Anyone convert their truck to run on Veg. oil?

 

Nobody has formally admitted to running on pure veggie oil yet. There are starting and shut down issues that would require complicated components. Some guys are running a 20% mix from gas stations that stock it, without issues.

 

Did a quick search peanut oil is about 11 dollars a gallon. I would love to use a fuel that would keep my dollars in America but ouch can you imagine a fill up at that price.

 

i just purchased B100 for 2.80 a gallon. would like to see that drop.

 

There is one guy over on another site (www.snowplowing-contractors.com) that converted a VW tdi over to canola oil and was planning on doing it to his 97 CTD, don't know if he ever did. But I know that he would go around to donut shops and chinese restaraunts to get the used oil. He runs it though a couple of filters before going into the tank. It works great for plowing because you startup on diesel and then switch to canola oil and when you're done with the route you shut down on diesel. He is/was planning on running 2 separate filters for the canola (one is a backup) and an electronic valve to switch between the two so that if a proplem arose with the canola oil he can switch to the diesel or the other filter.

 

I have a friend that converted his chevy blazer diesel to run on veggie oil. He gets used oil from fast food restaurants. Smells like french fries when it runs. He bought all of the components on e-bay for about $300. He uses several filters and a heater to liquify the oil. He starts it on diesel then when the oil is up to temp switches it over. He is very happy with it. I thought about converting my Cummins then I thought hmm a chevy diesel costs about $2000 and a Cummins costs $7000 not to mention the cost of injectors and injector pump. I think I'll run clean diesel through mine until I see how long his runs. LOL So far it's been doing ok for about a year.

 

University of Idaho had a 2nd gen Cummins that put on over 300k on waste veggie oil (WVO). There are cold weather issues, as was said above, heaters and a separate tank for start up diesel are required.
My main concern is that WVO has already become much in demand and will get even more so. It won't be free for long before big companies get contracts and pay to haul it away. I've heard this is already happening in some larger cities, the restaurant owners want it guaranteed that all their waste oil is hauled away, not just the amount that one guy needs to run his vehicle and certainly don't mind getting paid for it.
Then you might be out the cost of a conversion without realizing the payback.

WVO shouldn't be confused with biodiesel, BD is oils that have been refined for use as a fuel. With BD no vehicle modifications are necessary.
WVO can be made into biodiesel.
It's almost like the difference between crude oil and diesel.

 

I wonder what the startup costs of growing your own oil crop and converting it to biodiesel would be. Anyone have numbers on this. One fellow said that bottom line costs would be around $1.00/gal but he didn't include equipment costs.

I've heard there are issues with running a CTD on SVO such as coking up the injectors and rings. Crankcase contamination is also a problem with SVO or WVO. These problems go away if the oil is converted to Biodiesel.

Edwin

 

where in NY can you get B100 or even B20 for that matter?? I`m on Long Island

 

I have been lookin into making my own fuel for some time , have had manny diesels and just got my first dodge , cummins from this site . I have been turning wrenchs for about 28 years and doing research about this for about three years . If you google about it you could read forever, Bio diesel-Biofuels Research on the net also Biofuels supplies and Suppliers, one of these days I will learn to put web sites up insted of just writing them. and to make the fuel cheep start with used deepfryer oil and two other chemicals and it should cost you about .40-.50 cents a gal. check it out.

 

Converting to run on SVO (Straight Vegetable Oil) takes some conversion and minor surgery for your truck. This includes a second heated tank for the veg oil, a heating bypass loop from the radiator and a two-way fuel switch. Joel Wolf, a diesel mechanic in Ojai, California has done a number of custom conversions. His current rig is an 03, 3500 which is chipped and pumps out over 400hp on SVO. It can be done, but must be done with care and thought.
Veg Powered Systems, Inc.

Biodiesel on the other hand can be run in blends with petroleum diesel or even as a neat (100%) fuel without any modifications in a diesel engine. However, with the newer common rail systems it is prudent to filter your biodiesel to 2 microns to prevent clogging your trucks internal systems. (Joel filters his SVO to .5 microns).

The cost for biodiesel should be coming down as the new tax provisions take hold. The potential is for up tp $1.00 tax credit for the fuel supplier for each gallon of B100. It it is all passed on to the consumer, it will bring the cost down to near parity with diodiesel.

 

I'm pretty dumb when it comes to this stuff, but in the instance of paying $2.80 per gallon for B20....how does B20 benefit you that it's worth paying a dollar more per gallon than diesel?

 

Hoss
That was $2.80 for B100, not B20.

Out here on the West Coast B100 has been up near $3.50 at the pump, when D-2 has been @ $2.32. If the $1.00 tax credit is passed through, it will be close. It is sort of a whacko thing to do, but I am running B100, a renewable fuel made from 100% American farm products. It just feels good to know I am not supporting imported oil, while I am benefiting the American economy, reducing emissions and providing my engine a fuel with better lubricity.

ChrisLib
Check the New England Biodiesel Initative section of the BiodieselNow Forum for local fuel resources.

 

I paid $2.39/gal for B20 today (in Arlington VA); and regular diesel fuel is going for $2.05 - $2.15 around my neighborhood.

I've gotta say that that B20 fuel pump was easily the cleanest diesel fuel island I have ever seen. It was in the middle of an ethanol pump and a CNG pump.