S1115D on WVO

[bobansen]

Happy birthday to my 1115, she has now reached the 500hrs mark running on WVO. Next will be to remove the head and check and clean ect. I think this will be the last time I will use veg oil as for me it is not cost effective against road diesel fuel. That may seem odd to many that do use it daily. The reasoning behind my choice is the cost of getting the wvo from the first user café's and the like. Everything here has a price scrap, waste oil included. I have no idea what it gets used for after processing, but the market is very big for any oil old or otherwise. So with the additional hidden cost of getting the WVO, transportation and cleaning, plus the cost of down time and replacing the fuel filters takes the total cost very near the cost per litre of diesel. A shame really because I loved to just sit and watch the lady rolling over making my workshop smell like a busy kitchen. Grief, I was always hungry for fried chicken and chips. Another added cost FOOD! He he he  As from next start, back to borring diesel. 

[ToddT]

I've run 200,000 of the 280,000 miles on my '02 Ford Powerstroke on WVO and/or biodiesel. I, too, love the smell! I also like that no Arabs nor Venezuelans are making any money on my fuel!

I currently run my shop with a 6kw Mitsubishi light plant but am gearing up to use my S1115 Changfa clone. And of course, I want to run it on grease. Tell me about your set up. Two tank? Injection line heaters?

Please keep us posted regarding the condition of the heads and injectors!

As for the used oil market, most of it goes into animal feed. Some goes to biodiesel as well as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Yeah... ends up on some lady's face!

[veggie]

Bobansen,

A few questions about running on WVO...
- During the 500 hours, did you have to clean the injector or have any related problems?
- Were you running straight WVO (starting on dinoD) or were you blending the WVO ?


ToddT,

Encouraging that you got such high mileage on your 02 Powerstroke.
When you ran WVO, was it as a blend or did you use one of the Ford's 2 tank system as your WVO tank ?
There are a lot of people with good success using WVO in the earlier IDI head Ford diesels, but I have not seen very many DI head Powerstroke users on WVO. Sounds like yours is a success so far.

cheers,
veggie

[ToddT]

My short bed crew cab has only one tank. In '04 I installed a heated fuel tank/toolbox combo. I started with both fuels going through the same factory fuel pump but eventually went to two separate fuels systems. I've run diesel, biodiesel and/or a veggie blend in the main tank and heated WVO in the second tank.

To me, the key is filtration. I use a centrifuge (Dieselcraft) and a 2 micron spin on filter filling the truck, a 6 micron on the truck.

The Powerstroke has fuel running down the heads on the way to the injectors. The bypassed fuel (about 80% or more of fuel flow) is returned prior to going into the engine. Therefore, the veg oil gets fully up to temp while inside the engine. Wondering about the Changfa-style engine. Do we need to add injector line heaters as it feeds the head? How do you run your system?

[bobansen]

Hi all, I use a 2 tank system, 1 for diesel + 1 for WVO. I start on diesel and put a load on the head, this gets the engine up to working temp. During this run up period I have my veg oil being pre-heated in a container using a 12 volt fridge heater, After 15 mins or so I transfer the WVO into the standard tank that sits ontop of the 1115. Close the diesel supply and open the veg oil and the engine does not make any change, sound or rpm, just sits making a kitchen smell HHHMMMmmmmmm. The fact that the standard tank sits ontop of the hot engine helps keep the WVO to a usable temp. When it is time to shut down I do the reverse, close WVO, open diesel and run for a further 15 mins to clear out any veg oil residue. I then drain the WVO tank back into the heater container ready for the next day. I do not use any other method of line heating for the WVO, just the heat transfered from the engine to the tank.
Head comes off today so I can check for any problems.
Veggie, The injector will be removed today for the first time also. 500 hrs and the ONLY thing I had to do was top up engine lube oil and adjust head belts. I run this lady at approx 1100-1200rpm so pretty cheap to run overall.
hope this helps. Bobbie

[ToddT]

Tell me about your 12v fridge heater. Off a 12v refrigerator from a motorhome? One of the 12v/propane units?

I'd like to incorporate some cogeneration to use the exhaust heat to provide the heat for the veggie as well as process heat.

How much hassle is it to drain the WVO back out of the tank after each run? How big a tank do you have for heating the veg oil? Does the oil stay hot enough in the stock fuel tank sitting on top of the engine? I was figuring on using the stock tank for the startup/purge diesel.

I'm eager to hear about the engine tear down!

[bobansen]

Tell me about your 12v fridge heater. Off a 12v refrigerator from a motorhome? One of the 12v/propane units?

I'd like to incorporate some cogeneration to use the exhaust heat to provide the heat for the veggie as well as process heat.

How much hassle is it to drain the WVO back out of the tank after each run? How big a tank do you have for heating the veg oil? Does the oil stay hot enough in the stock fuel tank sitting on top of the engine? I was figuring on using the stock tank for the startup/purge diesel.

I'm eager to hear about the engine tear down!

Tod. many questions, no problem..

The heater is a 120watt from a American RV so available to you over there. 
Its no hassel to drain the WVO tank after each run as I have a tee piece in the line with a tap and then a hose down to a container. I on and leave it to drain out ready for the next day.
The heater container size is what I think is called a "cubie" I only filter a cubie size of wvo oil at a time, that way I know I am not going to be ceaning up any over spills. All the cubie cans are the metal type, not the plastic.
I prefer to use a wall mounted tank for my diesel and the stock tank for the wvo. No particular reason, it just happened I guess, but its good for how I run as I have  wire wool mat in between the engine and the stock tank to give me a good transfer of engine heat through to the tank so keeping the wvo upto a good temp,
I used to have a coil of copper tube wrapped around the exhaust pipe to heat the oil before it goes through the pump. After three fractures and an unholy mess on the floor (not to mention fire risk) I decided to dump the idea for peace of mind. However I do know many other members on the co-gen forums do still use this idea with some success, just not for me.
Bobbie

[veggie]

Wondering about the Changfa-style engine. Do we need to add injector line heaters as it feeds the head? How do you run your system?

I'm the wrong guy to ask. I blend WVO with diluents. No heat needed. 
However, the majority of users running straight WVO require pre-heating of the oil to at least 150f to drop the viscosity.
Injector line heaters are a very good idea.
Here is a link to Martin Nile's page where he discusses injector line heating for Changfa'a (about 1/2 down the page).
http://sites.google.com/site/martinnile/

veggie