Epilogue

101,839 miles

It's been a long time between post, almost 18 months. Things have been fine with the car and my conversion has worked well. Having said that I've decided to move on. The issue, as those familiar with this blog, is I wasn't running it on WVO very often. With an 8 mile commute to work each way it didn't seem practical to run the car on VO.

Somedays I would have a slightly longer commute and/or it would be a warmer day and I would make the switch, but generally I did very few long haul freeway drives. Freeway drives, for obvious reasons tend to work better for the WVO process.

Having done the WVO thing to be green rather then save $$$ in August of 2010 I decided to reserve a Nissan 100% electric Leaf. In August 2011 I took delivery. While an 8 mile commute is bad for a WVO car, it is great for an all electric car such as the Leaf (soon Ford, Mitsubishi, and others well have models available).

Since I no longer will be doing the WVO thing I will no longer be updating the blog. For the time being I've decided to leave the blog up since there is actually some traffic to it on a daily basis and there seems to be some interest in my experience.

While I whole heartily believe in WVO as a viable option it really only works in certain situations - primarily long drives where the engine can get hot and stay hot.

A Co-worker bought the car and has embraced the WVO thing. He has also done some much needed repairs - not related to WVO. For the record there are 2 additional oil reports I had run since the original. In this report, dated sept 2010 you can see a jump in the metals, then in the last report, April 2011 it returned to normal , which leads me to believe whatever problem there was it was present before the conversion. They got the cars mixed up and put the results from my wagon on the account with the original KungPaoJetta. I had them rerun the last analysis to confirm the results.

Recall and leaving the car at the dealer

95,548 miles

Took the car in for one recall - moonroof drains modification, don't get me started I have firsthand experience with flooding of the interior of the car on my Passat. Ended up have a total of 4 recalls out on the car - moonroof drains, brakelight switch, seat heaters - left and right.

This was the first time the car has gone in for service since the kit was installed. One thing one always has to keep in mind is how are the mechanics that need to service the car going to deal with the kit mods. I hadn't given the situation much thought because it didn't seem that the kit would interfere with the drain modifications.What I hadn't thought about was that the car would get hot enough to switch over to oil - or at least want to automatically once the car was restarted. This would be a problem at the dealership when they needed to move it after check in - and cause an auto purge cycle that would make the car idle for 2 minutes after it was turned off. That would be a problem.

On my old manual system this wasn't a problem but by default my new kit is an automatic system unless set otherwise.

One might suggest to simply pull the controller but my experience is that the brains that are separate and installed up in the dash continue to work without the display installed. What I decided to do was set the switchover temp higher on the VO Controller. Normally I have it set to 150º. I raised it to 200º before switchover. That would require the engine to be running for quite sometime before it would switchover.

It's summer time

95,471 miles

Wish I had more to write about but I just don't drive that much. When I drive local I wil use my electric golf cart and since the kids are out for the summer I will use my wife's Ford Hybrid Escape and try and stay on electric for most of the ride. Other then adding a pint of oil everything is fine.

I do feel that this car is not as robust as my sedan that I originally converted. This car burns oil (even before the conversion) and doesn't get that great of gas mileage. I think the car is more of a lemon so I don't know how well it will take the conversion in the long run.

I believe I've said this before but one could look at the conversion as more of a season thing. The doughnut tank doesn't lend itself to this kind of driving because it is so small and not practical.Only switch to oil in the summer months because I don't know how it is possible to get the oil hot enough for the switch over in the winter months - and I have mild winters. I find the best practice for getting the engine/oil hot enough in the least amount of driving is to drive a short distance on diesel and stop the car and let the heat radiate throughout the engine/oil - such as doing a short errand.

93, 657 miles - emergency tank added

I added a 1 gallon gas container to my trunk area because the container happen to fit. Someone at work picked it up for me one day because I was concerned that I was low on diesel in the doughnut tank (remember I don't have a gauge on the diesel tank). I didn't needed it but since I have the room it's a nice thing to have. Seems like I have room for another one.

Checked the system today with the exception of the Vegtherm. The VOcontrol won't turn the Vegtherm on unless it is closer to the switchover temp. The other thing I noticed with it is that if the car does a smart start - starting on veggie from a quick stop the Vegtherm doesn't turn back on.

The injection line heaters came on and the appropriate switches lit up so all seems to be good. I'll just have to pull over while driving at temp to test the Vegtherm.

I added about 1/2 a quart of oil to the engine. I've added oil in the past before the conversion so I'm not worried. I did change the oil during the conversion so I'm not sure exactly where the oil level was. Interestingly I never added oil to the original KPJ

Small tank = warm diesel

Since I drive short distances and don't always switch over to SVO on these short trips I've noticed that the diesel fuel tends to get warm. I think this is because of the small 4.5 gallon doughnut tank and the fact that the fueled is warmed by the engine (via the return loop). Since my trips are short I tend to drive on the smaller tank for longer than what it was meant for - the idea of the tank is you switch over as soon as you can for the longer drive on VO. As stated my drives are short.

The other issue that complicates this is that as I drive over the course of the week the quantity of fuel is reduced (obviously) but that makes it run hotter as there is less fuel to be heated and recirculated.

I generally refill the doughnut tank once a week and it usually takes about 2.5 - 3 galllons irregardless of how many miles I drive - because on the longer trips I switch to veggie.

On most drives it seems to balance out in the the sense that if it is a longer drive I will switch over before the diesel gets too hot. It's the shorter trips that become longer - more or less local errands- that aren't practical to switch over for because of the loss of fuel through purging.

I don't know offhand what the diesel temperature gets to but on the VegControl I can see it rising because I placed the fuel temp sender in the return line so it reads the temperature for both diesel & VO.

UPDATE: I noticed today that for my 7.5 mile drive home that is about 20% freeway and 80% surface streets that the coolant made it to 170ish degrees and the diesel made it to 104ish with an outside temperature at night of approx 64 degrees

Finally

I was finally able to throw the switch a couple days ago on the new system and after a few hiccups with the VOController I can report all is good. I shot a bunch of video during the install so if i ever get the time I hope to upload my install experience.

I started the install on Labor Day and between family time, resting from the work week, and the swine flu I managed to install the system in stages and still drive the car as needed. First I did the plumbing, then the fuel lines (not fun depending on a 4.5g fuel tank, but I don't drive far to work most days) and finally the electric.

I feel this system is more robust then my previous system and is based on my expreience with the original KungPaoJetta. In the end it was a self assembled system that worked best for me - the best parts from different kit makers.

Before I threw the switch with 92,300 miles I made sure to get an oil report. This provides some idea of the state of the engine before the conversion. I do have some concerns about the report but at least I know the issues with the iron and the concern that the oil looks older then it is are not caused by the conversion. This is something I need to pay attention to with the next report. The engine oil was changed before I threw the switch. The car sat for several months after purchase and the engine oil is over a year old.

Here is a view of the engine bay as of today. You can see much but you get an idea of the general lay out of things. As I said I hope to add more information as I have time.

Because of my short drives to work and the time it takes for oil to get hot I do not anticipate switching to vegetable oil that often. This is due to the damage that can occur to the engine if oil is injected into a cold engine. Anyone who has read this plug and/or done their homework knows this is a big concern for anyone who plans on going the WVO route and preserving the life of their engine.

Stuck valve

As I was about to move onto the fuel portion of my install when I noticed that one of my HydraForce Valves wasn't making the "clicking" sound it usually makes for the on/off action. After further review I noticed that the other 2 were not functioning either. Basically they are stick from sitting for 6 months with SVO in them

Currently the plumbing (coolant) on the car is finished and I am driving it normally. I thought I would ask over on the Biodiesel & SVO forums ask if they can be cleaned and if so how. I tried glycerin, PB Blaster & Purple Power with no luck.

Mr. Anderson who I respect quite a bit recently posted a video demonstrating flow rates and more importantly that the Hydraforce valves can leak(the leaking is in the 2nd video)



I don't visit the forums very often but I'm glad I stumbled upon this because I could have installed my valves and had this problem. It also shows how one needs to be on top of the changes and corrections that are being made. Unfortuantely the thread has deteriorated into a war of words

Although Mr. Anderson's valves are expensive ($160+ each)I will want the piece of mind and will have to wait till I get the new valves before I can continue with my install. Someone in the post mentioned Omar's valves he is selling on eBay but I like the idea of a metal housing.

Laying the parts out

I shot a little video laying everything out. I didn't go into much detail about things - I forgot to mention most importantly that you should get a manual of some type. I did my first install with the Haynes manual pictured right but have since purchased the Bentley Publishing full blown service manual ($100), other then confirming the coolant flow direction I haven't really needed the Bentley version. Just make sure you get the right manual.

I'm hoping to have more detail as I proceed with the install. One thing I found is that during both installs there are many trips to the hardware store and orders to Mcmaster.com. It seems even with most things figured out it is still trial and error for me.

Some notes about the video

I didn't really show all the hose barbs, tees & thread size adapters one will need during the install. For example, if you're gonna do HIH you will need at least 4- 3/4" brass tees. The pile of tubing in the video is pulled from my other as is most of the kit. I also didn't mention the relays, or the fact that you needs two jack stands to get the rear of the car elevated . . .I'm hoping to go into more detail for each section of the install along with a parts list and budget.

Prep, Prep, Prep . . . & more Prep

I'm very close to starting the install of my SVO system on my '02 Jetta TDI wagon version 2.0. I've had a few things going on so it's been hard to set aside the time (and lack of car) to get started. Looks as though this upcoming week will provide the opportunity. Hopefully 3-4 days max.

Currently I only need a few minor parts that I will get locally at a NAPA store - tried both Pep Boys and Kragen because they were closer today but basically they are a joke for anything serious.

I've read the manual for the VOControl computer I purchased from Plantdrive that I'll be using and it is a very sophisticated system with alot of options to tweak the system. I'll dive more into the setting once I get it up and running.

Other than finding the correct wires for the ignition "on" & "off" it looks pretty straight forward. Then again I've been down this road once before.

The wiring harness (pictured above) is very cool because everything is labeled for it's purpose, this makes it alot easier to hook up.

The install will brake down into 3 distinct areas.

• plumbing
• fuel
• electric.
  

I've been spending alot of time thinking about the plumbing (READ: procrastination) since this is the part I will start with and is arguably the most complicated. I want to make sure I have everything - once I cut the hoses the car is off the road but if I have to I can drive the car once the plumbing is complete - before starting fuel or electric.

Before getting too far along there are a couple of things to re-remind anyone doing a conversion.

1. We're assuming here that you have done all your research and are not entering this lightly. Only do the SVO thing if you drive long distances or will only switch to oil on the longer drives (this might be a challenge with a doughnut tank system, plus the thrill of driving for free). Short drives will not generate the heat required to get the oil to temperature. Depending on the ambient temperature and how you drive it could be 15 minutes before you can safely switch. ( ie: I drive 8 miles to work each way, mostly surface streets. This journey takes me about 20-25 minutes. I generally won't switch because by the time I have to purge I haven't used that much oil and I will only be removing diesel from a very small tank through the purging process. If you switch too early you will trash your engine.
2. Do an oil analysis before you throw the switch. This gives you a baseline for the condition of your engine that you can compare other oil changes to down the road. This is important to have any idea if you are damaging your engine.
3. Read Eg Beggs additional points to think about
   

Just wanted to get that out there one more time before we get started.

One last thing I've been thinking about is the capacity of the doughnut tank and not switching over on my daily commute to work. I'll still switch over on the longer drives I sometimes do for work but these currently are few. I started to think that the small tank wouldn't be practical, but I really want to keep my spare. I used to get about a week out of it before refilling - but that was with some veggie driving, but I also purged more diesel than I had to.

There is one mod I can do to the doughnut tank that will increase it's useful capacity. When I originally received the tank I noticed that the fuel pick up tube was too short and not at the best angle for maximum capacity. I spoke to Craig at Plantdrive about it and I just never followed up on it. I ended up jury rigging an extension to the tube to get it closer to the bottom of the tank. I assume it helped but it seems I can still get it closer to the bottom of the tank. If this doesn't provide enough fuel for my new driving habits I will have to switch to a tank that replaces the spare. $$$ bummer

When is a TDI's 190º really 150º

When I sold my original Kungpao Jetta I was introduced to a Scangauge II. The fella who purchased my car brought along a TDI head who knew alot about TDI's and had one installed on his TDI Beetle. Basically it is a display that ties into the onboard computer (via VAG-COM connector) of the vehicle and gives you various information- such as instant MPG, RPMs, mile to fill up, etc, and the most important thing for vegheads - water temperature.

What I noticed immediately after installing one in my newly acquired 2002 TDI wagon was the discrepancy between the TDI's onboard water temperature gauge and the temperature the ScanGauge II was indicating. When the the TDI indicates 190º the SG2 shows 150º. The temperature will make it 190º+ but the initial 190º displayed on the dash is incorrect*. Now, to me this is very important if you have a manually controlled WVO system. My previous way of switching over to WVO was to wait until the water temp gauge of the TDI indicated 190º, then a would add an extra minute or two then throw the switch.

One can see the problem here - if 160º is our intended temp. of the oil and the water that is heating the oil is only at 150, then it ain't gonna be at 160 at injection. Not to mention that these temp readings are w/o a WVO system installed so you have to figure it will take longer to reach temp because the cool oil is going to remove heat from the water as the oil is heated (heat sink).

Even if the coolant is at 150º, I figure that the engine is at normal operating temperature and the oil is being injected into a hot engine (injecting oil into an engine that is not at operating temp is a HUGE NO-NO. Getting the oil to 160º before injection helps reduce viscosity, reducing strain on the IP and provides a better spray pattern in the combution chamber.

With an automated system (computer controled such as Plantdrive's or Frybrid's) this all may be moot as the automated systems generally include their own temperature sensor for the engine's coolant. Thereby not switching over to oil until it's temp sensor indicates the coolant is at the predetermined temp.

Of course everything is also relative to the ambient temperature. If it's cool or cold outside the engine will be cooler also.

Here is a video on how to do a clean Scangauge install on a TDI

*I have noticed that the time it takes to get to engine's H20 to 190º is directly related to the intensity with which one drives. Drive mellow and it takes awhile and in some istances never makes it to 190 - settling around 185 or so. Drive agressively or get on the freway and it makes it to 190 and higher much quicker. This is important because if you switch over and the H2O never makes it to 190 your oil might not be at 160.

Gone but not forgotten

From the start I wanted a TDI wagon but in 2006 when I started down the WVO road they were even more expensive than now. I also didn't want to spend a fortune on an "experiment" so I opted for the lesser expensive sedan.

There are two big reasons & one small one I recently purchased a wagon.

1.) It's better for work. In my line of business I sometimes need to bring some equipment with me.
2.) It's an automatic so my wife feels more comfortable driving it.
3.) All TDI wagons are made in Germany, my Jetta sedan, which runs great is made in Mexico.

So now that I am happy with the results I purchased a 2002 Jetta TDI I found on craigslist agragator foobert's TDI hunt. The car was outside Philly and I had it trucked to CA. In hindsight it was purchased at the worst time - gas prices where on their way down (it took a couple months to negotiate the price and work things out) and TDI's finally being let into California .

My initial plan was to sell the original kungpao jetta and drive the new wagon until the summer when I get my annual hiatus from work. That hasn't worked well, with gas becoming cheap and the kungpao not selling I decided to pull the VO kit off the car and try and sell it as a straight diesel. That didn't work either because as mentioned above the new clean diesels were entering the state and as I noticed on Craigslist a lot of sellers where selling their current TDI to get a new clean TDI. Then there's the economy and to be quite honest other than putting it in Craigslist a few times I haven't tried very hard to sell it because of my work schedule.

I am going to start the process again and document it from the beginning as opposed to starting the blog afterward. It will be a slow initial process as I will only have the weekends until the end of April and I have other things in life that keep me busy.

Although it will be more Plantdrive specific the concept will be universal and the parts are easily exchangeable. I have the advantage of doing this once before.

Hopefully by the end it will be a good instuction manual for anyone looking for a how to and perhaps even a video out of it.

141k and all is well - Latest Oil report

Latest oil report shows everything is good.

Oil had 4000 miles on it when changed. I made sure to purchase the oil with the exact spec as per the owners manual.

First Long drive on Veggie - LA to San Fran

Just did my first long drive on the car since it was converted. Drove a total of 770 miles driving from LA to SF. A couple notes:

• Averaged low to mid 40's MPG which includes some city driving in San Fran and some serious sitting in traffic on the 101 (2hours) in stop and go crawling traffic. 770 miles on 18g
• Oil temp on road was 210ºF when idling on freeway in 80ºF plus temps. Freeway temp was 180º with VegTherm and injection line heater on. 165º when electric heat was off
• Checked engine oil before leaving and checked when returned and no oil burning as far as I can tell.

On a side note I have noticed a quicker rise to temperature since adding the 2nd relay. There is less loss of energy since the power is only traveling to the Vegtherm /ILHs from the relay and not traveling along 25' of 10g wire to the dashboard through a switch and then to the Vegtherm/ILH and in the proces losing some of it's energy through heat (especially at the switch). Of course ambient temperature plays a factor.

What is this stuff in the Vormax?

Car is running good - hence no new posts.

One thing that has been around for a few months now is this stuff at the bottom of the Vormax. It's not the same stuff as I mentioned before as this looks different and does appear to be going anywhere. The only thing I can think of what it might be is is dissolved solids - now obviously undissolved.

Because I heat the oil when filtering, to get it to flow better, I'm thinking that there must be some things that dissolve in the process then re solidify when the oil cools.

The strange thing is that I don't remember placing any hot/warm oil in the tank recently. In the past I have filled the tank while filtering (after checking for water) but now I realize it's best to let the oil settle. Besides I need to log whenever I add oil to the car for tax purposes.

Vormax sediment from Joe B on Vimeo.

I have not noticed any sediment in the bottom of the filtered oil cubees. I do feel it is safe to assume that this same sediment is on the bottom of my OEM tank, unless this stuff settles out as the Vormax cools.

For the time being I'm not concerned because the system is always purged back to diesel so I don't think stuff has had a chance to settle in the shared parts of the fuel system. I can always open the drain valve on the Vormax or remove the clear jar and inspect. The stuff in the main fuel tank (if any) would be another matter

The Racor filter has the same sediment though seems to be much less. Perhaps a long hot drive might clear things up.

Cost of SVO rises too

I went to Costco today and while there checked the price of new soybean oil in a 35lb cubee - $26.89.

$26.89
$3.36 (sales taxes - CA 8.25%)

= $30.25
divided by 4.5G

= $6.72 per gallon
+ ¢ 24.4 per gallon federal road tax
+ ¢ 18 per gallon state road tax

$7.144 per gallon for new unused SVO. And that's not even high-test (canola)

OUCH!

TDI demos arriving at dealers

Auto Blog Green has a post about the new diesel Jetta TDIs arriving at dealers. The EPA has them rated at 30/41 mpg.

2nd relay added

Some time ago I added a switch that allowed me turn off the electrical portion of the heater system. By default the Plantdrive kit (at least when I purchased mine) wires the Vegtherm and 6 port Pollak fuel selector valves together on the same switch. To do this a relay is used. I didn't really know what the relay did, I just installed as directed.

Because the Vegtherm and resistance wire I added draw a large amount of amperage one must use large gauge wire for these items. Since a switch is used you must get a very high amperage one. The problem with this is that you end up running 10 gauge wire through out the dash which isn't practical. A relay lets you use smaller gauge wire for the switch portion of the system but yet deliver the high amperage load to the destination (Vegtherm / resistance wire in this case).

As mentioned, the electric heaters and Pollak are on the same switch and hence relay. When I added the separate switch to turn off the electric portion of the system I had to connect it to the high amperage output of the relay. This required using heavy duty (10G) wire to the dash and switch. After I burned out the second switch with a rating of 3o amps I installed a switch with a 50amp rating. This switch worked fine but would still get hot at the connectors and I never fully installed it into the dash because it wouldn't fit as it was too large for the knockout (forgot to take a picture).

After the 2nd switch burned up I posted a question on the forums about finding a 50amp switch and someone suggested I add an additional relay. Today I did that and it seems to be working. I have to post again to see if I wired it correctly since I just mirrored the existing relay. I have to put the wiring harnesses back on

wiring is as follows:

Left relay (original)
red on top is power in from breaker (the thing between them)
green is switch output to fuel selection valve(Pollak / 3 port valves) w/additional 12v supply
black wire ground
bottom red provides high amperage output to second relay on right

Right relay (new)
red on top power in from left relay
black ground
red on bottom is high amperage output to Vegtherm/injection line heaters
Blue is to electric on/off switch in dash w/additional 12v supply

Update: I had to pull power for the 12v switched power supply for the 2nd relay(blue wire) from the diesel/VO switch so that the 2nd relay is only powered when the switch is thrown to VO. Otherwise the relay would be on all the time and I would have to remember to switch it on or off.

There are other ways to do this (see smellslikefries's consol). My system is extremely manual and computer controlled systems are available along with variations on what I've down.

WVO filtering & DeWater setup v2.0

The video is of my filtering & dewatering setup v2.0. As stated in the video my initial filtering set up had 2 tanks but after doing "batch" processing I realized that I did not need both tanks.


Disclaimer: This is only my take on the SVO filtering/dewatering thing. Do your research and make your own conclusion. I could be totally wrong about this stuff.

Reason for changing to one tank/barrel:

• My oil will eventually settle in the cubee if left long enough. Ambient heat will speed things up
• Other than storage & settling the 1st barrel is only used when dewatering. Dewatwering 2 tanks takes twice as much energy and is overkill.
• Keeping oil in cubees lessens chances of condensation forming and reintroducing water into filtered oil while stored.
• new location eliminates chance of rainwater contamination and allows for convenient fill up of car while filtering oil
• Living in SoCal there is less chance of spillage in cubees than the barrel due to chance of earthquakes.
• Saves my arm by not having to manually pump oil from 1st tank to second
  

How does it work:

• Oil settles in cubees for a minimum of 2 weeks. Since I don't use that much oil it tends to be much longer longer.
• After settling, oil is poured through a 10/5 micron double sock filter.
• Once barrel is filled it is slowly heated to approx 100º for 4 days using a pipe heater.
  
• After 4 days of heating it is pumped through a Permacool 2 micron canister filter using a 12v pump from Northern Tool. One could use whatever pump you choose.
  
• Oil is processed as a batch and barrel is virtually empty when not in use. Clean oil is stored inside in cubees or pumped directly into car
  

Testing for water:

This is based on the FryBrid crackle test.

• After 3/4 days of heating oil fill up a empty cubee rinse with warm oil to remove any remaining sediment and fill halfway with clean warm oil & shake vigorously. Dump rinse oil into sediment container for resettling
  
• preheat frypan to 320ºf
• using a syringe or paperclip gather and drop a small drop of oil onto the hot frypan
• Using a magnifying glass quickly examine the droplet for bubbles and/or the sound of crackling.
• There should be none or very little. Please see the frybrid page for what is acceptable
  

MISC

• Barrel is elevated to allow for easier draining of sludge when required
• Influenced by ecojetta's single tank solution

Pictured right is the draw tube that goes in the bulge hole. I added the "j" pattern. Bottom of tube is approx. 7" off bottom of barrel.


Pictured right is the filter element that I removed due to straining of 12v pump. ecojetta uses the same element but uses a 120v pump. I kept the canister in line because I had already installed it. It is empty now

Diesel Hits new Highs

I'm now over $5 / Gallon for diesel. American Public radio's Market Place did a piece on the high price of diesel. Ouch, Sure wish I could drive on the SVO more than I do. Some folks do the Biodiesel thing in the diesel tank but I figure that I am taxing the engine enough with the SVO so i best give it a rest when I can.

New York Times article about new clean diesels coming soon

The New York Times has an article about the impending invasion of clean diesels into the US starting this summer. Unfortunately with diesel fuel at record highs ($4.65/G for me) it isn't as great a deal as it used to be. Still a really good article.