Modifications needed for WVO?

Norway man · 2022-03-11 10:38:39

I know the WVO subject has been discussed here many times before, but I can't find anything about modifications for WVO use in our wehicles.
I see in other online resorces that people do different modifications to heat the veg oil before it enters the injection pump. I have a frient who has run old Mercedeses on veg for at least a decade, but when it's cold he sometimes must heat the filter with a hot-air gun to start his car. I dont have the patience for that smile
My Scudo is a 1997 1,9 turbodiesel. According to the papers it's a D8B, but it has a Bosch pump (lucky for me!), and on the pump body it is written XUD with large letters, and that's good enugh for me! tongue
Here is my plan: I will buy a Mercedes-style filter holder for spinn-on filters from the breakers. Then i will buy one of these, eBay item number:281262299398, a silicione heat element with thermostat to wrap around the filter. I will control it with a switch inside the cabin, so I can switch it of if I run on diesel. The thermostat is supposed to cut at 65 degrees celsius, but I will add a temperature gage, just to be sure. I am considering a little boat fuel tank tucked away under the driver's seat, or in the back, with some sort of valve on the feed line, so I can start and stop on straight diesel. I don't thing I need to have a switch valve on the return, I will simply let the return run back to the regular tank all the time. In the manual, downloaded from this forum I saw that scudos with Lucas pump have a temperature regulated after-glow function, that keeps the glow plugs lit a while after start-up. Maybe I'll make a circuit like that, but controlled with a switch rather that a thermostat.
What do the experts say? Does it sound like a plan? Or, like we say in my country, does it sound like a plane? big_smile

OAT · 2022-03-11 19:14:48

I like the idea of a controlled pre heat. Any concerns re it taking a while to warm and taking increased electrical load at exactly the worst moment?

Obviously your climate is considerably colder than ours in the UK but I have had no problems so long as I dilute with diesel as the temperature drops. Not very scientific, but if sub zero is expected I will put 15 - 20 lt diesel to a full tank of veg oil. Good for our usual low single figure frosts. When dropping to -10 or less it will still start, but sounds so lumpy for quite a while that I avoid when possible.

Ken I think runs neat veg but has a small secondary tank of diesel for starting up. If I could be bothered this is what I would go for. I am sure he will be along with a few details.

Norway man · 2022-03-12 11:03:40

I am concerned about electrical load during start-up, but I plan to make a simple 2-tank system, so I start and stop on regular diesel. The filter will then be filled with diesel on start-up. This way I don't have to switch on the pre-heat until the glow-plugs have done their job. As for temperatures.. I live on the south west coast. Much wind, but relatively mild temeratures. It drops below 10 celcius in october and stays there until late freburay, but seldom below 0. I do plan to run on veg/diesel mix wintertime.
But guys, do you run your cars on veg without ANY modifications at all? Do you even use the standard, toy-like ful filter? roll

OAT · 2022-03-13 00:46:37

Norway man wrote:

But guys, do you run your cars on veg without ANY modifications at all? Do you even use the standard, toy-like ful filter?

Mine with no mods.

Mostly in Scotland or northern England, sounds similar to you with only occasional extreme cold. Just a few liters of diesel in worst of winter.

kenbw2 · 2022-03-14 11:24:08

Like OAT I run my 1.9TD XUD on straight veg oil. Never been brave enough to go WVO but it's the same idea.

Twin Tank

In my old DW8 1.9D I used to have a small secondary diesel tank with the same setup you mentioned - return to the main tank. For me I used to use it for the odd cold start. So I'd switch the engine to diesel 2 minutes before stopping the engine, so that the pump, injectors etc would have diesel in them when it started the next morning.

Just be aware that it'll go through that tank quite quickly. A lot gets returned to the main tank - maybe about 5 litres per 10 minutes idling, much faster if you're revving.

I did buy some fuel dye to know how long I would have to idle for to flush out the entire system, but I haven't tried it yet.

Return lines

My setup had a manual switch that allowed both the main tank and the second diesel tank to supply the engine at the same time. That way it didn't go through the diesel as quickly. But because of the viscosity it did still pull mostly from the diesel.

If you're looking to rev/drive on the twin tank I'd suggest thinking about switching the return lines, although it's hard to know for the best which one to "pollute" with the fuel mix.

Fuel ratios

On my current van I don't twin tank at all. I thought about it before winter but never did, and now it's spring I'll not bother. I mix diesel in in winter.

Above 10C: 100% SVO; 6-9C 15% diesel, 0-5C 25%, It always runs smoothly, maybe a bit of chugging when the glow plugs cut out.

Glow Plugs

The glow plugs definitely stay on after the engine starts - about 2 minutes. I hear when they cut out because the engine starts chugging a bit. I like this because it proves to me that the chugging is not that it's failing to pump the fuel, it's just not combusting properly.

You can fix this by stopping and starting the engine again, you then get another 2 minutes of glow plug. Or you can just keep the revs high for a few minutes

JohnDragonMan · 2022-03-15 00:06:09

my old 306 never saw a fuel station in the whole time i had it... transformer (mineral) oil, wmo, and wvo. i just had to use my old Fiat when it got below 0.c as it would gel up.
XUD.. what an engine.

i bought a few fuel heaters that came from old Ford Fiesta's i think with the 1.8 diesel. i ran them in a daisy chain to help. worked quite well.

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#1 2022-03-11 10:38:39

Modifications needed for WVO?

#2 2022-03-11 19:14:48

Re: Modifications needed for WVO?

#3 2022-03-12 11:03:40

Re: Modifications needed for WVO?

#4 2022-03-13 00:46:37

Re: Modifications needed for WVO?

#5 2022-03-14 11:24:08

Re: Modifications needed for WVO?

#6 2022-03-15 00:06:09

Re: Modifications needed for WVO?

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