My vegetable oil fuel experience...

Running just fine at 30% veg oil 2 weeks later....very happy so far
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Comments

  • navig8r
    navig8r Posts: 553 Forumite
    It will be interesting to see your findings but in the mean time interested viewers can do some research into potential cheaper motoring without upsetting customs and excise:D

    I had a visitor to my house last week who's car smelled as if there was a BBQ in the back and while we were chatting he showed be in his boot which was full of bottles of cooking oil which he had just collected from asda and were destined for the fuel tank of his Astra which explained the aroma.To see if your car can run on svo ( straight veg oil) or part veg oil have a look on this link, there are hundreds of pages if you google : svo followed by the name of you vehicle which shows if your vehicle needs any mods: http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:HmCFD0Bmp-8J:www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/fuelsdatabase/database/allentries.php+svo+Peugeot+306+1.9d&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=uk
  • punamulta
    punamulta Posts: 193 Forumite
    This is a good idea but this article suggests you shouldn't leave it in your tank too long?.


    'Being biodegradable might be good for the environment if there is a fuel spillage, but microbiological attack in storage tanks is not. Like humans, microbes need food and water. They live in the water and eat the fuel to grow. As they multiply they produce acid waste, which can corrode and perforate steel tanks. They form mats of slime that clog filters and plug fuel lines. To cap it all, microbial growth in biodiesel occurs at up to four times the rate in conventional diesel and is very expensive to expel. To date there have been outbreaks of microbiological infestations in biodiesel tanks in the North West, North East and South East.'


    rest of article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2007/04/21/nosplit/mfbio21.xml
  • barrymung
    barrymung Posts: 638 Forumite
    Hi

    Could you let us know what sort of diesel engine you have (Probably a DW8) and what type of fuel injection pump (Probably either Bosch or Lucas)?

    I have been looking into this myself but have had differing feedback, depending what set up is fitted)
  • > It will be interesting to see your findings but in the mean time interested viewers can do some research into potential cheaper motoring without upsetting customs and excise


    HMC&E changed the taxation rules for bio-fuels in June, meaning that veg oil is now tax-exempt for users of up to 2,500litres per year; you can follow the threads back to the HMC&E rules via

    http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?tid=3013

    A Google search should find you the official HMC&E declaration on this, "straight from the horse's mouth". I think it would be a good idea to continue keeping records of veg oil quantities/dates/mileages in case any auditing was ever required.

    (Last week some semi-literate clown on MSE was threatening all manner of punishments including imprisonment for those who dare to use veg oil, although he clearly hadn't made any attempt to establish a factual basis for such threats)

    I'm very interested to hear of your progress using veg oil, particularly how it affects starting in the cold weather. Please keep the posts coming.
  • GarethK
    GarethK Posts: 180 Forumite
    I am using 90% SVO in my Citroen Xantia, i tried various mixs before using such a high percentage. Starting yesterday with 2 goes on the glow plugs it started straight away, with a slight lumpiness for 5-10 seconds then it was gone and run exactly as diesel.

    Of course, my car uses a Bosch pump so its perfectly safe for SVO, it also has a fuel filter heater which helps when the engine has warmed up.

    Performance is virtually identical, not quite so good top end but if your not on the governer all the time, not an issue. Apart from the smell i cant think of any bad points, as long as your car is well maintained, you change the oil more often as it contaminates quicker, and also keep and eye on the fuel filter for any dislodged crap from the lines and tank.

    This happened when i used B100 biodiesel, within 60 miles it got air locks in the system and big loss of performance, however 2 fuel filters later and cleaning the tank pick up, it is now nice and clean and had no problems since.
  • navig8r
    navig8r Posts: 553 Forumite
    GarethK wrote: »
    I am using 90% SVO in my Citroen Xantia

    Just to be clear on this,does not SVO refer to Straight veg oil (100%) and what you are using 90% veg oil and 10% diesel ??

    Dave
  • GarethK
    GarethK Posts: 180 Forumite
    No, SVO means pure, unused vegetable oil as opposed to WVO, which is waste vegetable. So 50 litres of SVO (off the shelf basicaly) and 10% dino-diesel as an example.
  • TheOne
    TheOne Posts: 137 Forumite
    barrymung wrote: »
    Hi

    Could you let us know what sort of diesel engine you have (Probably a DW8) and what type of fuel injection pump (Probably either Bosch or Lucas)?

    I have been looking into this myself but have had differing feedback, depending what set up is fitted)

    I read that a Bosch pump is better because its more able to cope with the slightly thicker veg oil.
    I also found this page: (which is the same car as what I have)
    http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/fuelsdatabase/database/view.php?id=275
    Main page: http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/fuelsdatabase/database/allentries.php
    (same site as the forum linked by Andy_Edinburgh)
    So I'm thinking of putting some veg oil in my 02 Peugeot 206 HDI
    If anyone finds any more links on what cars can/cant use diesel/veg oil mix and what injector pump is best please post.
  • GarethK
    GarethK Posts: 180 Forumite
    TheOne wrote: »
    So I'm thinking of putting some veg oil in my 02 Peugeot 206 HDI
    If anyone finds any more links on what cars can/cant use diesel/veg oil mix and what injector pump is best please post.


    DONT!

    Your HDI engine is not suitable for SVO/WVO use, it uses high pressure direct injection which will not tolerate any increase in fuel viscosity, the lift pumps in the tank are known to fail and the injectors and fuel system in general are not suitable. Small amounts of biodiesel (20%, maybe more but do seek professional advice first) could be suitable.

    It is the older engines which do not use high pressure fuel systems such as mine that can run good on it. IDI or indirect injections seem to thrive on it, because their pre-combustion chambers promote swirl and obviously combustion before it fully enters the cylinders, so less chance of poor atomisation as a result. This is why IDI engines originally were quieter than early DI engines, however, they are not asefficient and with advances in technology, competed with IDI's in terms of noise and smoothness.

    The HDI engine replaced the XUD9 PSA engine and is better on fuel, more torque peaks lower and is more responsive, but the downside is, it is less tolerant of different fuels. My advice would be to stick to the normal stuff, ensure you get the best MPG possible by making sure the engine is properly serviced, uses the correct oil grade and gets warm enough, and there is no reason why you cannot see 55mpg normally.

    My Xantia, which is a 1300kg car and uses the older IDI engine is not so good on fuel, on diesel it will exceed 40mpg no problem, on veg, i'm getting 38mpg, but this is very much mixed driving alot of it stop start and short journeys, the saving i make though is still huge so i am not majorly fussed and if i drove with a less heavy right foot, would see better returns.
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