Heated fuel tank project, biodiesel, WVO..

[cranetruck]

Okay, tested the dual tank system today. (Ambient about 40F after a night at 18F)
Started the engine on regular diesel. Put the radiator cover on to help warm up the engine.
After 20 minutes the engine temp was about 150F and I switched on the fuel tank heater. 20 minutes later the fuel was at 70F and I switched over to biodiesel. You couldn't tell by the engine sound, but my FDC monitor showed an increase in fuel viscosity and adjusted itself for less fuel. It took 75 seconds before the compensator moved after fuel switch over.
I let it run on bio for 10 minutes and switched back to diesel. This time I let the return go to the main tank until the FDC showed that diesel was at the IP at which time the return was switched to diesel as well.
Let run another 5 minutes on diesel and shut down.
Worked great. Only problem is a leak by one valve (noticed it the other day, still haven't fixed it).

Bjorn

 

[tnordahl]

Hi Bjorn. Thanks for the answer.

I aim to shamelessly plagiate your Dual Tank system and impress my non English speaking peers to no end.

Well,
I don't have the Density Compensation (dc) thingy, which is actually good news since a dc would work the wrong way and my Fuel Pump (fp) would give unsufficient WVO.)
My fp is currently adjusted for diesel operation.

So, how does this sound?

I mount a modified dc instead. The modification consists of not connecting the fuel lines and mounting a, solenoid or pneumatic Whatchamacallit, that directly biases the dc piston (KK see drawing below), either up or down (don't know which or how much yet) when activated. When the Whatchamacallit is switched off, the servo spring CC returns the piston KK to its original position.
The un-biased position will be "diesel operation" and the biased will be WVO.

True, the modified dc will not react to changes in viscosity due to temperature or other stuff, but keep in mind: The alternative is "no compensation at all" or worser than worserest, "compensation in the wrong direction"

I think I can determine the direction and movement of the dc piston if, before modification, I just pump WVO thru the dc. I should be able to see how much the Doohickey at the end of the piston moves.

hmm - I need to get me a dc!

Which leads me to my question: How much damage can I do tinkering around with the fp and dc?

Tom

 

[cranetruck]

Tom,
Great! If you have any questions about the project, let me know.
About the compensator, fully down, non-energized, the device produces maximum fuel delivery. That's where you want the biodiesel. Pushed up some, 1/4 inch or so, would be diesel.
If the fuel viscosity compensator is bypassed, just leave it that way, that will give you maximum fuel delivery anyway, unless you adjust the screw "Z" in the image above.
Bjorn

 

[tnordahl]

Bjorn,

Short question:
I have found a list of heat values, but since I'm metric in my thinking, I'm unable to make heads or tails of it.

Example

Quote "Our MPGe (equivalent heat value in gasoline) is 82.7" - 82.7 what?
Over here, gasoline is 9.7 KWh or 35 MJ per liter.

Any idea?

Tom

 

[cranetruck]

Tom,
1000 Btu/US gallon = 0.279 megajoules per liter (MJ/l)

so 35MJ is about 124,000 BTU/gallon

MPGe = Miles/gallon equivalent. I guess it's used for fuels that aren't measured in gallons (battery power, gas etc)

(googled it)

Bjorn

 

[ken]

Bjorn, You mentioned that you switched to WVO at 70 deg F. Do you know what the min temp is to run WVO? In the summer here it rarely gets below 75 to 80 here. Would that be warm enough to run WVO with out switching back to diesel? Or would the fats solidfy in the IP? Also when warming the fuel with the coolant water , is the engine able to maintain operating temp?

 

[cranetruck]

Ken, the keyword here is viscosity. Veggie oil is more than ten times as viscous at room temp as biodiesel and biodiesel is twice as viscous as regular diesel at room temp.

My dual tank system is designed/intended for biodiesel with some percentage of veggie oil only.

100% BD is usable down to about 35F and if your ambient stays above that at all times, then there is no need for a heated tank at all.
Veggie oil is a different animal all together, it must be about 180-200F by the time it hits the injectors.
It has a viscosity of about twice that of diesel at 180F, which is okay for the IP/injectors.
People who run on 100% veggie, use a heated tank plus hose-in-hose heaters, heated filter(s) plus, perhaps, an electrical fuel line heater to keep the temp up. They have to start/shut down on diesel at all times.

You can run on 20% veggie oil and 80% regular diesel without heating anything if the temp stays above 70F or so. It works by dilution of the veggie oil. Biodiesel can also be diluted using kerosene or diesel for use below freezing, but the percentage my be 25-50% just to run at 20-10F. That's why I'm now heating it so that it can be used over the full range that regular diesel can be used (and without any additives).

When I heat the biodiesel in my tank, there has been no change in the warm-up rate of the engine (I have a digital temp indicator to monitor this). Guess it doesn't take much more than the personnel heater.

I welcome these questions, since I'll be working on the bio article for another few days and queries always help clear up things.

Bjorn

 

[cranetruck]

The latest shot of the dash of the deuce with the dual tank control panel to the right. The fuel temp gauge is not yet hooked up.

 

[Recovry4x4]

So much for the simplicity of the deuce. one needs a Doctorate to operate Bjorns truck!

 

[red devils dude]

 

[Desert Rat]

Or you need to be a fighter pilot ot keep up with all that! Heck, it reminds me of my '94 9400 Cornbinder I used to own. Most impressive Bjorn! Plus it discourages anyone with sticky fingers from attempting to "test drive" one.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Yeah, I would post all kinds of incorrect directions for operation.

 

[cranetruck]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. Driving on regular diesel is just like normal operation,
the switches don't need to be touched. Only thing is, fuel comes from the small tank, about 12 gallons.
Or if both tanks are filled with regular diesel, switches can be left in "MAIN" position and operation is as usual.
In warm weather, both tanks may be used for biodiesel.
By heating the main tank to 140F or so, straight veggie oil with some percentage of diesel/kerosene could be used in a warm climate (filters are not heated).
SVO should ideally be at 180-200F at the IP for proper atomization.

 

[cranetruck]

Gotto add one more note to this thread.

As it turns out, solenoid and check valves are very sensitive to particles floating along and the fuel must be filtered before it's fed to the valves.
Learned the hard way a couple of weks ago. When I switched over to bio after starting the engine on petro, the "Fuel Flow" warning light stayed on when it shouldn't (it's also a warning of low fuel pressure).
Didn't know what was going on at first, but soon realized that fuel was pumped from the main tank to the aux tank, filling it rapidly and keeping the fuel pressure below 5 psi.
After shutting the engine down, I discovered that one of the check valves was stuck open.
When it was later examined, I saw tiny particles of rust jamming the teflon flap open preventing it from closing.

Bottom line is that I'm now installing a filter in each line coming from the fuel pumps before the fuel hits any of the valves.
There is also a valve in the coolant hose (heating the "main" fuel tank) and hopefully the coolant filter will keep that valve from malfunctioning, although it's not in the same circuit.

Over and out.

 

[Recovry4x4]

On that note Bjorn, the filter is on the way. I did open it and remove the element just to make sure it was sent. They sure don't like the smell of fuel when you ship something. I still have your coolant heater and the light brackets off the pipeline here but the new marker lights are with the filter. Let me know when it gets there. Fedex was advised to leave it at the door if you're gone.

 

[cranetruck]

Thanks Kenny, BTW, the fuel pressure sending unit is one of the ones I got from you.

 

[DrFoster]

I heard some funny information on running veggie oil. You have to pre-heat it to above 160 degrees f before it can be run through your injection pump and have low enough viscosity to be ignited.

I can see two things - ok so maybe that is true for the pump's sake, but how about heat exchange off of the engine when it is in the injector rails?

So what is it? Pre-heat the veggie oil or try to inject it cold and strain the pump?

Hmmmm..

 

[wallew]

Bjorn,
I just looked at 'Abusing the tractor again' thread. You don't show a fuel tank on the drivers side of your tractor.

I want to put AT LEAST one more fuel tank where the spare goes. The spares (that's correct - plural) will end up in the back of the truck. I first tired to 'reinvent the wheel' by considering cutting or replacing the bed so I could fab up an 'fuel storage/tool box' combo. Then was reading someplace on the web about a 'new and improved' box that was indeed fuel tank/tool box - one on top of the other but as ONE unit that fit in the bed of a 'normal' pick up truck.

I thought that through with the idea of modifying what I WAS going to do and instead modify it so I can put it in the BED of the deuce. It will include a sturdy roll bar (gotta figure out frame mounts), fuel storage of at least 100 gals - of heated WVO - (actually 50 gal X 2), a tool box that will hold ALL my duece tools LOCKED up.

Not sure about the 'LOCKED UP' part yet, but I am still working on. Life progresses and my ideas take shape. Vehicle will be here this Saturday...

Bjorn, I would welcome your and ANYONE ELSE'S input on my idea.

 

[mangus580]

Wallew, I think you might be a little confused. the tractor thread is Kenny's (recovry4x4)

 

[wallew]

mangus,

How right you are. I'll just go back to my room, take some more medication and take my nap. And I'M NOT kidding.

Having said that, what you have done Bjorn is amazing. You only have two (ok, one is split by you - three?) fuel tanks hanging in the 'normal' places? You seem to have the 'plumbing/electrical' down cold.

I'm just attempting to design a 'deuce majic box' type of thing. Comes from an old scifi book by Heinlein. One of his character would reach into his box and out came the exact thing you needed at that time.

So a twin fuel tanks, tool box (not too tall so that the troop seats can still be used), roll bar (shorter than the bows - so you can still put on the top - still not clear on interference of the troop seats yet), lights mounted on roll bar (can be swiveled down out of way when top on), antennas mounted on roll bar or on side of bed with proper military mounting brackets (GPS, XM, AM/FM, cell phone, scanner maybe). May be a small electric winch. 12 v batteries (two will be minimum) and therefore will need one of those solargizers to help keep them charged (haven't figured out using 24v alternator to charge JUST 12v battery's).

So lots of questions, not many answers. Just slow learning curve by this EXCITED old guy. Getting his first (and probably only) MV come Saturday.

Let the modifications begin!! After I take two or three rolls of pix of what it looks like right now...