My veggie install on Granola

[jessef]

So I'm jumping the gun. Should be able to to the install in the next 2 weeks.

Picked up (ebay marine store) a Racor filter.



Racor 6401 - coolant heated and has a 12V heater as well. Double the fun.
Came with 3 S3226S filters.

Should be good. Just a few inches bigger than the vegmax but has both coolant/electric heating and about 8 different optional filters to toss on.

Will order up a pair of 3-way valves with wiring looms from vegpower because of their high-flow valves and a friend of mine who's been using them for many many miles down in WA.

They come all ready to drop in with plug and play wiring looms.



http://www.vegpower.com/order/prodpage. ... startrow=1

Have the tank coming in. 20gal florida co. marine tank.



Will make my own 'hotfox' coolant only. Pickup/sender will be separate and hooked up to a 2nd fuel gauge on the dash.

I'm going to opt out of getting a vegtherm for now at least. I can always plumb it in later.

I'm going to monitor the temps along the lines and before/after filter/IP to see what's going on and whether or not a vegtherm is really necessary.

Will do a HIH (hose in hose) setup with coolant and fuel lines wrapped together running up/down the length of Granola.

Tank (internal heat exchanger) -> HIH hose -> 12v fuel pump -> Racor coolant/elect filter -> 3-way valves -> small heat exchanger -> IP

I can't wait to do the install. I'll post pics/setup as I go along.

Jesse

[josh]

Jesse,

I am pumped to see what it will look like. When are you hoping to put it all in? I will be in vancouver a few times over the course of this month and July/august... maybe I can help out?

Josh

[AndrewH]

looks good, a couple things though...

you are not going to be able to (well I should say extremely risky) run a heat exchanger in your tank as you are already plumbing in the filter with coolant. You could do it all in line but it will get messy, 3/4" hose only bends in a large radius. Running all the 'accessories' off your stock water pump is going to lower the amount your motor is cooled as the circulation will be lower. Can be risking overheating especially in an idling situation in traffic as the water pump pressure will be lowered do to a larger surface area/volume.
Also without an in tank heater I would advice putting in an external lift pump by the winter. Pulling cold WVO is not going to yield a long life out of your I.P.

[jessef]

looks good, a couple things though...

you are not going to be able to (well I should say extremely risky) run a heat exchanger in your tank as you are already plumbing in the filter with coolant. You could do it all in line but it will get messy, 3/4" hose only bends in a large radius. Running all the 'accessories' off your stock water pump is going to lower the amount your motor is cooled as the circulation will be lower. Can be risking overheating especially in an idling situation in traffic as the water pump pressure will be lowered do to a larger surface area/volume.
Also without an in tank heater I would advice putting in an external lift pump by the winter. Pulling cold WVO is not going to yield a long life out of your I.P.

I think I didn't type in exactly what I am doing.

I'm going to fab up an in tank heater similar to a hotfox, run that off coolant and the filter as well.

The only accessories I will run off the stock system are the DIY hotfox in the tank and the Racor filter. That's it. I see almost all big name kits are the same with a coolant heater in tank and in the filter.

Just like a Plantdrive kit.

Tank -> hotfox -> vegmax -> vegtherm ...

Mine will be like that except I will put an inline pump before the filter and the filter has an electric element as a bonus for heating on cold days.

Tank -> in tank heater (similar to hotfox) -> HIH hose -> 12v fuel pump -> Racor coolant/elect filter -> 3-way valves -> small heat exchanger (this is a question mark at this point) or will put in a vegtherm.

As for the tank, I was originally looking for a 30x23x9" tank and this one is 30x23x7". Works out well so that I can fab a thick armor plate underneath.

Jesse,

I am pumped to see what it will look like. When are you hoping to put it all in? I will be in vancouver a few times over the course of this month and July/august... maybe I can help out?

Josh

Hey Josh,

I will have all the gear in the next 2 weeks. I'll take a full weekend fri night - sun night to do the install. Of course things usually don't always go as planned, so I'm allocating two weekends just in case

[Adam]

Mine will be like that except I will put an inline pump before the filter and the filter has an electric element as a bonus for heating on cold days.

You might want to consider sticking the inline aux. pump after your filter, that is what PlantDrive recommends. Having the pump before the filter can emulsify water and negate the water separating ability of your filter. I didn't read this before I install my kit and my pump is before my filter, no issues so far, but when I add my hotfox I might end up moving the pump to the other side of the VegMax.

[jessef]

Mine will be like that except I will put an inline pump before the filter and the filter has an electric element as a bonus for heating on cold days.

You might want to consider sticking the inline aux. pump after your filter, that is what PlantDrive recommends. Having the pump before the filter can emulsify water and negate the water separating ability of your filter. I didn't read this before I install my kit and my pump is before my filter, no issues so far, but when I add my hotfox I might end up moving the pump to the other side of the VegMax.

In that case it may be beneficial to have the tank / DIY hot fox / Filter all plumbed up together in the rear and then have the pump push the hot WVO through the HIH up the length of the Delica to the IP. Thoughts ?

[Adam]

I was thinking this as well, because it is easier to plumb. My only hesitation is that I would be doing all my coolant heating of the oil pretty far away from the engine. Lots of line for the oil to cool down on the way to the front of the van. Another thing is that length of oil is always going to be cold when I start with only my vegtherm to heat it before it hits the engine.

My preferred option is HotFox at the tank to help the oil flow > VegMax below the battery compartment > Posi-Flo aux pump > then finally the VegTherm Mega right before the IP.

The only thing that concerns me about your setup is the strain on your alternator. You might want to look the draw two source of electrical heat will put on your system. I'm using the VegTherm Mega which is on the edge for what my alternator is rated for. If you are using the VegTherm Standard you might be OK.

[jessef]

My next upgrade will be a 120A alternator.

I def. won't use either vegtherm now since the racor filter has both coolant ports and a 12V 200W heater.

If I have a hotfox in the tank -> coolant/electric heater filter -> pump -> IP, that will be good. At the very least until the fall/winter.

Also, the hoses will be HIH so the coolant hose will naturally heat the fuel line running up the length of the Delica.

[Adam]

Also, the hoses will be HIH so the coolant hose will naturally heat the fuel line running up the length of the Delica.

Ohhh, fancy How much does HIH cost, can't be cheap, eh?

I just went with the cheapest materials that would actually get the job done, after all I'm in it for the $$ savings. Total cost for the kit, misc. pieces, tank and install was just shy of $1000 (taxes incl.). Much cheaper than the $2500-$3000 I was quote for a professional install.

[BCDelica]

Likely you've got one of the best filter choices available there Jesse; a long phone call with Racor tech support ended at that same model. There's even hydraulic filter media options available with water removing media too, but you should call Racor for a full list of compatible filters. You'll find hydraulics filters have a longer life with WVO. Can't wait to see the completed install also.

In that case it may be beneficial to have the tank / DIY hot fox / Filter all plumbed up together in the rear and then have the pump push the hot WVO through the HIH up the length of the Delica to the IP. Thoughts ?

WVO has a high thermal mass, so depending on how much coolant runs threw it it should be good. You have a new water pump? What about adding an on demand, switchable/timer relayed, injection line 12v heat? (eg)

Off for a week, looking forward to the upcoming mods.

Kev

[jessef]

Likely you've got one of the best filter choices available there Jesse; a long phone call with Racor tech support ended at that same model. There's even hydraulic filter media options available with water removing media too, but you should call Racor for a full list of compatible filters. You'll find hydraulics filters have a longer life with WVO. Can't wait to see the completed install also.

I think I lucked out (rarely happens to me on ebay). The whole package with the extra filters was a good deal.

[jessef]

Picked up the alu tank and racor filter yesterday.

Going to princess auto for the fittings/clamps/filler,misc stuff.

Haven't decided on HIH yet and heating by the injectors.

Considering these options :

May be able to make/reproduce them for less as well.

Hydrotherm HIH Fuel Line



Having problems with cold WVO? Our Hydrotherm15' long aluminum hose in hose engine coolant heat exchanger / fuel line heater heater will solve all your WVO heating problems. Don't confuse our Hose in Hose heater with other Hose in Hose that use rubber or plastic tubes or hose next to hose fuel line heaters... We use a heavy wall aluminum inner tube for maximum heat transfer and durability... Make sure to run your coolant in reverse flow for maximum heat transfer. The outside rubber hose minimizes thermal losses to the outside air. Use 5/8" heater hose for the end connections. The inside tube is 3/8" heavy wall bendable aluminum tubing. Standard length is 15' Can easily be shortened for your requirements.

Cost is $120 Shipped in the USA. Add $5 for Canada. Add $10 for anywhere else.





Make sure you have hot Veg Oil going into your injectors. Our patent pending injector line heaters (pictured above) are guaranteed to get the job done. They heat the injector lines to over 200f in 1-3 minutes. The current draw is about 8 amps / 100 watts. We recommend a contact area of about 4-6" on each injector line. Our 30" 100 watt heater will work on most 4 thru 6 cylinder cars with displacements of up to 3.5 liters (3500cc). For V-8 (Ford / GM) and larger inline 6 cylinder engines (Cummins) use 2 100 watt heaters. Price is for each heater is $40.00. Shipping included in the Continental USA. Canada add $5. Anywhere else add $10