Vegetable Oil SVO WVO waste cooking oil as biofuel

[zoochy]

1991 Toyota Hiace 3L

The 3L engine has indirect fuel injection and therefore, is well suited to run on Vegetable oil. The biggest issue with converting the Hiace is the lack of extra space in the engine bay for additional equipment. I have no space for a heat exchanger anywhere close to the injector pump so regardless how appealing this feature may be; it is simply not a viable option. My modifications consist of a fuel lift pump, heated fuel line, extra fuel filter, and a second tank for just diesel switched via a 3-way solenoid valve. I’ll be the first to admit that this system is not the best possible set-up for running a vehicle on vege oil but there is definitely some merit to keeping things simple.

Fuel Lift Pump
I placed a Facet 12V lift pump where the fuel exits the fuel tank. It pushes the cold fuel forward and thereby relives some of the strain on the injector pump. For what it cost I would install one even if I weren’t running vege-oil because it is a small investment that will likely greatly extend the life of the injector pump (IP).
http://www.facet-purolator.com/solidstate.asp
(I think I have the 40108 model but I can’t quite recall or find the receipt)

Fuel Line
The stock fuel line is about a 1/8” ID metal line that runs from the tank to just before the fuel filter. This poses a major restriction problem, as even slightly thicker fuel would place a huge demand on the fuel pump. My initial plan was to put in a ½” fuel line from the tank to the engine bay to relive some restriction. As fate had it I managed to find a ½”-24V-300W Racor heated fuel line for less than $100 on ebay which is really good deal given that these hoses are listed at over $1000 off the shelf. I think they stopped making these heated fuel lines as I cannot find any info about them on the web, which may be why I got it so cheap?

The Hiace is 12V so the hose-heating element would only put out 75W @ 12V so I installed a 12V to 24V converter which cost about $100.
http://www.powerstream.com/DC-HV.htm

Fuel Filter
I added a 10-micron GoldenRod fuel filter immediately before the stock fuel filter. I did this only because the Toyota fuel filters are really expensive to replace. I highly recommend adding an extra filter for when you first start burning veg. The thicker fuel tends to bring up all kinds of crud from your fuel tank. Replacement Goldenrod filter cartridges are about $5 and I went through 3 in the first 10,000 so the assembly has more than paid for itself even if I decide to remove it now that my fuel system is cleaned out. I don’t think it really hurts anything to leave it there though. If anything it serves as extra peace of mind that the fuel entering my IP is clean and free of any suspended water.

Diesel Tank and 3-way Valve
I keep my vege-oil blend in the 70L stock fuel tank and I added an outboard marine fuel tank for just diesel that I have secured down in the back of my van. The fuel in this tank is to shut down and start the engine on. The tank looks like this:
http://www.parsunengines.com/images/out ... d_hose.jpg

My diesel tank has a quick release connector similar to the one shown in the picture, which is handy for re-fuelling the tank outside of the vehicle. Any sort of tank with a fuel quick-connect would work as well. Just make sure there is a breather hole to compensate for fuel leaving the tank.

From the diesel tank I ran a fuel line to the engine bay with an easily accessible in-line fuel filter before a HydraForce 3-way solenoid valve. I do not share fuel filters with the Vege-oil and there are only a few inches of fuel line between the 3-way valve and the IP so switchover from one fuel to the other is very quick. The 3-way valve is similar to this:
http://www.plantdrive.com/shop/product. ... 248&page=2

I bought it at PQ Systems Ltd in Burnaby BC (604.299.0022) because Planetdrive did not return my messages. The valve w/ shipping came to $130CDN. PQ’s item numbers for a Hydraforce 12V-3way are as follows:
350-6351012 for the coil
350-SV10340N00 for the valve
350-7024360 for the electrics

The 3-way valve is on the same electrical circuit as the lift pump. When the valve is switched on, the lift pump also turns on and pushes my WVO blend from the main tank. When the circuit is off, fuel is sucked from the marine tank by the IP.

The only major draw back with this tank set-up is that because the IP pulls way more fuel than what is consumed; most of the fuel from the diesel tank ends up in the main tank. My IP pulls about 1L / minute from the diesel tank. Not a huge problem, but I end up having to fill the diesel tank fairly regularly. Apart from that, it works great.

Future modifications may include:
- Insulating the return fuel line from the IP to the main tank.
- Installing a proper-under carriage fuel tank for the diesel so that I can return the diesel fuel back to the diesel tank rather than to the veg tank. This would also free up some space in the back of the van.

[zoochy]

UPDATE:

I put a HydraForce 3-way valve on my return fuel line so now diesel goes back to the diesel tank and veg goes back to the main tank. I tied it into the existing tank selector switch, which does result in some veg ending up back in the diesel tank. I did put the valve near the IP so the amount of contamination is likely less than a cup per switch over. Regardless, I plan on installing a second purge switch before winter hits. The wires are in place I just haven’t bothered to pick up a nice looking switch yet.

What amazes me is how little diesel I am going through now. Despite driving almost every day, I’ve gone through less than 12L of diesel in 6 weeks. Before adding the return fuel line valve I was going through that much a week with obviously most of it ending up back in my main tank. Had I known that, I would have made this modification sooner as I will save the cost of the valve in about 3 months.

[zoochy]

My Facet inline "helper" pump failed after about 120,000 km. I'm impressed it worked that long to be honest for the small amount of $ I paid for it.

I replaced it with a $90 Carter P61295S because that was all that was available in the town where I was staying when it failed.

Will be interesting to note how long the Carter pump lasts.

[zoochy]

The Carter pump died on me. It lasted 3 months and less than 20,000 km.

I replaced it with this pump made in China for Mr. Gasket:
http://store.prestoliteperformance.com/ ... iesel.html

I'll keep you posted as to how long this pump lasts.

[zoochy]

Well that didn’t take long, the Mr Gasket green pump lasted less than 15,000 km.

I decided to spend a bit more this time and replaced my pusher pump with a Carter p4070, which is a vein pump with a much heavier motor than any of the previous pumps I've ran. It's actually made in the USA so… it should be a quality product. It cost about double what I paid for the other pumps, we'll see if it lasts twice as long. I'll keep you posted as to how it works out.

All other aspects of my system are functioning flawlessly in the climate where I live. I got rid of the stock fuel filter and now only have the Goldenrod filtering the vege-blend. My processing/filtering set-up has proven to be good enough to give me enough confidence to run with just the single filter.

The only addition I've made for when I am in colder climates is a magnetic heater that I slap to the bottom of my fuel tank when the temperature is under -10C.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/produ ... 1230785301

The 200W element is enough to keep the tank from turning my blend solid. If I lived in a place where the winters were more prolonged then I would add a heated pickup to my tank but… I don't so, this does the trick.