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Old 05-31-2015, 11:45 AM   #1
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 205
Burning Waste Mortor Oil (and other petroleum products) as fuel

Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycal View Post
Share your setup.
OK ... I will.

I been interested in alternative fuels and multi-fuel vehicles for some time. I figure the more different fuels your vehicle can run on ... the longer you can run. "Two is one ... and one is NONE!!!, as we say in the survival community. But burning waste oil as fuel can also be used as a way to cut down fuel costs in diesel powered rv's as well.

Burning waste petroleum products (some folks call it WMO) as fuel in diesel engines is not a concept or a theory. It isn't something that I thought up or invented. It is process that thousands of vehicle operators are using right now to augment their fuel supplies. One of the best aspects of using WMO as fuel is that NO modifications need to be done to most mechanically injected diesel engines ... other than the addition of a water separator and an up grade to the fuel filters already in the vehicle.

This discussion is NOT about burning waste cooking oil (WVO, SVO, etc.). It is similar, but there are acids in cooking oil and issues of clouding that make it a different process.

Over the years, I've done quite a lot of research into using waste petroleum products as fuel in diesel engines and have put together a fairly large library of materials related to this. I've shared this library on a couple other websites ... I hope that don't get me in trouble ... but I think that this is important to put out in as many places as possible.



I started this thread about 3 years ago: Waste oils as motor fuel - Survivalist Forum

It explains the equipment and procedures I use to turn WMO into fuel. It also includes the sources and suppliers I have found for filter bags, pumps and etc. Also in this thread is a list of books and other materials relative to burning WMO as fuel. All of these can be found on and downloaded from the web. I do hope you take the time to find them and read them.

For the record, I have been burning waste oil blends as diesel fuel in my truck (a 1968 American General M35a2 Deuce and a Half that is driven every day) over 20,000 miles. Are there other/better ways to turn wmo into fuel? I'm sure that there are ... but this is what I have been doing for almost 5 years now. WMO fuel has worked very well keeping my fuel costs EXTREMELY LOW.

I have NEVER bought a full tank of diesel fuel for my truck. NEVER. And compared to a LOT of people ... I'm just barely getting started.


NOTA BENE:

WMO based fuels work very well in diesel engines having mechanical diesel pumps and injectors. Although there are a number of web sites that discuss wmo and electronic systems, personally, I have ZERO experience operating computer operated electronic injection systems on wmo based fuels. A search of the internet will bring you to any number of forums that discuss this.

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Old 05-31-2015, 11:54 AM   #2
Skoolie
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 205
Since I wrote the thread I shared above, I have revised some of my procedures slightly. In this thread I will be sharing the changes and updates I have made.

The process still includes the following 4 steps:

Collection and storage (pumps, hoses, drums)
De-water
Filter
Adjust specific gravity

As I get time over the next days, I will discuss each of those topics in separate posts.
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Old 05-31-2015, 06:27 PM   #3
Bus Geek
 
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Cool stuff, please keep posting.

I hardly have the time to get on here a few times a week this time of year, but love like minded people sharing their experiences.

Nat
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"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."

Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
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Old 12-21-2017, 12:16 PM   #4
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Yes please share all you can could def use the info. Ty in advance.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk
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Old 12-21-2017, 01:04 PM   #5
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
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Year: 1993
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My '93 E350 shuttle and my '90 F350 flatbed are WMO fueled.

Here are a few key things to remember that will keep it "mostly" problem free.

2 tanks are nearly a must. Starting (and warm up), and shutting down on pump diesel keeps the injectors clean and keeps coking to a minimum. Oil has a higher potential energy... but burns slower then diesel fuel and takes more heat to burn completely. Running a cold engine on waste oil is a good way to cause problems.

Clean oil. We centrifuge our oil using a 55gph centrifuge from PA Biodiesel. It is powered by an old power steering pump with a pressure relief (we run the system at around 90psi for 48 hours). Some have had luck with filters... we started with filters. When we got our centrifuge, we ran a batch of filtered oil through it for giggles and ended up with a bowl full of sludge and visible metallic particles. With the cost of filter replacement... its cheaper and easier to go with a centrifuge from the get-go.

Get the oil thin. To do that, we batch in a 55 gallon drum. In that drum goes 5-10 gallons of RUG (regular unleaded gasoline) and 45-50 gallons of WMO (waste motor oil, atf, hydraulic oil, etc). This is our centrifuge drum as well.. centrifuge is mounted on top of this drum and cycles the contents continuously for 48 hrs.

With this combination, we've ran through hundreds of gallons of W90 (90%oil, 10% RUG) without much issue. We keep a fairly large stockpile of waste oil on hand (~2k gallons) that allows us to settle the oil for long periods.. then pull from the top of the storage tanks into the centrifuge drum.

You can get waste oils for free from many places. Our best sources are small farms that don't want to pay to haul off waste oil from servicing their equipment each year. We'll typically set them up with a 275g tote and they will fill them up a couple times a year.

Here are some pics from our setup.

The centrifuge drum with centrifuge on top (blue canister is the 'fuge)
IMG_20150712_152636153_zpsvjyzv8da by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

Old electric motor (with overtemp protection) belt driving a power steering pump from a ford focus
IMG_20150718_101117244_zps0cgxfq9f by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

Ashcroft pressure switches (one for high pressure... one for low pressure.. operating window of ~8psi)
IMG_20150718_113725535_HDR_zpsqvvtgnaq by acidburn02zts, on Flickr

This setup has worked great for us. Now that the bus will be waste oil fueled, we are going to step up our game come spring. We'll be getting a bigger 'fuge and batching 200-250 gallons at a time.

On a side note - Due to cost of replacement parts, etc.. I would NOT run WMO on a modern diesel. I can replace the ENTIRE injection system on my old IDIs for the cost of 2-4 injectors on a modern diesel. Not worth the risk. Also, most modern diesels use fuel opacity sensors which wont allow them to run on black diesel. The 7.3 powerstroke is the newest engine that I've heard of people having good luck with waste oils on.

Burning waste oils is also one of the few EPA certified ways of properly disposing of it. In a mechanical diesel, when up to operating temp.. it is being injected under high temp and high compression and it burns fairly clean. On my old IDIs, there is no noticeable difference in visible emissions or smells when running on waste oil.
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Old 12-21-2017, 01:31 PM   #6
Bus Nut
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr4btTahoe View Post
I would NOT run WMO on a modern diesel.
Are there certain manufacturing years that you know of that before are good and after are not?

I've got a DD S60 manufactured in the late '90s (11.1L; DDEC 3). Is this even possible on such a beast?
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Old 12-21-2017, 01:48 PM   #7
Bus Nut
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkyDee View Post
Are there certain manufacturing years that you know of that before are good and after are not?

I've got a DD S60 manufactured in the late '90s (11.1L; DDEC 3). Is this even possible on such a beast?
Hmm.. does it have any of the emissions BS such as DPF, etc? I wouldnt think so.

Is it possible? I'm sure it is... Would I do it? I might try blends and see how it does. What I mean is still 2 tanks.. but start out blending 10-20% W90 with 80-90% diesel and see how it goes. Just keep in mind injection system components on a S60 aren't exactly cheap.. neither is the labor if you can't do the work yourself.

I would prefer an ALL mechanical engine for alternative fuel, personally.
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Old 12-21-2017, 01:53 PM   #8
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Greenwood, Indiana
Posts: 669
Year: 1999
Coachwork: New Flyer
Chassis: D45HF "Viking"
Engine: 11.1L Detroit Diesel S60
Rated Cap: 51,600
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr4btTahoe View Post
Hmm.. does it have any of the emissions BS such as DPF, etc? I wouldnt think so.
Nope, none at all. One of its charms....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr4btTahoe View Post
Is it possible? I'm sure it is... Would I do it? I might try blends and see how it does. What I mean is still 2 tanks.. but start out blending 10-20% W90 with 80-90% diesel and see how it goes. Just keep in mind injection system components on a S60 aren't exactly cheap.. neither is the labor if you can't do the work yourself.

I would prefer an ALL mechanical engine for alternative fuel, personally.
Ok. I figure I'll dive into that in a few years once all the other work I need to do is done. TY!
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