Toy Hauler Conversion

[Roasting8]

Hey Chad,

In Geek Log you mentioned that if you remove the dog house, that the bus would look like an RV.

Well Chad, I've seen RVs (toy haulers) that have a dog houses and the only differences are that they are newer.

I think your toy hauler looks great and you should fit in at any RV park or off-road event that you attend.

I can't wait to see the finished product.

Robert

[trx]

Originally Posted by Ryan Grimm

I'm wondering why everyone doesn't go to a local plumber a get a 40-50 gallon water heater(s), used, for free.

I think I've heard it mentioned before. Not sure if anyone has actually done it yet. In any case, it's not much different than what I did. I'm using an old well pressure tank that was thrown out (most likely for an upgrade to a new bladder style tank). There's all kinds of stuff we could use that people throw away, the trick is finding them.

Chad

[trx]

Originally Posted by roasting8

Hey Chad,

In Geek Log you mentioned that if you remove the dog house, that the bus would look like an RV.

Well Chad, I've seen RVs (toy haulers) that have a dog houses and the only differences are that they are newer.

I think your toy hauler looks great and you should fit in at any RV park or off-road event that you attend.

I can't wait to see the finished product.

Robert

I guess you are right. The front end of mine just isn't as new and is kind of lacking in the looks department. Now with money and ambition I could graft on a front end from a new truck Instead I may just spray some sort of design on the hood to match the rest of the bus. A newer-style grill and square headlights would be nice but I would to create something myself and chances are it wouldn't look much better (or worse).

[Roasting8]

Chad,

I wouldn't change a thing. I think your bus looks great and only wish that mine comes out as nice as yours. I just have to learn how to weld, to get the results I want.

Robert

[Griff]

I gotta side with Roasting8 on this one, she's a beauty as she is! Very tasty paint scheme, and nice work all the way around. Kudo's to the reverse-plastic, mirror-image magic marker idea too!

[trx]

This weekend I finally got around to uploading some new pictures of my
conversion. I was putting it off for awhile since I was moving my web
site to a new server. I know my descriptions on some pictures can be
brief so if anyone wants me to elaborate on something just let me know.

URL to my skoolie photo gallery: http://trx.punknet.org/Gallery/skoolie

Chad

[Eric von Kleist]

Muy excelente!

How are you going to heat your WVO tank? I'm working on a conversion, myself, and I'm considering using two options: 120V water heater element; engine coolant coil/heat exchanger mounted beneath the tank.

[lapeer20m]

The best method to heat the oil is to submerge a small radiator or copper tubing INSIDE the tank.

Electricity is a silly idea for primary heating....

Heating the bottom of the tank would take forever to heat the oil compared to having the heat exchanger submerged in the liquid.

just my $.02

[trx]

Originally Posted by Eric von Kleist

Muy excelente!

How are you going to heat your WVO tank? I'm working on a conversion, myself, and I'm considering using two options: 120V water heater element; engine coolant coil/heat exchanger mounted beneath the tank.

I got a coolant tank heater from a semi fuel tank that I'm going to use (freebee). It's a stainless steel pipe goes in the tank. I just need to shorten it up and probably wrap a fuel pickup line around it so it acts more as a heated fuel pickup than a tank heater.

Chad

[busone]

I would be careful using an electric water heater element. They will burn up if not submerged when they have current applied.

When using engine coolant to heat the oil how do you regulate the temp? Do you just have the oil at the same temp as the engine coolant? I want to put a big 300 gal tank under my future bus. I will be able to travel a long way for not a lot of $$.

[trx]

Originally Posted by busone

When using engine coolant to heat the oil how do you regulate the temp? Do you just have the oil at the same temp as the engine coolant? I want to put a big 300 gal tank under my future bus. I will be able to travel a long way for not a lot of $$.

Yes, you want it to get as close to the coolant temp as possible (180-200 degrees). At that temp the oil viscosity is very close to diesel. Below that and it starts to get thicker than diesel which isn't the best for your injector pump. There are other heating methods but coolant heat is free and already regulated. I've been subscribed to the SVO forum on http://biodiesel.infopop.cc to learn as much as I can before I really dive into the conversion.

Chad

[lapeer20m]

Just a note: There is no 1 correct way to do a veggie system. If you decide to make a system different than mine, that doesn't mean that it's not the right way to do it.


Here is what i use in my bus instead of "tricore" fuel line from greasel.com

I swap coolant/fuel lines in my setup.....In the photo the coolant flows through the small inner pipe, and veggie in the outter larger pipe. I didn't like the restriction this put on my coolant system, so I run the coolant through the larger outer pipe (it enters through the 90* elbow)



this idea is not mine, but i forgot where i originally saw this heat exchanger. I would guess that it transfers at least 100 times more heat than the rubber/plastic tricore from greasel. Copper is an excellent conductor of heat. The disadvantage of this particular setup is that it is not flexible.

[lapeer20m]

Here are the band heaters from mcmaster carr. These wouldn't work well for primary heating, but could be utilized to provide suplemental heat perhaps just before the IP. They fit snugly over 1" copper tubing. With a little effort, they will also work on 1/2".




just type band heater into the search box. I like the 1"ID X 2"long

http://www.mcmaster.com/

[lapeer20m]

to insulate the pipe over top of the band heaters if you want to conserve electricity, you can use muffler wrap availabe at any auto parts store.

A regular water heater thermostat just after the band heaters can be used to regulate the temperatore. The band heaters are rated for 1,400 degrees, so you wouldn't want to use them without some kind of thermostat. Another option is to purchase a temperature controller from ebay for 20 or 30 bucks. Then you can have more control over the temperature of your oil and can also see how hott your oil is.

[trx]

I think most people are using HIH (Hose-in-hose) setup with the fuel going through the inner hose. I'm planning on using the old coolant lines that ran to the under seat heaters as my outer hose and aluminum as the inner. I've heard of corrosion issues with copper so I'll try aluminum fuel line instead. Should be reasonably flexible.

I'm not sure about the viability of one of those band heaters since they run on 120/240 volts. You'd need a large inverter to power it. I know some places sell 12 volt heaters that are designed for injector lines. They are just a sleeved length of nichrome wire hooked up to a thermal switch. Wouldn't be to hard to make yourself. Just a matter of getting the right length & gauge of nichrome that doesn't pull too many amps and gets hot enough. This is one of them you can buy (http://www.kenneke.com/veggie.html):



A second option is to use a glow plug for a heat source. Some have tapped in a glow plug into their filter housing. Just need to watch out for air since glow plugs can easily burn out if they get too hot. People try just about anything

[lapeer20m]

Originally Posted by trx

I'm not sure about the viability of one of those band heaters since they run on 120/240 volts. You'd need a large inverter to power it.

at a max of 200 watts each, that's less than 20 watts @12 volts. An 800 watt inverter can be purchased for around $50 bucks....

but there are certianly lots of other options when it comes to heating.

[Steve]

Would have to worry about shorting one of those out if anything touched the band?

[lapeer20m]

Originally Posted by Steve

Would have to worry about shorting one of those out if anything touched the band?

No, I don't think so. I have a pair of these, and they are made of some sort of mineral material on the outside. You can touch it while plugging it into the receptacle without getting shocked....you can only hold it for a few seconds however as it gets hot in a hurry.

The wire that actually carries the current is buried somewhere inside the band.

[busone]

So I take it most don't heat the whole tank of oil just a section of the line going to the injector pump? The more I think about carrying 300 gallons of 180 degree oil I think it is a bad idea. I would hate to have a car hit me and deep fry the people in the car.

Has anybody used a water cooled condenser coil to heat the oil. The are more expensive than making your own but they work really well.

First I need a bus then I can try some stuff out and see what works.

Here is a PDF with a picture of what I am talking about if you have not seen one.

http://www.rparts.com/Catalog/Major_Com ... 2-0027.pdf

[Eric von Kleist]

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

at a max of 200 watts each, that's less than 20 watts @12 volts. An 800 watt inverter can be purchased for around $50 bucks....

but there are certianly lots of other options when it comes to heating.

The literature on that Kentherm heater unit says that it draws 10-12 Amps DC. *Roughly* comparable to the 16 Amps the band heater would draw from DC (plus conversion). Having it already in 12VDC format would be convenient.