Veg Oil - any benefits?

[j-j]

What about the 1.9 XUD lumps, can they take it with no mods?

Yes, I ran my Xantia 1.9 D with bosch pump on straight veg oil for about 10 months until the veg oil prices shot up suspiciously to over double their price (and I treated my car to Lidl's finest grot)I always put a little diesel in to mix too - say about 1/5 volume (maybe a little more in winter)No probs whatsoever - always started first time even in winter.The only other reason to run veg oil I can think of is it's relative greenness - emissions are so low I think you could breathe the tail pipe.

[bones96]

while on the subject of veg oil i have a 1.8 turbo diesel escort 1995 m reg is it possible to run this on veg oil ??????

[garbaldy]

while on the subject of veg oil i have a 1.8 turbo diesel escort 1995 m reg is it possible to run this on veg oil ??????

pretty sure the scort has the lucas pump and they dont like veg, the car can be modified to run veg but not really worth the hasle or expence really,

[Richard]

I have looked a few times at the possibility of going 'chippy' but I have a source of used engine oil, we buy between 15/17 Kubota 905's a week and remove the factory fitted oil (its thin and very black) and we store it in 210 litre barrels of which we have 4 full trouble is I need a suitable vehicle to make use of this free 'fuel' any suggestions? I have seen a few mercs and peugeots mentioned in posts, which one would be my 'holy grail' ? I don't do many miles so it wouldn't need to be luxurious just a daily commuter possibly an estate would be good for trips to the local dump!!advice appreciated

My mate used to run his Chavalier Diesel on four parts waste engine oil to one part petrol. It had the most noxious exhaust fumes I've ever smelt. It actually hurt to drive behind it.

[FredTransit]

It's NOT illegal to use veg oil for vehicle fuel, up to 2500L a year can be used without notifying HM Customs or paying duty. it's been legal for over two years now!

[Milford Cubicle]

Nobody said it was.

[Inspector Gadget]

Build one of those "stoves" to burn it instead?

how about mix it in with my central heating oil...?

[FredTransit]

what is illegal?

Running on used engine oil - well, you could probably burn it legally if you wanted by paying duty. (R.welf beat me to the edit )

It's NOT illegal to use veg oil for vehicle fuel, up to 2500L a year can be used without notifying HM Customs or paying duty. it's been legal for over two years now!

Nobody said it was.

Seem like you said it was illegal Milford, or at least said you have to pay duty, which you don't.

[Milford Cubicle]

Now now, you've gone to all the trouble of quoting what I said, but did you read it?

used engine oil

[FredTransit]

Used oil, or waste oil, same thing as far as HM Customs is concerned. Always was, and still is.

[Milford Cubicle]

Hmm, curious. I thought that the 2500l duty-free threshold applies to biofuels only, but HMRC are a bit vague about it

 

Exempt producers/users

If you have produced or used less than 2,500 litres of:

 

* any biofuel

* any other fuel substitute or additive

But it only mentions biofuels and vegetable oil in the notice

 

Reading further...

 

Fuel substitute - Any liquid used in place of a mineral (hydrocarbon) oil as fuel for any motor, engine or other machinery

So that rules out mineral engine oil, but they are very vague about this 'additive'.

 

Gosh I'm bored.

[FredTransit]

Exempt producers/users

If you have produced or used less than 2,500 litres of:

 

* any biofuel

* any other fuel substitute or additive

for the purposes of Duty payments, 'producers' was clarified as any user, and the 'biofuel' didn't have to be processed, fresh oil or waste oil is the same as biodeisel, as it did cause a lot of confusion. As far as used engine oil goes, I don't think that would be liable to duty either, but I bet VOSA wouldn't like it!

[Pillock]

I bet the guy driving behind you wouldn't like it either!

[Volksy]

My Volvo runs on part engine oil..Not intentional, just the tubo seals are borked

[scottishpaul]

oh my 306 turbo d runs fine on it and at the moment is about 70p a ltr compare prices with derv oh at the latest passing of a petrol station i seen it at £1.08 per ltr for diesel cooking oils the way to go if u have bosch pump for sure

[scottishpaul]

I have looked a few times at the possibility of going 'chippy' but I have a source of used engine oil, we buy between 15/17 Kubota 905's a week and remove the factory fitted oil (its thin and very black) and we store it in 210 litre barrels of which we have 4 full trouble is I need a suitable vehicle to make use of this free 'fuel' any suggestions? I have seen a few mercs and peugeots mentioned in posts, which one would be my 'holy grail' ? I don't do many miles so it wouldn't need to be luxurious just a daily commuter possibly an estate would be good for trips to the local dump!!advice appreciated

My mate used to run his Chavalier Diesel on four parts waste engine oil to one part petrol. It had the most noxious exhaust fumes I've ever smelt. It actually hurt to drive behind it.

haha and it used to die in people drives when it was being used for courier work but it went well enough

[scottishpaul]

What about the 1.9 XUD lumps, can they take it with no mods?

as long as they have a bosch pump they will run fine i ran a xantia turbo d on it with a bosch pump no troubles used veg oil and mot time no readings at all on smoke test but veg oil dont have all the stuff they add to diesel so that is the reason

[Alpineandy]

10 Litres of cooking oil on sale at the local tescos for £6.50 and 6 of them have found their way to my garage so far (I think the offer finishes soon). Really, It's a bit awkward getting it into the cars but both the R5 and the Safrane are running on a mixture at the moment. I have to use 'Millers diesel power plus' in the R5 to stop it smoking (in general use, nothing to do with the cooking oil, but it does stop it - I recommend it) which at over a tenner a bottle probably brings the £6.50 up to £7+ Everyone running an oil burner should use a mix when possible (if only to keep the tax away from MPs expense accounts). I've never used more than 33% to 66% pump diesel, but would be happy to go to 50/50 if necessary.

[FredTransit]

Older mercs can take straight oil (filtered used or fresh) without mods, as can the transit 2.5 DI with the Bosch pump..

I wouldn't want to run a direct-injection diesel on vegetable oil without modifications, not with the large risks of ring gumming and engine oil polymerisation.

I meant to reply to this, and I have heard of this, why does the DI run the risk of gumming with veg? I have a mate who has run 100% for years, in a transit recovery (even before it was legal), for thousands of miles. We never run more than 50%, and I think it's the diesel that keeps problems away.

[Milford Cubicle]

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/for ... p?tid=1553

 

It's fairly complicated, but the direct injection design means unburnt vegetable oil is much more likely to make its way into the cylinder walls and eventually the sump.

[FredTransit]

interesting they don't mention the Ford DI at all, plenty of toyotas ect, but no Fords. I know the principle is the same, but on the other hand I know a lot of people that run their vans on veg without any mods, or trouble.

[dollywobbler]

Hmmm. Might have to lob some bio into the BX. I'll have a look at what pump it's got, though I'd probably go no stronger than a 50/50 mix.

[Milford Cubicle]

interesting they don't mention the Ford DI at all, plenty of toyotas ect, but no Fords. I know the principle is the same, but on the other hand I know a lot of people that run their vans on veg without any mods, or trouble.

That's the thing, I think older Di engines are regarded as reasonably reliable on a straight veg oil blend, but you still have to be very careful of the engine oil polymerising - change it regularly.

Hmmm. Might have to lob some bio into the BX. I'll have a look at what pump it's got, though I'd probably go no stronger than a 50/50 mix.

Properly made biodiesel shouldn't be a problem even if it does have a Lucas pump, though I believe it can cause problems for their seals.

[FredTransit]

Too many people just use the term bio for veg oil, where as that should really be the way to describe biodiesel, which is processed veg oil, and technically the same as fossil diesel. Veg oil is veg oil, biodeisel is processed veg oil.

[dollywobbler]

Technically, Bio can still gel up at lower temperatures because it often doesn't contain the same anti-gel properties of diesel. I am on about proper biofuel, not just supermarket veg.

[Gompo]

This might have been mentioned already, but cant remember - does Veg Oil or indeed any of these diesel alternatives have a shelf life/use by date?...In the same way that Petrol goes off/octane rating decreases after time; does veg oil do the same?

[Milford Cubicle]

As long as it's kept sealed and water-free it lasts a long time.

[FredTransit]

Technically, Bio can still gel up at lower temperatures because it often doesn't contain the same anti-gel properties of diesel. I am on about proper biofuel, not just supermarket veg.

In which case (apart from the gelling, like you said) there is no need to worry about what you put the bio in, well nothing of the age of cars we have. Some modern stuff might have the manufacturers bleating about it. Odd though, as it's sold mixed with dino derv across France, so it might be a bit difficult to avoid.

[angorabedsock]

I've got a Lucas pump on meh old 205. What are the chances of borking it with supermarket veg and what's a good mix ratio to be on the safe side in winter with a Lucas pump?Although the 205 will return 60mpg all day long, veggie oil is starting to look a tempting idea again now pump prices are rapidly on the up again. Also now more and more people have fanceh hdi-style diesels and therefore can't go for the veggie, demand for it is going to slump a bit and hopefully it will get cheaper.Does anyone know much about converting a 205 Lucas to a Bosch setup? If it's cheap and easy then it could be worthwhile as I've grown rather fond of the old shitter for the time being.Ta,bedsocks

[dollywobbler]

At Co-op, the cheapest veg was 1p a litre cheaper than diesel at the pump.