lucas diesel pump Vrs waste veg oil

tzd · Post by **tzd** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 4:53 pm

Hi everybody it looks like I have a Lucas diesel pump on my bx tzd can I use waste veg oil or not ? or will I risk knackering my pump?

cheers Kev

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:36 pm

In short, Yes and Yes.

Mothman · Post by **Mothman** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:09 pm

Surely the answer is no and yes!!

tzd · Post by **tzd** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:18 pm

i've heard that you can only do it with a bosch pump ?

Mothman · Post by **Mothman** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:23 pm

I think you are right bud,

last year i put loads of veg oil onto my N/A diesel with its Bosch fuel pump and apart from a chip fat smell from the exhaust she went very well on it. I gather with a CAV, the rubber gaskets fail so dont consider it if this is the case.

Andy

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:24 pm

No, you CAN do it with the CAV pump but it just won't last as long as the Bosch.

So, Yes you can, but No you shouldn't

Hence, Yes you can and Yes you will risk knackering it up.

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:33 pm

Although, i'd really have to ask: Why bother?

My lucas pumped turbo used to do 58-63mpg, wheras this Bosch n/a struggles to better 50mpg.

For the sake of the time you'd spend filtering & seperating 20 litres of veg and the possible issues i really don't see the point when you have a car happily capable of 13p a mile

The nations veg oil obsession has ramped up the cost of my chips and helped the manufacturers quadruple their profits in 3 years.

themildbunch · Post by **themildbunch** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:36 pm

I ran our td on bio diesel for 6months with no obvious problems but after reading a lot and some advice I went back to regular diesel and the Lucas is still going strong... I do have a spare though...

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:27 pm

I much prefer the Lucas, it's much less thirsty than the Bosch which i've spent 3 weeks tuning to economical perfection and it's still barely bettering 50mpg (unless you sit at a constant 50mph when you'll get 55mpg and bored stiff).

I could get loads of free used veg from the kitchens at work but can't be bothered. I suppose if i had a garage or shed i'd set up a very simple filtering/seperating system so i could just throw it in one end and come back a couple of days later and decant it into the car, but... pah...

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:29 pm

Unless there is a massive shortage of diesel or the cost of buying diesel outstrips buying petrol the refined chip fat approach is one thats also on the back burner for me.

Compared to the petrol I have found the diesel more economical and cost effective without having to resort to chip fat and expensive fuel pump overhauls.

Maybe if I had a few spare fuel pumps I would risk it but until that day comes I think it makes more economic sense to stick with standard diesel.

Mothman · Post by **Mothman** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 10:43 pm

Ive put plenty of veg oil through my Bosch fuel pump with no problems but only when the price was right so dont be afraid to do it. Wont hurt it at all.

Andy

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:09 pm

Ok I'll bite

So when the price is right how good is the fuel consumption on veg oil compared to Diesel?

Does the cost then per mile work out cheaper on veg oil?

smiffy1071 · Post by **smiffy1071** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 2:59 am

I've just bought annother BX TZD turbo, which has been run on chip fat.

This car has been sat for ages, and to be honest, I don't trust it because I've heard too many horror stories of what it does to the fuel pump, so the first thing I will do before using it, is to replace the engine!!!

I'll be sticking with regular diesel thanks!

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 1:44 pm

kiwi wrote:Ok I'll bite

So when the price is right how good is the fuel consumption on veg oil compared to Diesel?

Does the cost then per mile work out cheaper on veg oil?

I've heard talk that the economy is only slightly affected, about -10%.

Cost would depend on where you get the oil. In the UK we used to be able to buy 3lt of veg from supermarkets for around 80p a litre but in the last 3 years that's now up to around £1.35 almost entirely due to the use in cars and the greed of the manufacturers cashing in on it (yes, a small part is due to increased transport costs). Whereas only a small minority use it for cars, everyone has to pay the inflated price so they're really coining it in!

That can go straight in your tank diluted with diesel.

If you're using old oil then it'll either be free or you'll pay the kitchens whatever you agree, but you'll have to process it. A very simple system can be knocked up with northing more than a large clear vessel (such as a dustbin or brewers vat), a few easily obtainable plastic taps and a couple of other odds & sods costing no more than £30-£50.

xac · Post by **xac** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 5:57 pm

kiwi wrote:Ok I'll bite

So when the price is right how good is the fuel consumption on veg oil compared to Diesel?

Does the cost then per mile work out cheaper on veg oil?

I run Cassy on SVO which currently is 90ppl.
On a trip up to Whitby and back, with 4 adults, a Labrador and a roof box doing 56mph all the way I got 42mpg.
So with SVO it's about the same as diesel.