Well, this all sounds cool and I'm going to keep looking into it. Dieseldan, let us know how it goes. I'm going to hold off for a while until I learn more about diesels in general first, then I'll think about doing the filtered WVO. The biodiesel does seem like a lot of hassle for the benefits. I might try to make a small batch just to try it out. If it's not as bad as it sounds, I'll stick with it. But if running well-filtered WVO works, so be it and I'll give that a try (after I'm not as much of a newbie).

 

About the taxes, and it being legal to run as a fuel. I've found the following info:
For the state of Iowa (where I live) you need to pay road tax on the "special" fuel (be it SVO, WVO or Bio). Info from the state can be found here "http://www.state.ia.us/tax/forms/motor.html#MFNews". Current rate is 22.5 cents/gal.

There is a fedral tax for bio-diesel (if you make more than 400 gal/year), it is 24.4 cents/gal. If you are running SVO or WVO there is no federal tax. This info can be found here: "http://www.metaefficient.com/metaefficient/archives/biodiesel/biodiesel-faq.html"

So for bio-diesel: production ~ 60 cents/gal + 24.4 cents fed. tax + 22.5 cents state tax = ~$1.07/gal to produce and use (if quantity exceeds 400 gal/year)

WVO is only the 22.5 cents/gal state tax

SVO = whatever it costs to get + 22.5 cents/gal

As far as I can tell running any of these in your vehicle CAN be totally legal, and still save a lot of $$. Please remember I am not an professional in this field, I've just done a bit of research.

 

I think i may have figured out an even cheaper setup for WVO if you have a manual tranny. Instead of spending money on a fuel heater just use the one provided already. The 7.3s (6.9s not sure) have a chamber in the radiator for the tranny cooler. I figure if I run a fuel line in/out through that it will heat it up to 180 once the motor warms up.
Then all I have to do is mount a screw on filter somewhere and I should be ready to go.

 

I'd like to see any state try to collect taxes on alternative fuels. It's not something that can be tracked, even if they look at my mileage. If they find me running WVO during a roadside inspection, they'd be pretty hard pressed to prove that I didn't pay tax on it.

Then again, the IRS is the only government agency that ignores due process and gets away with it. That nonsense needs to stop. 2nd Amendment anyone?

 

how the performance affected by running biodiesel

 

Over here in Europe they are finally (Brussels European Council) encouraging the use of alternative fuels but there is no set law as far as taxes are concerned.For the moment the guys running on VO or WVO are not paying the 78% tax per liter which is the tax on dino fuel.What they take in consideration is the base tax (VAT) that you already pay when you buy a liter of any type of vegetable oil which is 5.5% so the taxes are payed in advance at the grocery store! As far as power, my 20% mix does not induce any power loss,my WVO kit should be up and running end of September so I will post my observations at the time.There is an "Alternative Fuels Forum" on this site which has some good info also.
Saigon

 

It's a little more complicated than that, you also need a 6 port valve to switch from dino to wvo or else the wvo bleedoff will return to the dino fuel tanks(unless you use one of your existing fuel tanks),you have to start and stop the truck on dino to purge the wvo from the fuel lines, anyway there are all kinds of wvo systems and most of the guys build them themselves as they are basically the same,the most important point is to heat the wvo to 180°, the stanadyne IP pumps don't like that thick oil at all !
Saigon

 

I installed a 50 gal bed tank with a after market fleatgard fs1000 fuel filer and a 2nd 6way valve in my 6.9. Rite know I am running 1/3 pre filtered used motor oil mixed with diesel fuel Seams to run fine so far. I have put about 500 miles on to date as a matter of fact I just got home from work. I plan to run filtered wvo mixed after i heat the tank with a artic fox tank heater and coolant coils.

 

A friend of mine has ordered a tank and all the heater elements to plumb engine coolant lines back to the tank he is installing in the truck bed. He says if anyone ever gives him problems about not paying the road tax, just tell them that you're running the stuff as a fuel additive and they supposedly can't do anything about it. With WVO you still have to purge the lines and start and stop on diesel, but anything in the middle is WVO. He said it'll work out to something like 180 MPG of real diesel. Pretty sweet "additive" if you ask me.

 

Who did he order the tank from? Any idea about price or capacity? I'm looking at a 100 gallon bed-mount tank from Greasel.com. Plumbing is no prob, but designing and fabricating a tank with a built-in heating grid would be a lot of work.

 

I am not sure where he got it from. I'll check on that and let you know. I know it is a 100 gallon tank that will go in the bed.

 

would not having a heated tank make a difference? can the mechanical pump handle the cold oil until it ges to the heater?

 

If you use WVO, I'm pretty sure it must be heated so that it's not congealed grease. It needs to be heated to be liquefied enough for the pump to pump it. This is why the engine has to be started and stopped on diesel. The veggie oil will congeal and clog the lines and filter(s). Think of what bacon grease does when it gets back to room temperature.

 

Is there any way to install an intank heater on these trucks like a semi has? What if a 12v electric heater was installed inline right as it came out of the tank?

 

An immersion heater wouldn't be practical, because of its limited surface area. Just not big enough. You might try a contact heater, like the ones used for oil pans. Not sure if they come in 12vdc. When you look at greasecar.com or greasel.com, you see that the coolant heat exchanger piping is built into the tanks, near the bottom. This places all the warmest, lowest viscosity fuel near the fuel pickup. A contact heater pad would mimic this, but you're talking about one BIG pad!

If I decide to go veggie oil instead of biodiesel, I'll either build or buy a bed tank. Much higher capacity (more time to scavenge resources) and the truck can be easily converted back to stock.