Skip to main content

Finally


(Wilbert's first blog entry) After much searching and much discussion, we've found the perfect truck for our WVO (waste vegetable oil) or SVO (straight vegetable oil) conversion. As Denise has told you all in a past blog entry, my search was getting pretty specific. 1994-1998 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel truck, standard transmission, 4 wheel drive in a specific price range. So what you're looking at above is just that. Unfortunately this truck has been sitting about a block away from our house for the last two and a half weeks with a price tag that was too much for this Dutch boy. Every time I would drive by it would stare at me with, what our school custodian calls, "puppy eyes". After offering to drive 4 hours to purchase a newer diesel truck with less miles, for less money and trade straight up for what is seen above, the kind dealers in our hometown dropped their price.


Maybe by now you have a few questions.

Where did you come up with the idea for running a vehicle on waste vegetable oil?

  • my college roommate Andrew Kroeze who asked me about converting my previous diesel vehicle a 1992 VW golf. He converted a VW rabbit to run off of vegetable oil. After seeing it I said to myself "Self, that is amazing! I've got to do that someday."
How does it work?
  • The short answer. . .Diesel engines work by compressing air in their cylinders and then injecting atomized fuel into the cylinder when the air is most compressed. Vegetable oil burns similarly to Diesel so it can be used as a substitute when it is brought to a good temperature. Rudolf Diesel, even thought about vegetable oil as a fuel source while inventing the diesel engine. For more information check this out.
Why this truck?
  • It has the a Bosch P7100 Fuel injector pump which is a mechanical pump that is very "beefy" some people even call it "bulletproof". Pre 1994 the Dodge Cummins used a rotary style fuel injector then in 1994 Cummins switched to a very reliable inline fuel injector pump the P7100. In 1998.5 Cummins switched to an electronically controlled vp44 fuel injector pump which was not quite as reliable and needs constant and consistent fuel pressure to stay running.
Now comes the fun part of making the conversion a reality and there are a number of kits online to make this happen. Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

This Is Where It Ends by Cindy K. Sproles

When Minerva Jane Jenkins was just fourteen years old, she married a man who moved her to the mountains. He carried with him a small box, which he told her held gold. And when he died fifty years later, he made her promise to tell no one about the box or the treasure it contained. Now at ninety-four, Minerva is nearing the end of what has sometimes been a lonely life. But she's kept her promise. Even so, rumors of hidden gold have a way of spreading, and Minerva is visited by a reporter, Del Rankin, who wants to know more of her story. As an unlikely friendship develops, Minerva is tempted to reveal her secret to Del. But the truth of what's really buried in the box may be hidden even from her. I really enjoyed this book. It is quality historical fiction with a strong narrative voice. I really liked the characters and it was interesting to see how all of the secrets they carried with them affected them. I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and how the setting was

The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck

  Twenty years ago, the summer of '77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde's life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow--the Four Seasons--had big plans. But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, "Nowhere," Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures. Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It's a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love's voice. This was an enjoyable book to r

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner

A fter years of drifting, fifty-year-old Pete Ryman has settled down with his potbellied pig, Pearl, in the small Montana town of Sleeping Grass--a place he never expected to see again. It's not the life he dreamed of, but there aren't many prospects for a high-school dropout like him. Elderly widow Wilma Jacobsen carries a burden of guilt over her part in events that led to Pete leaving Sleeping Grass decades ago. Now that he's back, she's been praying for the chance to make things right, but she never expected God's answer to leave her flat on her face--literally--and up to her ears in meddling. When the younger sister Pete was separated from as a child shows up in Sleeping Grass with her eleven-year-old son, Pete is forced to face a past he buried long ago, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at a higher cost than she's willing to pay. I really enjoyed this book. The characters in it were interesting and unique. While some thing