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Old 03-14-2015, 12:12 PM   #21
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Here is my set up. All on a slider for easy access. Plastic 52 gal. tank-heated pick up-filter heated by a repurposed Ford oil cooler. Tapped into the main fuel line right behind the cab. Tapped the water from the lines formally for the rear heater. A slug of delrin replaces the stock fuel filter on the engine. Both filters are the same+ the biggest I could find. (so I dont have to do any service in the rediculously crampped engine bay! )




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Old 03-14-2015, 08:33 PM   #22
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Wow. What a clean setup. I really like that. Great work!
Never seen that kind of hose before---what is it?
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Old 03-14-2015, 09:34 PM   #23
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Its called push-lock hose. It slides (tightly) over the fittings with no tools-no clamp needed -safe to 250psi. I got fancy with the colored hose-green for veg-yellow for diesel + blue for return.

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Old 03-14-2015, 10:01 PM   #24
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Those hoses intrigue me! I like the fact that you dont need clamps but I wonder--
How do you remove those kinds of hoses if you need to replace or repair something? Do you need to cut the hose?
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Old 03-15-2015, 07:27 AM   #25
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If you have to change a fitting for some reason, yes you do have to cut the hose. You'll end up loosing about 3/4" of the length.

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Old 03-15-2015, 07:39 PM   #26
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That is a setup I wanted to start. The whole two five to fifty gallon barrels to filter out the WVO and get rid of the excess water. I've been trying to find electric motors to pump the WVO since I don't like the idea of using a generator or something similar. I've seen a couple setups where the WVO pump is in a storage area and a hole is cut to feed into one of the tanks.
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Old 04-04-2015, 07:32 PM   #27
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I'd also like to point out, I think most know this, but I think the simpler the engine the better. I wouldn't convert my Cat 3126b, because it has a fairly complex injection system, injectors are real expensive and are already failure prone. The fuel needs to be filtered to 1 micron or the injectors WILL get clogged. I have heard older motors with mechanical injection don't have as small holes in the injector and are less sensitive to fuel not being as clean. Also, I am not sure how all the electronic sensors on it (intake air temp measuring, boost temp / pressure readings, EGTs, etc) would measure the slightly different fuel, it may throw some measurements out of whack and throw codes and cause it to run weird. Just speculating, but I would think a simpler mechanical engine would be better.

For that reason, it wouldn't be economical for me to do it, I don't think. I don't drive it more than 5k miles per year (will be about 10k this year but still) and I would have way more into the equipment to get that oil absolutely water and debris-free than I would save. If one injector gets trashed, it is $250 for a reman one plus the time and effort it takes me to replace it. $250 is almost 1000 miles worth of fuel for me.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of doing so and would love to build a conversion at some point. However, I would need to do it to something I would use more, like a daily driven car, and one that is simpler and less expensive to fix like an old 300d mercedes or something. Which I would have one of if it was easier to find them in a 4 or 5 on the floor!
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Old 04-04-2015, 08:37 PM   #28
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All great info.

I would never own a Cat engine myself. I would sell it and swap in a Cummins if I had to.

But that is just me.

Nat
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Old 04-04-2015, 09:02 PM   #29
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All great info.

I would never own a Cat engine myself. I would sell it and swap in a Cummins if I had to.

But that is just me.

Nat
I wouldn't either after owning one. When it works, it works well, but the problem is it never works and relies on a steady stream of $100 bills to keep working
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Old 07-02-2015, 11:15 AM   #30
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@brianernstmusic thanks so much for the good info. My family and another family are looking at a dt466 today in hopes of doing the WVO conversion also. So good to have some info on it from your perspective. I think you've started your dt466 conversion by this point? How's it coming?

We'd reallllly appreciate any videos or pics you can muster.

Also, is the DT466E impossible to convert? We're not sure yet if the bus we're going to look at is electronic or not.

Thanks!
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Old 07-02-2015, 11:27 AM   #31
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Ive also converted a DT466 to wvo if you have questions!
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Old 07-06-2015, 03:40 PM   #32
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Yea-its gotten next to impossible to find free oil anymore. Same deal here in Ct. A big bio-d company came in + aggresivly scooped up every drop by promising the world. Now that diesel and fuel oil has come down, I'm sure they aren't making the same money. So they may not be so into picking up and paying what they promised.
But then again, with diesel being cheaper, it also makes tipping point of the cost of conversion farther from worth it.
It works for me-I have a steady locked in source and a 2 years supply stashed-and all my trips are a tankfull out + back-but the days of traveling the country and expecting everyone happy to give you free oil are 10 years past.
I'm curious if you might be referring to a company called TriState Biodiesel.
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Old 07-06-2015, 04:02 PM   #33
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@sdwarf36: It is tougher now-a-days with the competition getting so fierce. But, I believe running on WVO is a great thing and the time to do it is now, before all the mechanical engines become obsolete.

Brian

I'd love to hear why you think the engines will become obsolete. What will replace them? I'm totally clueless about this. So thrilled to hear all your stories, and your video is amazing! Thank you.
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Old 07-06-2015, 04:06 PM   #34
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This has been a really helpful thread to read. Thank you everyone who has contributed. I think I understand the difference between WVO and biodiesel. And I have heard that biodiesel is fairly easy to find now when one is on the road. Can anyone attest to this?

Also, I'm curious about the carbon neutrality of all this. I get that it skirts around fossil fuels, which is a major plus for sure. But doesn't it (both wvo and biodiesel) still create C02 via the combustion process?
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Old 07-07-2015, 09:56 AM   #35
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Biodiesel and ethanol blended gasoline is big $$$$ for big companies like Archer Daniels Midland Company and other corporate farm entities. And most of the big $$$$ arrive in the form of tax subsidies paid for by you and me.

As far as saving the environment goes, not so much.

Most studies have shown it takes about five gallons of dinodiesel to produce four gallons of biodiesel or ethanol.

How anyone figures we are saving the environment that way I have no idea.

Taking corn and making it into fuel also creates higher prices for traditional uses of corn such as animal and people food.

Using WVO is smart as if uses something that used to be dumped. But turning food into fuel is not the smartest idea that has come down the pike recently.
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Old 07-07-2015, 10:03 AM   #36
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On another site I used to be a part of there was one guy who used WVO exclusively on his military truck. After almost three years of use the fuel injection distributor pump decided it had tolerated enough and disintegrated on the side of a major highway. BIG $$$$ later this guy decided WVO was not intended for everyday use - too much acid/water in the oil. The pump looked like it came from the depths of the ocean when it was accessed in the shop, not re-buildable. Just thought I'd pass it along......
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Old 07-07-2015, 01:50 PM   #37
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Anything grown in this lifetime and used in this life time becomes carbon neutral.

No fossil fuels were grown in this life time.

Anything burning poorly is bad for the environment. (Smoking poorly running bus on WVO) (Wood stove smoking away on a cold low burn)

Only way any of this makes any sense is if you have a ton of spare parts, spare Engines, and have the time and skills to swap engines when you kill it running this waste oil.

Keep in mind the engine after dieing from running this waste oil is still good to rebuild and start again.

I have three 12 valve 5.9 cummins. I have no problem running waste oil in them because they are cheap, (under $1000) and I have three.

On the other hand, it took me 7 years to get my 8.3 Cummins. That engine will never see anything but regular diesel fuel.

Nat
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Old 07-07-2015, 05:20 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M1031A1 View Post
On another site I used to be a part of there was one guy who used WVO exclusively on his military truck. After almost three years of use the fuel injection distributor pump decided it had tolerated enough and disintegrated on the side of a major highway. BIG $$$$ later this guy decided WVO was not intended for everyday use - too much acid/water in the oil. The pump looked like it came from the depths of the ocean when it was accessed in the shop, not re-buildable. Just thought I'd pass it along......
I know a guy that put a turbo on his car-and it blew up. Therefore any car that runs a turbo will blow up.

Done correctly, WVO will do no harm. Done incorrectly can cause all kinds of problems. Theres a learning curve for sure-I'd be lying if I said I haven't made mistakes. But I've learned from them and moved on.
There ARE better suited motors than others.
There IS difficulty finding oil now as opposed to 10 years ago.
You MUST have a steady source of oil in place before you even think about buying a kit.
There IS a fair amount of work getting your collection and filtering correct.
You HAVE to be a DYI kinda person to do it.
You WILL get dirty-and you will have sticky goo on everything you own.
You WILL get good at math. How far can I go to my next source of oil? The first equation you should work on is : cost of kit + cost of conversion+ cost of collection + filtering divided by:number of miles driven a year X years of ownership.
I would love to see more people out there greasin'- but I've talked more out of it than into it.
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Old 07-07-2015, 05:32 PM   #39
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I'd love to hear why you think the engines will become obsolete. What will replace them? I'm totally clueless about this. So thrilled to hear all your stories, and your video is amazing! Thank you.
Electronically controlled diesels such as the powerstroke(t444e) are replaceing mechanically injected diesels like the dt466. The reason for the swich to non mechanical is for several reasons.....
1) environmental, it not practical to make a mec. Engine that will pass new engine standards.

2) cost, electronic engines are supposed to make better MPG. I question this, especially on school busses.


Note: the t444e is obsolete now, it's the first electronic engine I can think of.

IH is now on the maxxForceDT now....what a stupid name.
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Old 08-16-2015, 02:10 PM   #40
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The wife and i have been going back and forth about converting, with her on the "save the planet" team and me on the "lets not get stranded" team. I have friends who tour and make their living out of their bus, and on more than one occasion they've gotten stuck somewhere because fuel was hard to find. When they started ten years ago, it was great for them. But now they spend an extra day in every town trying to get the fuel to leave. Environmentally great? totally. But how much down time is that worth? It's all personal preference and personal priorities, i guess.
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