BIO FUEL ENGINE CONVERSION KIT |
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When I went back to Los Angeles, California, I had intended to contact the auto-shop called "LoveCraft Bio-Fuels" (www.lovecraftbiofuels.com) located on Sunset Blvd. The shop was televised through a Japanese broadcasting network this year to which I just happened to tune in. Before going to the shop I found out that their mechanic (Fritz Stutz) was from Germany, used to work for Mercedes Benz for a long time and lived in Irvine, Orange County. I therefore decided to visit him there. We first met at the Costco parking lot in Irvine Spectrum where he explained the conversion kit which he had installed in his 1984 Mercedes Benz 300SD. Fritz turned out to be a very friendly person and quite knowledgeable about Mercedes Benz engines and their conversion potential to bio-fuel.
According to Fritz, it is fairly easy to convert a diesel engine to accommodate vegetable fuel using their conversion kit. The kit basically consists of a filter, a booster pump, a heat exchanger and some lines and fuses. Fritz stated that it can be installed in 3-4 hours if the installer is mechanically inclined. He explained that non-direct-injection models are easier to convert than direct-injection models. In other words, old diesel cars such as 1984 and earlier models are most suitable for conversion as they are most likely non-direct-injection types. If the car is a direct-injection type the glow plug has to be modified to glow longer (at least 47 seconds), bypassing the timer relay. Since I am not very mechanically inclined I leave it up to those who are and also to those who are more interested in the subject to listen to a more detail explanation by Fritz by watching the video clips referenced below:
Lovecraft Bio-fuels converts cars older than 1985 at $870 per car and 1985 and younger models at $1,245. I bought a conversion kit at $425 and brought it to the Philippines. I plan to work under AWH with Jolan to lobby the government to convert public transportations such as buses and jeepneys to vegetable based fuel. Neither used cooking oil with transfat nor hydropetrolium are recommended. If there is not enough used cooking oil locally available to satisfy demand, Jatropha oil would be a good alternative. It is a non-edible plant which produces about 40% oil from its seeds. Fritz stressed that it is important for best performance to flush out the residual diesel and use virgin vegetable oil rather than used cooking oil for the first tank of fuel after a diesel engine has been converted to bio-fuel. Report made in October 2007 by Casey Takayama [ Jolan Licauco Truck Conversion ] [ BioDiesel Conversion at AWH ] |
