GreaseDrive

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!

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?

Here is a basic layout of my current WVO system designed for Dumpster Fill. Meaning I needed a system robust enough to handle unprocessed/unfiltered/untreated or un-settled WVO. Literally pump/scoop or pour raw WVO into my grease tank and drive.

The Car: 1984 Mercedes Benz 300DT Turbo Diesel @ 103k miles.

The system is a mix between GoGreenEarly.com and PlantDrive.com components with a few custom twists.

Important System Components:
a) Custom ‘20mm Ammo Can’ 8.5 Gallon Grease Tank of GoGreenEarly design (entire top can be taken off)
b) Hose-In-Hose grease input line
c) GoGreenEarly Heated Dual-Filter Housing
d) Off the shelf ford dual-tank switching valve
e) PlantDrive 3-way Valve for Looped-Return
f) PlantDrive VegTherm 12V 3/8″ hose in-line heater

Numerous other small tweaks and modifications.   The whole point is to get the grease in the tank as hot as possible as soon as possible and keep it hot until it gets into the injection pump just like with most WVO systems.   A in-tank large particle filter catches heavy items such as fries and chunks of food.  The dual filters on the heated housing catch everything else.   Using a Hose-in-Hose fuel line allows you to prevent gelling in the fuel lines under the car.  Effectively allowing me to burn even hydrogenated oil in the dead of winter.

Many concerns exist about dumpster-fill.  Such as suspended water, fats, tannins and possible contamination.  A growing number of people issue concern over something called ‘Cativation’.  In short it is the process of tiny droplets of water suspended in the oil boiling explosively in the chaotic zones of positive and negative pressure inside the Injection Pump.  These micro-explosions may have enough power to pit and scar the metal surfaces inside the IP.  Causing wear that will act like Erosion.   A very large number of people still doubt its over-all risk in WVO systems it is something I am keeping a close eye on.

Considering that when I dumpster-fill I am not doing any pre-tank filtering at all.  I do NOT advocate dumpster-fill as the safest way to protect your engine while running WVO.   Infact I feel is much more risky and should only be done when you accept the risks.   I do believe however that the system I am running will allow me to reduce some of the risks.  The heated tank gets up to 160F causing water to evaporate and steam off or sink to the bottom of the tank to be cleaned out later.

So far this system has proven to be very robust,  I have logged over 20,000 miles almost exclusively on dumpster-fill.   Obviously when I am able to I heat and filter before running I will.  But it is nice to have the freedom to just drive.   It remains to be seen if in another 20k I will have to face a Injection Pump rebuild.

I will go into much more detail soon with numerous pictures of the system and how it works.  But its a beautiful day outside and I hope to go take some pictures!