How to run a old diesel on Veg Oil?

[trogdor]

Yes, I know this topic has been done to death but I have not been able to find and answers to my specific questions.

So, I know my car (pug 405 with 1.8 TD engine and bosch pump) will run on veg oil.

However I wanted people advice on the methodology involved. For example, I plan on using a 50/50 mix of diesel and oil to start with.

So, is it better to premix the oil and diesel or is just putting x amount of diesel in at the pump then going into the supermarket and putting in x amount of oil in after? Will oil and diesel mix ok?

I plan on running a small amount in first as then I will be able to top up the tank with diesel if the car gets unhappy.

Also how often should I replace the fuel filter? The fuel filter is going to replaced anyway so how soon after I start running on oil should I change it?

I plan on splicing in a cheap transparent filter in the fuel line before the main fuel filter which should stop the worse curse word going into the main filter and also alert me to when I should be changing my filter. Does this sound like a good idea?

Any other things that I should be thinking of?

If anyone can take the time to reply I would really appreciate it!

[jasonj]

Starting with 50/50 is a good way to go and slowly increase the ratio. In the summer you should be able to run 100% veg. You will need to change the fuel filter soon after you start running veg oil as it cleans out the system and clogs the filter. It was within 50 miles on my van.
No need to premix oil with diesel. Sainsbury's is cheapest for veg oil at the mo if that helps.

[trogdor]

Cool beans, was fairly sure about just being able to pour it in but wanted some confirmation!

Will get a filter sorted out and change it after running some veg oil through the car.

[Diabolu]

Does rapeseed oil manage too?

[datsundrew]

Agree with the above, and am sure to not mix it before it goes into the tank is fine, but on my land rover s2 with isuzu 2.8 in it, its a real pain if I don't pre mix it. the oil stays on the bottom and the diesel on top, dunno why. Also, if its not used a lot it seems to settle as It smells stronger when its below a quarter and its slow and slow to start.
Its direct injection so its questionable as to whether I should use any veg, but ist on its 5th year. lol.

[THE_Liam]

Does your 405 have the fuel filter mounted on the thermostat housing like the 1.9 does? If so, that makes running veg easier. You don't need to pre-mix, just dump it straight in the tank

XUD engines love veg, you should manage 100% from April to October at least as well. I've had a few XUDs running on veg so feel free to PM me with any Q's

[Mystery Machine]

As a slight side-note...yesterday was a sad day

For the first time since buying my Cavalier I put regular diesel in it - the price of veg oil has shot up overnight and is only slightly cheaper than pump fuel. With the effort of buying lots of 3ltr bottles, glugging them all in individually and then recycling the bottles after I decided to go for the convenience of 'straight out of the pump' for the sake of 10p per litre.

OK, so that works out about £6 extra per tank, but until the price of veg drops again I reckon I'll be taking the easy route for the time being. It'll be interesting to see if the car runs any differently going back to diesel....it ran so smooth and quietly on veg. 400 miles today and 250 tomorrow will soon tell.

[jasonj]

May 26, 2011 16:50:10 GMT Diabolu said:

Does rapeseed oil manage too?

Rapeseed oil is the best to use if you can get it.

[jasonj]

May 27, 2011 7:22:02 GMT Mystery Machine said:

As a slight side-note...yesterday was a sad day

For the first time since buying my Cavalier I put regular diesel in it - the price of veg oil has shot up overnight and is only slightly cheaper than pump fuel. With the effort of buying lots of 3ltr bottles, glugging them all in individually and then recycling the bottles after I decided to go for the convenience of 'straight out of the pump' for the sake of 10p per litre.

OK, so that works out about £6 extra per tank, but until the price of veg drops again I reckon I'll be taking the easy route for the time being. It'll be interesting to see if the car runs any differently going back to diesel....it ran so smooth and quietly on veg. 400 miles today and 250 tomorrow will soon tell.

Its just bloody typical.. I've just started running my van on veg oil and have just bought a 306 TD to do the same. I noticed that 2 of 3 big supermarkets hiked the prices up a couple of weeks ago. Think i'll start looking for a source of good used oil.

[trogdor]

Yes the best price i could find oil for is £1.19 a litre! So i did buy some to see how the car likes it but I don't think I will bother with the hassle for the sake of 10p a litre.

THE_Liam: unfortunatly my XUD engine is an early 1.8 turbo diesel and has the fuel filter mounted to the side of the engine compartment with a little priming pump on top of it. I have brought some fuel filters so I will see how I get on, have the ratio at about 50/50 and car seems fine so far. Bit lumpier when cold and thats about it.

[`state]

If you`ve got a bookers cash n carry near you and can lend a card its 20 quid for 20 litres.So still more than worth it.Also if theres any catering suppliers that will sell to the public is also worth a check.
Also keep checking ebay for out of date oil and also I'm going to be getting afew hundred litres of used,filtered veg oil from a guy on ebay for 70p alitre.

[composimmonite]

Used veg oil is horrible. Best left for those with full bio diesel processing plants. If you do insist using it buy from a supplier who has dewatered and filtered and then put in a seperate heated twin tank system - not in the fuel tank.
People think they have hit upon a brilliant free fuel idea but soon find it's an urban myth. Oil users SELL their used oil to specialised commercial collectors who are desperate for it so why should they give it to you for free ! Also they have a legal requirement to ensure anyone who collects has a waste transfer and waste disposal licence otherwise they can get into trouble themselves for not ensuring properly disposed with matching paperwork. There are exemptions but you have to jump though hoops to get them. Took me months to get authoration for collect from a local school. Waste oil is if full of burn food particles and has a high percentage of water. Let it stand (months !) and you will find only 1/2 or less is potential fuel - the rest is "gloop" that you have to pay to dispose as can't go to council tip. When temperature drops this used oil turns solid like vasoline hence the need for a heated tank.
Overall my recommendation is to stick with fresh oil from supermarkets etc.

Paul H

[THE_Liam]

May 27, 2011 7:59:02 GMT trogdor said:

Yes the best price I could find oil for is £1.19 a litre! So I did buy some to see how the car likes it but I don't think I will bother with the hassle for the sake of 10p a litre.

THE_Liam: unfortunatly my XUD engine is an early 1.8 turbo diesel and has the fuel filter mounted to the side of the engine compartment with a little priming pump on top of it. I have brought some fuel filters so I will see how I get on, have the ratio at about 50/50 and car seems fine so far. Bit lumpier when cold and thats about it.

That's a shame with the fuel filter mounting, the heated fuel filter on the 1.9/2.1 is almost designed for veg! My mates 205 STDT is the same, he still manages 100% but until we designed a little pre-heater starting was a bit hard. I'll try get you some pics but it's basically a little swirl pot mounted next to the filter with 2 glow plugs threaded into it. It's wired into the glow plug circuit, so if you pre-heat the plugs a couple of times you get a little bit of heated oil to help out...

Or just stick 5 litres of petrol or kero in, that does the trick

As for the veg oil thing, my mate said it was £24.99 exc VAT at Costco last week, for a 30 litre drum...

[Colonelk]

I'm getting £20.99 for 20 litres at the local cash and carry.

IIRC the chinese supermarket down the road from my g/fs in worthing is about £20.50 for 20 litres and they sell to the public. Look for chinese / indian supermarkets

Bruce..... has Rajanis (sp) not got anything cheap cheap?

Havent had to change my fuel filter yet but I did put a new one on as part of a service when I got the car!

I run 90% veg 10% petrol on a bosch-copy Isuzu 1.7 should be able to get away without any petrol next tank

[Colonelk]

oh and to add, mine went through its MOT with a tank full of veg, tester said the limit was 3%, my 3 results were 1.7, 1, 0.9 (IIRC there or thereabouts) so don't sweat the emissions test

[THE_Liam]

I'm glad someone else besides me uses petrol to thin the veg, why use 10 litres of derv when 4 litres of petrol does the same job?

[datsundrew]

Well, I got a few sources of used, let it stand, filter it and take the curse word back so that the people with the licence can take it away all nice and legally! lol.
same as above, the merc stank its way through the emissions with less than diesel......and its got 280k on the clock!
The way I look at it is that my cars have common engines, none are too precious, I keep the filters clean etc. Its just an on-going suck it and see scenario for me. :-)

[mdh]

May 27, 2011 7:22:02 GMT Mystery Machine said:

As a slight side-note...yesterday was a sad day

For the first time since buying my Cavalier I put regular diesel in it - the price of veg oil has shot up overnight and is only slightly cheaper than pump fuel. With the effort of buying lots of 3ltr bottles, glugging them all in individually and then recycling the bottles after I decided to go for the convenience of 'straight out of the pump' for the sake of 10p per litre.

OK, so that works out about £6 extra per tank, but until the price of veg drops again I reckon I'll be taking the easy route for the time being. It'll be interesting to see if the car runs any differently going back to diesel....it ran so smooth and quietly on veg. 400 miles today and 250 tomorrow will soon tell.

Havent done it for a while but Costco used to do 20litre drums... £9.50 way back in 2007

[will]

May 27, 2011 20:13:28 GMT mdh said:

May 27, 2011 7:22:02 GMT Mystery Machine said:

As a slight side-note...yesterday was a sad day

For the first time since buying my Cavalier I put regular diesel in it - the price of veg oil has shot up overnight and is only slightly cheaper than pump fuel. With the effort of buying lots of 3ltr bottles, glugging them all in individually and then recycling the bottles after I decided to go for the convenience of 'straight out of the pump' for the sake of 10p per litre.

OK, so that works out about £6 extra per tank, but until the price of veg drops again I reckon I'll be taking the easy route for the time being. It'll be interesting to see if the car runs any differently going back to diesel....it ran so smooth and quietly on veg. 400 miles today and 250 tomorrow will soon tell.

Havent done it for a while but Costco used to do 20litre drums... £9.50 way back in 2007

Ah the good old days ;D If anybody finds it this cheap now it is their duty to let us all know.
Roundabout a score for 20 Ltr at the Chinese cash and carry is the best I can find at the mo. Had promise of some used from chipper last week though one glance at the manky sludge made me think otherwise

[dmsully]

I took the plunge last week with my 2.8 Pajero. 20 litres of veg from Costco in MK for 20.50. Had half a tank of diesel, poured the veg straight in then topped up with diesel. Running smooth and no problems. I will stick at 25% at the moment as I use my truck for work and can't afford to have it the road too much.
Regards
Dave