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)

GDG

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.

GDG

I had just watched the last Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, Neil Young did a great number which inspired me to play a random assortment of his music while i bought my one way flight to Portland. First line of the first song (Out on the Weekend) “I think I’ll pack it in, and buy a pick up, take it down to LA . . . .” Thank you Neil.

I am flying up to Portland on Wednesday, February 3rd for two and a half days of Vegistroke installation and then driving back on the weekend. Although the guys at Green Drop Garage have been busy checking out and buying the truck, ordering parts and such, I finely feel like i am crossing the border from planning to doing!

GDG

Like collection equipment, it is possible to go very slick with the machinery of filtration, centrifuging, flash evaporation and such. Most WVO folks will tell you that heat and time are your friend. With both of these you can defeat the twin foes of WVO as Fuel: Particulate matter and water. Centrifuging and fancy piping and filters will save you time. If i had lots of oil coming in and heavy use in my immediate future (a good problem to have) I would consider jumping right into a centrifuge set up.

My plan involves metal barrels with band heaters, hoses and filters. The image above is more of a logical construction than the physical plan. For instance Mist washing and de-watering, as they both require heating the oil, are likely to happen in the same barrel. Also the filters in the diagram suggest house filter casings with plumbing, it may be the case that I use sock filters and my collection pump to move the oil around. The pre-filtration unit may be a 5 gallon bucket with window screen and old sheets or a 55 gallon drum top filter. The idea at this stage is to understand what steps need to be taken to take fryer fresh oil and prepare it for the fuel tank.

WVO

That is the question. Either way you must have clean and dry WVO to start with. The question is where to do the work. Do you brew the WVO with chemicals to create Bio-diesel that runs in your un-modified vehicle? Do you blend the WVO with un-leaded gas and other thinners to run in your un-modified vehicle? OR do you modify your vehicle to run on straight WVO?

Brewing Bio-diesel
From my on-line research, brewing bio-diesel did not appear to be the best solution for a city dweller with limited experience. Storing and dealing with caustic chemicals was the biggest negative for me. The initial start up cost of the fuel preparation is a bit higher as well, but likely off set by the elimination of the need to modify your vehicle. My understanding is that many of the chemicals used can be recovered in your post processing and you have a bit of a closed loop. I could see this being the right choice if i was running a fleet of diverse vehicles so as to eliminate the need for diverse vehicle modification. On the plus side I understand that one of the by-products of this process is soap. Free soap.

Blending WVO
There is a fair bit of activity around blending WVO with regular unleaded gasoline (RUG) and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in a 80/15/5 blend which closely mirrors the viscosity and cetane rating of diesel (D2). Other thinners include stale aviation fuel, turpentine, acetone and kerosene to varying mixtures. Some of the online posts i have read suggest that mixtures of up to 30% non-WVO thinners are possible without negative impact to a diesel engine. I am not sure the neighbors would appreciate my storing barrels of RUG in my garage. The volatile nature of these liquids and the need to dilute my free WVO with up to 30% of costly substances deterred me from pursuing WVO blending.

Straight WVO
This seemed to be the purist solution. I also liked that as a system completely parallel to the existing fuel system in my vehicle, worst case i can not turn it on, purchase bio-diesel at the pump and be no worse off. Other than some barrels, valves and filters, the harshest mechanism i will employ is heat in some of my WVO preparation steps. I will also make sure to use a well trusted and field tested solution for the modifications to my vehicle.

Decision made, time to see what the best vehicle and modifications are out there!

WVO