80-100mpge with Mercedes 300D Veggie/WVO Single Tank

[Cobb]

Lets keep in mind he is using oil that would be collected and recycled and or tossed out/poured down the drain. Its just a matter of time before he breaks even and makes money. Plus his exhaust smells like a mixture of french fries and KK donuts.

[Joeggernaut]

Originally Posted by alohaspirit

you should read the whole thread

i clearly differentiate MPG and MPGe



i get my oil for FREE and it is properly filtered and dewatered to 1 micron

that goes into an on board fuel system which has 2 more filters and 2 heating elements
(not counting the 3rd filter in the tank and the 3rd heating element being the engine)

Hawaii also rarely gets colder than 70F

I am new and I know this is a forum of many acronyms now. I did not know there was a difference between mpg and mpge. From first glance it appears you miraculously achieved 300% improvement in mpg which seems deceitful to lurkers and outsiders who are just trying to gain information. Thanks for editing and the first page and clearing that up to future new comers.

So I assume the restaurants/stores etc just let you take their used oil?

I know a lot of places around here, they have companies who have contracts to collect their used oil so obtaining free WVO is slightly harder.

[ChadB]

MPGe is for converting alternative fueled vehicle fuel usage into numbers that make sense when comparing to gasoline vehicles; MilesPerGallonEquivalent. It has nothing to do with whether or not you paid for that fuel. If I find a tank of gas and put it in my truck without paying for it do I get infinite miles per gallon? No, I still get 20 mpg. If I charge an electric car with solar power is my MPGe infinite? No. It is still a rate of distance traveled on a set amount of fuel, not distance traveled per dollar spent. MPG and MPGe are measurements of fuel efficiency, not cost. That being said... nice job decreasing your fuel cost! I've tried to talk my brother into looking into vo for his diesel but he won't buy into it.

[alohaspirit]

much thanks for the civil conversation in this thread!

i dont mind debates but let us at least pretend to be gentlemen



i also dont recommend your typical restaurant oil as most will use shortening
(the rest also have contracts)
so it will take some effort into getting a place of your own

but when you find one do your very best to keep it
by picking up on time and keeping things clean


one of the main reasons i do it is to prevent it from being dumped
some places illegally dump into the landfill, which in turns gets into the groundwater
(not good at all)

see sig
how would you like to come to Hawaii and see that

[alohaspirit]

car wouldnt start due to clogged aux fuel pump

i bypassed it and everything is perfect

(it was my fault really, there was no filter before it so it got clogged)



i added the aux fuel pump as a "helper"

should i put another one in or rely solely on the lift pump?

[UFO]

Originally Posted by alohaspirit

car wouldnt start due to clogged aux fuel pump

i bypassed it and everything is perfect

(it was my fault really, there was no filter before it so it got clogged)



i added the aux fuel pump as a "helper"

should i put another one in or rely solely on the lift pump?

You should not need any other pump, as long as you do a good job of prefiltering your oil, and it's non-hydrogenated.

[RustyLugNut]

Originally Posted by alohaspirit

car wouldnt start due to clogged aux fuel pump

i bypassed it and everything is perfect

(it was my fault really, there was no filter before it so it got clogged)



i added the aux fuel pump as a "helper"

should i put another one in or rely solely on the lift pump?

Also, choose a pump that is cleanable and rebuild-able. I use the Facet electric pump that you can purchase through Pep Boys as it allows a simple clean out and rebuild. The pressure comes set from the factory at 4-5 PSI but resetting the spring perch puts it up to 7-10 PSI which works well for WVO. The Facet electric pump feeds the factory lift pump and makes fuel bleeding much easier.

Also, if your pump got clogged, your WVO is not clean enough or debris is sloughing off your tank. Before I put an old Mercedes into service, I hot tank the fuel tank so as to start with a clean system. Install a clean filter mesh in the tank pickup.

Fat can also coagulate and precipitate out in the tank while sitting for periods of time. I have a water to oil pre-heat exchanger that heats my fuel oil before it gets to my filters and pumps, so fats do not clog them. A large heat exchanger before my main filter as well as an electric heater before the injection pump round out my heating elements.

The hot oil in the return line can also be utilized by Siamese configuration of the return and feed lines and insulating them so as to extract some heat from the hot return oil to the feed line oil reducing the chance of fat clogging. I have customers who insulate the fuel tank. However, I live in such a temperate climate, I have not needed to do so in my personal vehicles.

And finally, centrifuge your oil if you can. Small systems can be purchased for 600 USD or so. My system is of an industrial nature, but it results in the same - oil so clean, I change filters every 6 months only for maintenance and not because of clogging.

[alohaspirit]

thanks UFO and Rusty

i cleaned the tank strainer and flushed what i could out of the tank but couldnt get everything

(i just didnt have the resources to do it)

so there is still a bit of gunk in the fuel tank that my super-clean 1 micron oil dislodges from time to time

(the small primary usually picks it up though)

like i said, my fault for not putting a filter before the aux pump


heat wise i have a glow plug heater (for short trips) and a 30 plate heat exchanger

[alohaspirit]

i also am using the cheap $15 universal fuel pump

5-9psi, 30gal/hour

works great

[alohaspirit]

dont think i can rebuilt the pump so ill just buy another.

filled up today and increased the ratio to 35% diesel instead of the usual 20%

(still got about 60MPGe though)