Anyone have one of these installed on your diesel? I know salty has one on his truck. Salty, was that a recent conversion or an older one?
I know these guys have made advances in developing the system and was looking for input from anyone who has the latest and greatest installed. Things to be wary of? Ease of installation or retro-ing back to diesel? Words of caution?
I'm shopping for my next car, which may very well be a diesel.
yes and no
Bio-diesel is only a little bit different from regular diesel, you most probably do not need any modifications.
Explanation:
Depends on the engine
Newer car diesel engines, like the VW TDI, don’t like veggie oil so well. Has to do with the injectors being designed specifically for #2 diesel, which has a much lower viscosity. The only conversion kit I know of that addresses that issue is the Elsbett conversion kit. I’m told it’s definitely worth checking out.
Older diesels, and truck engines are more tolerant, but even then, it pays to do your homework beforehand. My brother in law mixes used frying oil with petrodiesel in his Cummins-powered pickup (It’s old, so it’ll burn most anything), and has no issues. He probably mixes no more than 10% veggie with the petro.
If you buy new, kiss your engine warranty bye-bye. Even biodiesel voids most warranties in the US if you use more than 5% concentration in petrodiesel (aka “B5”). I’ve run B20 in mine, and the car loves it. Runs quieter, and smoother with no perceptible loss of power (Bio has less energy than petro, but only like 5-10% less).
sorry shoulda been more specific
But I was talking about this specific make of conversion system. These guys have been at it the longest and seem to have sweated the details most.
http://www.greasecar.com/faq.cfm
Anyone else have one?
He’s not talking Biodiesel
He’s talking about SVO (straight veg oil) or WVO (waste veg. oil).
Either you modify the veg oil through a process called transesterification to create what is known as Biodiesel, or you modify the fuel system on the engine to allow it to run straight heated veg oil. This is often confusing for obvios reasons.
My kit is an older Greasecar kit. There are better companies out there making kits. I have helped dozens of their customers free of charge with cummins conversions because GC’s instructions are terrible. Even emailed GC my schematic to no avail…and they even aknowledge that their instructions are bad for the big engines. Not a terrible company at all, just very busy and focus on the majority of cars like Benz and VW.
It all depends on what vehicle you buy. Different kits / approaches seem to work best on certain vehicles. Kits like Frybrids are very costly and highly engineered. They represent the opposite of GC in sophistication. PlantDrive seems an excellent resource. Craig Reeves of PlantDrive is excellent.
Real question is, is it wise to seek out a diesel to do this, or better to buy a modern hybrid etc.? You may find it hard to obtain WVO from restaurants as local governments are making it illegal in some cases to take it for fuel purposes. It wont be long before it is illegal for restaurants to give it away or sell it to a non-rendering company.
Sad really, but I see this gig as short lived really. Ten years from now I doubt I’ll be able to pull it off. It is also a huge pain at times collecting and filtering oil. I enjoy tinkering, and am mass mechanically inclined, so it’s a hobby to me. It would be ill advised for many. The folk selling kits put only tell the nice stories:)
I disagree as one of their customers
They are terrible with details.
aha
How long ago did you deal with them?
Let me say once again
They are not a bad company… It’s very clear to me that they do a good job with the smaller cars. They are far less expert on the Cummins, Powerstrokes, Duramaxes etc.
In fact today I will mail a colored installation spec / guide to one of their frustrated customers. That costs me every time, and gets tiring. But its rewarding to get the follow up emails of success. GC didn’t even account for the injector return?? Having said all that, they do ultimately revise their systems in time.
Like you I researched a bit and was wowed by their marketing, experience etc. Knowing what I know now I’d assemble my own kit from far better individual components. I would use GC solenoids, but that’s it.
I deal with them fairly regularly. Again, it depends on what you buy. A GC kit may represent the best overall value.
Like anything, there are zealouts and a lot of mis-information and internet BS that you’ll have to wade through.
I HIGHLY recommend you contact Craig Reese at
PlantDrive. He is unbiased, very smart, and can save you tons of time re-learning what others already have.
Should you end up with a Cummins, I’ll walk you through it. Best engine is the 12valve 5.9 with Bosch P7100 Injection Pump.
Greasing a newer common rail engine is more risky. Has been done successfully, but as mentioned above you will void warranty.
It’s fun stuff, and may be right for you. Just be wary of all the “press”, and think it through.
Absolutley!
If you buy new, kiss your engine warranty bye-bye. Even biodiesel voids most warranties in the US if you use more than 5% concentration in petrodiesel (aka “B5”). I’ve run B20 in mine, and the car loves it. Runs quieter, and smoother with no perceptible loss of power (Bio has less energy than petro, but only like 5-10% less).
We own a new diesel, an '05 Jeep Liberty, and I was told that more than 5% is going to mean trouble in the event of an engine issue. I just sold an '83 Surburban 6.2L diesel that ran fine on raw, but VERY well filtered (and warmed), veggie oil.