PlantDrive vegetable oil fuel system, convert diesel, gas alternative
PlantDrive vegetable oil fuel system, convert diesel, gas alternative

ExtraTest02These testimonials and quotes are from just a small handful of very happy PlantDrive™ customers...

March/09: A note we received attached to an order for two more heated filters...
"BTW, this is for Landcruisers #2 & 3! (a BJ60 for a friend, and a BJ70 for my wife) Havn't had a single problem with mine - up and running for a year now!" Bruce R, Ontario

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"ps- this past winter i drove my Dodge Cummins all the way to montreal and back in -25C the whole way all on veg no problems at all whatsoever.love it." (Zack; BC)

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-52 Celcius with the wind this morning...Plantdrive sells stuff that works!!" Gerry Jackson, Manitoba

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I installed most of the kit already and the instructions were very easy to follow. Thank You for all the detailed plans, it really helped with the ease of installation.
Tony

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Many, many thanks for your stellar customer support throughout. Plantdrive all the way!!!!  Sincerely, Datsun Diesel Dave

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After 3 months of researching online, and reading every forum posting I could get my hands on, I decided to go with Plantdrive. There is one other well known competitor that I considered but never got a phone call after leaving two messages inquiring about the products. Customer support is what I was looking for and did not find it at the other dealer. I'm the kind of guy who does a lot of research before i jump into something and had many questions.  I got a call back from Craig Reece within about 20 minutes of leaving my first message. He patiently answered all my questions and cleared up a lot of confusion caused by certain members in the online community who have their own systems or items for sale. The installation went great and when I had a really minor issue, the installer took care of it right away. Even when I made mistakes with poorly filtered oil, the whole Plantdrive team was there to walk me through the problem. I'm now 3 months into owning a veg powered 2003 Dodge truck and really believe that the product Plantdrive sells, and the customer support are as good as you are going to find. Feel free to contact me about the Dodge Cummins conversion. Mike Gardner Maliburealestate@mac.com

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From Greasecar Tech Forum

Plant Drive, I love you! Heh.. I've never before had so much glee in watching little green digits on an oil temp gauge climb. I went from having a base greasecar system that could barely reach temps of 125 after half an hour of driving to a system that was up to 175 about 8 minutes at idle. My engine temp although warm, even had a bit to go, so I think this is going to work great. The Vegtherm appears to rock thus far! Thank you so much. Your shipping was fast and cheap (free!), your staff were helpful, prompt, and friendly, and your product delivers! I've never wanted to sound like a commercial before, but after struggling with the greasecar kit for over a week, I'm elated with my results now. Thanks again!

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Successful SVO Installation (excerpt)

installation2installationI completed the SVO kit installation earlier this week and completed one successful test run on store bought oil. Attached are a few photos. I was surprised at how well the truck ran when I switched over to SVO for the first time. I expected the engine to stall and not start again. There was only a slight hesitation, hardly noticeable, then the sweet smell of french fries. .... The engine does run quieter on the SVO. So quiet that I can hear a whine in the turbo charger that I couldn't hear before. Thank you Ed and Craig for all the support you provided. I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly the installation went. Take care and thanks again! Brian Sexton

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1999 Jetta TDI with over 700,000 km on original engine; and close to 500,000 km on used cooking oil with a PlantDrive Kit.

The following report is from March 31st, 2008.

An UPDATE is as follows: As of September 24, 2008, the owner reports that the car now has over 700,000 km on it. This means it is approaching 500,000 km on used cooking oil, operating on a basic PlantDrive kit.....

March 31, 2008: FIVE YEAR TDI REPORT FROM A PLANTDRIVE CUSTOMER I JUST CALLED AND INTERVIEWED:

We also have a customer in Ontario, Joe Besslich, a now-retired transit driver who used his car to commute to Toronto, with 675,000 km on a 1999 TDI and over 450,000 km of that mostly on used Canola cooking oil, with some used sunflower oil and some used corn oil, but no soy. He merely settles it, then siphons it off. He uses a Vormax filter. He averages 20,000 km per filter element. He uses synthetic oil, with changes at 10,000 km.

After going through a few Pollak valves (which we replaced for free), he did start waiting until full operating temp before switching especially in winter so as not to strain them and has not had any more problems. This was highway driving.

Repairs needed: He replaced one injection pump, it started to leak, the car had more power after, it was time for a new pump. He has not needed to replace any other hoses or anything else. He changes the timing belt every 100,000 km. Intake and exhaust manifolds were inspected each time. They were always clean, did not require cleaning.

The car has a Hotstk (virtually the same as the Hotfox we now sell) as the coolant-operated in-tank heater.

In coldest winter temperatures of -30 to -35C, it would take the car perhaps 20 minutes to reach full operating temperature, because he never, ever used a block heater or TDI heater! The car always started well on diesel, regardless. In summer, operating temperature was reached quite quickly. Many times, he has left it on plant oil for hours at a time, come back, and it starts right up (no purge).

The kit was purchased in 2003, he is completely happy with the car, the kit, and the service.

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Single Tank for 100,000 Miles
I have driven my 85MB300TD wagon on WVO single tank with Plantdrive’s equipment for over 100,000 miles. Sometimes in the winter I add 30-50% petrodiesel when it is really cold here. So that means about 3 tanks of mixed WVO/petro. I have no tank heaters.

I try to run the block heater for 1/2 hr before starting when it is cold but that is not always possible because I live off-grid and don’t always have that much power to spare. I have suffered the indignity twice of having air leakage in the fuel system but Craig helped me diagnose that and it had nothing to do with WVO. I make 1200 mile trips and carry my fuel with me. The wagon has over 300,000 miles on it now and going strong. Single tanking has been a mostly trouble free and very reliable route for me. Chao, Robert

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I'd have to say I've had great results with WVO/SVO. But I don't consider myself an expert. I can say that over the course of the last 7 months I've run my truck successfully on WVO with a kit I bought from Plant Drive. Craig and Ed have been most help full. I think the thing that I remember most is Ed's quote 'if it'll flow it'll go'. I think of that each time I flip the switch now.

There are 1000s of folks using WVO in vehicles all over the world many running on Plant Drive systems and other systems as well. I might add this truck I drive is a 2005 Ford F250. I bought new and converted it at 3900 miles. Now has 16,540 miles on it. If I can run WVO in my $41K truck everyday back and forth to work anyone can. Erick

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I have one car with over 10,000 WVO miles, and another with over 8,000. Both are NBT/Plantdrive Mercedes single-tank systems with some minor customizations. While there were some initial problems with the installation (self-applied) and some air leaks due to leaky fittings (again, self-applied), both are running beautifully now, with standard regular maintenance. I pre-filter my oil, and only use good liquid oil, just like Craig says. And Craig and Ed have been nothing but responsive and helpful to all my issues. WVO will work like a charm if you do it right, and the Plantdrive system is bombproof. Use good thread sealant, and tighten your fittings well! Dean

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Thanks for the Vegtherm, I got it Saturday morning and got it installed. We got the entire Greasecar kit installed in 8.5 hours!! I did not get the vegtherm electrically wired up until Sunday evening. With the vegtherm powered up this morning I had an increase of 30 degrees F in my oil temp at the injection pump compared to the day before. Keep in mind this is in 20 degree upstate NY driving at 65mph, I am sure it s pretty cold under the hood!! I am very glad I added the extra heat. Thanks, Michael

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I had Craig install a 'the works' package on my 1999 E300 TD with 89,000 miles on it. Both Craig and Shane (the installer) paid very close attention to every aspect of the install. What I have report as far as operation is not much save for the the purging that has to be done at the end of the day. I've gone to a 'mile from home' plan and that seems to be the trick. It has started faithfully and runs quite nicely. When I'm doing better that 100+ on the highway on wvo I'm still quite incredulous that it's possible. I've saved already over $400 in fuel costs and oil filling on the road is not really that hard, you just have to keep asking the right people (hint: Asian restaurants) At home in SF I have regular customers that I pick it up from. I do suggest filtering it through a 50 gallon drum at home as it can be quite messy filling from the cubees. Get on the train, this is the future.
John Knutson, Account Manager, Stover Seed Company

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I added my Vegtherm probably 2 months back or so, and I've been VERY impressed with the shortened switch over time. I had been getting about 70 miles per purchased gallon before the vegtherm. Just refilled my dinodiesel tank tonight - 10 gallons took me 2046 miles, so up to 204 miles per purchased gallon! And this is with the unusually cold weather here in Texas, which made me burn a lot more diesel than normal. Smiles, Eric

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Just a note to thank you for your continued interest and advice over the last ????????????? gosh! it must be close to six years now, and that's a lot of water under the bridge, and a lot of oil in the tank. I estimate that I've driven my truck for at least 250,000 Km (likely more) on WVO. This includes our annual trip to Toronto (Pickering) , Ontario (six drums), and numerous trips to the Vancouver area to visit our kids and Grandchildren. No mechanical service, outside of expected parts replacements. It is interesting to note that I replaced such items as the injector pump and injectors at double the expected lifetime. The pump was replaced mostly for insurance because it was at about double it's expected milage, two of the injectors showed minimal streaking under test, but no carbon or other contamination, again, insurance. Lube oil usage remains at about a liter per 1000 km which is where it was when I switched to WVO. The truck runs smoothly with lots of power, and no black smoke..........................ever!! Austin Fulton, Peachland, BC

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My 85 vw turbo diesel has had no problems running on used canola for the last 2 years., using the original Plantdrive kit(vegtherm, in-line filter) I probably drive 12-18,000 miles a year. Tom W

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I just wanted to say hi and let you know my conversion is all done. The Toyota Landcruiser is purring along nicely now on Canola and I am completely thrilled! The VegTherm you sold me works great! Robert - Alberta, Canada

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Thank you for coming all this way and giving us such a boost in moving veggie fuels forward on Salt Spring! I got a message tonight from a woman who got my name from a friend - she's a local kindergarden teacher who's looking into buying a hybrid or a diesel to convert and wants more information. You know, when you've got the kindergarden teachers on board - you've got it made!! Robin, BC, Canada

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TDI in Montreal at -30c
I have put around 60,000km on my Jetta 2000 so far. I converted last year in November. I try to drive my car as much has possible on veg oil. I even put my vegtherm to activate as soon as I start the car, therefore, kinda forcing me to run on veg oil all the time. I sometimes buy fresh oil from Costo when I run out of used oil. I have had no problems with my system which is from plantdrive.com . I have tested it in -30c winter conditions and works like a charm. I have had more problems with my Jetta mechanically than with the system. I have changed my filter two time so far. The first filter had 40,000km before I changed it.

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greasecartnThought I would send a pic of typical Greasecar- Jetta with Vegtherm. I have been installing a lot of these for my Greasecar customers and have been using a temp switch, they work great! www.gileadgarage.com, Mark Penta                           

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