Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio D?

[ScottinEngland]

Hi

We have a 1989 Ford B700 (39ft) which we have imported to England. Diesel Prices are very hight here now so really interested in alternative fuels.

Would be very grateful if anybody could share experiences and thoughts on both bio-diesel and 'raw' vegetable oil.

 

[lornaschinske]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

Can you get the used oil where you are? We had looked into it for the Eagle and dumped the idea. Looked at a a bio-diesel distiller and decided we couldn't fit it into the bays under the coach PLUS there was having to buy jet fuel and locating the used oil. Next looked at a "greasel" type set up (there are several). that looked more promising but again getting the used oil was a PITA. In the area we were (sort of) living in at the time, some bio-diesel company out of Asheville NC was buying up all the fry oil in the western part of NC (and parts of North GA). Their was simply no used oil to be had. Then I started looking into buying clean soy oil or canola oil (neither one is fit for human consumption in my opinion). At the time, I had two problems. where to buy it at and the cost if I could get it. Now diesel just went over $4 a gallon here. I may start back looking into the idea. I just can't get a good supply of oil at a low price. We are too mobile.

I found this on the internet and thought it was interesting since I am a Sam's Club member...

Finally, the listing that has me most intrigued is also at Sam’s Club – a 35 pound jug of clear frying oil for $13.97. Based on some quick internet research, I’ve found that rapeseed oil weighs about 7.6 pounds per gallon. Assuming the same for the fryer oil, the jug contains about 4.6 gallons of oil. That works out to just over $3/gallon.

from http://www.dieselearth.com/notebook/bulk-vegetable-oil.html

As of today, the price is $27.29 for the Clear Frying Oil so that works out to $5.93 per gallon. I might be able to get Sam's to special order in 55 gallon drums of oil but that isn't to great if we are traveling. I could probably buy 55 gallon drums of oil thu outfits like Sysco or US Foods (Restaurant food suppliers) but they don't return phone calls of small time food cart folks.

 

[ScottinEngland]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

We are paying $10.35c a gallon here (about 55% of that is tax) and can get pre, new vegetable oil for 40% less so really worth exploring... but dont want to cause damage to my bus - could be a false economy.

 

[lornaschinske]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

I know the 71 series of Detroit Diesels could handle the veg oil with no problems. The Eagle (which is what I did all my research on) was a DD 8v71 with N65 injectors. Our skoolie has a Detroit diesel 5.2L TA. I have done very little research on it. All I know was that it was called a "Fuel Saver" or "Fuel Pincher" (seen it listed as both). I do know that some diesel engines work better on bio diesel and/or straight waste oil than others do. Rudolf Diesel built the engine to basically run on anything (even water). It was meant to be an engine to operate farm equipment. Rudolf Diesel believed that the farm should be able to be self-sustaining and even grow the fuel (vegetable oil) that the farm equipment ran on. When the engine was put into automotive situations, the manufacturers tweaked them to operate on Kerosine/"Diesel" fuel. Do searches for bio-diesel and Straight Waste Oil (SWO). You will find many, many pages on the internet dedicated to the subject. You should find whether or not your engine will operate on it.

 

[ScottinEngland]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

Thanks for that. Be good to hear from anyone who has actually done it with this engine.

 

[lornaschinske]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

... Hi Lorna, I'm curious, what engine is this? There's the 4-stroke Detroit 8.2L "Fuel Pincher" or "Fuel Squeezer" V8 that Blue Bird used...
John

We have the DD 8.2L. I know very little about it. I simply knew more about the DD8V71 in the Eagle.

 

[lornaschinske]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

... Hi Lorna, I'm curious, what engine is this? There's the 4-stroke Detroit 8.2L "Fuel Pincher" or "Fuel Squeezer" V8 that Blue Bird used...
John

We have the DD 8.2L. I know very little about it. I simply knew A LOT more about the DD8V71 in the Eagle. I have found more info on the DD8v71 and using it with veg oil than many other engines. I spent years learning about the thing... that we no longer have. I refuse to get sucked back in to that again. David can buy a book rather than have me learn everything I possibly can about our current engine.

 

[Diesel Dan]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

Dealing with veggie oil and biodiesel is a hassle. You really have to dedicate considerable time to dealing with making the fuel and playing around with your engine to deal with all the problems bio fuel can create. It's do-able if you want to put the energy into it, but as Lorna said, you need to have a reliable supply of raw oil or you are dead in the water. I've been running straight WVO and biodiesel for over 3 years now in various vehicles, and have no regrets, but it is a significant "hobby" and will take considerable time and money to research, implement and maintain. But if I were paying what you are for diesel fuel, I would definitely try to use biofuels. It was the high price of fuel that inspired me to begin with, and the price I pay in the US is reasonable compared to your prices.

 

[lornaschinske]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

... But if I were paying what you are for diesel fuel, I would definitely try to use biofuels. It was the high price of fuel that inspired me to begin with, and the price I pay in the US is reasonable compared to your prices.

When we left NC, the Bio-fuel they were selling in Asheville (nearest bio-fuel plant) cost the same or more than regular diesel. The plant sold it at the same price as regular diesel, the fuel stations sold it for a bit more... like 5 to 15 cents more.

 

[Diesel Dan]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

... But if I were paying what you are for diesel fuel, I would definitely try to use biofuels. It was the high price of fuel that inspired me to begin with, and the price I pay in the US is reasonable compared to your prices.

When we left NC, the Bio-fuel they were selling in Asheville (nearest bio-fuel plant) cost the same or more than regular diesel. The plant sold it at the same price as regular diesel, the fuel stations sold it for a bit more... like 5 to 15 cents more.

Right, there is certainly no cost savings in buying biodiesel from a distributer. It will usually be more expensive than diesel. There are a few distributers of recycled straight veggie oil, which is about half the cost of diesel. The only real cost savings potential is in making the fuel yourself, which is what I do. My recycled veggie oil ends up costing me about $.25/gallon, not including my labor which only amounts to a few hours per month. Making homemade biodiesel costs more due to the high price of methanol and KOH, plus it's more labor intensive, requires more equipment, and involves more risks to personal safety and property. I think it's more cost-effective in the long run to spend $1500 on a WVO system for your car and run straight veggie oil as opposed to spending the same amount of money on biodiesel production equipment, but then paying the higher run rate for materials/supplies/labor.

 

[chev49]

Re: Anyone know about running a '89 Ford B700 on veg oil/bio

besides what diesel dan said, the detroit series 71 engines may be able to run veg oil.. but if you get on the busconversions.com forum, you will discover the recent problems of the last guy who was using wvo and in the middle of the trip, he stopped using it after the thing quit...

my bus detroits and many others have n65 injectors.. in fact i have some in boxes here... read that whole thread i mentioned on that site...