winter I will send it back to the heater instead.
Right side switches turn on the heat in the front and rear glow plugs. A later picture will show the rear heater.
It was the perfect place for the swtiches because I tied into the power and ground that was there for the lighter. Easy wiring to give power and ground to all 4 switches from a single source.

We still want to use the wagon to haul things so I put a removable 6.5 gallon tank in the back. It should have a range of 150 - 180 miles before needing refueling. The hose goes into the panel on the right.

This panel has space behind it that holds a filter and heater out of sight.

Behind that panel is this heater which is a glow plug installed in a pipe T. Also there is a metal filter and a thermostat wired to it. The oil heats up the metal filter as well and the thermostat keeps the heater from getting too hot. I am heating the oil in the back to make sure it will flow easily through the 15 ft of fuel line to the front of the car. The filter will protect the electic fuel pump installed before the heat exchanger.

That is a pic of the car. I am enjoying driving it without the diesel guage moving. The windows were already tinted which is nice for here in the summer time. While finishing installing the hose rework I also flushed the power steering fluid and flushed the coolant and changed the oil. The car is good to go with new tires and a happy engine.
On vegetable power the diesel car is quieter, the diesel knocking sound goes away. The power and mileage appears to stay the same. This was an enjoyable project.

I still start the car on diesel and switch back to diesel before stopping it. But after 200 miles the guage has not moved at all. I am hoping to drive a number of months on a single tank of diesel. If this is the case I don't know if I will take the next step of making biodiesel or not. It is additional work and I already have many of the parts necessary. Somthing yet to consider.

The equipment I have so far lets me process 6 gallon batches of fryer oil fairly quickly.

This is how I clean the oil. I put a container under this table that heats and holds 6 gallons of oil. I first heat the oil until it is at least 140F. This takes about 20 minutes. The pump pulls it out of the container and sends it into the centrifuge. The centrifuge has 2 jets inside that use the oil pressure to spin the centrifuge up to 7,000 RPMs. The particles from the oil stay in the centrifuge and the clean oil drops down into the container at a rate about 1.8 gallon per minute. I let this run for 30 minutes. At that point I change some values and send the cleaned oil into pipe J.

Pipe J comes across and goes through 2 filters. I shouldn't have to do that with clean oil, but I am doing that because I already had them and this makes sure I clean the oil down to 2 microns. The filters should last for a 1000 gallons or more. It then goes into a 55 gallon drum which I use to fill the tank in the back of the car. On the left side of photo is a water tank with pipes on it which is my biodiesel processor. I have not used it yet but I picked this up from a guy along with other necessary equipment and instructions.

This is what fryer oil first looks like when someone gives it to me.

This is what the oil looks like after the centrifuge. A huge difference.

This is the 'sterilizer' that I picked up used to heat the oil when I clean it. I take the lid off and put it under the centrifuge and pump table. This unit has its own built-in heat which is why I bought it. Plus it holds 6 gallons of oil easily. So far this is going well because people have been giving me either 3 or 4 gallon containers of oil. I also have the plumbing in the pump apparatus that I can pump the oil out of the container and into the storage drum without touching it. I can also refill the container by just sticking a hose into another 4 gallon container of dirty oil and the pump will fill my 6 gallon container without me needing to pour it. I have learned a few things along the way and that is likely to continue.

Friday, Sep 14 -- stopped at Harbor Freight, they were out of $30 Clear Water pump. Will keep trying.

Saturday, Sep 15 -- driving to Dallas to pick up centrifuge and pump

Sunday, Sep 16 -- after lunch with Ravi I will drive to S. Austin and pickup used water heater.

Saturday, Sep 22 -- have talked to Dave the Barrel Man in San Antonio and plan on picking up 8 barrels from him. 4 metal and 4 poly. 3 metal will be open to be placed at collection points (with removable lids). 1 will be closed and will be used with centrifuge. The 4 poly will be used for settling, drying and a storage for clean oil and clean biodiesel. $25 open, $35 closed...

The part hunt has started:
Saturday -- driving up to Rockville (Dallas) to pick up a used centrifuge and pump. If I am running a 40 gallon batch, this should clean the oil in about 80 minutes (4 passes). Found on craigslist.

Sunday -- picking up a used 50 gallon water heater in South Austin. Had a chance to get a new one, but wanted to save the other $90. Found on craigslist.

Harbor Freights has their clear water pump on sale for $30 right now (saves $20). Still waiting for their brass valves to go on sale. I should go at lunch and check local store to see if they have pump in stock and buy it. It will be used with water heater to process the biodiesel.

I also need to call down to Dave the Barrel Man in San Antonio and get both the steel drums and poly drums from him.
I also have an idea of how to dry the heated oil by using a solid brass shower head. This will get it accessible to the air and get it to dry after all the other processing.

Car is scheduled for pickup tomorrow in CA....

Costs so far
Centrifuge and pump - $600
50 Gallon Water Heater - %60

I have been looking around various websites and seeing different things from different people about single-tank vs. dual-tank systems. Also the question about how much heat does it take on the oil. I am trying to find a good balance and also do the 'best' I can for the engine.

It appears that there is a consensus in my mind on the design that I want to do.
1 -- install injection line heaters. (need to review the power requirements as this may suggest an alternator upgrade). This will allow me to switch to oil much faster and keep temp up.
2 -- use a 6 port fuel line switch
3 -- use a Davco fuel heater/filter in the engine compartment
4 -- use a line-in-a-line (metal in rubber) fuel line from the main tank. Get a second small tank in the back somewhere and connect it to the existing fuel lines for running biodiesel at startup.
5 -- one site can make custom plastic tanks, Tom in WI has offered to custom weld a tank, also sent nots to people that produce bladder tanks. factor will likely be price.
6 -- maybe install larger outlet at main tank
7 -- definitely install metal inline fuel prefilter that is cleanable
8 -- need to pick a low PSI secondary fuel pump and decide if I am going to mount it back by the tank or in the engine compartment.

Vendors I like for the pieces:
1. Fuel heater/filter - is the Fleetguard FS19624 filter in the 232 Diesel Pro from http://www.davcotec.com
2. Injection line heater -- http://www.vegiecars.com/Injector_Heater/ while this is not absolutely necessary, it would be a way to get to oil faster since a lot of driving will be in town. cost is $275.

veggietanksplus has the best deal on hose-in-hose

On Sept 8th a 1983 Mercedes Wagon 300TD will be picked up by the carrier and transported to Austin. Time to clean out half the garage to make room for the new car.

I can also buy filtered oil from Diesel Green Fuels here in Austin for 1.50, but I need to start talking to resturants about picking up some for free and getting it heated and settled to take care of it. Then send through a filter or a centrifuge to get the last remaining solids out.

I think I found a good car, it was less expensive than one we test drove here in Austin. The one here is in excellent mechanical shape (owned by a mechanic) but was just above what I wanted to spend. I still want to get the new car checked out in more detail once I get it.

Pat wanted a wagon, so I don't have a trunk for a second tank. I want a small tank to put diesel into and use the regular 20 gallon tank to put WVO into. Once I have the car and get some measurements of the back storage areas under the carpet then I will look closer into using either a flexible bladder tank or getting a custom tank welded. My goal is to have the back area totally accessible (95% accessible) which means I cannnot install a large tank there. I guess I could strap in a HDPE bottle there and put diesel in it...would have to figure out how to vent it without getting fumes. ideas...ideas.

Here is the car, more pics as I work on the conversion.

Just checking all the settings..

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Steve's foray into Waste Vegetable Oil

Archives for: 2007

12/21/07

10:31:28 pm Car is running on VEGE oil!

09/14/07

02:33:11 pm Plans for collecting items

09/13/07

12:23:00 pm Collecting used parts

09/08/07

08:40:13 am Initial planning of conversion

09/07/07

06:35:10 pm Just purchased the 'grease' mobile

06:21:09 pm First Post -- testing the function

06:11:21 pm Second post

06:11:21 pm This is a multipage post