Vegetable Oil Biodiesel Cars

[StuartDH]

Has anyone had a go in one of these biodiesel cars that run on vegetable oil.

Ten years ago the transport guys in my Royal Engineers unit stuck 5 gallons of vegetable oil mix (probably about 20%) in a Land Rover and it worked fine. They only did it for half a day then stripped the engine down before someone found out

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ne...ls-forest-cars

As long as it doesn't stink too much, I'd have one tomorrow.

[fbcpmike]

Originally Posted by StuartDH

Has anyone had a go in one of these biodiesel cars that run on vegetable oil.

Full biodiesel or a proportion?

Nope, not yet, but I've been tempted to try it in our car, it's an old Fiat that allways runs better in France where the Diesel has a high proportion of biodiesel in it. It has a mechanical injection system, don't know how the modern common rail electronic engines would fare.

Originally Posted by StuartDH

Ten years ago the transport guys in my Royal Engineers unit stuck 5 gallons of vegetable oil mix (probably about 20%) in a Land Rover and it worked fine. They only did it for half a day then stripped the engine down before someone found out

How did it turn out ?

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ne...ls-forest-cars

Originally Posted by StuartDH

As long as it doesn't stink too much, I'd have one tomorrow.

Lots of tales abound of cars run on old fish fryer oil leaving a trail of fishy odour behind them !, but that stuff need filtering and treatment (I thought you had to add a small amount of methanol, could be wrong). What's galling is it's cheaper to buy a regular cooking oil from Tesco's and put that in your tank. Google for "biodiesel", hundreds of returns, there is quite a cottage industry out there.

[StuartDH]

Either full or part biodiesel. I see that the forestry commission are running a couple on full, but most at less than 30%.

The Land Rover seemed to work fine. I remember watching them tear off into the local woods like Mr Toad in Wind in the Willows and then came back 20 mintues later looking like they'd just invented the motorcar

Come to think of it, they did put a little bit of something else in, which could have been methanol, but they also added a sprinkle of salt and pepper, so it wasn't exactly scientific

[henrya]

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire interviewed a chap a few weeks ago who was using recycled oil from a kebab shop. He filtered it, stewed it with something (maybe methanol, but I can't recall) and off he went. It was all above board as he was paying tax to C and E - he said he would have been given away by the distinctive smell from the exhaust. Big advantage - kebab shop owners have to pay to get the waste oil disposed of safely, so when he asked if he could have some, the shopman carried it round to his house for him, only too pleased to get rid of it.

henrya

[fbcpmike]

Originally Posted by StuartDH

The Land Rover seemed to work fine. I remember watching them tear off into the local woods like Mr Toad in Wind in the Willows and then came back 20 mintues later looking like they'd just invented the motorcar

Poop poop

A diesel engine should run on pretty much any oil type within reason, its the residues left behind in the engine / fuel system and the particulates in the exhaust that do the damage.

[Boddie]

We had a spate of this in Birmingham, cheaper than diesel but everyones cars stank of chips and I believe the police came down heavily on offenders

[nightshade]

I can remember supermarkets refusing to sell veggie oil after people were buying entire stocks up to fuel their cars

[nightshade]

in the village of Corston, near Bath, is Fields farm it uses no fossil fuels but burns flax from its linseed oil production

[henrya]

I heard a report on the wireless that C&E, in their wisdom, have said that biodiesel made from waste cooking oil is not (or no longer) eligible for tax discount, which seems likely to put those small firms making it out of business.

henrya

[Chris]

Originally Posted by StuDH

Has anyone had a go in one of these biodiesel cars that run on vegetable oil.

Ten years ago the transport guys in my Royal Engineers unit stuck 5 gallons of vegetable oil mix (probably about 20%) in a Land Rover and it worked fine. They only did it for half a day then stripped the engine down before someone found out

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ne...ls-forest-cars

As long as it doesn't stink too much, I'd have one tomorrow.

Hi,
With regard to biodiesel.Europe has been using it (in various percentages mix) for a number of years. There is a large plant at Motherwell in Glasgow (Argent Energy)that supplies a 5% blent to a number of outlets including Tesco. For people to make their own try www.bioking.co.uk The customs & Excise people have said that companies manufacturing biodiesel through a chemical process (transesterification) will be allowed a reduced tax(27.1 pence per litre). For people using straight vegetable oil then its 47.1 pence per litre. Hope this is of help?

Chris