GreaseDrive

I am currently looking into braised plate heat exchangers.   I am looking for a small one to put in just before my 12v vegtherm.   My system is heated really well and can even over-heat with my 12v in line and looped return.  But right now my drive short distances of no more than,  5-10 miles now.  I can never get up to temp unless I warm the car.  I removed all my hose insulation when I was in Nevada earlier this summer because of over heating but now I need to add it back and do something else to.   Another problem is that if you include all the hose and volume of wvo in my filter housing etc  Its at least 1.5 quarts of wvo that I have to burn ‘cold’.

I might get a faster heat-up if I unloop the return since I have hose in hose but that is a hassle.   If I leave the return looped the fuel flow will be very slow through the heat exchanger before the IP so the 12v heater can actually boost it above coolant temps almost instantly.  My veg therm is good for about 6-8F rise.  If I can get my veg temps to be 8F above the exact coolant temps almost instantly It might halve my diesel usage right now.  I have found some cheap exchangers on ebay like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/S-10-Plate-Brazed-Heat-Exchanger-SVO-Water-Therminator_W0QQitemZ250280466796QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250280466796&_trkparms=72%3A552|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&timeout=1218627981832

But I am not sure if its performance,  I don’t need much… Since I run a looped return the wvo will move slowly through this exchanger letting me use a smaller one with a lower BTU output.

I will let you know how it all goes!

It has been a month and a half since I have had my 300D with me.  I had to leave it in northern Indiana while I moved.   Some extremely adventuresome and generous friends flew out and picked it up and drove it back to upstate NY where I am.  She got to me in one piece and seems happy as ever.  The car sat unused for 5-6 weeks.   I expected some issues with the veggie system.  At least a air-leak or something but the system worked on the first flip of the switch without a single complaint.  Fantastic!

In my down time I have been working on putting together a conversion for my Dodge ram 3500 work truck but the lack of money has caused me put that on the shelf for now.  I have also been experimenting with On demand supplemental Hydrogen Injection… That is going to be a whole new page on this blog pretty soon.  Extremely exciting stuff and sooooo simple…

I am now safely residing in a very sweet town in upstate New York.   Unfortunately I had to leave my 300D Behind in favor of driving my Ram 3500 Cummins Diesel truck to haul most of my belongings.  This truck is not yet converted to WVO.  But it needs to be…  It cost me roughly $250 to make the 650 mile trip…  $5.25 for pump diesel is insane when you get 14MPG.  Though 14mpg is fantastic for a 1 ton dually truck hauling a 16′ trailer with 6,000lbs on it.    Gotta love those cummins engines.  I hear its easy to convert but I have not really mapped out the process for this specific truck.

I do know that I need a robust cold-weather system with a extremely large WVO tank.  I am hoping at least 40-50gallons.  This could make hauling/snow plowing etc.  Much easier in the winter time.

I have a great deal of pictures to share I hope to upload them in the next few days since I am trying to slow my life down and smell the flowers.   My trip is now over,  New Jersey to the west coast and back to upstate New York,   and almost everwhere in between.  Over 8,000 miles on the open road almost entirely on dumpster-fill WVO.

On my seemingly endless journey a great deal of things have happened,  both good and bad.  This is some bad news.   I think I mentioned having trouble with my CV joints on the rear half-shafts before.   Well it is turning into major trouble now.   On I40 heading through Arizona I started to have some trouble with my drivers side rear Axle making a awful knocking noise.   I stopped and put more grease into the joint with my small grease gun and that worked for a hundred miles than it started clicking again.  I repeated the process and it seems okay for now.   I am leaving New Mexico tomorrow on my way to Denver.  Its 500 Miles and I could not find these axles anywhere.   It seems that there is only 3 pairs of them in the whole country or something crazy like that.

Send me luck that this joint lets me make it into Denver!   I am most likely going to have to buy some rebuilt axles since they seem to be more highly recommended than the cheaper Chinese ones.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  I also seem to have a air leak in the veggie system and I can’t quite track it down.   So that has been giving me troubles again.  I will post again soon.  Hopefully not while stranded!

I am currently in the process of selling on ebay a 240D 4spd that I cannot afford to convert nor have time.   I am at my uncles house near Jean Nevada and we are both absolute Mercedes Diesel nut-cases (as you can tell)  I will be converting his 240D in the next few days.  I plan on documenting the process thoroughly and posting it here.

After having spent a fair amount of time with 300D’s and 240D’s I have some opinions to share.  I feel the 240D is superior in most respects for the reasons why I will go into later.   As you know I am currently driving a 1984 300D.  I have driven around 30k now almost entirely on WVO I know this car very well.  I love my car but I am always on the look out for the next-best thing.

My uncle purchased a 240D a few months ago and has been waiting for me to help him convert it.   They are two VERY different beasts.  Here is a basic run-down comparing both cars.  Assuming we are talking the W123 Chassis Model years.

300D:

-Much more common, Mercedes sold many more 300’s than the other models of the W123 Chassis
-5cyl Turbo charged engine.  124HP roughly stock.
-Power everything (mostly vacuum system).
-99% or more are Automatic Transmission only.
-I personally avg 23-28MPG depending on conditions.
-Heavier by my estimate by 300-500lbs.
-Much more luxurious options packages are common.
-Tight engine bay

240D
-VERY RARE, I generally see 1 240 for sale for every 10 300’s
-4cyl naturally aspirated engine,  77HP?  (can someone verify?)
-Power nothing,  Very simple vacuum system.  manual windows/locks though sunroof is motorized
-Manual transmissions can be found but are even more rare.
-Consider its a lighter car, coupled with a Manual Transmission I frequently hear reports of mid-30’s MPG
-Lighter and all around much simpler car.
-Much more room in engine bay.

Besides these major differences the cars are almost identical.  You can not tell which is which unless you hear them run or see the badges from the outside.  Almost all chassis and body components are the same.  The 240’s are much, MUCH more basic.  Think of it as a base model Honda civic vs the high end model civic.  The 240’s were Mercedes answer to cheaper more economy cars.  As result they are dramatically more simple mechanically speaking.

Being that my primary needs are reliable,affordable transportation.  With ease of repair also topping my list.  I personally feel the 240 has the 300 beat in almost every category.  Granted the 300 is a higher more luxurious class of car and it shows.  But when it comes do it a 240 is the same car with a simpler, more economical engine and much fewer bells and whistles.  They are easier to work on, cheaper to work on and maintain. etc etc.   Just saving me from having to carry 20 gallons of oil on a long trip would be reason enough for me to give up my power windows/locks.

I would like to discuss more differences but I am out of time,  look forward to my futures posts about my uncles 240 conversion and even more thoughts on these cars.

I had to get towed near BakersField CA earlier today.  My veggie filters clogged up pretty bad in a hurry so I was forced to change them at a gas station.   Warning to all,  cheap Supertech ST8A (fram PH8A) filters apparently have a by-pass.   So instead of clogging up tight after they get completely full they start to let particles past.  This is really bad!    Shortly after getting towed off  the high-way I was able to get the car running again after getting a quick jump.   I had worn the battery down a bit trying to start it on the side of the high-way.

I made it to vegas safe and sound.   Vegas is symbolic for me as it is the location my WVO dreams came true and where I bought my beloved 300D.   I am here staying with my uncle in which I am going to do some work on his 240D and do some other work around his place.    I will post more soon!

2 days of fairly dedicated trouble shooting have uncovered many things.

First,  My air leak was caused by several small holes cut into my small vacuum line that runs to my in-car gauge.   Some of the hoses slack must have gotten caught up near/in the hood hinge and it pinched it so much it cut up a large section of the hose badly.  I have spliced in a new section of hose and hope my fairly hasty fix will hold up.

Second,  Temperatures in excess of 180F warp/melt the small sacrificial filter.  You know the clear one just before the injection pump.  It usually only costs a few dollars at the auto-parts store.   Ideally in a good system this filter is almost not needed as nothing harmful should make it that far down the chain.   However I have noticed that on several occasions I have found black/slimy/flaky gunk starting to build up in the filter.   After some experimentation I discovered that this was coming from the diesel side of the system,  SCARY… the only thing I can think of is that the WVO contamination that happens over time with a 1 switch system like mine is clearing out more junk in the diesel loop?   So I have found a solution.  I found a re-usable filter housing with re-usable filters at a auto parts store here in Oregon.  It wasn’t cheap ($10.00) but I suspect it will save its cost in the next 6 months.   I boiled all the plastic components for 10 minutes in a rolling boil (212+ degrees?) and the parts did not even soften so I suspect they will hold up to my WVO temps.  I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Third,   That diesel is thick when its been contaminated to 50% or more with WVO at 40F.   After a severe hot snap of I think a almost record breaking 97F a few days ago last night it got down to 40 degrees here in downtown Bend.   I had only put 5 gallons of #2 Diesel in my tank roughly 5 weeks ago and driven 4,000+ miles.  The gauge was nearing empty but not totally.   Looking at the thickness of what I was pumping out of the diesel side I would say it was 50% or so WVO.    I am curious as to the possible harmful side effects to running so much WVO in the un-heated side of my fuel system.  When I am doing heavy town drivng I suspect half of my driving time is on Diesel not WVO.    Am I coking things up?  and if so how can I reverse the effects.

Fourth,  As soon as possible,  buy the largest bag of GOOD hose clamps I can find.  The cheap ones you get everywhere are just junk.  I have, maybe upwards of 50 of them in my system if you tighten them to much they can actually cause air leaks themselves not to mention they cut-damage the hoses.   Several different types of clamps exist.  I need to do more research.

Fifth,  It is lonely traveling,  alone.   I need some companionship in a dire way.   Having many lovers scattered about the continent is great when I can expect to see them soon,  But when I am not sure where I will be and for how long the distance starts to hurt.

After parking the car yesterday after a hour long drive in the ’searing’ 90+ heatwave that has stricken most of the west I think I have a filter clogged or some type of heat related damage. (maybe the small clear filter warped?)  Ever since looping my return I have been able to sustain final temps of 160F+ about 10 minutes after car has reached full operating temp.  This means that for at least 10 minutes I am driving on cooler WVO than I should be, but it is unclear how much/any damage could be caused by fairly short amounts of time at lower temps.

I am going to work on the car shortly and try to figure out what the issue is.  I will keep you posted.  I suspect it is just the small clear filter getting clogged,  but I did not notice a lack of vacuum or any other signs of flow-loss.   Hmmmm…

*UPDATE*

I have the battery on a charger,  After changing the little filter wich had some gunk in it but was not clogged.  (how is gunk getting that far in the system?!!)  I seemed to have pulled a air-bubble into the IP and of course its air-bomed.   I ran the battery low trying to purge the bubble, but it is barely getting any fuel and I am not sure why.   I’m going to go and give it another go shortly.   I know that my diesel tank is heavily contaminated with WVO simply because I have not added more #2 in over 5,000 miles of driving and the tank is low.  That maybe part of the problem also.

I drove again today,  this time 10 miles across town and after the drive before I switched to diesel my temp was only 139F,  Much too low even with my looped return and 12V heater.   I am going to have to dig into this tomorrow.  I wonder what could make a good insulator for all the hoses.  Normal pipe wrap is much to thick.   Any ideas?

Yesterday I finished installing the roof-rack on my 300D.  You have to love finding good deals on Craigslist.   I also installed a small Temp sensor on the final hose to the Injection pump.   Not the hose with the stock clear fuel filter but the one from the Primer pump TO the injection pump.    This is the last bit of fuel hose left before it hits the system.

So far with some short distance town driving the temp only got to 142F.   This is kind of concerning as it really should be 165-170F.   This is with a looped return in “loop” mode.  And a 12V in-line heater just before the IP.  I will update with my attempts to get the temp higher.  Along with some pictures.