Speaking of a Cummins...

mannye

mannye

Well-known member
I've been doing some research lately about diesel engines and "SVO fuel" (straight vegetable oil).

No. I am not a tree hugger. My reasons are both economic and patriotic. I'd just love to be able to tell OPEC to take its oil and lubricate thier own asses with it, becaue we have more than enough to keep our hobby cars running for ever.

Think about it, if all our "regular" cars ran on SVO, or some other fuel like biodiesel WHICH OUR VERY OWN FARMERS CAN MAKE UNLIMITED QUANITIES OF... we would release the stranglehold oil has on us.

So anyway...those are my reasons for doing it...

Now the only thing that would make it possible for me to actually go through with it would be if it was as easy or easier than filling up at the pump.

So far the cars I know for sure that can be modified are:

Ford diesel trucks
VW TDI vehicles
Hummers (H1)

I am trying to find out if there is a Dodge SV or truck that can be modified to use SVO.

Now for the economic reasons:

Cost of new veggie oil - about the same as gas

Cost of recycled veggie oil - about half as gas

Cost of asking for restaurant veggie oil - FREE!!!

SO I'm figuring if I can set up a 300 gal food-grade tank in the garage, I will be able to fill up at home...no more gas stations...cheaper... and the fuel is as safe as water!

Long trips, no problem SVO engines can run on biodiesel or regular diesel!

Now I am only into the first few days of research on this and if anyone else here has ever looked into this, let me know what you think.
 
There's a tree hugger in B.C. that set something up at a university.

He gets the old freedom fry oil from the restaurants on and around campus - for free.

He set something up with the university and they use it in their utility vehicles.

http://www.eya.ca/biodiesel/

and there's some more stuff going on in B.C. too.
http://forums.biodieselnow.com/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=44

http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/research/biodiesel/default_e.asp

http://www.bcsea.org/sustainableenergy/biodiesel.asp

http://www.ec.gc.ca/ecoaction/success_display_stories_e.cfm?story_ID=12030154

http://www.vibesproject.ca/study_participants.shtml

Now before you get the wrong idea about me, I heard about this a long time ago and just googled up all of those links.
I like trees, but knotholes are for bugs and birds. [smilie=e:
 
Tha's the whole thing about this SVO and biodiesel, the hippies have taken it over and are constantly crying about "the environemtn this" and the environment that".

Personally, if I found out that we could get oil from clubbing baby seals on the head with dead spotted owls and free our hemisphere from a bunch of crazy hateful oil barrons in the middle east, then i would be out there clubbing baby seals.

What the tree-huggers don't understand is that NOBODY and I mean NO ONE cares about thier cause except them. If you are going to get me to use anything besides gasoline, you will make it EASIER and CHEAPER for me. Because I am not going to pay more for stupid cleaner fuel.

I suspect a lot of us feel that way.

now...back on topic...

I sent an e-mail to one of those tree hugging companies, asking about converting a cummins and I will let you guys know how it goes.
 
You are right, Jass. From what I have been able to find out, it needs to be allowed to sit for a couple of days, then poured through a filter into a holding tank, then the engine itself has filter it one more time an then it has to heat the oil (because it's too thick) then it's good to go.

It sounds complicated and bothersome, but not really. I have found that the used cooking oil places sell that stuff really cheap in bulk (like a buck a gallon or thereabouts).

This week I am going to find out if there is a distrubutor that can deliver to my house, and the costs of putting together the "pump".
 
That greasecar site has some filter and pump components in their plans to allow for easy home filling...
 
serious as a heart attack. If I can make this work so that it is so easy my sife can do it, and that she does it with a smile, I'm going for it.

The only problem I have right now is that the only vehicles I am finding are either huge lumberjack trucks or super-duper gay little queer cars.

Honestly...all Hasselhoff jokes aside...I don't see myself in a Jetta... If I have to drive a Jetta, I might as well just give my guns away and join PETA.

ANyone know if there is a large (three row) SUV or a mid-size truck that has a diesel option? HOw about a minivan? Am I going to have to go to europe to buy the stupid car?
 
Jeep Liberty is available with a diesel... and it performs better than the top-of-the-line gasoline V6 variant.

Wifey might just like it... the Liberty ranks among the finest when it comes to "chick cars": Pontiac Grand Am, any Saturn or Geo, Honda Accord, Liberty... there's no way to exit the driver's seat of any of 'em without someone pitying your inability to tell your woman "no." Your testes would appear enormous exiting a Jetta diesel in comparison to any of the above. :D
 
theres several old volvo's benz's and bmw's running around on BIO-D...........some of the old volvos have alot of cool style to them
 
Yeah, I haev looked into those as well, but the ones around here by and large have been destroyed by the sun.

Plus I kinda am really getting used to the idea of a huge pickup that costs less to run than a hybrid Accord. ( Ihaven't crunched the numbers yet, but at a buck a gallon or less, it might happen) I am looking forward to the day I meet a smug owner of one of those and throw a gallon of Wesson in the tank...then pull out of the driveway towing a boat...which I bought with the money I saved from not buying gasoline anymore.

(yes...I know that is an idealized vision...yes, i know it won't all be like that) [smilie=r:
 
Just so you're aware, Manny... the recycling route is the only way it's cheaper. Last I checked, vegetable oil--the generic Wal-Mart stuff--was north of $4/gallon. So you'll have to work for your savings--filtration, storage, acquisition, etc. Also keep in mind most places are contracted with services to remove their spent grease for recycling--most fast-food joints and chain restaurants like Denny's or Perkins generally won't let you take their old grease. You'll have to make friendly with a local restaurant or two, and get fairly creative (or just bite the bullet and buy diesel) if you go out of town.

If you do some reasearch on this, you'll find the Greasecar systems are quite comprehensive, and probably less expensive (around $800) than attempting the same thing yourself. Their systems are proven dual-fuel systems that run normal diesel during start, warmup, and shutdown in order to purge the bio oil from the lines so it won't coagulate and plug the lines. Click here for a quick Car and Driver write-up on them.
 
Yep...those are exactly the kits I am looking at. They even have an alarm in case you forget to switch off the purge system. Very cool.

I also like the fact that regular diesel can be used on long trips.

New vegoil is about 2.50 a gallon when bought in bulk. Because of the climate I live in, I can run coconut oil and other tropical oils which are cheaper than corn or canola, but not usable under 40F because they congeal.

Those same companies that lay claim to the used oil from Mcdonald's and other large food chains are actually the ones I am counting on for lower cost recycled oil, which usually goes into making animal food and other interesteg things. I 'll let them do the filtering and cleaning for me and then buy their oil at about a buck a gallon. My plan of installing a 300 or more gallon tank (if I have the space for 500..then yay!) in the back should allow me to buy in sufficient quantity to keep the cost lower.
 
mannye said:
My plan of installing a 300 or more gallon tank (if I have the space for 500..then yay!) in the back...
Click to expand...
[smilie=2:

Dude, you [i]do[/i] realize that pure, uncooked vegetable oil weighs around 7.6lbs/gallon, right? A 300 gallon tank, not allowing for the tank itself, would weigh nearly 2300 pounds full. I may be wrong, but I believe cooking the oil actually increases its weight a tad. Better call the spring shop.

Also, to give you an idea of size... here's a 250-gallon home-heating-oil tank that sits in my basement. Yes, that's a full-size arcade pinball machine (with the legs removed) and the seat is from an '80s LeBaron. The tank is about 2½" feet thick.

Methinks using a 250-gallon tank temporarily mounted in back, for transfer, would be a better idea. Once it's empty, you could lift it out with an engine crane. Get a large tank for storage at home, and paint it flat black to harness the warmth of the sun to keep the oil as fluid as possible.
 
another thing to consider is the lost space of the bed of your truck. with that big of a tank you are essentially making it a car with no trunk when you take all the storage ability or most of the storage away from the bed. im sure it would work but the inconvenience and the sacrifices/compromises would surely offset the savings imo.
i bet if you were to factor in your salary for gathering/processing the oil you would end up paying more than if you just ponied up at the pump.
 
The size of the tank he's talking about is what prompted me to include the photo of my oil tank... that thing is huge and would take up most of the cargo space, never mind the GVWR. :D
 
Oh no...the tank I am talking about is in my backyard. I would keep the same exact tank the vehicle came with.

The 300+ tank would be in my backyard/garage/dug underground or something like that in order to have a working filling station in my house.

NO WONDER you guys were thinking I was smoking some good stuff. [smilie=e:

I should have made it clearer.

Anyway...I found out today that yellow grease (the name given to recycled veggie oil) is being seen as a much cheaper alternative to new veggie oil and is actually a little better for using in diesel engines. All I have to do next week is secure a reliable and economic source for this yellow grease and full speed ahead.

My wife gets all wiggly when she pictures me in a big manly pickup. Something about a Honda CRV that just doesn't do it for her.

The good news is I've been picked up as a freelancer for a company I am hoping to work for soon and that is a good sign that I might actually get a job, which will make all this stuff possible!
 
wait a second, wouldnt you have to have the oil and diesel seperate? if you have to start it and kill it on diesel then i would think you would have to have 2 tanks or am i just confused?
 
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