"eco-deuce" running well on pure sunflower oil

Based on cranetruck's experience (thanks again, Bjorn!) I finally completed and tested my conversion to let my LDS427 run on SVO (pure sunflower salad oil).

I build the “combi” tank cutting up and welding together parts of a second tank and installing a heating coil inside the main section. Two external inline pumps do their job sharing the same water separator and fuel supply line to the engine filters. Two return lines, each fitted with a solenoid valve, keep the fuels separated.
The cold engine starts on diesel, is than manually switched (see toggle switch on dashboard) to SVO after approx. 15 minutes of warming up and back to diesel before stopping for a longer time.
With SVO the warm engine starts immediately, after 24 hours at 20ºC (68ºF) it was not so happy but came to life on the first intent after cranking for about 6-8 seconds. I didn’t use the extreme cold starting device.
At highway speed switching back and forth between diesel and SVO there wasn’t any noticeable difference in performance! Only the exhaust smells very different…!
Time will tell if there are any mechanical drawbacks of using this CO2-neutral fuel alternative in our Multifuels, hopefully not!

Attached a few pics of the components.

Gerhard

Gerhard, that looks great man. Please keep us up to date on how it does. Bjorn has done much for all of us here.

Nice job Gerhard! Do the external fuel pumps have built-in back flow preventors?
I'm not ready to try 100% VO without reducing the viscosity, not sure about the spec for the IP, which may be damaged if the viscosity is too high. Normally the VO should be heated to 180-200 degF and even then it's more viscous than regular diesel.
You do excellent work, very professional looking end result.

eco-deuce

Kenneth and Bjorn, thanks for the compliments and support!
What you see on top of the (diesel-) pump is the inline check valve. The heater hoses are attached to the second (SVO-) pump and lines and everything is wrapped with Armaflex insulation. Fuel pressure of either system at the secondary fuel filter is 40 to 45 psi, with plenty of return. The fuel goes directly to the IP head, fuel density compensator has been bypassed and the booster pump was totally eliminated years ago, after mechanical failure.
It never was my intention to run the IP on cold salad oil. I know that the much higher viscosity could cause fatal results, but the temptation to know if it would start anyways was just irresistible.
I also know that Bosch is now developing and testing a new concept of injection pumps for high viscosity fuels combined with ultrasonic treatment of the oil to eliminate micro bubbles! Germans seem to be far ahead with the technology to burn 100% SVO (one tank system), mainly rapeseed oil in their diesel engines. And farmers now are growing fuel!

Gerhard

To compare notes, which brand/model solenoid and check valves are you using? I use SMC direct acting (no pilots) valves and Circle Seal check valves.
Will try to find two good 3-way valves to replace the four individual ones later to upgrade the system. The check valves are okay, but if neither pump is running (=no battery), the IP will draw fuel from both tanks and return it to the "Main" tank in my case, since the normally open valve is directing the return to it when there is no power.
The fuel temperature gauge is very informative, I can recommend it highly.
Do you have a valve in the coolant fluid line for the heating coil?

eco-deuce

Bjorn: The solenoid valves are Jefferson, ¼” BSP conex./size, serial Nº OM25931, cat. Nº 2036BA04, 12V, max. 80ºC (176ºF), max. 15bar., normally closed.
Instead of two 3-way valves you could buy one 6-way “fuel selector valve”: Borg Warner FSV3. bar code 033086013961. (See image) They come from factory in some pickups with one tank on each side. Don’t know if they exist for 24V.
About the check valves: ¼” BSP, inline, any brand.
Just in case there are two valves to shut off engine coolant flow to the coil. (See image) There are no heater hoses and cocks for the cab heater, here there is no need!
Fuel temp.: yes, I was planning to add a gauge even if the temperature in the tank will always be related to engine temp., minus inertia of 15-20 minutes. Only a minor portion of the VO in the main tank needs to be heated at a time since the coil and pickup tube are enclosed in a kind of inverted bowl, welded to the bottom. (don’t discard empty Freon 22 container!).

Gerhard

Thanks for that info!
Know about the 6-way valves, some are motorized and will not return to a default position if power is lost. Also, I need to be able to control the return flow separately to "purge" the lines after switching the pumps.

My fuel density monitor tells me that it takes 75 seconds to purge the fuel lines after switching tanks and I'd like the fuel in the lines/filters to return to the tank it came from so to speak.

A smaller dia check valve is probably more tolerant to rust particles, but I plan on eliminating them altogether.
The smaller heated area in your tank is likely okay if the ambient doesn't drop too far below freezing. A mixture of 50% biodiesel and 50% VO will hardly pour at temps below 20F and with a pump capacity of several quarts/minute, I'd like to have as much heated fuel available as possible.

In my case, the fuel temperature never exceeded 140F during my recent highway trip and it was turned on continously with a engine coolant temp of 175-185F for hours on end.

When refueling , the temp dropped to about 85F and would gradually rise to 130-135F during the following couple of hours.

My concern over the temp has to do with the fact that I use unwashed biodiesel, which contains a residue of methanol. Methanol starts to boil at 148F.

Do some more test runs and let us know how it goes.

Reviving an old thread I thought was cool while looking for rear main seal replacement tips.

Time goes fast, that was like yesterday....The 8x8 is getting the same treatment and already had the switching setup for dual tanks (truck tractor). The valves of the 8x8 installation is getting more attention to eliminate any pressure drop (high Cv value) experienced with the deuce and the system also includes a heated primary fuel filter as well as a fuel burning heater to heat the fuel in one tank....and probably some other details that I forget...
Drove the deuce for about 2,000 miles on biodiesel and veggie oil that was carried along back in 2006. The only problem I noticed was the slight loss of power when burning biofuels and that was only apparent when the truck was loaded to the limit and driving uphill. Lower boost and EGT also.