need info on converting bus to veggie oil

well, we will have our bus in a few weeks, & want to drive it to here, take a couple days & convert to veg oil then head to north dakota to work on the inside more till closer to the gathering...
but, we need as much info as possible on what we need to do to convert it b4 we get it here so we can have a;ll the parts ready when we get it here

so, what needs to be done to convert it, what do we need to buy & where can we get everything

as detailed as possible plesase
thnx

 

if its a diesel than no mods required, original diesel engine ran on peanut oil and its the same concept as modern ones. all you would need to do is strain the oil to make it as smooth as possible and maybe add some ethanol in the mixture to clean out the gunk in the engine.

 

Soaring Eagle,

Actually the young-un's are right on this one. Diesels run about anything that'll burn if MIXED right! We ran all our Farm equipment during the 70's gas crunch using used motor oil, gasoline, used mineral spirits, perfume, ALL oils, Rubbing alcohol, Shine, etc. No machine or Diesel vehicle was ever modified. JUST LEARN TO MIX FUEL RIGHT. You can burn test and other way's to check BEFORE using. Then you can fill up at any Kitchen, Bathroom, Shed, Garage, and probally even the vasoline from a bedroom.
Proper Cooking oil prep is adding Ethanol and lye if your going to burn cooking oil right from tank, if my mind hasnt left me completely.


For those that persist on conversion's.....People are also getting healthier but there should always be some used cooking oil around somewhere!

Right On !!!

Tradin' Bill a.k.a. Fla_Hippy

 

well there is modifications needed, 1 you need a second tank with a heating coil to liquify the oil u need extra filters & theres parts that u need to take off that are emission control devices

yes u can pour oil in & go..in the heat of summer
but for full time use u need to make some modifications

ive heard theres kits u can get?

 

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=228&fr=

 

http://www.goodgrease.com/ looks like a great site but still would love info from any1 here whos done it

 

The Albuquerque food not bombs truck used the greasecar kit (which is about the cheapest kit), which needed a pretty good mechanic to help out on installation. It also doesn't run great in cold weather, and it ain't that cold in albuquerque (tho we do get below freezing, just not below 0 ). I would consider the Frybrid kit if you have the extra cash. They have a comparison chart on their website.

 

everyone seems to be right here
the diesel will run on pure oil, or filtered grease, if the motor is at running temperature. but when you first start it up, it is rarely at that temperature, so you either need to start it with regular diesel, or a mixture of oil/recycled grease and methanol, or, you need to preheat the oil/filtered grease, so that it will be thin enough to run through a cold motor. the motor will heat up after a gallon or two, when you can switch over to your cold grease. the reason you go with two tanks is so that you can either preheat oil in the small tank with some type of electric heater, or you can use it to store diesel or biodiesel.
filtering, and even mixing, your own grease is not hard, but there are many hurdles when you actually live in the vehicle(you damn hippie). to filter the grease when you dont live in the vehicle, you simply heat it up for about a half an hour, while stirring or agitating it. this makes all the vegetable glycerine settle to the bottom, where you will drain it out. to mix this grease with the highly explosive and slightly expensive methanol, you need a tool called a hydrometer, which costs about $80. if you do go that route and reach that point, i can give you instructions on how and why to use this very simple tool.
your main problem you will encounter when you put your system together, is that you are going to have to plan for your worste case scenario, like when you are camped on a moutain top for weeks without running the motor, and it snows and gets cold at night, you have to make sure that your system will in fact start up that bus and run long enough to get you down off the mountain.

 

you're saying run it on straight used veggie oil? wow. i looked into the systems to make biodiesel. like put in your NEW oil, (or well cleaned used oil), the systems then add lye and methanol. systems are expensive but can make it cheap (ONLY cheaper than gas/diesel if you use USED oil.. ) rape seed is recommended but that gets pretty expensive. how about "calling" it a veggie mobile and running it on off-road diesel (no tax!) and hope you dont get pulled over by the man seriously, i'd be afraid and cautious to put anything highly flammable into the engine that would cause it to explode or blow a head gasket and leave you stranded. remember, diesels are high compression and diesel #2 (or winter diesel #1) are much less volatile than gas, methanol, other alcohols, etc. bad advice in my opinion. if you can run it on used motor oil, how long can you do that before you need more maintenance or repair? i change my fuel oil and air filter on my car for about $20? I changes my fuel, oil, and air on my ford (diesel) F700 for about $120. i wouldn't want to increase the $120 filter/fluid change to save a few pennies on old oil. research the biodiesel kits. they're cool earn their money back over time, help the environment, and ultimately save you.. but really, only if you can get the used oil for free and clean it up first. just google biodiesel kits etc.. good luck on your trip man!

 

SE,

All these guys are right. I just did the old engine shows here and saw 6-7 SVO Set-ups. Heck 1 was offering it free to someone to dismantle and it happened. I've un-installed 3 units myself.

The Cooking Oil gig is now like a 16yr old smoking Cig's.... Looks, Sound's, Is Cool...... But not so practical, logical, etc for the long haul. BUT, You can do it for $500 to a kit for $5,000.

I teach people to start fire from water at these shows and think I'll switch to "how to mix fuel for your MFV Diesel". Had a nice list from the 70's on exact amounts to mix gas/Motor oil, etc to make EXCELLENT fuel, I'm looking for now. There should be Lots more used oils around when the shit hits than cooking oil......

Good luck on any decision !!!!

Tradin' Bill a.k.a. Fla_Hippy


PS ( Try "SVO" searches for kits )

 

Also,

Even the BEST pure Diesel Fuel Freeze's in the North !!! Truckers add stuff to keep from freezing OR run Kerosene, We called it HOT Fuel and could just add an oil coming off the mountain into warm Valley.

Looking at the Weather.com NOW I see why all my Northern Bus-Hippies got House's these last few winters :^)

Tradin' Bill a.k.a. Fla_Hippy

 

tb im l;oookin at kits all over & findin alotta semi expensive ones that look good but may or may not work with every deisel,
the $500 diy options certainly best but can u give us as much info as u can?
we know theres drawbacks to svo wvo but i think its the best option since its still free , & an svo rig can burn biodiesel too,
can u tell us badsicaluy what wed hafta do to convert for around $500 to $700 which is about what we're hopingto spend ..if possible

 

I suggest looking at a few of the Kits for your bus Year/Motor to get an idea. Newer Diesel engines (Age/Motor) & small diesel cars have smaller Injectors and filtering is more important. Older diesels had bigger injectors.

Even though I dont recommend, here goes:

BEST is to:

Have good filters on pump, pumping grease INTO your tank. Better to have a clean tank than trying to filter it coming out of tank (But I do suggest morer filters between tank and factory filters, ie:Water seperator!). Cleaner tank means less chance of gumming up. I cant stress this enough.

Have a second tank

Have (If possible) an in-tank heat exchanger for anywhere north of Atlanta. Now yes I've seen folks wrap the fuel line around the exhaust and engine, but this is NEVER recommended by me. Go with cheap 12V line heaters.

Have good valves to shut-off or turn-on the Second tank



These are the basics I see foks having problems with. A zillion good designs on the Net check 'em out and get some good ideas on cheap tanks, etc for your area. Here in Florida we have discount RV places and its a breeze.

Tradin' Bill a.k.a. Fla_Hippy

 

SE, if this doesn't make sense, then i apologize for not understanding the thread...

#1) you're going to carry EXTRA fuel with you as you travel, is that it?
--if so, i see used old oil tanks, typically can be had for free or very cheap, on farms they are used to store off-road diesel delivered from co-ops. put a 100 gal in your van, bolt it down to the floor i guess too.

#2) the svo you're getting is used and you're going to filter it on the road? don't underestimate the amount/cost of filters you'd be going through if your using commercially available solutions.
think of fabricating a filtering system.. like old window screen down to smaller and smaller mesh systems followed by a commercial filter.

fyi i couldn't start my diesel truck (i don't have glow plugs or plug in engine warmer on the welch/freeze plugs) on a very very cold indiana morning. it took me like an hour of moving a 110,000 turbo like heater pointed at the batteries, then the oil pan, and the fuel tank before i could get it started. i use the Nappa fule conditioner. it's probably just kerosene, but is the stuff that helps prevent the diesel from gelling and not flowing throught the fuel system..

 

i was looking at the namad wvo system & like it alot but its not ecxactly cheap
last year there was a thread, i think it wss here, but now dont remember, it was brother who was converting buses & i think had his own lil kit he developed...& he said it would cost about $400-700 in parts (and i think he wsas even offering free help) but i cant seem to find the thread
its an 86 think we can get away without changing injectors?
just an electric tank/line heating system (maybe a combo of electric & coolant) & was already planning on a tripple filter system if we go with a self desiged system

if we can get away with just the heated tank &7 lines & s decent fulel switch & the filters, then i think we can do it affordable

 

I saw it I thought here too but cant find so we're both not crazy!!

If its the INTERNATIONAL, I've had both an '85 and '86 and ran some strange mixtures thru stock factory tank/fuel system with no problems. It's just the smaller diesel and NEW engines I would check the injectors and filter GOOD.

I've seen about every type of heater used in these tanks....even those heated dipsticks. BIG GAS/OIL Secret I cant let on as I may come up missing.....But hot rods use "Cool Cans" to cool fuel for HORSEPOWER..... Heating the fuel allows it to burn...... sorry wont go further, but you catch on, Is why then the "Grease" {or substitute most fuels here} burns better/smooother/ummm.....more economical.
I'd look at the systems online and design my own & run whatever oil I came across thru leaving the Factory tank for Refined Diesel/Kerosene only. They're headed back north (OH/PA) with the old engine shows and check out the buses at one if possible. A few of Florida Family Buses are trying the Cooking Oil method out now and they should confirm me by National time.

Tradin' Bill a.k.a. Fla_hippy

 

well what i was looking at was that the fuel neeeded to be hot (180ish) to be thin enough to flow right, but that you can cool the air intake to gain horspower?
weve got only a few weeks to come up with a plan & buy whatever we need

for the prefilter. i mean the wvo filter b4 u pump into your tank, would a multi progressive filter make sence as far as not needing to be changed as often// like if it went through a 10 micron then 5 then 2 instead of the single 2 catching everything each would catch maybe 1/3? or maybe the 10 might catch most so the 2 wont need changimnyg as often//? just wondering..might be worth experimenting with

 

For DIY conversions, here is probably the most detailed site you will find with links to almost all the other sites:

http://vegoilconversions.netfirms.com/

He sells the very detailed How-to-files for about $80 for the best "package prices" for both the engine conversion, and filtering units.

 

what is the exact make and model of your motor or bus. that information will help me help you. until that information is learned, any research is futile. if i remember correctly, some fords have problems with vaporlock and some german diesels have problems with injectors.

 

Here's the thread:

http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88138