Plumbing
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
I installed the tank and connected all the hoses. Where you see that brass hex-nut is the hose-in-hose arrangement. Most of the tanks weight is supported by 7/16 bolts, the tabs on the side keep it from shifting and were riveted in with SS pop rivets. I put a slit down the middle of some pex tubing and installed it around the parking brake line so that it wouldn't rub on the tank.
Labels: Diesel Scout, Hose-In-Hose, Tank, WVO conversion
Tank, Good to Go
All of the accessories for the tank are attached to one plate of steel that gets screwed into the tank. I got some interior and exterior tank sealing paint from summit to fill in any holes and to give the tank a tough exterior. The exterior paint is "known to cause cancer in the state of California." Now it's known to cause cancer in Connecticut, and whatever state you might be reading this blog, for that matter. The interior paint is kinda gummy stuff and works great.
So that the welding didn't warp the plate like crazy, I tacked the pieces in and then filled in the rest with 5min epoxy. The Yellow line is the heater, it's a stainless steel gas line with a corrosion proof coating.
Anything else of interest from these photos? I would love some feedback.
Labels: Diesel Scout, Tank, WVO conversion
Edits
Saturday, March 15, 2008
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/159605551/m/3541021232, thanks Reggie, I'm going with your idea here. I'm going to go use SS wire instead of the cupron, I put on the cupron and found that it is so thin that it is hard to work with and easily burns itself out.
Here are the McMaster items for the new line heaters:
89045K34
Type 316 Stainless Steel Wire .032" Diameter, 1/4-lb Coil, 91 ft/Coil
5335K13
HI-Temp Chemical-Resistant PTFE Sleeving .034" ID, for 20 Awg Wire
7971K41
High-Temperature Crimp-on Butt Splice Noninsulated, 22-18 Awg, 900 Degree F Temp Rating, Packs of 100
7304K133
392 Degree F Chemical Resistant Wire 18 Awg, .068" OD, 600 VAC, Red
When these parts come in I'll rewrap the inj lines with teflon 3 mil tape, wrap the ss teflon coated wire around the inj lines, install the high temp wiring componenets, cover the heaters with silicone tape and a final layer of thermal exhaust manifold tape I bought from AutoZone.
So frustrating, I would be done under the hood and finishing up the rest this weekend if the cupron had worked like the guy who sold me it said it would. It took hours and hours of now unbillable time... How much longer now till it's all done? Not much... If I had known how long this part would take I would have just ordered the heater line from FattyWagons like I have before.
Another Edit... by request of the owner and for aesthetic reasons the filler to the veg tank is going to be placed on the same side, and just ahead of the diesel tank filler.
Edit to a Side Note: A Mercedes diesel expert came to look at the conversion and said that the design of the sd 33 is only loosely based on the diesels MB put into the W123 chassis.
Tank Paint Edit: Instead of the Industrial enamel paint that I mentioned for the tank, I ordered special tank liner and exterior sealer paint from Summit.
I've done a conversion in 3 days, starting with nothing, drinking redbull and rush ordering parts. You go into stores, see what they have, and make it work. Decisions are based on what's available more than anything else. It works, but with a rare and cool vehicle like this, I can't just put in the parts that get the job done or it will stick out like a sore thumb...
Labels: Diesel Scout, Injector Line Heater, Tank, WVO conversion
Salvage
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Luckily the owner of this scout has a complete parts car where I was able to remove a matching fuel filler setup. The Veggie tank access will be in the same place, but the other side of the vehicle. Other conversions I have done have used marine deckplates for access to the tank, but this one will look much sharper.
Labels: Diesel Scout, Tank, WVO conversion
Tank for Tank
After bench pressing the steel tank repeatedly into place, tweaking dimensions, and adding support tabs and bolts, the Scout now has a properly fit fuel tank. Through the process I've found that the vehicle is remarkably well designed and built. Everything is well spaced and nothing is crammed. However, this makes it extremely hard to find a place for a tank. There is no open expanse of space without a muffler, axle, or some crucial piece going right through the middle. The best place I found was between the drive shaft and the frame. After crawling under other cars, asking other car owners, and web research I found that you can put objects relatively close to the drive shaft. In this case it is a couple inches, and I will put in some plates on the extremities of the tank to protect it in case the shaft breaks loose.
I used a technique similar to wrapping a present for the ends of the tank. This technique allowed me to square the tank easily by aligning opposite triangles. It also cut down on the size of the initial footprint needed from the sheet metal and stiffens the tank by adding a structural double layer cross. The dimensions ended up being 8"x8"x36"; roughly 10 gallons.
I'll add a final picture of the tank after its been fully welded, the heater and fittings are installed, and its been sprayed with an industrial tough enamel. For the tank heater I'm installing a stainless steel corrugated hose that stretches to one end and back.
Labels: Diesel Scout, Tank, WVO conversion
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