Heater Exchanger Idea - Ureka Moment Last night in bed

[wuas680]

Ok i was lying in bed last night planning things for my land rover whilst trying to fall asleep and i came up with an idea - not sure how sound it is, but it could be a nice one if it works.

Many people are fitting the 200TDi with the turbo removed in older land rovers to allow them a better engine and also to run on WVO. Now this thread is NOT for people agreeing or disagreeing with the 200 Di conversion, or WVO use.

It is for people who want to do both. The common practice is the oil cooler can be dispensed with on the 200Di conversion as the lack of a turbo using oil for heat dissipation negates it.

I was wondering if you plumbed your fuel line into the 200TDi radiator oil cooler ports, which obviously would need to be fitted, but with no intercooler would probably be quite easy. A radiator muff and lack of viscous fan would indeed increase its ability to do this, both common and easy mods on the 200Di conversion.

Now i realise its an oil cooler, but it could only cool it (or heat it if the oil is cooler) to the same temp as the coolant leaves the radiator which is still quite hot, and about right for WVO.

Thoughts and ideas welcome as i like debates based on theories and experiences of everyone. If it wont work ill put my hands up.

[wytco0]

Interesting, not sure if I have got this right but isn't the problem getting WVO fuel warm when your starting up from cold? if that's the case your idea wont help with start up.

It does sound as though it could work once warm and you might even be able to move it to somewhere where it warms quicker.

Also could the oil cooler restrict the fuel and put extra work on the fuel pump?

by the way I know nothing at all about the 200 engine

[alex]

Actually sounds an idea. Initial heating on the ignition should be able to be accomodated by using heated fuel filter unit from a Citroen.

[wuas680]

Well i had further time to develop this idea so here goes.

I want WVO for the 40 miles i do a day to work. 20 there and 20 back. I am not so concerned about running on WVO to Tesco (about a mile if that).

So my plan has always been to purchase a mains powered coolant heater. This coupled with fuel lines that are heated by proximity and insulation to coolant pipes, an in tank heater (coolant) and a heat exchanger would mean in a morning when i come out my house the coolant, and initial delivery of fuel in the lines will be hot enough for use straight away (though i will have purged the pump with DERV from last use, and will start up on DERV then switch).

Using this scenario the thermostat would already be open, and the oil cooler functioning as it should.

I can see the floors in my idea, you are introducing WVO to something designed to use the cold air flow for cooling, so it does need further though, or is there any other vehicles that have a small seperate oil cooler that could be built into an enclosure which floods with coolant from the engine heater line.

I suppose then you are getting up to what it would cost for a purchased heat exchanger. I think my theory is sound but it falls down when it comes to practicallity.

Shame!

[TEMPL4R]

You don't want an oil cooler, you need a heat exchanger, as you said in the title.
An automatic rad uses one in the bottom tank.

I'd make an exchanger and fit it in the heater pipe, that would be warm before the thermostat opens, so on a short journey on a cold day, you would still get heat.

One tube inside another, you could use plumbing pipe and soldered connections, then lag it to keep heat in, quite easy to make.

Chris

[TEMPL4R]

Thinking about it, get a piece of 2" copper pipe and some 2 reducers to heater pipe size, say 3/4". Get some microbore central heating pipe and make a coil around a broom handle. Drill a hole in the edge of the reducers, solder one on the pipe and slide the coil into it, solder the coil end into the reducer drilled hole and seal the other end and solder that up.
Probably do the job for a few quid.

Chris