Which conversion kit would ya'll recommend for the 7.3L PSD? This is the main reason I bought the PSD. Any help would be much appreciated. Also, can anyone recommend some sites with good info on the whole process? Thanks.

 

Well since I am the sponsor of this forum of course I would only recommend PlantDrive.com.
The kit with the Vormax fuel processor, Vegtherm-mega for electric heat, & Pollak valve for switch over, work very well together. The forget to purge buzzer will remind you if you shut down without purging the system back to diesel.

The optional Hotfox heated fuel pickup is a very effective coolant heater for you tank and fuel pickup all in one
Hotfox and Vegtherm both come with a 5 year warranty

Part number you want is 99-03 PSD-HF this is for the optional Hotfox of 99-03 PSD without the hotfox

I have this system in my truck an 05 PSD and have run just under 10,000 miles on WVO. I have the older Hotstk instead of the Hotfox but they work the same.

Plantdrvie is a leader and has been in the WVO business over 5 years

Erick Panger
LESK WVO Conversions
2005 F250 PSD
Plant Drive Two tank WVO system.
Hotstk, Vormax, A1000 and Vegtherm

 

How difficult is it to install?

 

If you have basic hand tools and can change your oil you can install this kit. It takes an expierianced person 3 days to do a install.

Most DIY folks find that they can do it over two weekends. One weekend they may run the coolant lines and mount a fuel tank. Then next wekend the fuel lines and the electrical stuff.

Erick Panger
LESK WVO Conversions
2005 F250 PSD
Plant Drive Two tank WVO system.
Hotstk, Vormax, A1000 and Vegtherm

 

I will say after studying different systems, the plantdrive has one of the nicest looking ones, though no personal experience, but I can say I haven't heard anything bad about them.

 

What would be the best location for the SVO tank on a 2001 4X4 Excursion?

 

Best for you or best for me. That is the million dollar question. How big a tank you talking about. What kind of driving do you do, lots of long 300-500 mile trips or just commute back and forth to work. Do you use the storage area inside the truck?

I've seen both mount under the truck and mount in the truck. Each has some issues. Under the truck and you need to create a filler tube. In the truck and you need to worry about spills.

I put a pretty small tank in my truck bed, 15 gallon. But all I do is drive back and forth to work, round trip 62 miles. I fill this tank every other day. I could go a bit further then 124 miles but I'd be pushing it to go 186.

Not trying to be annoying by answering a question with a question. But, a kit install is one of those things that can be done a bunch of different ways. All influenced by personal choice.


Erick Panger
LESK WVO Conversions
2005 F250 PSD
Plant Drive Two tank WVO system.
Hotstk, Vormax, A1000 and Vegtherm

 

Did I read that right? You get between 8.2 and 12.4 MPG on WVO? I guess even then it would still be cost effective if one could get the oil for free, but aren't you concerned that something is wrong with the truck with that poor fuel economy?

 

I really don't know what my WVO mileage is but I assume it is less then while on diesel. Diesel mileage id about 15 MPG. I have not check that in a long time. That was when the truck had 3900 miles on it. It now has 12,946.
The tank I use has no fuel gage nor do I have a way to determine exactly how much WVO I put in it each time I fill it. I just always fill it after the second day.


Erick Panger
LESK WVO Conversions
2005 F250 PSD
Plant Drive Two tank WVO system.
Hotstk, Vormax, A1000 and Vegtherm

 

Ah...that would skew the numbers. Thank you for explaining it. May I ask why you assume the fuel economy is less on the WVO? Most of the posts I read on this forum suggest the milage improves when running alternative fuel.

Does anybody on the board have any real world fuel economy numbers running WVO?

 

mostly because the BTU value is lower for WVO and Bio then diesel.

Erick Panger
LESK WVO Conversions
2005 F250 PSD
Plant Drive Two tank WVO system.
Hotstk, Vormax, A1000 and Vegtherm

 

They say Diesel #2 runs burns at 140,000 BTU; Veggie @ 130,000 BTU

However it's offset due to the added lubricity.

I just made a trip to northern michigan yesterday in my 99 7.3; typically on dino I get anywhere from 12-14; yesterday I went 440 miles and burned about 40 gallons of WVO; I did about 10-11 thats factoring in startup shutdown.

Best way for me to tell is to drive a full tank of Dino and a full tank of WVO. Either way 40 gallons @ .05 / gallon = $2.00 minus my time and effort.

I say it's slightly less. My feedstock is soy oil.

 

Ok...I get it. Thanks loads. A $2.00 tank of fuel sure does seem appealing since I spent $84 this afternoon for 37 gallons of #2.

 

take a look at my savings spreadsheet on my web site . You can see the miels I get out of a tank of diesel. If I was just driving cross country instead of back and fourth to work these numbers would be even larger.

Excel file well that doesn't work try this

www.leskwvo.com/images/mpg1-1.xls cut and past into your browser or just go to my site and click onthe savings link

Erick Panger
LESK WVO Conversions
2005 F250 PSD
Plant Drive Two tank WVO system.
Hotstk, Vormax, A1000 and Vegtherm

 

I also bought my 99 PSD to run on WVO (and I needed a truck). I post/read Greasecar's forum daily (www.greasecar.com) - that's a good place to get your feet wet regarding WVO as a fuel (although you will deal with lots of 'lost' tree-huggers and posters not up to this forum's intellectual level, in many cases, IMO of course). As for kits, IMO I would suggest that Frybrid (www.frybrid.com), Neoteric aka Plantdrive (www.plantdrive.com), and possibly FN74 (www.vegiestroke.com) are perhaps the "best" kits for the PSD. I plan to use Plantdrive, as Frybrid probably has top quality components but they are not available a la carte AND personally I find the owner less than desirable to deal with; also the kit is overly expensive and I think overkill in some ways. The Vegiestroke has become more expensive and I have concerns with the thoroughness of the heating capabilities, although it may be fine as is. Plantdrive is available by components, but their kit for the PSD is a good way to go. Also they save you money where possible (you purchase "local" components, save on shipping, etc.). So far my customer service experience has been good - Craig/Ed have answered all questions even though I haven't purchased anything yet. Some (on Greasecar's forum) have designed/built their own systems, but I would go with a kit for the PSD (in my case it's Plantdrive).
Check out the kits and forums for yourself and I think you'll be able to start to make some contrasts to help you decide.