Another Plant Drive kit install

[josh]

Kev,

Glad to see you are back.

Pretty messy wiring in Josh's van though, who the heck did that?

Did I ever mention that my warning buzzer activated the second i would flip the switch to WVO regardless of whether the van was on or not? Anyhow, I guess it was time I took up the slack. I just unhooked it altogether. So far I haven't forgotten.. but all in due time right? And Kev, where are your vacation pics? I looked in the trips section and there arent any there yet! And about the job that I, um, scored... well I threw out my back after the first day (not because of the job) and coincidentally have been off ever since. We will see how this all goes down. Perhaps I am just stealing a chapter from your book on life.

Adam,

Wise move in doing the install yourself and keeping us jokers at a distance. It seems like it is coming along smoothly. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Josh

[Adam]

OK, since I've posted last most of the wiring has been completed. I had issues with wiring the toggle switch properly and a badly connected 3-way splitter on the VegTherm relay prevented the VegTherm from operating when I flipped the toggle switch. That's all taken care of now. Here are some of the pics:

I lifted the driver side carpet and ran the wiring to the toggle switch underneath the carpet.

Sorry about the blurry pictures, I was trying to show how the wires are connected to the toggle switch. The toggle switch is wired as follows:

• Post 1 - directly from (+) battery through a 15A inline fuse
  Post 2 - Pollack wire 'E' through the 3-way connector on the VegTherm Relay wiring harness
  Post 4 - to ground
  Post 5 - Pollack wire 'D'

So I have 3 wires running from the engine bay under the carpet to the toggle switch, then the 4th wire is grounded on the stereo ground.


Finally got the toggle switch mounted by drilling it in place. It took a 1/2" drill bit which was hard to find in my garage, finally had to use a 1/2" hammer drill bit, crude, but it worked.

[Adam]

UPDATE: I've got most of the electrical and plumbing complete. I was surprise how easy it was to cut the coolant lines and stick in the tees to divert some coolant to the heated VegMax filter. Using the cheapo vice grips I picked up from CDN Tire (5 for $10), I clamped the coolant line so that I had enough room to comfortably install a tee.


The I coated the tee barbs in teflon paste, and installed them. It's a good idea to coat one barb at a time with the teflon paste, otherwise you end up with a bit of a mess. Oh well, too much has got to be better than not enough, eh?


I ended up leaving a bit of slack on all the hosing so that I could drop the filter for changing without having to disconnect the hoses. I used some zip ties to hold the loops up in the battery cavity, we'll see how that holds up.


I've also installed and wired the Pollack valve and moved the VegTherm closer to the action.


The last step is to get a fuel tank that will fit without me having to re-route my exhaust. I have a line on a 15Gal Jeep Wrangler tank, the same one that Kevin used. Hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow. If all goes well I could get it installed this weekend and be running on WVO.

[Adam]

Done....ish. I ended up using the 20Gal Jeep Wrangler tank (minus the skid plate) strapped down behind the rear row of seats. I just couldn't wait any longer for the perfect tank to fit in the spare tire spot. With a lot of trepidation I disconnected the diesel supply and return feeds and re-routed them to the Pollack value, then I connected the Pollack value outputs up to the fuel injectors and return. I let a bit of air into the diesel lines in the process and was afraid I might have problems starting, but it turned over after the second attempt. Did a 20km test run this morning with 16km on SVO. I'm using fresh veg oil from Costco for the first tank to make sure any issue I have are with the setup instead of the oil. So far so good.

I have a few other issues that I want to address, but a least I can run VO while I work them out. I'll post some pictures soon of the complete set up, right now I have to get caught up on some work. Thanks for the boards input on this, couldn't have done it without you.

[sean]

Congrats Adam!!!

You did it. Way to go! It is great to hear that so far no problems. I like the idea of buying SVO for the first few km's. I am not far behind you. I have made a deadline of 2 weeks to completion. That is when we have to make two consecutive trips to Victoria one weekend after the next. I hope to up and running.

A friend of mine who I helped get his Delica invited me over to learn how to use his 10,000lbs hoist he installed in his barn. WOW is all I can say! His barn is DIY 'ers dream come true. Air guns, welders etc. Things have all of a sudden become a whole lot easier when I think of the jobs I can complete without lying on my back in my driveway. I am welcome to use it any time also.

Talk to you soon
SEan

[Adam]

Some more pics. Here's the 20Gal Jeep Wrangler tank sans skid plate strapped down behind the rear row of seats.

Here's the holes I drilled in the rear pocket to send the fuel and vent the tank.

The Aux fuel pump I installed to help push the cold VO from the tank to the filter.

Here's the finished pumping/wiring set up in the engine bay. Still need to clean it up a bit, but it works.

The return line from the injector pump has a small leak in it. I'm having a hard time wrenching down the 3/8" ID fuel hose enough to get a tight seal. I'm going to run to Lordco and pick up a few feet of 5/16" ID fuel line to replace that section and get a few small worm clamp. Hopefully that'll do it.

[BCDelica]

Congratulations Adam! The install sure looks good.

Did you notice any performance increase with new grease?

Cheers
Kev

[Adam]

Did you notice any performance increase with new grease?

Haven't notice much in the way of performance gain, but then again, Ive probably only done 50km on VO so far. My son did say that it is running quieter, but I think he's just excited to be cutting our CO2 footprint. Still experiment with when I need to switch over to Diesel before I shut down. Ilan was saying 2km of driving as long as you aren't coasting is sufficient. I'm trying to shorten it up a bit be picking land marks before home switching and then sniffing my tail pipe for diesel when I get home. The only issue right now is the slow weeping of VO/diesel on the return line to the Pollack valve, but a slightly narrower line might take care of that.

I just had a thought, and hopefully so of the more experience people out there can tell me if I'm misguided or not. I have the Facet "Posi-flo" Auxilary Electric Fuel Pump install in between my WVO tank and the VegMax heated filter. It's a 4-6 psi fuel pump from NAPA (auto part number: 610-1050) to push the thick cold WVO oil since I didn't spring for a HotFox. If I move the filter to the engine bay and stick it between the Pollack value and the injector pumps could I used it to flush WVO out of the engine with diesel? Right now the pump is on the same switch as the Pollack valve and the VegTherm, but if I install a second switch and activate the pump while the engine is off in the diesel position would it not push the WVO out of the engine and replace it diesel? What do you think Kev?

On another note, I need to thank everyone on the board that has contributed info. There is no way in hell I could have pulled this off without the support of the users online. Especially you Kevin, that "2 Year Update on WVO" post you made is that reason I decide to buy a Delica, with the express purpose of running it on WVO. It sure is nice to see people freely sharing information for the greater good of the community. That being said, if I messed up my new van you are all to blame, especially you Kevin

[BCDelica]

That being said, if I messed up my new van you are all to blame, especially you Kevin - can't quote that cause using my phone, but it's good a have that disclaimer written up.

You're doing the right thing with the booster pump, it won't over pressure-ise your IP and over comes the pressure differences from a thick fluid flowing through a filter. I really believe a glass filter, a common item, is helpful to show what fuel is flowing and if air is getting in before the IP. Which you're less likely to have happen with a booster pump.

Another helpful item is a magnetic temp guage, the kind with the dial on a little wire designed to sit outside of the oven. Like the glass filter, it's available at Cambodian tire. Mount it here and there to give you an idea about WVO temperatures. I gave mine away to a Benz going SVO. Even being more carefull you could install a pressure guage before the veg-max to give you an idea of when a filter change is needed.

You did your own install, and that's just awesomè - way to go dude.......

Cheers,
Kev

[josh]

Adam,

Hats off to you man... way to get it all up and running. You bit off a lot and look what you came up with. Looks like a real tidy install. Good job. With the way things are headed I think we will have to have a Delica/WVO meet... there are sure getting to be a lot of us.

Josh

[EricN]

Hey Adam quick question. I have my Hotfox plumbed off of the rear heater like your vegmax is but I dont seem to get any flow out of it. I was wondering how yours does. My vegmax does fine but is Teed off of the main heater lines on the LF. I can disconnect the hose from the hotfox and get barely a trickle. I must have the mother of all air locks somewhere but the rear heater hoses get warm.
Finally going to drive it tomorrow and see if that helps. Not too concerned, no filler neck yet for veggie so I am not quite there.
Congrats on getting yours done. Fuel tanks have been the worst part of the whole job.

[Adam]

Hey Adam quick question. I have my Hotfox plumbed off of the rear heater like your vegmax is but I dont seem to get any flow out of it. I was wondering how yours does. My vegmax does fine but is Teed off of the main heater lines on the LF. I can disconnect the hose from the hotfox and get barely a trickle. I must have the mother of all air locks somewhere but the rear heater hoses get warm.
Finally going to drive it tomorrow and see if that helps. Not too concerned, no filler neck yet for veggie so I am not quite there.
Congrats on getting yours done. Fuel tanks have been the worst part of the whole job.

There seems to be decent coolant flow to the VegMax from the coolant lines I teed into. I went for a 30 minutes drive tonight and the VegMax was too hot to touch by the end of it. I fixed the weeping in the fuel return line by replacing the 3/8" hose with some 5/16" fuel line. Everything is looking good so far other than that.

I took Kevin's suggestion and bought a glass filter which I attached to the fuel return from the IP. I might move it to the supply side of the IP, but I wanted to see how long after I switch to diesel it took before the WVO was flushed. I also picked up a oven digital thermometer from Canadian Tire for $20. I just picked up the first one I saw because I was rushed for time, but I think it should work for give a more accurate engine temp. Now I just need to decide what part of the engine to strap the probe to.

[EricN]

Thanks for the reply. I took it for a good hard rip today and sure enough, 1 quick, small spike of the temp gauge on a hill climb and the airlock is gone and the hotfox is piping hot. Cant wait to finish the filler so I can start burning veggie.

[sean]

Eric wrote:
I took it for a good hard rip today and sure enough, 1 quick, small spike of the temp gauge on a hill climb and the airlock is gone and the hotfox is piping hot.

I cut into the rear coolant lines and ran them back to the Hotfox. Drove for 15 mins and the lines heading back towards the tank were hot for only 2 feet and the hotfox had no heat. Will it take awhile to circulate through the new lines?
When I started the engine after teeing in I watched the coolant resevoir to see if it dropped as the new 15 feet of line filled. But it never went down. So I drove and then stopped and checked. Still the same. .
I am pretty sure I got the main coolant lines marked as new supply and return correctly but if I do not, is it an issue?
Something also happened that has not happened to me before in the Delica . Normally the temp gauge hovers just above the thicker C line. But on the drive after teeing in the temp went up to about the 1/4 spot (in gas gauge terms). It moved around a bit but managed to stay there and even rise a bit more than that. Not sure why? I was driving a flat road for about 10 minutes.

I did lose about 1/4 cup of coolant whilst teeing.

Sean

[EricN]

Try disconnecting 1 of the lines from the hotfox and running the car while you lay under it for a bit. I did this and at idle it took about 15 minutes before I saw any signs of coolant drip from the hose. Then I went for a good 30 minute drive, up hills, pushed it hard, and it was fine.
It doesnt matter which line is which.
And make sure when you disconnect the hose you try and get it as low as possible to get some coolant flow. I am not sure it will purge the air out if the hose is too high.
Also, remove the rad cap and fill the rad (with the engine cold) then try running it like that for a bit. Will probably make a mess but it might help get some more air out.