Veg oil heat exchanger

[Jim-Phillips]

I have tried to read up on all the many existing posts on veg oil - sorry if some of these questions have been asked already...

Having made biodiesel for two years and recently stopped due to health concerns over methanol fumes - I am now looking at a veg oil conversion.

I seems there are a few options for the heat exchanger. Firstly the fuel cat - will this heat the oil to the required temperature?

Secondly, I have found this on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vow2B-Bio-dies...QQcmdZViewItem

Anyone tried on of these?

Finally the kit(s) like dieselvag using the ATG heat exchanger.. they look good but quite costly.


I am going to need the solenoids for switching between the two tanks - do I need a pump to get the veg oil to the heat exchanger or does the system suck up its fuel?

Thanks, Jim

[Philip]

Heat Exchanger

Can answer part of your enquiry. The Combo unit certainly heats he fuel to desired temperature and is not only a heat exchanger, but also a pre combustion catalyst. If using two tanks, then initial startup is not a problem, but if going for one tank, then of course oil needs thinned, either with diesel or in my case 10% unleaded when very cold. As far as i know, you do not need another pump.
Regards Philip

[TonyN]

That looks a little half arsed to me, PCL airline fittings arn't very professional looking, should have proper hose barbs IMHO.

25amp continuous drain all the time your driving is significant on a 55 amp Surf alternator! Doesn't leave a lot of spare for lights/charging/other junk....

Its nice and compact though.

Accuse me of bias if you will, but the heated fuel cats have no electrical drain, no plugs to burn out every 12 months and will last forever. Plus have the added bonus of the fuel catalyst built in as well.

[Jim-Phillips]

Thanks for the comments. A days research has led me to conclude that the fuel cat seems the best option. The ebay item sounds good but from what I have read these things are prone to failure.

Cheers

[atchbo]

What cat?

I don't see anything in that unit that would serve as a catalyst. It simply heats, and isn't particularly rugged at that. I'd recommend the VegTherm from www.plantdrive.com. They're similar but don't use glow plugs, and don't fail. I've used them to drive from Canada to southern Mexico (~15k round trip) and for over 3 years around town without burning out an element.

Atchbo

Check out youtube.com under 'vegoil'.

[MattF]

The Fuel Cat has an internal catalyst, not the Ebay one. That's just a plain
heater.

[Sancho]

I don't see anything in that unit that would serve as a catalyst. It simply heats, and isn't particularly rugged at that. I'd recommend the VegTherm from www.plantdrive.com. They're similar but don't use glow plugs, and don't fail. I've used them to drive from Canada to southern Mexico (~15k round trip) and for over 3 years around town without burning out an element.

Atchbo

Check out youtube.com under 'vegoil'.

I don't have a fuelcat, but even I can see that to say it 'simply heats' is a bit misleading. There's an incredibly detailed description of how it works and how it's evolved over the years on the website.

I don't think you can call a big lump of metal not 'rugged' either. How rugged do you want? Rock?

I think we might be talking about different things here. Not the stupid grey box, this thing:

www.fuelcat.co.uk

[da SLUG man]

with the fuel cat, it will only heat the fuel with the coolant temperature.
so untill that gets hot, you're not getting heated fuel.

the fuel will be heated by then anyway from the return to the tank (or doesn't that happen on surfs?)

either way, an electric heater would be better for cold starts.

and the bloke talks rubbish... the flash point of diesel is 62 degrees... way below 90

[MattF]

That temperature, 80 to 90 degrees, is where the characteristics of
SVO/WVO become roughly the same as diesel with regards to viscosity
and the way it passes through the injectors. At colder temps, the spray
pattern with oil is way removed from that of normal derv. The Ebay chap
has either put across his intent incorrectly, or hasn't grasped the concept
fully.

[da SLUG man]

That temperature, 80 to 90 degrees, is where the characteristics of
SVO/WVO become roughly the same as diesel with regards to viscosity
and the way it passes through the injectors. At colder temps, the spray
pattern with oil is way removed from that of normal derv. The Ebay chap
has either put across his intent incorrectly, or hasn't grasped the concept
fully.

dude!... you know everything!...


either that or you're more convincing with your bull5hit than me!
hehehe!!

[MattF]

dude!... you know everything!...


either that or you're more convincing with your bull5hit than me!
hehehe!!

Nah, I'm just a sad git with no social life who spends way too much time
absorbing possibly useless info, just in case.

[da SLUG man]

Nah, I'm just a sad git with no social life who spends way too much time
absorbing possibly useless info, just in case.

change your avatar to henry's cat!
"he knows everything about nothing, and not so much about that!"

(i only absorb kids tv theme lyrics!)

[MattF]

change your avatar to henry's cat!
"he knows everything about nothing, and not so much about that!"

(i only absorb kids tv theme lyrics!)

How's this one?

[da SLUG man]

How's this one?

excellent!...

i'll be chris rabbit... erm... the dumb, goofy one!..


d'oh!

[MattF]

excellent!...

i'll be chris rabbit... erm... the dumb, goofy one!..


d'oh!

This one?