Folks
It's interesting to listen to the WVO and biodiesel discussions. This
would have been heresy a few years ago, but 4 buck diesel has softened
you people's hearts!
My PERSONAL EXPERIENCE is that i've been running a 300TD (1982) on WVO
for about the last 5 years. The car is unmodified. In my experience,
the initial problem was all the petro diesel crud in the tank. The WVO
cleans that out. Removing and cleaning tanks is probably the best way
to start.
On a 300TD you can drain the tank and remove and clean the strainer
easily at any time that you have low (a few gallons) of fuel in the
tank. I do that probably every 6 months on the 300TD. On a 300D it's a
little harder since the fuel supply line is in the center of the
strainer, but it's still not too bad, just messier.
At any rate, i run 100% WVO down to temps of about 42 F (which is a
lot of the time down here in north Georgia). If it's colder, i blend
with petro diesel. A 50/50 mix will start and run at temps of say,
down to about 35F and colder than that i sometimes add 1 gal RUG (reg
unl gas) to a full tank.
I've not been stranded.
In the colder months, it's not uncommon for me to have to change the
clear prefilter on the fuel line, but i generally don't change the
spin on fuel filter any more often than every year or year and a half.
I've driven the 300TD this way for probably 85,000 miles. About 10k
miles ago, the car wouldn't start without starting fluid even when the
temps for 50F or more. All the glow plugs, etc were good. I finally
rebuilt the injectors with new monark nozzles at a cost of only about
$100 and some time.
As to the cost benefit ratio, the 300D turbo car (an extremely clean,
nice running 1984 that i bought for our 17 year old daughter) only
cost $1650. Remember this is a rust free georgia car!! In 8 months
she's probably driven it 5000 miles. at 4 gals per 100 miles that's
200 gals of diesel at $4x200=$800 if my math is right. The scrap value
of the car is $450 more or less, now, so this is pretty cheap driving!!
It's a problem getting enough WVO these days. We only have a couple of
restaurants that supply us, but i'm not paying for it. I'm about to
advertise with Craig that i'm willing to buy nice clean WVO for
something like 50 cents or more per gal.
We filter by pouring the oil thru 55 gallon barrel top filters that
are maybe 10 or 20 micron. Then we settle for a week or two and drain
off settled out water, fat, etc and then we pump it through a 5
micron bag filter inside a filter housing. It's pretty clean, but
could always be cleaner.
To add to the mid, i just bought a lovely 1992 isuzu NPR truck. This
is a 14 foot box, cab over truck such as most furniture stores have.
It has a 4 cylinder indirect injection engine with a Kiki (licensed by
Bosch) pump. It seems Isuzu made and direct injection engine up till
about 91 then changed the head and added prechambers making it
indirect until about 98 and then went back to direct injection in 99,
i think. Their newer trucks are all direct and the newest stuff is
quite electronically controlled.
I was lucky to get this clean truck for $2500 .... it's probably worth
$5000 now since we fixed the AC and added 4 new tires (CL $200 for a
like new set of 4 ...they are same 16 inch tires as F250 or something,
so common).
The next project is to build a 2 tank heated WVO system which i'll do
as soon as i find a nice tank of say 20 gals for petro diesel.
Feel free to email me directly or call me 1 pm to midnite or later 706
540-3285 if you want to chat about this.
As for the time investment, i laugh every time i load eight 5 gal
jugs in my car for a longish trip, realizing that they would cost
twenty bucks
EACH if they were stinky petro diesel!!
My 2 cents worth .... your results may vary and if you choose to do
what i do, you do it at your own risk!
thanks,
xx rick
Rick Hawkins
www.javaphoto.com
www.javacycles.com
LETTERPRESSES FOR SALE
www.ricktheprinter.com
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