After nearly a year of research, debate, and more research, I finally took the plunge and installed a veggie fuel system in my 2004.5. And I have never been so pleased in my life. I went with a setup from Greasecar (Frybrid makes an awesome kit too). I was VERY impressed with the build quality and attention to detail. After a long 13 hour installation day everything worked like a charm (it was just me and a more experienced mechanic friend of mine who did the install). Anyway, long story short....here's what I've noticed.

-Seemless switch from Diesel to Veggie (automated based on engine temp using GreaseCar Co-Pilot module)
-'Flush' function works beautifully and allows the fuel system to be purged of veggie oil prior to a cold start
-Slight performace loss on veggie oil...only noticeable when accelerating HARD from say 50 -> 75mph
-Relatively LARGE gains in fuel economy on the highway....but LOSSES on city streets (12/16 on diesel....9/21 on veggie).
**that is not a typo....this has been confirmed MULTIPLE times....the damn thing gets 9mpg in stop and go and 21mpg on the highway! And this is with 35" tires. **
-Banks 6-Gun still works perfectly.
-EGTs are the same on veggie as they were with diesel
-Boost and Trans Temp remain the same as well.

I was VERY paranoid about the high pressure common rail injection, so WVO purity was critical. I ran it on SVO from Costco for the first tank (just as a test run). After a flawless performance I started filtering my own. I'm still awaiting lab results for my filtered WVO, but I assume it is super clean. I've got an over the top dual heated tank centrifuge setup that has the potential to clean it down to 1/10 of a micron. After my first 500 miles I removed the veggie fuel filter in my truck and it still looks brand new. I will continue to check its progress every 500-1000 miles.

Sorry for the long post, but with the insane diesel prices ($5.19 is the going rate here in So.California) I thought some people on this board might find this information useful.

 

about how much would a set up like this cost?

 

http://www.greasecar.com/kit_selecte...t=Find+Kit+%BB

Current price is $2900 (including the 40gal tank)...this is a complete kit, all the hardware is included as well. The Frybrid kit will run you about $400-$500 more than the Greasecar setup.

All in all I've spent just over $5,000 for everything...including my garage centrifgue filtration system;

http://www.thesellution.com/images/n...MAGE_00217.jpg

$5k is A LOT of money for me...but here's a little math that convinced me;

($5,000 / $5.20per gal) * 13 mpg ave = 12,500 miles.....I'll recoup my costs in < 1 year!

 

You forgot to add the cost of the WVO (no one gives it away anymore), cost of #2 that you will still need to burn and the cost of operating the filter system (filters, electricity, cleaning supplies). You should still get full pay back in about 2 years but you should include all costs in those estimates.

 

Those costs are negligible when considering the fluctuations of fuel costs, especially the increase for the summer months. The WVO is FREE....electricity breaks down to 0.17/gallon....the 'filter cost' when calculated on a per gallon basis is also negligible. The majority of the filtering is done by the centrifuge, which of course can be cleaned in a matter of minutes and should last hundreds of batches (thousands of gallons) before the $75 rotor has to be replaced. The 12,500 mileage number I was referring to was actual veggie usage....not total mileage. I drive 18,000+ miles per year, much of which is long highway trips towing a trailer. Of course I thought this through in great detail before I made such a large purchase. First thing I did was secured three separate sources of FREE WVO....60-80 gallons/month total. You're absolutely right when you said it was getting harder to find. That is why this was step #1....it would be pretty stupid to spend all that money, only to find that you have nothing to put in the tank[8D]

Trying to figure out the exact economic impact is really impossible, there are too many variables...but as long as I'm saving money I'm happy. If you think about it, wouldn't all the 'added costs' of the veggie kit be nearly offset by the 'savings' on the stock parts? Yes, I have to pay for new veggie fuel filters....but won't that prolong the use of my diesel filter? Yes, I should take into account the maintenance on my secondary fuel pump....but again, won't my stock pump last longer now since its only working 10% as much as it used to?

...or, I could clog my injectors, coke my cylinders, seize my engine....and make this a REALLY bad investment

 

...oh, and don't forget the $2-$3 per gallon I could get by selling my 'extra cooking oil' on Craigslist

 

As you continue your test please let me know how many trips one tank of pump diesel last you with the starts and stops (how many starts) I used to just mix wvo and pump diesel together.

 

I haven't made it through my first tank of #2 yet, but I have been keeping track of my progress. So far I've driven 715 miles on 15 gallons of diesel...and roughly 28-30 gal of veggie. I'm not sure how many starts I've had, but I'm actually surprised how quickly it switches over. I think the warm weather here in southern CA helps out a great deal. In the morning it will switch over after 5-7 minutes of driving, and in the heat of the afternoon it only takes a minute or two. Another thing I noticed (which I wasn't expecting) was that the veggie takes a long time to cool after it has reached higher temps. So, if the veggie is up in the 175deg range I can shut it down without flushing, come back 30-45 minutes later and start it up on veggie without a single hiccup. This has been very helpful when my wife and I are out running errands. The 'flush' sequence is really only needed if its going to be shut down for a long period of time.

 

I am in Phoenix and witht eh warm weather and the mix I hadonly problems after 8-12 hours of sitting. then it was a hard start and a lot of smoke. Of course I liked the smoke and a few minutes later it would disapear. Looks like a good investment for you. Enjoy it.

 

I'm bringing this one back from the dead


what's the progress now that you've had the wvo for a few years??

I've been seriously considering trading my 1500 in for a diesel and running it. I drive anywhere from 20,000 to 35,000 miles a year. I figure if I can find a used truck for $10k... trade in my truck and get everything set up.. I'm looking at about a $9,000 investment... trade in my truck so the new rig would cost about $5,000ish... get the conversion $3,000 and set up my filtering station $2,000... total investment would be about $10,000... I calculate I would break even in a little over 2 years getting 18mpg and driving 30,000 miles a year with the price of diesel @ $3.00/gal.. my annual savings would be $5,000 a year.... anyways.. let me know the results you've seen