VeggieBenz
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--Steve Spence 16:39, 18 Sep 2004 (EDT)
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Update (Mar 26, 2005)
Christian was having engine problems before the upgrade, and after the upgrade had the engine replaced. According to Christian, the mechanic improperly re-installed the conversion kit. Christian is now having cold weather issues. Even though we have identical vehicles, running identical conversions, operating in colder weather than Christian, he unfortunately holds us responsible for the bad performance of his kit. It's unfortunate, because we have done our best to remotely troubleshoot his problem, and offered possible reasons for it's failure. It could be anything from improper hookup, air in the system, bad thermostat, or a clogged filter. That the kit worked fine before the engine swap, and that we have identical installs working well, seems to be immaterial to Christian. I feel bad that it's come to this, but we are not responsible for this issue. We have offered to have him come back, and fix the problem for free, as a show of good faith. You can contact Kelly Boyd for information on his identical conversion.
--Steve Spence 21:12, 26 Mar 2005 (EST)
Project: Convert one beautiful classic car to run on used fryer oil!
by Steve Spence, Dir., Green Trust (Sept, 18, 2004)
Diesel engines have a few advantages over their gasoline counterparts. They typically last longer, get better mileage, and can easily run cleaner burning renewable fuels, like biodiesel and WVO (waste vegetable oil). We will show you how to convert a diesel to run filtered waste fryer oil. No conversions are necessary to run biodiesel, and we show you how to make biodiesel at http://www.green-trust.org/wiki/index.php?title=Biodiesel
Friday night, Christian Gundermann showed up with his 1980 MB 300TD wagon. A really premo ride with only 81k miles on it. We took it to Compeau's Quik Lube, in Massena, NY, where proprietor Frank Hillenbrand III, Christian, and I got busy.
How it works
We start the car on (bio)diesel, and hot coolant heats the veggie oil tank to 170F, then we switch over to veggie. When done driving, we switch back to (bio)diesel to clean the veggie out of the system.
Needed components
We purchased a Tankless Conversion Kit from Greasel as a start. This kit comes fairly complete, including a heat exchanger, hoses, wiring, valves, tank, filter, etc. We added a few hose clamps, hose pieces, and screws. We also added a 120vac 1000 watt coolant circulating tank heater for cold morning quick starts, and an optional, heated, spin-on racor veggie filter.
Step 1 - Install heat exchanger
First up was to install a heat exchanger in Christian's primary fuel tank. Christian wanted his factory tank to hold the heated oil, so we installed a 3 gallon tank in the spare tire well for diesel. We had to drain about 5 gallons of diesel from his tank before cutting into it with a grinder.
After the hole was cut, Frank inserted the heat exchanger, and sealed with Permatex Rightstuff. A few screws to hold the plate, and this part is done.
Step 2 - Install lines
Next we ran Greasel's 3B hose from the rear of the car, up to the engine compartment, taking care to avoid suspension, driveline, and exhaust components. The 3B hose contains two coolant lines and a fuel line within an outer sleeve.
We hooked up the 3B hose to the factory fuel tank, keeping the fuel return line in place, and hooked up the factory fuel line to the 3 gallon tank inside. Remember to open the tank "vent", as fuel starvation or tank collapse could occur.
Step 3 - Install hardware
Up front, we installed the Racor heated fuel filter, the circulating tank heater, the 3 port fuel selector solenoid, and the manual purge valve.
Flow diagrams
Initially, the fuel went from fuel tank to lift pump, then the filter, and finally the injector pump, with a return connector on the fuel filter sending fuel back to the tank. Remove the bolt (banjo nut) from the top of the factory fuel filter, and weld the bottom closed, to keep the system from pulling diesel from the filter during veggie operation, but still allowing the fuel loop (3 hoses, 3 holes in bolt) at the top of the bolt to work properly.
Now, fuel travels from the two tanks, through their respective filters, into the 3 port solenoid, then to the lift pump, and on to the injector pump. From the injector pump (by way of the banjo nut on top of the factory fuel filter), the fuel return goes to the manual purge valve. This is to remove air from the system. This has two positions:
- Normal - passes fuel back to the input of the lift pump
- Purge - passes fuel back to the veggie (factory) fuel tank.
Step 4 - Activating the system
A switch was mounted on the dash to activate the veggie/diesel selector valve, and the filter heater pad (68 watts) was wired into the hot on the glow plug circuit.
Step 5 - The heating system
The coolant lines were T'd at the rear right top of the engine (hot supply), and the front left bottom (cold return). We connected the coolant line to the veggie tank at the rear T, and the return coolant line to the Tank type recirculating heater, which then connected to the cold return T. The Tank type recirculating heater is directional, and needs to point towards the cold return.
We are done!
That's it, one nice smelling Benz. After 7 hours of work, I'm hungry. I wonder where those frys went ......
--Steve Spence 19:47, 18 Sep 2004 (EDT)
How it runs!
Update from Christian:
The engine is running smoother, quieter, and although veggie is supposed to have 6% less BTU, performance and mileage do not seem to be affected. Emissions definitely have been affected positively. No black smoke, and the exhaust smells better.
--Steve Spence 13:17, 29 Sep 2004 (EDT)
Order your own!
Give us a call, and you too can drive clean, and free.
Green-Trust
93 Sheldon Rd.
Winthrop, NY 13697
(315) 328-5726
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