Running Diesel cars on Vegatable Oil?

24-05-2008 12:43pm

Remember the veg oil must be AT LEAST 10% cheaper to break even as many cars will get 10% less fuel economy on veg oil because of its lower cetane value.

So include the risks to your vehicle and your not doing so well at 1 euro a litre of veg

unless its an indirect injection that will run no problem on veg

vibe666 · 25-05-2008 10:49am

tried acetone (just used cheap 99% acetone based nail polish), 100ml in 92 litre tank of bio-diesel, didn't make any difference. might see about a tenners worth of unleaded instead, see how that goes.

EDIT: that's on 100% WVO based bio-diesel btw. she runs fine about 95% of the time (96 2.8L Pajero TD) but is occasionally lumpy at times which I've put down to a minor problem with the fuel pump seal from running on a 30% SVO mix initially. It's a known problem with the 2.8L Paj's tho, and I half expected it but figured I'd give it a go anyway it just didn't work out for me.

Now I just need to find a decent mechanic that can replace the seal for me, it's not nearly as easy a job as you'd think it would be.

like I said tho, she's okay for the most part, but it's going to need doing at some point soonish, hence my sig.

MayoForSam · 29-05-2008 1:04pm

I want to try running my motor (2003 Skoda Fabia 1.9SDi) with a mix of veggie oil and fuel. I presume this engine should be OK (VAG) as its not a TDi?

I want to start with about a 20:80 oil:fuel mix, can I just pour the oil directly into my tank or does it need to be premixed?

Would I need to change the fuel filter after I start using the oil as I've heard it tends to clean out the fuel lines and might clog up the filter with residue?

vibe666 · 29-05-2008 6:59pm

you'd want to start with 20-30% oil, not the other way around. if it likes it then up it 10% or so each time you fill up.

I'd also recommend only testing it on half tankfuls till you're confident on the levels of SVO she's happy to run on as if you have reliablity problems (not unheard of) its a hell of a lot easier to just fill it to the brim with diesel to thin it out enough so that it's not an issue than it is to have to drain the fuel tank.

did a quick google search and a couple of sites popped up with your motor listed for twin tank conversions which would seem to indicate that it'll run fine on some % of SVO regardless so you should be grand to at least give it a go.

don't forget to let us all know how you get on, I'm sure there's others out there just waiting for one more excuse to do it.

Ginger83 · 02-06-2008 11:27pm

Hi,I wondered if my corolla van would be suitable for svo or wvo.2.0d4d not sure about pump,any advice?

03-06-2008 1:23am

http://www.elsbett.com/ie/online-shop.html

check out the online shop ^^ a D4D is common rail and would need to be converted
generally anything that is listed on that link as a 1 tank conversion could be run on veg oil with minimum risk
2 tanks and apparently the chances of damage gets much higher

Mind you Im still running my car UNMODIFIED on a mix of diesel and veg oil up to 40% now its a direct injection vectra - down as a two tank conversion on the site. Been running it on a mix of varying quantities since September. But you must take into consideration the VALUE of your vehicle.
Mine is 10yrs old and if it breaks its a scrap yard job.

Car definitely lacks power and fuel economy on the veg oil but is quieter and doesnt smell of diesel at all. Im aware Im probably killing it slowly but Im gonna make my own kit as part of a college project over the next month - a one tank conversion kit for direct injections and common rails for research!

Row · 08-06-2008 11:47pm

Just gone from running my 406 td on 50/50 mix to 70/30 mix (Vegoil/Diesel)
and its running as smooth as ever.
topped up the other nite with 30 litres of veg oil into a nearly empty tank
drove to the local service station,by the time i got there i'd say the car was running on 97%/03% mix as the engine was running alittle lumpy but as soon i put in a few litres of diesel it was running fine.
still cannot understand the recent veg oil increase??
but thats the times we are living in!!!

09-06-2008 8:31pm

Row wrote: »

still cannot understand the recent veg oil increase??
but thats the times we are living in!!!

hey what year is your car? Is it a direct injection?

hey the reason the veg oil went up is because demand in the UK went up
in parts of Scotland and Northern England supermarkets limit the amount of veg oil you can buy at a time. So basically if diesel goes up veg oil goes up so many people are converted over there.
and the prices here are affected coz lots are chains of UK branches. Then Germany is world leader is veg oil driving so if fuel goes up there veg oil goes up there and in their supermarket chains.

Row · 09-06-2008 9:50pm

Deleted User wrote: »

hey what year is your car? Is it a direct injection?

It a 1996 406 Td (Indirect) with 197,000 on the clock,It has a bosch injection pump,it smells like a BBQ when its ticking over,alot of people try
to overtake me when on the road,maybe i'm making them hungry!!! LOL

kev ( Kerry ) · 09-06-2008 9:56pm

Not shaw if this is the right place to tell this but hear goes,
Put about 15lts of bio at 30 % in too fillups in my astra and the thing just
stops on root. So get it towed to a garage were am told the pump is gone
no fuel going to injectors . After much debate re coned pump fitted and
back in business. G.M engine running a bosch pump and i had been told it could run on old chip oil so how did it stop working when same type of pump is fitted to V.Ws . Does any one out there have any answers.

09-06-2008 10:52pm

kev ( Kerry ) wrote: »

Not shaw if this is the right place to tell this but hear goes,
Put about 15lts of bio at 30 % in too fillups in my astra and the thing just
stops on root. So get it towed to a garage were am told the pump is gone
no fuel going to injectors . After much debate re coned pump fitted and
back in business. G.M engine running a bosch pump and i had been told it could run on old chip oil so how did it stop working when same type of pump is fitted to V.Ws . Does any one out there have any answers.

Can we clarify what you mean by "bio"
Do you mean Biodiesel
or do you mean vegetable oil?

Biodiesel is made using alcohol, alot of the bosch pumps have sensors that get stripped when alcohol is too high a % in the fuel killing the pump.

vegetable oil can clog fuel filters (it cleans out the fuel tank and fuel lines dragging all the dirt to the fuel pump). The pump can get starved of fuel then.
But 30% veg oil shouldnt make much of a difference. Was is used vegetable oil or unused?
What type of oil did you use? Also The veg oil can shrink fuel pump seals - was there any fuel leaking? Up to 30% in two fill ups doesnt soudn excessive, but maybe a warning to people following on this thread if its the seals that went.

Did they tell you what part of the pump failed?
What pump model? Bosch Vp37 possibly?

kev ( Kerry ) · 15-06-2008 10:20am

I was using biodeasel , and pump is (electronic) number 0470004003 bigest number runing across middle . lots of numbers on side plate ? no type number.

my man at garage recons it is clogged with oil ,but there is a elecy valve in bottom with round
coller type filter that could be cut off valve ? Both filters were not blocked when checked.

15-06-2008 3:19pm

Can you still get a sample of the biodiesel?
I bet anything it was badly made.
Either it went soapy and clogged the pump and starved the pump
or it the alcohol wasnt removed properly and the alcohol damaged the pump

vibe666 · 16-06-2008 5:26pm

sounds like another good reason for more research.

every engine (that it's possible to run bio or veg oil in) will behave differently and have different (potential) problems to look out for.

the best thing you can do is find a forum deicated to your particular motor (there's hundreds, trust me you'll find one) and if it happens to be suited to bio or veg oil then there's likely to be a sub forum somwhere for just that kind of thing.

read through EVERYTHING you can find on the subject and then once you have...

a) confirmed 100% that your engine/pump etc. is suitable for what you want to do with
b) are 100% aware of ALL the potential issues that might crop up and what symptoms to look out for and...
c) are aware of how much it could cost you to fix if you make a balls of it

THEN give it a go and see how it goes, documenting your experiences for the next guy who decides to have a look.

tbh though, unless you either have a local biodiesel supplier or a source of waste oil you can get hold of it's not worth it with the cost of fresh vegetable oil at the moment, there's not really much money to be saved if everything goes smoothly and some potential for it to get very expensive too.

depending on your engine you may lose (or gain in some cases) a bit of fuel economy and/or power and there's definitely a lot of potential for banjaxxing your engine in the medium to long term if you're not 100% aware of what you're doing so when in doubt find out!

kev ( Kerry ) · 25-06-2008 6:47pm

thanks for all the advice ,will keep in touch when i know more.

doubledecker · 30-06-2008 7:25pm

hey....
Got stopped today on the cork-macroom road by customs/revenue, dipping trucks and vans. I was in my LDV van, running smoothly on 100%veg.oil. I was honest and said I was running veg. oil, she glanced at me and asked if I had a permit to use veg oil!!!? I laughed and showed her the letter that customs sent me regarding using veg. oil as a fuel, stating that I pay 36.8c a liter, paid by cheque once I reach 1000 liters. I had my 'list' of dates and amounts I had put in, so I had her stumped.
Best to know your rights and let them know right away whats in your tank.:)

vital reading for anyone considering using vegetable oil as a fuel

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?tid=7373

mellybreen · 03-07-2008 12:36pm

Is there anyone here from the Waterford area that runs there car on vegetable oil and that would be interested in doing a piece about it for the local paper? The story has been highlighted with Tesco's restriction on the purchase of cooking oil and it would be interesting to talk to someone that uses it so that readers can see how it preforms.
If anyone would like to speak to me please email mary.breen7@mail.dcu.ie

barnicles · 31-08-2008 10:27am

Anybody know how much the filters cost?

31-08-2008 7:11pm

http://www.science.ie/EN/index.cfm/section/news/news_key/582

ipod · 18-12-2008 4:33am

my sprinter runs like a clock on cooking oil

bullsilver · 26-07-2010 7:01pm

Hi guys
looking to run my ford transit t280 on vegtable oil since this is an old thread can anyone tell me who installs the kits in ireland? contacted the site listed already but cant seem to get a reply. anyone doing iit at the mo appricate the advice

Mahatma coat · 29-07-2010 6:46am

Jaysus, every time I open one of these threads its the same thing,

How do I modify my Car to run on Vegetable oil???

when it should be

how do I modify vegetable Oil to Run my Car???

If you process the oil properly you dont have to modify your car.

Running Diesel cars on Vegatable Oil?

Comments