Could i mix used, well strained, vegetable oil in with my diesel fuel at every fill up to offset fuel costs without doing any modifications to my fuel system set up? like say 5-8 gallons of used fry oil to 12-15 gallons of diesel? just curious.

 

With a mix of 50% used French fry oil in your fuel tank, I doubt your truck would run long enough to burn the whole tank. But it would sure make a bunch of people get an urge to run to their nearest fast food joint to get some fries!

 

problem with used fry oil is it needs to be filtered and then to keep it from going solid at ambient temps you need to keep it hot with a heater. People I know of that use it have a separate tank for it and start on normal diesel and switch back to regular diesel long enough to purge the fuel system prior to shut down.

 

10-4, thanks and a good point. should have thought of that. i guess i need to fab a tank now!!!

 

I would NOT sugested it. check out this site for more reading. I have a Dual fuel and burn straight wasted (free) veggie oil, but it took some mods to make this happen. this site has a kit that will take care of you well. Makes my road trips very cost effective. good luck
http://www.dinofuelalternatives.com/

 

Hey guys, I found this link the other day while doing a search on how to run/process waste veggie oil. It's a good read. Something I might try myself. Country.
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_mike.html#filter

 

I run 75% filtered and dewatered waste veg oil in my truck all of the time. See my signature. The remaining 25% is made up of 20% K-1 and 5% RUG.

You can check out some of my posts and experiences in the bio-diesel section down below.

 

Hey firemedic, are you processing this yourself ? I'm wondering because I'd like to get away with as little processing as possible. I live in S.CA so I might be able to get away with alittle less than most. Only because it doesn't get as cold here as it does in other parts on the country. Thanks. Country

 

I do it myself. I went out this morning and with my new vacuum sucker I picked up 100+ gallons of WVO in under 10 minutes. This thing is great!

I'll coursely filter the oil, mist wash it, de-water the oil, heat and settle, fillter, heat and settle again, filter again, blend it with the K-1 and RUG and then filter again before putting it into the truck.

 

Nice!! I'm die'n to do the same. I don't understand the process yet, of mist washing de-watering etc etc. I do want to learn more about it though. The article I posted the link on,gave me a better handle on it. But I'm just not sure about building it, and then experimenting. I'd probably blow myself up. HAH HAH. Thank-you.Country

 

My set up is simple. A couple of plastic 55 gallon drums, a $10 hot water heater element that just hangs inside of a drum and is powered by a section of extension cord. A small piece of plywood that has two $30 GE whole house water filters and a $30 Goldenrod water block filter mounted on it. An irrigation pump that I had laying around and some tubing connecting everything together.

 

Thank you Firemediceric. Just what I was looking for. Now I have my shopping list. I saved the info to my files along with rep-pionts. Thanks agian for the info. Now I just got to build it. Country

 

so you are saying that after your process is complete you don't need a separate tank with a heater to store the WVO? after your processes you can just pour it in the tank? IS it that simple or am i missing a whole lot!?!? whats the shelf life on that stuff? DO you have pics of your set up and part numbers for what your parts were or where you purchased them?

 

After I blend the filtered and de-watered WVO with the K-1, RUG, and naptha, I store the fuel in a 55 gallon drum and pump it into my 2 diesel vehicles as needed (I still need to find a 7.3 Excursion to trade for my wife's Suburban) I try to use the blended fuel within 30 days, which is never a problem.

I'll try to post or send you pix, if I can figure out how to do it.

I don't have part numbers but for the heater spear I just purchased the cheapest hot water heater element that was at Home Depot. Home Depot was also the place for the GE whole house filters. Northern Tool had the Goldenrod.

I live in Florida, so the warm climate helps a lot. You can find a lot of useful info here: http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/foru...m/f/9751014871

I get asked these questions all the time, so here is a cut and paste from another response I made. It may have more info than you want, but if it doesn't answer your questions just let me know and I'll be happy to elaborate.

I got started with the DSE stuff. I then did a lot more research. I continue to use the basic process, but I no longer use their additive and I have added some steps.

I have not heard first hand of anyone having any problem with the process beyond clogged filters. I have yet to clog a filter in my truck. I have only clogged the filter in the Mercedes that came with the car when I bought it, since then the junk has been cleaned out of the tank just through use and no problems since. In the begining I went through filters on my fuel processing station pretty regularly, but since changing up my process a little, my filters last hundreds of gallons. I probably have 600 gallons on the present ones now.

Here's what I do: I collect my oil by either picking up the cubies the restaurant has set out for me or by using a pump to pull the oil out of a dumpster and put it into 5 gallon buckets. My first 55 gallon drum has a hole cut in it the allows a 5 gallon bucket to be inserted like a cork in a bottle. This 5 gallon bucket has a bunch of holes drilled in the bottom. I line this bucket with a pillow case (I buy them at the thrift shop for 50 cents each.) I pour the oil into the pillow case and wait for it to filter through. I stop pouring as soon as I see water or any junk going into the pillow case.

After I have filled up the 55 gallon drum I do a VERY simple mist wash just using a pump sprayer. My hope is that this will balance out any Ph issues as well as further flush out any contaminates. I spray several gallons of water, usually about 5 gallons/10% of the volume of the WVO, over the oil. I spray about a quart at a time, coming back in an hour or when ever I think of it to spray the next quart. After letting it sit for a day or more, I drain the water off of the bottom. I then drop in a heating element and heat the oil to 120* for 6 hours while a small fan blows air across the surface of the oil. I then let it settle as long as possible, anywhere from a week to a couple of months depending on how soon I need it.

You'll be amazed at how much stuff settles out over time.

A few days before I need the oil I transfer it through the DSE recomended filter set up and into a second 55 gallon drum, leaving behind the bottom 6" or so to be disposed of later. Once in the second drum, I heat the oil one more time as above and then let it settle again for a few days. I can't really tell you why I do this, except that I like to err on the side of caution and this is an easy step to repeat. I then transfer one more time into my third and final drum which I call my Blending drum.

On the DSE filter set up I do use a better pump then they suggest and I also wrap the two whole house filters with paper towels. The paper towels can be peeled off when they get clogged and it lets me get more use out of the actual filters. Once in the blending drum, I add the kerosene. Sometimes as little as 10%, sometimes as much as 30%. I add 5% RUG. Instead of the DSE stuff, I'm using naptha at the rate DSE recommends their stuff be used.

If you look at the MSDS for DSE you'll see that it's primarily naptha and some xylene. Both can be bought at Lowe's for about $14 per gallon or $6 per quart. That's a whole lot less expensive than the DSE stuff. I've read both that the xylene allows the waterblock filter to catch suspended water and that the naptha allows any water that remains in the fuel to be processed by the vehicle without issue. I have no actual proof of those claims, but I reason that those additives certainly cannot hurt and may help, with viscosity if nothing else. I have gotten away from using the xylene as I have read it may not be kind to fuel lines. I haven't noticed any negatives since dropping the xylene.

Every now and again I also add some StarTron to the vehicle per the directions on the lable as an algacide. I put a whole bottle of the stuff in my tanks when I first got started just to clean them out. You can get it at West Marine.

So far everything is working well.

 

I forgot to mention, my truck has just the single tank and no type of x-tra fuel heating.