Has anyone seen one of these before?

[bajacalal]

In another thread I mentioned the you-pull-it-yourself junkyard I went to last Sunday morning (I don't like to go there if it's busy) . I love these places, if you work on your own cars or do any custom modifications you need to find one. The charge admission, you get to spend as much time as you need there, pull whatever you want and pay for it at the exit. The cars are set up for "easy" access and removal of parts.

Anyway, this time I scored a 90 amp alternator with w-terminal, $18. There is a tag on it, says it's is a genuine Bosch rebuilt alternator, only a few months old. Also, I picked up some door handles, a coolant bottle, a bunch of little plastic odds and ends like that. I also got a rust-free body panel for a different car I have (75 FIAT Spider) for $10.

And, I found this thing- "Diesel-EZE: diesel fuel heater to prevent cold weather ice fouling." It was manufactured in 1983 (has a stamp on it) and was installed in a Mercedes. It's just a heat exchanger to heat the fuel using your coolant. Now I'm wondering what to do with it. It's in my parts bin right now. I would guess it would help with biodiesel but may not get hot enough for WVO use. I'm also thinking about using it for an on board water heater- a homemade device to use your engine coolant to heat fresh water (for camping). The best part: it was free because they had never seen this thing before at the junkyard.

Pics below:


 
I peeled off the old, dried-out foam insulation.

[rabbitman]

Weird, I've heard of that kind of thing, is there a brand on it?

I bet it would heat water pretty easy, looks old style for sure though and probably not as efficient as the ones used with home heating boilers that heat the drinking water.

[the caveman]

It wouldn't hurt to use it for WVO but no, it wouldn't be hot enough.

[bajacalal]

"Diesel-EZE" is the brand. That's what it says on the label but I don't think they are in business anymore.

It's not electric like the motorhome water heaters. It's just 2" pipe with 5/8" hose ends, the coil on the outside is 3/8" tubing. Engine coolant flows through the big tube, diesel through the small tube. It's supposed to heat the fuel so you avoid the problems diesels have in real cold weather.

I really don't see the point though, unless you have a block heater that keeps the whole cooling system warm, the fuel will be cold when you start the car anyway and by the time this gadget starts working, the engine will be hot enough that the diesel fuel will be warmed by all the hot metal parts it flows through. Maybe it's really intended for absolute arctic climates where anything to keep the fuel warm is a good idea but I found it in what looked like a car that spent its life in sunny SoCal.

I don't know what I'll do with it. It might work for wvo if you already live in a tropical climate. I'm still thinking about using it for a water heater but I might run engine coolant through the small tube and put hose ends on the large side so it can be connected to a garden hose. Hot water (ideally) anywhere you go.

I pulled it from an old diesel Mercedes 2 door that somebody had obviously monkeyed around with. It also had a gigantic fuel filter fitted. The filter housing had the "Detroit Diesel" logo and the filter had to hold 3 or 4 quarts! I'm wondering if someone had the bright idea that they could just install these things on the car the go straight to McDonalds and empty the fryer right into the fuel tank.

[maxfax]

That would be my guess..   COuld be why it was in the boneyard..

[bajacalal]

That would be my guess..   Could be why it was in the boneyard..

IIRC, the car was a 2 door Mercedes diesel, OM617, with a manual transmission, 4 speed. I thought this combination was never made. It must have been somebody's custom job.

300Ds are everywhere around here, you can't wait for a traffic light without seeing one. Plenty of 240Ds are still on the road here too. Every time I've gone to that junkyard I see at least 2 300Ds waiting to get crushed.

That junkyard is not a big place but I've had really good luck there, I've found a lot of rare stuff there. A lot of the cars and trucks I see there look like they could keep going for 20 more years. I guess this is because of the strict smog laws but there is also a big USMC base nearby. I think a lot of guys passing through there wind up having to get rid of a car on short notice, they get deployed and can't find a place to store it, can't find a buyer or for whatever reason they just can't keep it.

[OM617]

Its mainly the veggie sheep killing them.

[maxfax]

Oh to have the rust free bodies in the Northeast..  Luckily we have a few guys in the area that keep them bought out of the boneyard.. Otherwise they get crushed as teh junkyard monkeys no nothing about parts for the things...

[bajacalal]

Oh to have the rust free bodies in the Northeast..  Luckily we have a few guys in the area that keep them bought out of the boneyard.. Otherwise they get crushed as teh junkyard monkeys no nothing about parts for the things...

Hmm... so sad. I think a lot of the OM617s here get crushed right along with the car. I guess there just is not enough demand for these parts to keep all of them. A few parts like the turbos are usually taken by customers before that happens. The self-service junkyard I know has guys that pull certain parts before a car gets crushed, for the aluminum or they maybe sell the stuff to a wholesaler or exporter.

That's the biggest drawback to your part of the country, the rust. It must be so frustrating to keep old cars there. Here, I know someone that uses muratic acid to rust metal to give the things he makes an antique, old-western look. He says leaving metal outside in the local climate just wont do it.

In fact, after I bought my VW in Seattle it took a few days of sitting in a hot, dry climate for many of the mechanical and electrical (gauges) problems to go away by themselves. The throttle cable stopped sticking, the doors open and close beautifully now...