Review setup, advice, modifications?

[dahoseman]

I am looking for advice on my plans and setup from anyone that has experience with these systems.

I am brand new to Cummins engines, WVO/SVO and diesels in general. I just bought my 97 Dodge Cummins a few weeks ago and now I am going to convert it to a WVO truck. I ran across an SVO kit (with 40 gallon heated tank, hoses, solenoids, etc) on craigslist that was removed from another 2nd gen Dodge. That means that I have the basic components already, though not installed. I plan on pulling an old camper (my new home) around the country. I'm a lowly med student and I will be working in different hospitals at different locations every month for the next year and a half. My goal is for my system to be completely onboard, portable, and as automated and hassle-free as possible. I could use some seasoned advice from more experienced members on how feasible my plans are. Any constructive reviews or advice are welcome.

Here are my plans

Plan:
I am going to find and mount a used ~100 gallon L-shaped diesel transfer tank in the bed. This will be my storage/purification tank for oil that I collect from restaurants on the road. In the angle of the "L" I will mount my craiglist-purchased coolant-heated "standard" SVO tank that only holds purified veggie. This will leave me with three tanks; a standard diesel tank, my SVO tank, and my collection/purification tank. The SVO tank I will leave unhindered as a normal SVO secondary fuel tank. Both the dirty tank and the fuel tank will be well insulated for cold weather, similar to your home water-heater tank. Around this, I will construct a truck-box cover for security and aesthetics

When I acquire one, I am planning to make three additions and modifications to the the "L" shaped transfer tank (not SVO fuel tank):

1. Heating Lines
-Since the SVO tank will be mounted in the "L" of this big transfer tank and it already has engine coolant to heat it, I will run some copper tubing through the dirty transfer tank as well. I will add a manual bypass valve to the the return coolant line of the SVO fuel tank. This will allow me to selectively circulate leftover heat from the purified SVO tank to the dirty tank (when full) for purification by centrifuge while I drive.

2. Collection With initial bulk filtering
-This system will only be used to collect and lightly filter the oil and will not be the main purification method. I plan on either finding a well used hydraulic-filter-cart or building a pump/filter setup from used parts. If I find a hydraulic filter cart, I will dismantle the cart and mount the components on the transfer tank, along with a power inverter and deep cycle battery connected to the front batteries for charging. If I cannot find a cart, I will put together a filtering setup to mount to the transfer tank instead. For this, I would probably get something like a Tuthill 10gpm transfer pump with a screened filter on the incoming line to collect bulky junk. On the output side of the pump, a diesel filter and a water-collection filter to get rid of some more bulk before it empties into the tank. Collection of the restaurant oil into the tank is now finished.

3. Onboard Purification
Since I won't have a stable place to live or stay and I won't have much free time, I need to be able to filter, purify, and dewater the oil onboard during the many hours that I will be on the road between hospitals. For this, I will add an oil-powered centrifuge that operates while I drive (Spinner II 976 scavenged from a bus). I will tap the bottom of the dirty transfer tank near the engine coolant heating lines and mount an electric pump that can be switched on/off from the cab when the oil has gotten hot enough. The pump will output to the centrifuge mounted on top of the tank. The hot oil will trickle back into the top of the tank and recirculate over and over. On long trips, the tank should become quite hot and the oil will be repeatedly centrifuged over and over for hours. I hope that most of the water will flash off as vapor in the heated spray of the centrifuge. I will probably add a weather-protected vent on the top of the dirty tank to allow water vapor to rise out of tank when the oil is heated.

Summary:
The plan is to install a two additional tanks, to the truck. one large transfer tank for storage of dirty oil and a standard SVO tank, both heated by engine coolant. I will add a pump with inline filters to collect the oil and take out the bulky gunk while collecting it. From there on, a centrifuge will clean out the smaller gunk from the heated tank as it recentrifuges the oil over and over during long trips. Hopefully this will also dewater the oil. When the oil looks good in the dirty storage tank, I will pump it into the SVO fuel tank. The whole setup will be well insulated and covered by a truck box type of cover.


Any thoughts? Comments? Modifications? Warnings?

[newshop2]

the first part of you story mentioned copper tubing run thru tank. You need to do alot more reading here, its all been done before. Don't heat your tank, only pick up. Read read read. good luck

[Darwin]

I wouldn't buy the "kit" off of craigslist.

This is going to be about a thousand times more difficult than you think.

I wouldn't think a med student would spend so much time driving? I have yet to meet anyone that filters and dewaters oil while driving down the road. Personally I have no idea why anyone would want some noisy machine in the back of their truck while they drive down the road. The centrifuge still won't be able to keep up with the amount of oil you will be burning per hour.

Sounds like the back of your truck is going to chock full.

Post pictures and let us know how it turns out!

[dahoseman]

thanks for the input.


newshop2:
I think I got my plans posted before the revised version. I will not actually be heating the "filtration tank". Instead, I will be heating tubing inbetween the pump and centrifuge. I'm aware of the copper problem and I will be using PEX tubing instead.

Darwin:
I've already purchased the remains of the kit. For a few hundred bucks, I figure it can't be that bad. It has working solenoids, all tubing, a 40gallon aluminum tank with internal heating coils, fuel pump, switch, heated filters with mounting brackets, and couplers. Even if it's not complete, I can get the rest of the parts. Furthermore, it was removed from a 2nd gen Dodge, just like mine, so it should be setup well.
As for driving, I'm going to be doing rotations all around the country from month to month. Instead of searching for housing and paying exorbitant rent each month in new locations, I'm going to tow a camper and make that my mobile apartment and office.
The filtration tank and fuel tank will be separate. The fuel tank will be a "standard" SVO tank that feeds fuel to the engine, unconnected to the filtration tank. The filtration tank will have the centrifuge hooked up and it will recycle and recentrifuge the storage oil during the hours that I drive down the road or leave it idling. The centrifuge won't have to keep up with any engine demand. It will just purify the oil at its leisure. I don't think it will be too noisy because it will be behind the cab, in the bed, under an insulated truck box.

fuelishnot:
You're telling me. I'm not looking forward to all of it, but all part of the process.


I created a diagram and fluid circuit map to give a better idea of what I'm planning. If I had the time and resources, I would make custom tanks and do a stealth-install underneath the bed so that everything is out of sight and less of a drain on bed space.

[Darwin]

I've already purchased the remains of the kit. For a few hundred bucks, I figure it can't be that bad. It has working solenoids, all tubing, a 40gallon aluminum tank with internal heating coils, fuel pump, switch, heated filters with mounting brackets, and couplers. Even if it's not complete, I can get the rest of the parts. Furthermore, it was removed from a 2nd gen Dodge, just like mine, so it should be setup well.

Have you done a plumbing diagram yet for the fuel and the coolant from the tank to the IP?

I know some people use electric pumps on dodges but personally I don't see why, you are pushing it unless you have a heavy duty electric fuel pump like the FASS which retails four around $400. Unless it's a real robust pump like the one mentioned it likely will not hold up to SVO and maintain fuel pressure. This is why I prefer the stock cummins mechanical fuel pump, its strong, they last, and are only $99 dollars to replace. Since it's mechanical there are less things to go wrong.

How are you doing your fuel lines from the tank? Hose on hose or tube in hose?

Do you have a flat plate heat exchanger before the IP?

[Darwin]

The filtration tank will have the centrifuge hooked up and it will recycle and recentrifuge the storage oil during the hours that I drive down the road or leave it idling.

I own a dieselcraft OC 20 and maybe it is the way it is set up but its noisy as hell. I don't think I could put up with the noise as I was rolling down the road. just a though.

Most don't recommend you let a diesel idle unless you have a high idle installed.

[Darwin]

I hope that most of the water will flash off as vapor in the heated spray of the centrifuge.

The flash evaporation happens at the jets on the centrifuge so to get that to work you would free flowing air and the oil exposed to the atmosphere to get any flash evaporation effect.

If you go with the tuthhill as a collection pump, I would question if it can actually suck through anything more then 500 micron and push through anything less than 200, Plus the oil would need to be extremely hot to flow through all that with the tuthhill. Better hope none of your rotations put you anywhere were the temp drops below 40 degrees.

[dahoseman]

Thanks for all the input! These are all giving me things to think about and redesign.

Darwin:
1) I haven't done a plumbing diagram, but I did see how it was piped on the other Dodge that this setup was removed from. It is tube-in-hose and the oil travels via PEX red tubing inside radiator tubing. It will be pumped via the stock Cummins lift pump.

2) There is a coolant-heated fuel filter and an aluminum block heat exchanger in this kit. The solenoids and heat exchangers will be bolted to a plate over top of the head. I would expect the oil to reach 150F or so by the time it reaches the engine.

3) The centrifuge that I have is a Spinner II 976 that was pulled from a bus. It can process 2g/m but I will have to get a pump that can really put out the pressure and deal with thick oil. Any suggestions for that? I was thinking of a used hydraulic filter pump. Some of those bad boys pump oil at 3000PSI or more, though I clearly wouldn't be needing anywhere near that.

4) I may need a different method of dewatering then. I am going to put a weather-proofed 'exhaust' outlet on top of the filtration tank to allow water vapor to escape when the oil gets hot. I don't know if that will be sufficient or not. I was hoping the centrifuge would help with that.

5) I don't think the suction pump will need to be all that strong, but I haven't done this before. It simply has to get the oil through a mesh screen (like a screen door) and then a really gritty filter. The centrifuge pump will be the one that needs to be a real hoss.

6) I'm hoping that the insulation will be sufficient to retain any heat, once it gets warm. It may take a little while, but I think it will get warm. If the whole setup is insulated like a water heater, it shouldn't be too hard to keep at temp. Perhaps I could place an old radiator between the two tanks and circulate coolant through that?

A) So any idea for the centrifuge pump? I'm thinking the hydraulic pump is a decent idea.
B) If the Tuthill won't cut it for collecting oil, any thoughts on something reasonably economical that can?
C) How about dewatering? Will the exhaust vent help?
D) Do you think the Spinner II will be THAT loud? I was hoping that being locked inside an insulated metal box, surrounded by tanks, in the bed of a pickup, behind an extended cab at speed sown the interstate would be sufficient to drown out most noise.
E) Would an additional old radiator nestled between the two tanks be a good idea?

[dahoseman]

anybody have thoughts on these modifications to the plans?

[Colorado_Al]

I would ditch the en route filtration. Use the cargo area to carry more filtered VO. Then setup shop with a smaller VO centrifuge wherever you land.
No idea how far and how much oil you will need. You might look into the ACME juicerator mod for portable small scale centrifuge.