[Esme]

Do any of you here run diesel vehicles using veg oil? If so what kind of mods - if any -do you make to the car, and if using used veg oil how do you clean it up to make it viable?

[WG.]

I use a blend of around 50% rape seed oil / 50% diesel during the warmer months only.  Car is not modified.  Much more than that and it only takes a chilly morning to give problems starting. I might risk 75% oil during mid-summer.

Used veg oil needs to be scrubbed with methanol and filtered but I've never done it.   It is getting harder to get it now.

[Esme]

Ta WG, that's more or less the conclusion I've come to, but it's good to know that someone else is running a vehicle with no problems this way. So far I've stuck in about 30% rape seed oil and the little car runs very smoothly. Smells good too May add a little more as it's still warm here - if wet.

[WG.]

Pay extra attention to oil / fuel filters since the veg oil mix helps 'clean things up' by comparison to straight mineral diesel.

NB:  'clean things up' - you can tell I'm very mechanically minded  :oops:

[Rampant_Weasel]

my car is a vw and handbook says can run on 100% biodiesel.there is only one station round here that sells it tho and its even more expensive than the normal stuff so didnt bother.i`m off for green alternatives but not if they cost even more than the astronomical price of fossil fuel.

[Esme]

Ta again WG for that tip.

[WG.]

my car is a vw and handbook says can run on 100% biodiesel.there is only one station round here that sells it tho and its even more expensive than the normal stuff so didnt bother.i`m off for green alternatives but not if they cost even more than the astronomical price of fossil fuel.

Bio-diesel is different stuff RW, Esme is talking SVO (straight vegetable oil from a supermarket food shelf)  

[seadart]

It depends on your car a Pug 406 hdi will not work with veg oil because the  rail fuel line cannot cope with it without major modifications (seperate tank, preheater etc) I run one and have asked my mechanic he says its not viable  :evil:

[Esme]

Mine's a little pug 106, the 1.4 engine.

[mushroom]

wasn't the diesel engine originally designed to run on peanut oil?

[Esme]

Yep, it was. Rape seed oil seems to be the best substitute we have here but it's still too viscous so needs to be diluted with fossil diesel. If I've understood everything I've read correctly, anyway. . .

[mushroom]

the exhaust gases must smell mouth-watering  :shock:  

[gobs]

Oh dear!  

[Oscar Too]

Common rail and HDI engines don't run very well on SVO mixes.  XUD engines (older Cits and Pugs) work very well, as do older VW engines.

 Bosch fuel pumps perform better with SVO than CAV Lucas pumps, as the SVO can dissolve the seals in the latter.  There is however an opinion that after a certain age, the seals in CAV Lucas pumps are so perished that they are impervious to SVO.  

The SVO is heavier than diesel, so wil sink to the bottom of the tank and drag up all the dirt to the filter.  If you are going to run it, make sure that you have a spare fuel filter with you and that you know how to change it and have the necessary tools (strongly suggest a light that can be worn on the head and gloves too).

Bear in mind that if you haven't paid the duty on the fuel, and you are stopped by HMRC, they'll confiscate your car and fine you.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_vegetable_oil

http://www.bio-power.co.uk/

[WG.]

Bear in mind that if you haven't paid the duty on the fuel, and you are stopped by HMRC, they'll confiscate your car and fine you.  
 

I thought that changed recently.  Is it not now legal to use a certain amount (2000 litres per annum?) veg oil in a private vehicle free from duty ??