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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Process of elimination



I'm still tweaking the veggie van. It ran pretty well for a while, even if it did take a bit longer than it used to before it could be switched from diesel to veggie fuel. Once it did switch over it ran well, so I went on to more pressing problems.

There was an awful lot of work done on the fuel system. I suspected a new addition by my mechanic may have been part of the problem for the slow switch over times. He installed a clear plastic filter so that he could see if there was any air in the system. It worked pretty well for that. However, I began to suspect that it was causing too much resistance in the fuel line.

Just to confuse the issue, I've been using a thicker oil. Nights have been cool so the slow switch over times might have been caused by that. However, recently we've had a warm spell and the fuel still gave me some problems. That pointed my attention away from the oil and back to the new filter.

Finally I got a chance to remove and inspect the new filter. It was slowly plugging up and even without a plugged screen, the feed holes were fairly small.

I've removed the filter to better increase the fuel flow. Once in a while I'm going to reinstall it to check for air leakage, then remove it for normal running.

Is it any wonder that I carry a couple of tool boxes and a bunch of parts in the van?

-Sixbears

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like you're in need of an inexpensive fuel filter that you can replace every so many gallons of veggie. Have you considered the toilet paper oil filter?

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    1. I do have some decent spin on filters for the veggie. Not as cheap as a TP filter, but still pretty good. I've a heater coil that wraps around the filter so changing styles would be a pain. What I did discover is that I don't need one more extra filter.

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  2. Good thing that you're a "Mr. Fixit" type!

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  3. Like Rosanna Danna used to say - 'Its Always Something'! Nice detective work, I hope you find the problem soon.

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    1. I've got it all sorted and it's running like a champ -finally!

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