Alternative Energy Projects

Look for simple solution first

2011-08-26T06:08:00.001-07:00

My 2003 Jetta had a new injection pump installed and a new timing belt. My friend who did the work took apart the old injection pump and it was rebuilt prior to my buying the car and was rebuilt incorrectly causing it to eventually fail. I got the car running again and then began to have decrease power driving on grease and black smoke from the tailpipe. We looked at all the complicated things like the timing, fuel temp and fuel flow and couldn't discover the problem. Eventually it dawned on me that the car was acting like it was vapor locked and I did install check valves in the system as the valves that control the system leak small amounts of fuel and I was worried about cross contamination. I removed the check valve on the supply line and checked my connections and the car runs great! It is easy to assume a problem is due to something complicated like timing or a bad pump, when in reality it was a $30 part that wasn't critical for the operation of the car.

Transfer Pump

2011-08-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

The last piece of the puzzle was to get a good gear pump that I could use to pump my oil form the clean barrel to cars and storage containers. I searched everywhere on the internet and decided on the OP2000F WASTE OIL FILTRATION PUMP from Plant Drive as it was the best value for what I wanted. This pump will work in cold weather and has a filter to protect the pump and give my one last bit of filtration before I add it to my car.
http://www.plantdrive.com//index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=75

My centrifuge project

2011-08-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

I now have three cars running on grease, my 2006 Golf, my 2003 Jetta and a 1992 Jetta that I purchased from a friend that had 150,000 miles and was converted to run on grease with a grease car system. I did one modification and added a Vegtherm electric heater from Plantdrive as the grease car system does not have that. So, I need lots of oil! I purchased a centrifuge from Simple Centrifuge and thought that wold do the trick. No more filters and mess. We set it up and it worked great, except we had no way to control the flow of oil to the centrifuge. We tried to set a bucket above the centrifuge with a ball valve, but as the oil fed the centrifuge the pressure decreased and we had to constantly adjust the flow rate. The folks at simple Centrifuge suggested we try a peristaltic pump and sent me one to try out. It worked great and the only problem is you get about 7-8 day run on the tubing before it splits and spills oil all over the floor. To avoid that I set it above my heating barrel and when it splits the oil simply flows into the barrel it came from. I ran it 8 days and produced 150 gallons of clean oil. Pan tested it and no water. Great! So I needed to get a pump. I contacted the distributer of the Mity Flex 913 that I was using provided by Simple Centrifuge and called them. I called Comeau Technique and spoke to Richard Weber. We talked on the phone for 2 hours, he answered all my questions and had a wealth of knowledge about the Mity flex and the proper hose to use in the pump. I post a picture of my set up with centrifuge and the Mity Flex.
http://www.mityflexpump.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=862_864_944&products_id=3148

Solar coolant circulator, works great!

2010-05-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Installed a solar coolant circulator in my coolant system and am getting coolant to heat the system faster than I ever imagined. I tried plugging the car in and turned on the circulator and actually took off from home immediately on grease. this means I can get longer driver time on grease and less on diesel! I plan to install one on my Jetta as well.

Discovered why coolant wasn't circulating

2010-05-01T05:48:00.000-07:00

I finally got coolant circulating and my Hotfox is heating up as it should. I had thought I had air trapped in my coolant line and that was causing the coolant to not circulate well. It was that but more. My kit came with plastic T's that tap into my 3/4 inch heater hoses and T off to my system with a 3/8 inch nipple. I removed both T's and discovered that the plastic had softened and was deformed by the hose clamps. I also checked the 3/4 inch heater hose and found that it was bent slightly restricting flow. To correst tis I built T's with brass using a 3/4 inch brass T and two 3/4 inch nipples and one 3/8 inch nipple. When I installed this in the heater line I found that it was rather large and wanted to bend the hose even more than the plastic T. I went o Auto zone and purchased some stock 3/4 inch heater hose with some preformed bends that allowed me to make the connections and not restrict the flow of coolant. Now I have my system running and no restricted coolant. I hit 100 degrees at 1 mile vs 3 and switch over around 3-4 miles rather than 8 miles. Chris

Continue to deal with air lock!

2010-03-31T06:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a long time and my conversion is still functioning but I have two problems. I am getting air trapped in my coolant line and can't seem to figure out where it is coming from. I tried swapping out a few fittings and installed a bleeder valve to free the system of trapped air. It works for a while then the air comes back. What this means for me is that my car will not switch over as fast as I would like, 5-7 miles of driving rather than 1-2 miles. I think I found a solution on the Plantdrive web site and that was to purchase a 12 volt coolant circulator that will circulate the coolant and get the car to heat up faster. I can plug my car in at night and the circulator will keep the system hot at night, and push any trapped air out to the coolant overflow. When I get it I will post some pictures. Another problem is Marty and I discovered is that the valves we use (Hydroforce three way) allow small amounts of fuel to cross contaminate. Thus I get small amounts of diesel in my svo tank and worse small amounts of svo in my diesel tank. This isn't a problem in California, but is the Northeast it is hugh. I began to have problems with starting and pulled some diesel out of my diesel tank and discovered the svo in my tank. The solution was to get from Craig at Plantdrive three check valves that are one way and keep this from happening. I wouldn't install a system without the check valves, especially if you live in a cold climate. I have over 60,000 miles driving my cars on svo. Chris

Done!

2009-04-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

I finished the install and spent a lot of time on the wiring. It was very complicated as the process involves numerous relays, fuses and there is a small onboard computer that controls the system What is left is to program the computer with my purge cycles and get my dash back in place. I hope you enjoyed following this install. Thanks, Chris

Compleated the plumbing and am working on the electrical connections

2009-04-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

Spent the day under the car bolting up the skid plate and re-installing the wheel well liners. Then I moved on to start the wiring process. It is quite complicated as the entire process is controlled by a small computer that receives signals from the coolant and grease lines so it knows when to switch from diesel to grease and back. Everything has to be grounded and the wires have to pass through the fire wall and into the dash of the car. To do this I removed the underside of the dash and located a hole in the fire wall that I could pass the wire harness through and make all my connections in the engine. Good connections are essential.

Fuel cell

2009-04-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

I had difficulty on my first cell and I did with this one as well. Stripped out two bolts trying to bolt it to the floor of my car, damn stainless steel. Ever drill holes in your car? It helps knowing where you are drilling, ie not into your muffler. Also have a location that doesn't require long bolts. I managed Ok. Here are some pictures of the fuel cell with hot fox and sending unit in place.

Minor difficulty with plumbing

2009-04-12T04:57:00.000-07:00

Today I ran into some problems with my valve location. I have an automatic tranmission and Marty has a manual. He had a nice location for his valves to the left of the fuel pump and filter, I coundn't do this as I have an an extra hose that is in the way. I installed the filter and fuel pump for the SVO tank, to the left side of them and up a bit to clear the extra hose I installed the valves. The picture that is posted last is of the valves and filter unit in place and the smaller battery.
The second to last picture is the fuel pump and filter installed on a metal plate and bolted to the battery box.
The first picture is the coolant hose that goes to the heater in the car. I cut it and installed a 5/8" T so I can send coolant to the filter and SVO tank.

Pump and filter

2009-04-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

Installed the pump and filter today and it was difficult. On the Jetta I installed the filter in the trunk. On this conversion I am fitting it in next to the battery. To do this I replaced the oversized stock battery with a Optima battery that is 1/3 as large as the stock battery. I also built a metal plate that is bolted beneath the battery to support the pump which pulls fuel from the SVO tank and the filter. Next is installing the valves.

Build it slow, build it well

2009-04-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

Spent the entire day Monday building my skid plate. It is difficult because it is made from stainless steel, has to fit right and it requires a 1 inch bend along the long edge. It is essentially the same as the one I made for my Jetta. I also received the fuel cell from my welder and have posted pictures of it. The other pictures are of the fuel and coolant lines passing through my fire wall and wheel well. Note how they are well insulated, and protected from damage. Well insulated lines will help the system switch from diesel to SVO faster as heat will not be lost from cold air passing over unprotected fuel and coolant lines.

Burgers, grease and skid plates

2009-04-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

Started the day out with cutting the hole through the firewall and running the three 3/8 inch fuel/coolant lines through the hole and into the front wheel well. I also lined the hole I cut with a rubber gasket to protect the fuel/coolant lines and insulated the lines. I then cut a hole in the rear wheel well into the back seat area where it comes out under the plastic covering in the car. There is a space that you may run the lines up over the wheel well and into the back cargo area in the Golf. Real easy to do. Presently I am eating dinner of burgers and beer with Marty and his friend Adrienne, two of my latest followers. More later, back to work!

We were up til midnight working on the cars (Kat is at work mom). Marty is replacing his struts and break master cylinder. I began to make my stainless steel skid plate. I have seen pictures many conversions, but none with a skid plate to protect the fuel line and coolant lines as they run beneath the car. I grabbed a pic of a conversion with the lines exposed, It is the bottom picture. The coolant lines are the black hoses and the fuel line is blue on the right side of the picture. On a large car like the Mercedes this may be OK, but on a TDI there is very little clearance and exposed fuel/coolant lines present a problem, especially in winter. Here is a picture of my stainless steel skid plate on my Jetta. The plate runs from wheel well to wheel well and all the lines are under it proteced and insulated.

The project begins!

2009-04-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

I have received enough of my materials allowing me to begin the conversion. My conversion will take a while as I have another car to use and I want this conversion to perform better than my first and to look more professional. My Jetta came out just fine, but I did change a few things that caused problems. One was poor electrical connections. I used spade connectors for example and one came loose as I was driving causing the system to act up, well it began to dump grease into my diesel tank. Not fun as I had to pump out the diesel tank to correct the contamination. I now soldier all connections.
I am doing the conversion at Marty's house. Here is his picture with our cars. He has a heated garage, and I am able to check a few things on his Golf that are different from my Jetta so that if I need I can simple look and see how he did his conversion. This is very helpful when you begin to cut fuel line and drill holes in the fire wall of your car. I will list what I completed:
1- changed the oil, it was time and seemed like a good first thing to do.
2- created a mount for the Vegtherm, the high hot heater for the SVO (straight vegetabl oil). I have included picture of mount and one of an installed vegtherm. The last picture is the mount, the second is the vegtherm. Look in the front of the car for the silver tube with orange gaskets holding it in place.
3- began to cut the hole in my fire wall to allow me to run the 3/8" hoses for the coolant and SVO. My SVO is in my trunk and thus I need to get the lines from the trunk to the enging.

Receiving materials

2009-03-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

It is taking some time to receive my materials. I have ordered 75 feet of 3/8 inch fuel injection hose that will be used to send coolant to the veg tank to heat it and send the heated fuel to my engine fuel injectors. This is an easy part of the project to understand but one of the more difficult to complete. The fuel line is bundled with two coolant lines, one to send hot coolant to the tank and one to return it to the engine. By bundling the fuel line with the coolant lines the fuel is kept hot on its way to the fuel injectors in the engine. This bundle is about 2 inches in diameter and has to be wrapped in insulation. The way Marty and I delt with this is to run the three lines through the wheel wells and under the car. To protect them under the car we built a stainless steel skid plate that covers the lines. This way they are no lower than the lowest point of the car and you don't have to worry about damage to coolant line.

Waiting for materials

2009-03-25T10:53:00.001-07:00

As I wait for materials I am sending you some pictures of the Jetta I converted. Included is the fuel cell in my trunk with the Vormax filter, the instrument panel with purge switch and fuel guage, a shot of the coolant lines and fuel line behind my rear tire before I re-installed the plastic wheel liner. The engine shot is of the valves that control which fuel is going to my injectors, and one of a 6" tube that is in the front of the engine which is the Vegthrem fuel heater. Let me know if you are reading this. thanks,

Sun and grease are every where and free

2009-03-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

I placed my order with Plantdrive and sent plans to a local welder to have my SVO (straight vegetable oil) tank manufactured. The tanks at most sites are expensive and you can't have them custom built to fit in the space you desire. The tank in my Jetta is retangular and sits in my trunk, there is some space wasted on the side of it as I didn't have it fit to the shape of the trunk. My Golf is a hatch back and I have plans that Marty developed for his Golf that will allow the tank to fit in in the cargo space on the left side of the car. It has a trapezoidal shape so there is no wasted space on the side. Tanks locally built cost about $250-300, but you have to design them. Here is what I ordered from Plantdrive: a HotFox tank heater, the TurboFyner, the Valves, the Controller & Pressure Sender, the Check Valve and the Ohm Sender and the TTVTS. What is all that? Go to www.plantdrive.com and select the type of car or truck you desire to convert to run on grease and you have a custom kit set for you to order. How do the systems work? I got this from Plantdrive:

"THE BASICS: Diesel engines are designed to run on "diesel fuel". Diesel fuel is much thinner than vegetable oil. Used cooking oil is generally thicker than new vegetable oil. To use Vegetable Oil in a A Diesel Engine as FUEL, it must be made "thinner", so that it can be moved, by the "lift pump", from tank, to filter, to injection pump, injectors, and into the combustion chamber, and burned successfully. There are two generally accepted ways to thin the vegetable oil: (A) Add a Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) System, or (B) make "biodiesel".

DETAILS:(A) Add a "Straight Vegetable Oil"(SVO) System to the engine/vehicle fuel system. This supplies HEATED and therefore THINNED vegetable oil to the engine. The most commonly accepted, practical temperature for this is 70 degrees Celsius which is 158 degrees Fahrenheit. The SVO is heated, in our kits, by a combination of electric heating device(s), and by heat exchangers reliably and efficiently transfer heat from the hot engine coolant ("antifreeze") to the SVO. Two of these heating devices are in ALL kits ( the Vormax heated water separator/fuel filter and Vegtherm inline electric heater). The other two are OPTIONAL or DEPEND ON CLIMATE, OIL TYPE, and HOW MUCH FUEL IS USED (FUEL ECONOMY). These are the Hotfox coolant-operated in-tank heater, and the Hotplate SVO/coolant flat plate type heat exchanger.

So, you start the engine on diesel fuel, or biodiesel, run it a minute or two (perhaps twice as long in winter as in summer), then you switch a dash-mounted fuel selector switch, and STRAIGHT VEGETABLE OIL (pure 100% vegetable oil, not "biodiesel" or vegetable oil/solvent mixture) is fed to the engine from a second tank. At the end of the trip, diesel fuel (the "start/purge") fuel is selected, and a short "purge" is done, to remove vegetable oil from the injection pump and injectors before the engine is shut down for longer periods (e.g. more than an hour, in warm weather, more than half an hour in cold weather). "

My kit has one difference from this description in that it will have the "VO controller" which is fully automatic. I get in the car turn the key and when the system is hot it will switch to SVO, when I shut it off the car will run a few seconds longer as I walk away allowing it to purge. Anyone may drive it without having to remember to purge.

Oil and sun are everywhere. The sun is easy to obtain, set up a solar array and you are set to go. Grease is a little more difficult to obtain, but it is free and easy to filter. To find grease you need to find a restrauant that has fried food. Not so difficult in the USA. Drive around in back and check for a large container. Most large establishments like McDonalds have contracts to have the grease picked up on a regular basis. it is hard to get their grease. Best thing to do is find a locally owned restrauant and buy dinner. After eating ask what they do with their grease and see if you can obtain some. Talk about your project and maybe they will let you have some free grease. I found two sources for grease and that is enough for the 2 cars that Marty and I have converted plus the cars we are working on.

Used vegetable has to be filtered or run through a centrifuge to get the water and contanaments out in order to get clean grease to use a fuel. I have been filtering using a two tank system. The first tank is a setteling tank that has a 5 gallon bucket with a long tube. I pour used grease in the bucket and as it enters the tank it goes in the long tube and into the bottom pushing clean oil up and out a tube into a second barrel where it passes through a 5 micron filter bag into the second barrel. I apply some heat to the first barrel to remove water and make it possible to filter in cold weather. To apply heat I wrap the barrel with heat tape that is sued to remove ice from a roof. It works well and heats the oil to 100 degrees. If this seems difficult it is. Which is why Marty and I are building a centrifuge. The best description on how a centrifuge works is at www/simplecentrifuge.com, click on the link that on the left that says "videos" or go to this link: http://www.simplecentrifuge.com/video/how_it_works.wmv

Best way to get oil is to find another person that is doing it and work together to get your oil and process it. A great place to read about filtering is at http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/cfrm/f/898605551. You can read about processing oil and post questions if you need help.

Got my Golf TDI

2009-03-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

I have lived off the grid for 20 years with solar and wind power in a home I built with my wife. Five years ago I connected to the grid and set up a 10KW solar array that turns my meter backwards. To do this I received grant money that gave me $40,000 towards the array that cost $55,000. I also received $3,500 back in taxes. Two years ago my neighbor, that is also off-grid, drove over to my house in his 2002 Jetta TDI and showed me how he converted it to run on used vegetable oil. That was way cool, especially since gas was well over $3.00 a gallon. A car that ran on used oil just seemed a perfect fit to my alternate energy home so I began to search Autotrader to find a used VW TDI and attempt to convert it. What is a TDI? I got this on wikipedia:

Turbocharged Direct Injection (acronym: TDI) is the technology used to describe and name modern turbocharged diesel engines produced by Volkswagen Group, and widely used in all marques of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles produced by the company (particularly those sold in Europe).

Best place to read about the VW TDI is at http://www.tdiclub.com/ You can find all kinds of interesting information on the VW TDI. The cars are very efficient and get 44 MPG. They are fun to drive and easy to maintain.

When I had my car I began to research the best conversion system to purchase in order to convert my TDI to run on grease. I checked the greasecar site, www.greasecar.com, that had the best graphics showing how a greasecar worked, but they didn't have some components I desired like an electric heater that preheated the oil just before it hits the fuel injectors, or a well designed filter to help filter the oil as it was pulled from the vegetable oil tank in my trunk on it's way to the engine. I finally decided to go with a Plantdrive system that is located at www.plantdrive.com. The person I spoke to was named Craig Reese and he assured me that converting my car wouldn't destroy my new used Jetta TDI. Plantdrive was most helpful as I built my car and I had a lot of questions.

When I received my conversion kit I drove my TDI in the garage, jacked it up on blocks and dove in with the help of a good friend who enjoyed homebrew beer and had a desire to convert his TDI when he saved up enough money to get it. He also is a professional engineer, liked to work on cars and that was most helpful!

I could describe how my conversion went (I have over 40,000 miles on grease) and post a bunch of pictures, but that is not why I began this blog. I am writing this because I just purchased a second TDI and Plantdrive SVO kit and as I convert my new car I will post pictures and describe how to convert a VW TDI. What did I buy? I got a 2006 Golf TDI with just 38,000 miles for less than $14,000. Go on autotrader and you may find that in this economy prices on these cars have come down. Good luck and I hope you enjoy this blog.