Archive for February 2010
I made it home in about 19 hours and about 1 gallon of diesel, tired but happy.
I left with a full tank of diesel and a full tank of veggie oil as well as 50 gallons of veggie oil in one of the barrels i was bringing home. I drove from about 5 pm to midnight to a rest stop in northern California just as the veggie tank went dry. Luckily the temperatures where in the 40s and it was raining instead of snowing as i came over the mountains.
I took a five hour break, slept in the back of the cab, refilled the veggie tank and headed south again. Heading up the Grapevine pass the fuel pressure started to flick back and forth and the green light indicating i was running on veggie started to flicker. As i still had half a tank of veggie oil, this indicated that the pressure in the veggie system was blocked. It is expected that the first filter on the V3 system will last for just over one tank of veggie as all the dust and crap in the tank are cleaned out. I made it home by running on diesel on the uphills and veggie on the flats and down hills.
The truck is unloaded, the filter is changed and i am running smoothly on my last 20 gallons of veggie while i build out my home filtration system and get some local oil. See pictures of the whole trip here.
Jason and James from Dino Fuel Alternatives came by in the morning and pitched right in on the final tasks to get me on the road south. Preping barrels for my filtration system, electrical connections on my sotera pump, no job too small. These guys have a great product and they stand behind it. The actual fix of a minor wiring issues on the unit took under 15 minutes and then we were test driving.
Within 5 miles the system switched over to veggie oil and we did two laps around Portland. There is no noticeable difference between driving on diesel and veggie oil other than the very bright green light on the fuel switch. Time to load the truck and head south.
We are Sooooo close to finished with the install. The tank and filler neck, fuel lines, wiring harness, gauges, dash switches and V3 unit are all installed. There is a small wiring issue with the V3 unit that the Vegistroke guys are going to check out in the morning, then we test drive. See photos on my WVO album.
Don’t let the terms ’system’ and ‘install’ lull you into the view that this is all a ‘paint-by-numbers’ affair. While the majority of the V3 unit components are very straightforward, the fuel tank whether in-bed or under-bed, involves cutting holes in your truck and making things fit. There is custom work involved and it does not always go smoothly. These under-bed tanks are still a fairly new product (since last August) and connections were not in optimal locations, fittings not included . . . nothing critical, but it sure pushes some extra work onto the installers. Dan wrestled with that tank for half a day, ground down fittings, custom cut plumbing and ultimately fit the tank with millimeters of clearance between the exhaust, towing package and rear shocks.
I have to say that all my dealings with Dan and Farhad at the Green Drop Garage have been great. Very good communication, great hospitality, straightforward in explaining options and costs as well as helping out on any questions regarding veggie oil in general. (oh, and Farhad showed me some great restaurants in the area)
Landed in Portland, met the boys at Green Drop Garage and saw the truck. Touched the Truck, Sat in the Truck. IT IS REAL!
All the mods and repairs are complete and tomorrow we start on the Vegistroke installation.
