Elsbett SVO installation

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I've removed two of their systems. They seemed to be pretty comprehensive, and took quite a bit of effort (and money) to undo. Nice quality components and such.
 

Intech

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Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
I've removed two of their systems. They seemed to be pretty comprehensive, and took quite a bit of effort (and money) to undo. Nice quality components and such.

Were they single tank or 2 tank sysytems, and what type of vehicle were in?
 

Intech

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Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
Both were single tank systems, one was a 2001 Golf, the other a 2000 Jetta.
That's what I suspected. They have some very detailed guidlines and parameters as to what system to use, and they strongly recommed that customers folow them. The mileage restrictions, alone, put my 89' in the 2 tank catagory. Thanks Brian.
 

philngrayce

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Oct 18, 2004
Location
Connecticut
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'02 Jetta, '06 Jetta, Both Gone '13 Leaf, Gone Liberty CRD, Subaru Forrester and MB300SD
Among their requirements,I believe, is the use of new vegetable oil, so your money savings on fuel are pretty much gone.

At least some of their one tank kits include injectors and pistons; making for a pretty involved conversion, or removal.

They are well regarded, though I've never seen one. I'm not sure they have anything over a Frybrid or good Greasecar system for two tank WVO.
 

Intech

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Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
Among their requirements,I believe, is the use of new vegetable oil, so your money savings on fuel are pretty much gone.

At least some of their one tank kits include injectors and pistons; making for a pretty involved conversion, or removal.

They are well regarded, though I've never seen one. I'm not sure they have anything over a Frybrid or good Greasecar system for two tank WVO.
You're right about the cost of new vegetable oil. I bought 2 containers (35 lbs each) of peanut oil from Costco for my deep fryers. It would appear that they are about 5 or 6 gallons each. At the time, they were about $25.00 each. That would be a little more than the present cost of fuel. However, in case the price of fuel jumps, or becomes hard to get, which is a real possibility, I want a ready back-up for one of my cars. I live pretty much out in the farm country, and I'm looking to find someone who makes his own bio-fuel, and would let me buy it from him. I was pretty much set up to get the Frybrid or Greasecar system, when I saw the Elsbett web site. Before I buy anything, I always do a lot of research to see what suits me best. Right now it's down to one of those three systems. I'm looking for feedback from present users to help me decide.
 

philngrayce

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Connecticut
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'02 Jetta, '06 Jetta, Both Gone '13 Leaf, Gone Liberty CRD, Subaru Forrester and MB300SD
Bad news - those containers ae only 4.5 gallons. Maybe you can find used oil?

If you are planning to install a kit, your choices are probably down to Greasecar and Elsbett. Frybrid did produce a very good one, but had a lot of delivery problems. I don't think they are even selling kits now, and if they are I would not recommend buying one.

I would get the Greasecar kit, they have been around a long time (relatively), they make a good product, they ship quickly, many people are familiar with them and they proivide follow up support.

I will admit that I know very little about the Elsbetts. I don't think there are many in this country. If someone else has experience with them, please speak up.
 

Intech

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Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
Bad news - those containers ae only 4.5 gallons. Maybe you can find used oil?

If you are planning to install a kit, your choices are probably down to Greasecar and Elsbett. Frybrid did produce a very good one, but had a lot of delivery problems. I don't think they are even selling kits now, and if they are I would not recommend buying one.

I would get the Greasecar kit, they have been around a long time (relatively), they make a good product, they ship quickly, many people are familiar with them and they proivide follow up support.

I will admit that I know very little about the Elsbetts. I don't think there are many in this country. If someone else has experience with them, please speak up.
Thank you for that infomation, that is what I'm looking for. Believe it or not, I was leaning towards Greasecar, when I stumbled on to Elsbett, which BTW seems to be located more offshore than here in the USA. As for those containers from Costco, I was never good at guessing :eek:. I'm not interested in using used oil because of the work involved in filtering it. However, no matter, as I said, I'm going in this direction only as insurance from having to endure another fuel shortage as in the 70's or ridiculous prices at the pump :eek:
 

philngrayce

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That makes sense. One thing I will caution you on is that the systems do not like to sit idle. If you don't use it, it probably will not work when you want it. Maybe buy a kit and put it on the shelf for insurance?
 

Intech

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Location
S. Central Pa USA
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2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
That makes sense. One thing I will caution you on is that the systems do not like to sit idle. If you don't use it, it probably will not work when you want it. Maybe buy a kit and put it on the shelf for insurance?
That sounds like a good idea, and I may wind up just doing that. However, I do want to be ready. FWIW I read today that fuel around Tampa Fl. is already over $5.00
 

wvoaction

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Baltimore, MD
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I can attest to greasecar after installing it on my Jetta and Caddy (no issues). Their basic kit is all you need and are durable. If you email Greasecar, they are great about answering questions right away. If you live in the much colder climates, you can always add a flat plate heat exchanger and/or vegtherm. From what I have heard, any post ALH is not a good candidate for WVO, but that may depend on who you ask.
 

Intech

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S. Central Pa USA
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2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
I can attest to greasecar after installing it on my Jetta and Caddy (no issues). Their basic kit is all you need and are durable. If you email Greasecar, they are great about answering questions right away. If you live in the much colder climates, you can always add a flat plate heat exchanger and/or vegtherm. From what I have heard, any post ALH is not a good candidate for WVO, but that may depend on who you ask.
Thanks for that bit of feedback. I intend to install this on my 89' Jetta.
 

landstew

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Jul 6, 2005
TDI
Golf, 2000, Green
Do not use anything BUT Elsbett. ESPECIALLY not in a tdi. Even frybrid, if they're even still selling kits. I had an 87 jetta with a great Ip, strong turbo diesel, and both a greasecar and frybrid systems failed. Leaked the coolant out, & almost killed the engine. (Had to replace the head gasket as naturally this overheated the engine very quickly, not to mention contaminated the fuel.) I don't even know why people mess around with any of the U.S. kits, and especially anything with two tanks that diverts that much coolant all the way to the back of the car, and uses fittings and hoses that will leak eventually & contaminate. They are way too complicated & don't even address half the issues needed when running wvo. The Elsbett people are the only ones endorsed by the German auto makers (of course not their clueless U.S. offices unfortunately) and pretty much started this whole thing over 30 yrs ago. And after having theirs for almost 2 yrs, I've never had a failure, never an issue. I had issues 3 weeks into my American 2 tank systems. And with this system you start & go, no purging, no start up heat & switch, etc. It's like it's native to the car, just start & go. They've been bought by a British company, but the original people are still in business and have U.S. offices (with Americans running the operations.) Their kits are comparable in price, and they'll install too for an extremely competitive price. We buy these cars for German simplicity & engineering, so you might as well buy a kit that is designed with those ideals. The main thing is, they don't only address heating (which they do very simply & effectively) but also the most important part, which is widening the fuel lines & injector holes. No u.s. kit makers even mention this. They don't even think about this!! Unbelievable. It's no wonder so many people report failures using wvo. Not with elsbett setups. I forget the name they're doing business under, but do a search for Alexander Noack. One of the original founders. He's still doing business worldwide & travels the states often to arrange installing kits.
 
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philngrayce

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I think you are being much too harsh on Greasecar, and much too easy on Elsbett.

I've been using Greasecar kits for 8 years and have had no significant problems, and none that can be attributed to the kit. Where did yours leak coolant? And what failed in the first three weeks? Frybrid had a good quality kit, perhaps better than the Greasecar, but terrible customer service and a higher price. No surprise they are out of business.

It sounds like you are referring to Elsbett one tank systems. These require virgin vegetable oil, a very expensive proposition. And they will only operate in relatively warm weather. If it is cold, you cannot use the car at all if there is VO in the tank. Their kit is also much more expensive to buy and to install than the Greasecar kit.

I believe Elsbett makes a very intersting and high quality product, but I don't think it makes much sense here in the US.
 

JaceBass

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2006 Jetta
-philngrayce

I'm under the impression that Elsbett runs SVO (canola/rapeseed), biodiesel and diesel. If you want to run diesel through the system in the winter, you can. No limitations there, it just makes the car into a multifuel car.
 

philngrayce

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Oct 18, 2004
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Connecticut
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It's not a multifuel system in the winter - it's just a diesel.
 

philngrayce

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'02 Jetta, '06 Jetta, Both Gone '13 Leaf, Gone Liberty CRD, Subaru Forrester and MB300SD
Yes, it will work in warm conditions. It will not work at all (except with diesel) in cold conditions. That is one of the limitations of any single tank system, including Elsbett.
 

JaceBass

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Atlanta
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2006 Jetta
Sigh. I just really want to believe it will work no matter what. Guess I could get a gasser and convert it to run pure ethanol. :D
 

philngrayce

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Oct 18, 2004
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Connecticut
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'02 Jetta, '06 Jetta, Both Gone '13 Leaf, Gone Liberty CRD, Subaru Forrester and MB300SD
In Atlanta, you can probably run it most of the year. But why not just get a two tank system and run it all year round?
 

noahvale

Active member
Joined
Oct 10, 2011
Location
Baton Rouge, LA
TDI
2003 GLS TDI
I recently bought a used 03 Jetta with an Elsbett system in it. Never use it, but it should work fine down here in the semi-tropical deep south.
 

Mdub707

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Sep 5, 2012
Location
Richfield Springs NY
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI
Can anyone post some info about the Elsbett systems? The only picture I see on their site is "some of the components used in various systems" picture, and it makes me laugh. I see a house water filter in there... ***?

Frybrid is the only one that carries any name IMO, and their customer service is terrible. I'm so glad I had better options for my truck, I wont even touch any of these kits for the TDI. I'll just enjoy the great mileage the car offers now and if I want to drive for free, I'll take the truck.
 
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