BEWARE VEG POWERED SYSTEMS OF OJAI
 

I took my truck to a guy Named Joel Woolf in Ojai Ca who was supposed to put a Vegetable oil fuel system in my94 7.3 IDI. I drove it there from San Bernardino 125 Mi. and it runs fine with a new Tranny as well. He Joel asked for half payment on the system which is 1500. he calls me 2 weeks later to pick up my vehicle and when I get there he says its not running but it was and you need to pay me for the system, he says the problem is with my mechanical lift pump and that I need to pay him becuse he installed the system and it WAS working. I told him I drove it there and he needs to get it running and he said Ok so I gave him $ 800.00 half of what I owed him. he calls today and says he wont work on my truck anymore so I am going over there today with the Sherriff ! Veg Powered Systems broke my truck then held it hostage for $ 1600.00 so I had no choice but to pay then tow my truck to a real mechanic where I will find out what the hell he did to the fuel system. Small Claims court here we come. Joel also does business as Woolfs Equipment and acording to him you do not need a mechanics liscence or any certification to work on other peoples vehicles.

Update?

Yeah I'd like to hear more about this, and your veg system too.

The company totally shut me off from communication for a while because I told them this probably needed to be sorted out in small claims court, since then the Bureau of Auto repair has contacted them.....the company owner told me if I send them an email stating I would not sue in small claims before they can help me. The truck dies at half a tank and I might have to take it to another mechanic to figure out why, some things I do not already like about the system is the placement of the fuel guage under the dash and the fact that there is a bulb but its not hooked up so at night when I was travelling on the freeway I was almost rear ended at 70 mph with my wife , 7 yr old daughter and 2 week old son when the system died at half a tank and I could not see the guage. Also the tank is a transfer tand with no baffles and a small opening that takes for ever to fill and no way to get inside to clean it. I am going to scrap the system or modify the tank to a 7 inch opening where I can use a 5 micron filter sock to pour in the fuel and clean the tank out once in a while.

Up date is I got a court date for Feb ! I got all the reciepts from the shop in Rancho Cucamonga which say the steel fuel lines were porbably cut with a hack saw or something and the metal shavings went up to the pump and siezed it breaking the Shaft ! has anyone ever heard of the shaft on an Injector pump shearing off ? and to top it off when I went to replace the filter element it was a one filter system with only a 30 micron filter ! I dont think the Injector pumps can handle 30 microns of ( PM ) particulate matter running through for very long without clogging up and that is just what happened again. I wish I would have used another system in stead of VEG POWERED SYSTEMS who also installed used parts as new. :dang:

That's tough, because you can play both sides of the story, especially running an alt fuel. You can't prove the quality or the viscosity of the fuel being pushed through that pump (playing devils advocate here). All he has to say is the pump was never designed to run those fuels to begin with (which it was not), but I think you do have some what of a case. The guy sounds like a hack.

your right but the shaft shearing off only could have been caused by obstruction of something other than WVO Particulate matter.......say .........metal shavings ! that were found in the fuel system. I guess the judge will determine that come FEB.

Definitely keep us updated, I hope you can get something out of it. Pump aside... the guy clearly had no idea how to piece together a decent system, at least from what you're telling us.

Prolonged use of a higher viscosity fuel could certainly strain a shaft. It could have been designed to the point where it just barely met acceptability to push diesel... who knows.

Really a lot of things could have happened here, but regardless it still sounds like you got screwed before this pump crapped out anyways.

Keep us updated, and GL! :pca1:

I sure will because I havent given up yet I have about 300 gals of oil that I need to filter down to about 1 micron just to be on the waaaay safe side.......thanks

If you pay with a credit card, all you have to do is call your credit card company & say you're disputing the charge & you won't have to pay it:humm:

Too bad I paid Cash :dang:

That is one advantage of using a credit card......I just got the wrong guy to do my system , I will post photos when I get the truck back ....you should see the hardware he is trying to pass off as " A KIT " and I know used parts when I see them, he even told me the local auto dealerships pay him to uninstall VEG systems when they get a trade in that has em.....Hmmmm wonder what he does with the parts ?

Check out this web page that has all apearances of a Liscenced shop .
Veg Powered Systems

Maybe I should give him a call, & ask him some questions about his system:humm:

Maybe you can he wont talk to me .....did you notice he says his systems come with a heated fuel filter but I just realized all I have is a racor filter with a sediment bowl and it had a 30 micron filter ! not even a regular fuel filter under the hood to catch the small particulate matter...If you do talk to him I would like to know if you think he knows what hes doing. and whats a ramp agent ?

I'll asked him if he can do the conversion on my truck ??? See what he tells me, RAMP AGENT unloads & loads airplanes, parks & pushes airplanes

Thats what I thought ! I used to be a Smokejumper out of redding Ca and a Hotshot Captain.....now im a Patrol Officer for the san bernardino National Forest in southern Ca .
I dont know how to post photos here but I will post a link to my facebook with a Photo of the Breather valve on the 37 gal tank so you can see what you are dealing with.

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Breather valve



Robert Moreno's Photos | Facebook

That's a pretty ballin breather hahaha.

Call up Dave at VeggieGarage man, he know's his stuff.

Heres the one I came up with


Robert Moreno's Photos | Facebook

I understand about prolonged use straining a pump if the oil is not heated or filtered properly .....BUT let me be clear the truck was broke during the install and I never saw the truck run on the system but they Joel and Rebecca both swear it was running before i drove the 125 miles to pick it up !

it ran until the metal shaving destroy it:humm:

Thanks for the heads up. Sorry to hear about that tho. Do work! :bat: Street justice if need be, lol.

Yeah, I guess The judge took his word over the certified AAA mechanic that fixed the truck, so I lost the small claims case for the initial damage, the defendant also said that injection pumps only last about 12000 miles....I thought they would last the life of the engine, anyway I wonder what the excuse will be at the next court case since the pump was rebuilt ...HMMMM....we will see. At least I tried.

you were done wrong:humm:

Did you ever call Dave up?

I did and I plan on driving up to see him and flying home after we figure out what to do with my system. Do you think a diesel mechanic of 25 yrs would know that a 30 micron filter will plug up the IP Filter ? it smells like sabotage to me !

veg powered systems
 

I saw that always ready rob never finished posting the out come of the court case .My name is Joel Woolf Pres of VegPowered Systems .Alwaysreadyrob lost in court in ventura small claims court against or company.He ran out of the court room to powt about his loss .I would never ever screw anybody intensionally never never.Robert moreno(alwaysreadyrob) shows up on sunday with the cops in his forest service outfit (thinks it gets him respect from cops)at my home .thinking he was going to get his truck without paying the balance.on the installation .I offered to replace the injection pump for $300 in labor thats cheep for that job even a discount on the pump .he wanted to sue me instead so he did and lost .Rob just purchased that truck used 259k so if you bring your truck in for a veg systemand the injection pump fails on a 259k truck is it the mechanics fault .I don`t think so neither did the Judge

Remember guys to keep this thread informative and truthful. any information posted in here should not be hearsay but concrete evidence that can be backed up by documentation. if there are any other "issues" between the 2 of you please take it to PM's.

Veg Powered Systems, please start a thread in the Introduce Yourself forum and tell us about yourself and your business.

yes the judge did rule in favor of joel however He still did a jipo job .. I fixed all the mistakes he made such as him using a 30 micron filter causing my pump to fail a second time because the small filter in the injector pump itself was completely clogged up ! sabotage...some one with as much experience as VEG POWERED SYSTEMS claims to be should know better but I guess not. so I still do not reccomend the so called system I got from Joel, I have since replaced his so called system for a much better one and it has never even so much as purped. I do have one more round to go with the court system for the second pump failure I just havent got around to it and I have up to 3 yrs to file so once again we will see.

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Oh and MR. President ....tell your CEO I said hi....I guess thats for you and your wife since you work out of a leaky barn and you and your wife have no employees.

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sorry , benjamin I will cease and desist ! I stlii want to be welcome here. ORDER IN THE COURT !! :dang:

So, out of curiosity alwaysreadyrob, what are you using now for a system?

This is why most guys who have mechanical injected motors either convert to an electric system or have a complete stand alone system. I wouldn't want to push WVO through the factory pump anyways, though it has been done. I would certainly expect decreased life, though it may pay out in the end anyways.

Tell us about the system you're using now. I'm interested to see what you came up with! :c:

Bluegrass Fuel Systems, LLC - Home Im using the TF3000 it works great and there is no conversion needed, as long as you are not greedy and feel you need to use WVO Exclusively, this system works great ! I reccomend this system to anyone.....I am also going to get my wife a diesel vehicle this summer when the Fire Dollars start rolling in! has anyone else heard the threats alqueda plans to start major forest fires nation wide this summer with a focus on Montana.....that will leep the SmokeJumpers busy there. Does anyone know of a good ford SUV model that runs on oil ? Im looking for a mid 80s to early 90 that will run on oil/diesel blend and big enough to keep the Fam safe.

So let me get this straight...

You bought a "filtration setup" that you filter oil with and then put it in your main tank...

Not to sound like a d!ck, but will you be filing a lawsuit against Blue Grass Fuel systems when your truck fails again? You might be ok running a blend of WMO and diesel (might being a HUGE speculation), but if you're pumping WVO in your tank, start the countdown til injection pump destruction again. That is a piss poor excuse for a filtration setup, and even if you COULD get the WVO extremely clean and water free with it (you can not with that), I STILL wouldn't put it in my stock tank. Just my $.02

well, you got any constructive sugestions ? whats a good set up ?

Yeah, I told you a while ago to call Dave from Veggie Garage. You said you were making a trip there in a months time, what ever happened with that? He can set you up with something.

There is absolutely no way that filtering contraption is even filtering properly. How is it removing suspended water? Only ways I know to do that are heat and settling, or centrifuging, or a combination of the two. An ordinary house water filter, like what's pictured hanging off the side of that, is not adequate. That WILL NOT get suspended water out, and that will be the number one injection pump and injector killer.

Build a frybrid still like the one I detailed up above in the alt fuel section, or go with a centrifuge setup (you're still going to want to heat and settle). Then you've got good clean WVO. After that you either turn it into bio, or you do a two tank heated system. That would be my suggestion, but the way you're going now I only see problems in your future again.

Sorry if it sounds harsh, just trying to save YOU and whoever is selling you stuff the headache down the road bud. :c:

hey, thanks for the concern, Its a matter of money right now but hopefully after the fire season I can go see dave and make this a headache free venture....actually its more of a hobby now to me. I continue to hear good things about dave, I cant really say that about Veg Powered Systems, they have the same old testimonials up for years....nothing new with that site other than they changed some things before we went to court like; the free tank of veggie oil and a free bumper sticker and a free sock filter that used to be advertised.

Dave will get you set up. Back when I was doing research it was beat in to my head by a few guys that I need to throw the money down up front and as soon as possible for a GOOD system. So many guys who at the time were teaching me what I needed to know, had spent thousands and thousands of dollars to figure out their processes and get it running right. They put the cash down, did the trial and error, just so guys like you and me didn't have to waste so much money. I always told myself I didn't have the money for the WVO system. $4k was a hard pill to swallow not making much money and making huge truck payments. Looking back, I'm an idiot for not doing it when they told me, I would have saved more than that in fuel costs had I just bought it. I am glad I decided to get the kit I did though, that alone has saved me many headaches that others have encountered.

If you deal with Dave, you will avoid a lot of headaches. He knows his stuff.

AlwaysReady - you and many others have been "attached to another object by an inclined plane wrapped helically about an axis" (screwed) by Joel. I have a converted vehicle also, know most of the wvo and/or biodiesel guys in Ventura County, and EVERY ONE of them that has dealt with Joel has had serious problems. I think he's a nice guy and hear he's a good surfer, just don't take your vehicle to him. The mechanic who did my conversion made a few mistakes, but did ok, and he fixed many of the vehicles that came from Ojai (until his dad kicked him out of the shop for a variety of reasons). I have had the opportunity to see several trucks that Joel botched. The mechanic I go to now is not a huge fan of wvo, but is the best diesel mechanic I've met and people bring trucks to him from hundreds of miles away. He'll relunctantly set up a system, but he can definitely solve any problems you have (after bitching at you for using veg). See Morgan Berario in Camarillo at Ultimate Truck. By the way Rob, sounds like you have a good source for oil - ever have a surplus?

I love down the road in Ventura. Glad I found this. :bat:

well, if ever your in the san bernardino area I would be glad to set you up with some oil to get you down the road ! and yes, I was really shammed by this guy, and I know he monitors this site but who cares ! maybe he will see that by all reports...he is not as good as he thinks he is ! he seems to believe that filtering oil down to 30 microns is good enough ! im here to tell you ...it cost me another injector pump rebuild. I really am amazed that I lost the first small claims against joel but maybe it was my fault for not presenting my case well enough, but again oh well, sometimes the guilty go unconvicted and sometimes the innocent are wrongly prosecuted. I have one more case to file so we will see if he tells the judge again that " your honor um its an old truck and things are bound to break, I would never do anything to break anyones vehicle... I have nothing to gain by it " well at least I got the BAR onto him and as far as I know he has a license to turn wrenches, not that hes good at it! maybe now he will stop evading the IRS and pay taxes on the money he makes for screwing peoples trucks up! then trying to charge them for filtering their own oil per gallon ! I too had to fix all of his mistakes, like not putting a proper breather valve on the tank , and putting in a 30 micron filter element on the racor filter in stead of a 5 micron filter. I just hope people do their research before having any WVO conversions done, trust me ...it costs a lot of money if you dont !

Rob you more than anyone should be an advocate and voice of reason for new guys to do a TON of research before jumping into the WVO world. :c:


There are a lot of WRONG ways to do this posted throughout the net, but very few RIGHT ways. Take your time, research the HELL out of this venture, and take baby steps. It took me a long time to get where I'm at, but I've had NO failures related to my WVO use, and my trucks injection system is far more complex and critical of what runs through it! :c:

You are very correct, running WVO or any alternative fuel is not only a money saver, but it IS good for the environment and I also see it as a fun hobby, and all these things combined are supposed to be fulfilling and not make you want to give up and quit like I almost did, it was my wife who stood behind me as my truck had to be towed numerous times and my bank account was dropping like the stock market in the 1920s ! but now all problems are fixed and I am actually enjoying driving my truck a lot more, I recently took my wife and kids from loma linda to the grand canyon and back and we had a great time and above all I knew I would not end up stranded with my wife and two young kids and Joel Wolfs and his so called Black Wolf groups Veg System set up !

Fuel Sharing
 

Always Ready - thanks for offer. How could I get hold of you if I'm ever out your way? Likewise, I'll be glad to share if I have extra and you're in need while in Ventura County. Isn't there a website for guys networking and sharing oil?

Can't believe Joel thinks 30mic is enough. I use a heated racor 10mic + the facotry (which I believe is actually only 40mic?) filter. However I always settled the oil for a long time, then filtered the good stuff on top to 1mic through socks. Then Morgan at Ultimate Truck showed me the sludge that was still building up, so I've been centrifuging my filtered stuff. It's amazing how much junk comes out in the cf from oil that I used to think was clean enough.

I think my biggest problem on my first system was that Joe left the factory pump in place and the closed rails on my 7.3. Morgan opened the rails with a regulator and I installed a Fass Pump. Problems solved! Now I think I'll use 2mic Racor filters since my oil is cleaner and my pump can handle it.

Trey, there's a few good people in Ventura area for advice and idea sharing. Try Jeff at Resist Surfboards for starters.