So, I've searched the forum for some information on any one running a heated two tank system during the winter and wasn't able to find anything, maybe I just didn't enter the right search criteria. But why not run a heated system like our SVO brethren?! Granted for those that drive short distances, say under 30 minutes, this might not be practical.

My thinking would be to run a feed and return line from the engine coolant system back to a secondary tank. In this tank is a coil that will heat up the B100. Use a secondary fuel pump to assist in moving the B100 to the IP. The feed line for the B100 is grouped with the coolant lines to pickup heat. Use a switching valve to switch from the fuels to purge the B100 out of the filter and IP. Wouldn't this be a far more practical way of being able to run B100 during the winter?

Anyone out there running a system like this? If you aware of any discussions that address this I would greatly appreciate help in pointing me in the right direction.

Thanks

VeggieBug

DOHA! See that LegalEagle is working on such a system.

The system is done and operational. See sig line for link.

Sounds a lot like a 2 tank SVO systems.

I've run SVO here in Philly down into the teens, it just takes a while to get it up to temp.

Hey Eagle, Instead of using water pipe you should try flexible natural gas tubing. It's corrugated aluminum so it has tons of surface area and transfers heat great. I used 8' (two 4' lengths) of it in my 55 gallon SVO tank and it works well.

It is a take off from an SVO sytem but with much less heat tansfer as biodiesel requires much less of it to be viable.
I just did mine with what was simplest at hand. My project was backloged due to the fact that the first tank I had made leaked so I had to have another made (stainless this time, oh yeah!) and put it all together just in time for the cold to start in.
I am thinking about doing one in the other car and that one will be a little more rugged, and I may incorporate a few design changes, like placing the selector switch AFTER the filters and only using a basic filter for the B100 side as already filter it to 2 microns as is and the tank will have a filter on it as well. Fitting the switch after the filters will allow for a MUCH quicker purge time, almost immediate, which would be more practical. I may also up the size of the plumbing too, not sure yet as what I have now works very well as is, but like in all things there is always room for improvement. I'll have to look into that nat gas hose too, looks promising.
I did mine and documented it as an encouragement to those thinking about it as an alternative to continuous blending and to offer an alternative to supporting the diesel pump operators.
There are numerous ways the same thing can be done, mine was just the simplest for my needs. My car(s) sleep in a heated garage, so that is also a consideration when putting something like this together. It it sleeps outside and it gets really cold you'll need a way to heat up the tank prior to departure as waiting for the coolant heat to do it might be counterproductive to the end goal.
my .02

Thanks for sharing! For me I'm going to be looking at Tempo Marine below deck fuel tank. As I'm driving a Beetle and don't want to sacrifice my spare.

Legal are you running a secondary fuel pump? Have you had any issues with the 6 port Pollak valve? I've reading that the Pollak has some reliability issues with the SVO folks.

I'm in the process of diagramming my idea and I'll post for some feedback when it's ready.

Thanks again!

Veggiebug

When I had a veggie system hooked up I had a Facet 30GPH 12 V pump for it too, but not with this set up, it is drawn from the mechanical lift pump.

The Pollack I have is left over from the SVO system and had been sitting around for 2 years uncleaned when I reinstalled it for the new heated deal.

I've read the stories too but I've not had problem one with it. When in doubt there are some really nice 3 port valves out there that would do the job. With the second car that may be the way I'll go, not decided yet.

Also, by setting it up with coolant ball valves you get an extended distance tank for summer use by simply turning off the heat to the rear but leaving everything else in place.