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Old 07-17-2011, 06:13 PM   #21
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Re: Green Energy Project

Moshart: Here is a detail of the dead bolt. Originally I wanted the bus door to still fold in but lock with a dead bolt. So I welded a strip from a metal door onto the edge of the bus door then drilled a hole for the dead bolt in that strip. Unfortunately the angle of the fold made the latch pop out and didn't work at all. So I flipped the hinge strip so it swung out, welded the pins shut in the middle, and now have a regular swing door from the original bus door. Still needs some cosmetic touches tho. Like I said before, if I could do it again I would use a vertical garage door latch and then it could still fold in. If you look at Lillie's page on her thread Leap of Faith you can see pictures: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5919&start=75



RJZ5400: If we are still in town (richmond) then it would be great to meet up. Do you always plan ahead and find where your going to get your veg oil when traveling? We haven't settled on a route yet but I was hoping it wouldn't be that hard to find sources... I'm trading some mural work for help installing my kit at this nonprofit mechanic shop in town, should be starting on it this week or next. My hope is to put the 40gal tank under the bus just behind the driver seat, but we'll see. I'm going to try to film the process so if everything works out there will be a time lapse video of the process.

In other news... I was hoping some fuel treatment would clean out the fuel line and carbs on the scooter, but it was getting worse and worse. I found a new carb on ebay for $35 and installed it today. Purrs great now!

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Old 07-17-2011, 10:13 PM   #22
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Re: Green Energy Project

My guess would be that what you cleaned out of the fuel system slowly clogged the jet and or the fuel inlet needle.

well now that you have two carbs might i suggest taking the "bad" one apart and finding the jet. it should be a small brass screw in thing inside the bowl where the fuel is. these get changed according to the fuel air needs of the motor. some reasons these needs change are elevation, temperature, and humidity. forgive me if this is elementary but not to many people understand what i think you have there, a single cylinder two stroke. it would be good to know all the parts and how to check/clean/swap out otherwise you will have more problems. check out the "moped army" for tips and more info on two stroke tuning and whatnot and
yes i do try to plan out at least one or more yegg stops on a trip especially one that requires probably 200+ gallons of fuel. 1800 miles at 9 ish miles per gallon plus detours. i usually find people on "Fill up for Free"
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Old 07-21-2011, 05:28 PM   #23
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Re: Green Energy Project

Trailer progress... I swapped the spool on the welder for a lighter weight spool and finished the rest of the welding with much better success. Started putting up the paneling and ran into a snag thanks to the not so friendly staff at Lowes who can't seem to cut a precise measurement to save their life.. 3" full inches off what I asked! Now i'll have to run a strip in the middle to make up the difference. Should have it done tomorrow if i can handle the heat for another day...
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Old 07-21-2011, 06:53 PM   #24
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Re: Green Energy Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by dangie
... the not so friendly staff at Lowes who can't seem to cut a precise measurement to save their life.. 3" full inches off what I asked! ...
Question #1: Why would you think they could cut it right?

Question #2: Why would you let them cut a precise cut?

We have had the nuts at Home Depot cut a sheet of plywood in half so that we could get it in the Jeep but we would never expect a precise cut. I would love to have their panel saw though. No more panel saws, table saws, planers, drill presses, etc in my future. At some point I will even sell off my router table.
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Old 07-27-2011, 05:45 PM   #25
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Re: Green Energy Project

I've finished enclosing the trailer! Now I can figure out what exactly I'm bringing with me and build shelves. The 50gal drums will need an access panel on the outside as well as a box for the filtering setup. We also decided to get kayaks to bring with us and mount them on top of the trailer. I bought a Dagger Redline off craigslist but its a little too whitewater for Angie and too small for me, so the hunt continues..


In other news, I started the mural for DLW last night and today we started hooking up the greasecar kit. Unfortunately, due to the dimensions and location of the fill hole on the fuel tank, I don't have the clearance to put it under the bus as I had hoped. Its now all going where the metal cabinet was between the couch and driver seat. I mounted the filter and valves to the metal lip that already runs around the base. Tomorrow we'll tee the coolant lines from under the bus, drill holes and run them up through the floor to the tank. If I remember my camera I'll take a progress shot tomorrow. Once its done I'll have to make an access panel on the side of the bus if I want to fill up from outside. Then I'll build a cabinet or counter space around the whole thing. I think it's actually going to be better this way because the fridge was a tight fit on the other side, now I can built it into this new cabinet and everything should fit nicer.
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Old 07-28-2011, 10:41 PM   #26
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Re: Green Energy Project

Progress shots of the veg. oil system..


Inside the veg. tank. Coolant runs through the copper tubes to preheat the oil in the tank, the orange stub sticking out is the supply for the veg. oil


Coolant in and out from veg. tank. Hose in hose from the tank to the filter (meaning the fuel line coming out of the tank to the filter is inside the larger red coolant hose that is coming from the heat exchange [copper around the filter] into the tank)


These are the fittings I bought to tee in the coolant lines, $15 for two sets. I'm a little concerned about whether they will hold up to the heat. There wasn't anything on the package that indicated a temp. limit, pleasants hardware employees couldn't tell me, no number to call... the mechanic helping me said it should be fine but couldn't say for sure. The alternative brass option was going to be $60 and heavy.. I guess if it starts leaking I'll have my answer.


Shot of the coolant lines teed in.


Lots of hoses... Labels should give you the idea where its all going.



Solenoid Valves. Tomorrow im going to tee in the fuel lines and run them to the valves.
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Old 07-29-2011, 09:44 AM   #27
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Re: Green Energy Project

Since you're putting your WVO tank and filter inside the bus, I recommend you put some sort of pan to catch veggie oil in case of accidental spillage. I've been using the Greasecar system in my Mercedes for several years now and I can tell you, changing filters is a messy operation, and then inevitably you will have to remove a hose or one will leak at a fitting, etc. In other words, I can almost guarantee you will have veggie oil spills, leaks and messes in the area of your filter and tank. Pretty soon the inside of your bus is going to smell like used vegetable oil. So I would again recommend some sort of containment strategy. You might also consider insulating the tank for more efficient heating of the oil. If I had mine inside the bus, I'd build a cabinet (with doors for accessibility) of some sort around it to contain the inevitable mess, smell and heat. Also, if you are looping your return back to supply, you will find that any air that gets caught in the system will be difficult to purge. I put a valve-controlled optional WVO tank return line on mine for this reason. You simply "T" into the WVO return loop and have two needle valves that control how much WVO is sent back to supply, and how much is returned to the tank. You "T" it off the top so that if you open the tank return a little bit, any air bubbles back to the tank whereas most fuel is sent back to the injection pump. Every time you change your WVO filter air will get into the system.
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Old 07-29-2011, 11:19 AM   #28
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Re: Green Energy Project

Greasecar makes a remote fill kit you may be able to use to get things underneath. What I did was take a Jeep CJ filler neck +surround ( made for a flat surface) and have a rad hose going to the top of the tank- it comes in from the side of the bus-the tube is inside one of the bench/storage compartments+ goes thru the floor. I agree on some form of drip pan under at least the filter-you are alway gonna get some spillage from a filter change.
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Old 07-29-2011, 07:32 PM   #29
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Re: Green Energy Project

Yea I was definitely planning on enclosing it in a cabinet with doors of some kind. The drip pan sounds like a must, I had not thought of that. Thanks guys!!!

Diesel Dan> Do you have a picture of your two needle valves somewhere I can look at? Having a way to bleed the air out sounds like a smart move but this whole process is WAY over my head, I'm struggling just to follow the diagram it came with much less "T" in more valves. I'll do some more research on that but if I can see it somewhere I think it'll help me understand.

Sdwarf36> The remote fill kit sounds like it may have worked, but unfortunately with timing and the whole barter mechanic "help" situation I didn't have a chance to look into other options. Now that its all pretty much set and done inside I think I'm gonna make due for this project.. Thanks tho I figured there was a way to keep it underneath. Maybe next time.

Todays progress...
Fuel lines tapped to veg. system


Fuel lines into valves.


Tomorrow I'm going to have the mechanic look over everything with me before I test it all out... VERY anxious to see if I did it all right.. I reeeeally hope I don't blow something up before I even get to drive it. Wish me luck!
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Old 07-29-2011, 08:54 PM   #30
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Re: Green Energy Project

Good luck!

And really nice job on labeling. If anything goes wrong, you won't need to be tracing back lines to see what goes where ...
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Old 07-29-2011, 09:20 PM   #31
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Re: Green Energy Project

nice work on the labeling and install my only suggestions would be once you have it all tested and running to insulate everything. And also not to worry about air bubbles when doing filter changes, just pre-fill the new filter to the top and make the first switch to vegg when going faster than idle. this allows the air to zip through and be replaced with the WVO before the engine speed ever even decreases. I have run close to 100,000 miles on greasecar conversion kits and have not had any trouble with air or filter changes past my first one, i changed mine today and didn't spill a drop on the car or myself.

If you find it troublesome you can always just instal the new filter then purge before switchover, this gives the air a chance to get pushed back to the tank and "Robert is your Mother's Brother"

looking good maybe see you in a couple of weeks en route to CANADA, also nice work on the trailer, i am thinking about buying a pop up to get some accessories out of and convert it to a flatbed as well.
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Old 08-02-2011, 09:48 PM   #32
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Re: Green Energy Project

The bus officially runs on veg.oil! I think I've fixed the few leaks on the valves, and everything appears to be working correctly. Tomorrow I'll start the roof deck.
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Old 08-02-2011, 10:18 PM   #33
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Re: Green Energy Project

Yea-you'll be tightening clamps a couple of times. Congrats on making a stink!
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Old 08-02-2011, 11:01 PM   #34
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Re: Green Energy Project

congrats, wheeeeee the best part is going on road trips and only stopping at gas stations to poop and get ice cream. then driving on!!!!


maybe we can try to swing by either on the way up or on the way back from wilmington to toronto. love to check out the bus and trailer and hopefully score some WVO or at least the local knowledge on where to pick some up.

Ill PM my number let me know if you are interested in a bus battle. (or lunch on monday next week)
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Old 08-04-2011, 12:00 PM   #35
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Re: Green Energy Project

rjz5400: i sent you an email about the 8th, hope to see you in rva!

Roof deck struts are up, right side is fully welded left side tacked. Its a slow process welding straight to the bus roof because I cant let it get too hot or I'll risk catching the insulation on fire. So I've been doing an inch or two at a time and pouring water to cool it off. Right side feels really strong. I can hang off it and kick it from on top with no movement so I think I'm good. Wish it wasn't so hot outside, its really exhausting..

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Old 08-04-2011, 03:24 PM   #36
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Re: Green Energy Project

what are you gonna put up there on the roof deck? party chairs and BBQ? i thought about building some support for mopeds and a long ramp to ride them up there and store them while underway.

Looking good and sturdy though Either way.

(I didn't receive your email but i sent one to you through the forum link {Email} )
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Old 08-06-2011, 10:35 AM   #37
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Re: Green Energy Project

The solar panel will be on the front part of the deck, the rest is just to have a nice open space to hang out on. The inside of the bus is so compact I just wanted somewhere we could go to read or work on stuff and not feel claustrophobic. Need a couple more deck boards and it will be ready for a paint job. Heres a few progress shots:

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Old 08-14-2011, 08:14 PM   #38
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Re: Green Energy Project

Deck boards still need to be screwed in but you get the idea..





I've hit a snag with the solar panel.. still crunching numbers because the quote from NAWS was more than twice my budget. I think by reducing some of our power needs and a little shopping around I can hopefully get the system down to $1500 or less, but it looks like theres no way I can run the fridge and pump with only 1 panel. Right now I'm looking at 2 135watt panels (IMP 7.63A) running DC to a single 212AH 12v AGM sealed deep cycle battery w/ a prostar 30amp charge controller.

Fridge pulls 5.4A @12v = 64.8watts x 8 hours (est. when compressor is actually going) x 7 days/ 7days = 518.4w
12v pump pulls 5A @ 12v = 60watts x .5 hours x 7 days/ 7days = 30w
Total watt-hr per day: 548.4 x 1.25 load correction factor = 685.5 watts

Battery: 212AH x 12v = 2544 watts / 2 = 1272 watts (50% battery power)

135watt Panel: IMP 7.6A x 5hr (avg. hours of daylight) = 38.15A x 12v = 457.8watts << thus I'll need 2 panels to get the battery charged to 685.5w right?????

Any input on that math would be appreciated
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Old 08-15-2011, 10:50 AM   #39
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Re: Green Energy Project

I'm still new to the solar math but your numbers look correct to me.
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Old 08-20-2011, 06:13 AM   #40
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Re: Green Energy Project

An idea about your solar panel situation?
Look at the Thin Film Solar panels.
I am putting a system together and each panel I'm going to use is 134 watts each; BUT 15 feet long and 16 inches wide. They stick down- peel a backing off and they stick down..
They also don't crack and are more durable than the glass panels. You could make flip panels on the side of your deck sides. When your not on the deck flip then up and let them go to work.
Or have then down along the side of your deck and flip them up in place along the deck.
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