Biodiesel

[felixthelogchopper]

Anybody using or used biodiesel in their vehicles? I know I can use it in my Maverick but wondered what others' experiences have been using it. Also, does anybody know any reliable biodiesel retailers in Essex? Cheers

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Bit close to home this one! Did a PhD on the stuff back when I still had a brain!!! What dya wanna know - send you my thesis??? All written on Galaxy on an ICL DRS M20 286

[kevwrenn]

have a look here..... Difflock :: Index there is a section for fuel / biofuel and someone may be able to help.

[felixthelogchopper]

Bit close to home this one! Did a PhD on the stuff back when I still had a brain!!! What dya wanna know - send you my thesis??? All written on Galaxy on an ICL DRS M20 286

 

What I need to know is stuff like did it cause any problems with seals or gaskets in the fuel-line, does it cause any problems with running or power, basically is there any downside to using it?

[dent]

you will find it difficult to run if you have electronic fuel injection as that will require a heater in the system and still may not run

if its a mechanical fuel pump the difflock link above should give a percentage of how much you can mix in summer or winter

[woodworm]

Hi Felix,

I used to collect waste cooking oil for a company that recyles it and they used to let me have as much of the recycled stuff as i wanted to put in my old vito van. The vito ran on it with no problems up to about 70% bio, but the problem is getting it started in the mornings if you put too much bio in and the weather is cold. The smell from the exhaust was lovely and the engine ran extremely quiet and smooth. I didn't make any mods to the vehicle and would say that if you can get top quality bio oil then go for it, but don't use anything that doesn't look perfectly clear in a glass container. If you can see ANY sediment in it just be a bit wary of it.

I'm not an expert on these things but am just giving you the details of my experience with it. Oh yes, the fuel economy rose from 30mpg on diesel to 34mpg on bio oil/diesel mix.

[arbclimber]

Bit close to home this one! Did a PhD on the stuff back when I still had a brain!!! What dya wanna know - send you my thesis??? All written on Galaxy on an ICL DRS M20 286

 

Did you finish your PhD? Should we be calling you Dr TCD?

[tommer9]

If you convert veg oil to diesel then npo problem. If you want to chuck a load of veg oil in with your diesel then it will vary on the type of oil to the type of vehicle to the age of the vehicle and the cleanliness of the oil etc etc, £2k for a small conversion plant and you will soon make your money back ifyou drive a 4x4 or van etc, even with duty paid, and you wont have many, if any, probs.

[Arbgirl]

Cant speak for larger vehicles but I have been running my cars on biodiesel and also on straight veg oil/diesel mix for over 5 years now. 1st was a Ford Fiesta - ran on 50:50 mix of straight veg oil from Tesco/Lidl and ordinary diesel (reduced to 40:60 mix in winter) and also ran it on 100% biodiesel all year round. We have a couple of good biodiesel producers near here. My current vee hickle is a VW Golf which runs on 100% Biodiesel or the same 50:50 mix as before. Apparently you need to check if the seals in your fuel system are made from natural or synthetic rubber - if natural rubber ( I think its this way round ) then the seals will perish ifyou use biodiesel or veg oil mix. You just need to change the fuel filter after you have run a few tankfuls through as biodiesel gives the engine a good clean out and all the toot from the engine will be flushed out and can block the filter. Having said that I ran the Fiesta for 5 years without ever changing anything and it was fine! As others have said if you put too much straight veg oil into your diesel then it can be harder to start in cold weather and then you are moving into the realms of getting pre-heaters etc which is when you have to spend money. Apparently a lot of pump diesel now has 5% biodiesel in it anyway - so we are all starting to move towards biofuel use without realising it. My mpg went up as well as saving loads of money on fuel, although my exhaust fumes do smell like a chip shop when driving around now! There are also fuel duty and VAT implications to consider if you decide to either produce biodiesel yourself or use veg oil "officially" like ;-)

 

Forgot to add - using biodiesel can invalidate your vehicles warranty - so make sure it is out of warranty before using biodiesel as fuel

Edited May 31, 2010 by Arbgirl
just becoz

[Brushcutter]

Ran a Ford Transit on a biodiesel that a friend made from recycling chip shop oils. He did all the VAT and Duty on it so we just got in 25litre drums and tipped it in.

 

Worked fine the problem was getting the mix right for summer/winter or your have problems. Oh there was a issue with the fuel filter getting some kind of bacterial infection from the oil. It corroded the seal and it fell off on the A1(M) causing a slight breakdown.