Just wondering what blend will make WVO the closest to diesel in viscosity? I know temperature has alot to do with it so I can adjust accordingly. I am planning on running a heated single tank system in a 6.2 diesel.
Rusty

5%VO / 95% diesel and a short of cetane booste

Seriously though their is no real answer to your question. Way to many variables with the biggest being how much of a risk taker you are with your vehicle. Also way to many options and opiniouns. This is not an exact enough science yet to give exacting answers to questions like this.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jeepin, moggin Jessup (coachgeo),

I guess I am going to do a little experimenting. I have read (and it makes since) that the IP should be manufactured to handle very cold thick diesel so I am thinking about getting a sample of diesel down to about 20º in a freezer and check the viscosity of that. From that I will start playing with blends of RUG, kerosene etc and see what it takes to get close to the cold diesel. Of course this doesn't take into account cold blends but I will adjust the blends according to temperature. I am Texas so most of the year I should be able to run the same blend. Has anyone tried the method I am thinking?

quote:

Originally posted by rtarh2o:
... Has anyone tried the method I am thinking?

Welcome to our method of thinking

You might consider doing some heavy reading so your not duplicating what others have already done numerous times.

I have been researching/reading for months now while working on my diesel conversion. There are as many opinions as posts and I can't remember all of them! Anyway, I like to experiment a bit anyway, I will believe it more if I can see it with my own eyes.
Rusty

I have ran 90/10 and 85/15 WVO/REG in my 6.2 before I put a heat exchanger and dual tanks on it. It ran good after warm-up but was hard to start and ran ruff until the engine warmed up a bit.

20 RUG= too much octane, it will start hard, get some K-1 or some stale gas and get a good cetane boost, not one with an alcohol base, happy veggin'

We don't get below freezing much around here, maybe a few weeks out of the year. Right now it is in the 40's at night and 60's during the day. We will average 30's at night and 50's during the day the next month or two but there will be some cold snaps where we could get in the 20's at night and only 30's during the day but not very often. My problem is a source for kerosene so I am thinking about WVO, diesel and RUG and probably some cetane boost just not sure how much of any of the above. Maybe during the winter something like 70% WVO, 20% diesel and 10% RUG? During the summer probably just 80% WVO and 20% diesel, or should I still add a little RUG? With these how much, and what kind, of cetane boost should I use?
Rusty

dmcmmc, how long have you been running the blend in your 6.2 diesel? Any problems so far? I am using a couple heat sources most importantly heated injector lines that I hope will deal with the cold start issue. I also have an inline electric/coolant heater and an electric/coolant heated filter. I am now considering only using the electric heat on the injector heaters due to the fact I read a post that hot oil in a cold IP could cause problems. If I just let the oil warm slowly as the engine does using the coolant heaters it shouldn't be a problem on the IP. My other thought is to also use the inline heater that is near the fuel tank, it is set to cycle off at 150º and by the time it reaches the IP it will probably have cooled a bit. This might be the best way to go, then as the engine warms it will get hotter.

winter, i would go with at least 30 dino and 10 RUG, and summer 15 dino 5 RUG, AMSOIL makes the best cetane boost and also pure gum turp increases cetane @1%

So you are saying in winter I should go 60% WVO? That is not a problem, even if I went 50% WVO I am still cutting my fuel expense in half, I can live with that for about 2-3 months out of the year. Today it was 78º here so winter is short, I could have almost done a summer blend. What about during our 90-100º summer days, could I get away with about 90% WVO and should I still use RUG?

yes and yes, that should work fine if not you can still fine tune it a little, happy veggin'

quote:

I am planning on running a heated single tank system in a 6.2 diesel.

How are you going to heat the tank? Will this be a stock or after market tank. What method are you thinking of using if you are retaining the stock unit?

I need to do something with one of mine I think.

Dave

I am not planning on heating the tank, instead I am using heated fuel lines, heated filters and injector heaters. I am using the stock tank with a Carter 5000 electric pump that I was told handled the thicker fuel quite well, but if I blend it hopefully it won't be too much thicker.
Rusty

Generalized statements about 'blends' can be misleading.
The success or failure of any blend of vegetable oil and petro oil depends on many factors including the following:
Oil Type can vary from : clear unused canola <to> hydrogenated 'WVO' with animal fats
Solvent can vary from : kerosene/stove oil - #1 winter ULSD <to> #2 off road high sulfur diesel saturated with paraffin wax
Oil percent can vary from : 5% <to> 95%
Operating conditions can vary from : below zero <to> well above body temperature
... involving long distance high speed <to> stop and go with long idling periods
...involving cold starts <to> pre-warmed engine and fuel systems
Engines can vary from : computerized EFI with rotary IP <to> mechanical inline IP,
...with Direct or Indirect injection,
...with or without Turbo boost
Variations in any one of those factors can result in success or failure.
There are a few papers in the resources section of the Frybrid forum that discuss fuel blends and are well worth reading.

The fewest problems are with clear clean canola oil up to 25%, mixed with seasonally adjusted ULSD, in mechanical inline IP controlled engines, using pre-warmed winter starts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: john galt,

When trying to come up with the perfect blend you find that at this time there is not one.
I think Living in the south makes blending a lot easier. I have a test tube I use after each batch and I fill it with the current blend. It is kept beside my storage tank and I can check it for gelling whenever the temps drop more than 5-10 degrees. If needed I can ad some more kerosene or rug.
At current my mix is 15 gal wvo filtered and water separated. 1 1/2 gal kero, 1/2 gal rug 8 oz diesel clean and some dse( dse until I find out what it is) this mixture has done good in my 2006 dodge Cummings and my buds ford with temps from 45-70. Temps are getting into the 20's tonight so I will have to adjust from there. A glass jar could sub for a test tube and you could use the freezer and test some small batches.
with the research I am doing on this solvent thinning I find that we are all still very much experimenting waiting on that one bright mind to find the answer.

That is pretty close to 90% WVO according to my calculations, that is pretty good. I don't really expect to try 90% until summer but maybe not? I am thinking about 60/40 (wvo/?) during the winter but maybe even 70/30. Just have to get my car going and start experimenting. I think our climate is about like yours in Georgia, just not sure if the 6.2 is as good on thick fuel as the Cummings is?
Rusty

I am running a 50/50 mix of VO (new)/DinoD in my '83 GMC van 6.2 with no problems. I have injection line heaters ready to install, so I will try a blend of more VO after the heaters are installed. I am concerned about the Diesel sludge collecting in the stock fuel filter. I am thinking I will change the stock filter to a permanent/ washable/heated filter, so I don't have the expense of the stock filter changes. Anyone have any other suggestions?

rtarh20
i forgot to mention to you that we are furthur thinning the mix. i have a 34 gal fuel tank in the dodge. i use about 17- 20 gal of veg and 14-17 gal hwy diesel. i will not start running 90-100 until temps stay in the 70's or more

wvobenz, how long have you been running the blend in your 6.2 van? I would guess a 50/50 blend is getting pretty close to diesel, especially if you added some RUG. Any starting problems or anything?
Ga diesel guy, I thought close to 90% was pretty high, especially this time of year, do you go that high in the warmer months, and if so how does it work?