Can it make a difference?

[johnbird]

i ran a diesel pajero-shogun import on veg oil for a long time.veg oil was half the cost of diesel then and it made financial sense.
i disconnected the time relays from the glow plugs and fitted a push to work switch from maplins in the lower dash panel. this allows you to give the glow plugs a longer heat when using veg oil in the winter. i experimented with several additives including turps,parrifin,unleaded and acetone . the best one i discovered and the pajero forum in te main all agreed was unleaded petrol at around five percent.
i added the unleaded to the 20 litre drum of veg oil and left to marinate for five days in the garage. after that time the oil is considerably thinner and less gloopy. in the summer i ran the pajero on eighty five percent veg oil and some people were using a higher concentration.
in winter fifty or sixty percent was more realistic.
the engine ran smoother and felt powerful.it needed less oil changes as the oil kept noticably cleaner.
i cant think of a single problem veg oil created.you should change your fuel filter soon after starting to use veg oil as it loosens up crud in the system.i always used the cheapest new veg oil the cash and carry had.you can add curry oil to make the car smell like an indian restaurant if that sort of thing amuses you.by the time i sold the pajero veg oil was getting expensive and i didnt need seven seats anymore and 300 miles a week was too much hastle in it. it was running just fine though.
i know that some engines run better on veg oil than others.most old mercedes oil burners run fine on it,im pretty sure all the big 4x4s are ok.it is better if the engine isnt running multi point fuel injection.newer renaults wont tolerate it im told.
the best way i found was to start with half a tank of diesel and add ten percent veg oil.if its ok add twenty percent next time. by the time the experiment was finished i was around 80/90 percent with no problem. its not a precise science,more suck it and see.the cost of veg oil is already high though so im not sure its still viable when you add your time fetching it and marinating it-the adding petrol really works-if you use parrifin or turpentine you run the risk of getting your tank dipped and a non duty paid fuel being found in the tank,wheras unleaded is already duty paid. i think 2,500 litres per year is the max you can use privately before you become eligible for duty. when i used veg you had to register as a bio-fuel producer and keep records and pay monthly duty on the one-wink wink-litre of fuel you produced and used a month.nobody ever checked and the cheque for pennies was sent and all was legal if bizzare. i got a letter last year de-registering me from the scheme which bought back memories.

[RxBX]

Depends how cheap it is .............................
Another tip is to use sunflower oil if using it during the cooler months of the year, the viscocity is better in lower temps, downside is that its gone up in price quite a lot, so again i only buy some when its on offer.

Hi Matt !
Have you been to ASDA recently ?

One litre pack's 72p of sunflower/vegetable oil in-store or on line @ ASDA or even just a good price for normal cooking as spotted on HOTUKDEALS !



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[MULLEY]

Nice one

[RxBX]

Nice one

Matt I think you need a shopping trip to Asda, (unless you get them to deliver you a pallet load via their on-line shopping service)

As I was shopping in Asda today and noticed that a 2 litre bottle of 'Crisp 'n Dry' vegetable oil is on offer for only £2 !



Click on photo for link

100% rapeseed oil Naturally high in Omega 3 Suitable for vegetarians Vegetable oil. Cooks your food to perfection.

No mention of suitability for Bosch Diesel Pumps



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[michaelr]

I add my vote for veg oil too. It works wonders for cleaning the system and seems to quieten it too. I have found in a Mitsubishi diesel even 2% helps. The great joy of adding cooking oil is that for every litre added you save a litre of diesel !!

The downside as mentioned earlier is that it does such a good job of cleaning that clogged filters are common at first.

However, if your diesel already has a percentage of BioDiesel added I suspect that there is no need to add anything else... BioDiesel also has cleaning and lubricating properties.

[kiwi]

While in the supermarket the other week I did the maths on off the shelf vegatable oil to supplement diesel! The costs came back as nearly double compared to just using Diesel here in NZ

Why because Diesel is not taxed at the pump and we pay a Road User Charge on the miles we drive our diesels. Running on veg oil cant esscape those charges!

[BX Bandit]

I'm like Defender, never used veg oil and nor shall I. Citro Jim has pulled a few bosch pumps apart that have been run on veg and there were alot of varnish like deposits that had set hard. I'm sure he could shed more light on it.
I also don't touch super marker fuel, but this has been discussed ad nauseum already.

[Defender110]

. Total false economy IMHO. The forums are full of car/MPV/4x4 owners who have faced expensive injection pump / fuel system repairs all with the common factor of using alternate or low quality fuels.

[Way2go]

Citro Jim has pulled a few bosch pumps apart that have been run on veg and there were alot of varnish like deposits that had set hard. I'm sure he could shed more light on it.

This sounds a very real risk. Just cooking with the stuff on the hob results in a sticky deposition surrounding this activity which requires some elbow grease to shift & clean. Vegetable oil is bad enough but the sunflower oil sets like a varnish that even a steam cleaner can't shift - chemical cleaners only!

Surely the diesel doesn't react like this to heating? (I'm not going to test it on the hob though! )

[MULLEY]

I've used it regularly but infrequently with no issues to date, but i only ever use new veg oil rather than used veg oil, the latter does cause more problems. Its usually the pump seals that go eventually, but i've taken the view that my car is 20years old, the pump is the same age, am i really speeding up the process of it going pop one day, possibly, but it might go pop due to its age anyway & i've got a spare stashed away if it happens, so i'm quite happy to save anywhere between 40-50p a litre & use veg when its on offer. Car feels more responsive, less emissions & the smell of chips, its all ftw imho But i can understand the reservations behind using it though & i wouldn't use it on my Lucas TZD Turbo, just my Bosch N/A TXD.

[saintjamesy89]

So can the Lucas not cope with veg oil? I've never considered it really (due to having petrols up until now), the only diesels i've come across before the TXD was mums TD5 disco and Steve's new Kia Rio, bot not veg oil compatible I would imagine!

I've had thoughts of swapping over to a Bosch, potentially rebuilding one (slowly, so I can see what happens/how it works etc) for tweaking max fuel and stuff That is if the TXD is staying longer term.

[MULLEY]

The lucas pump seems to have more issues with dealing with veg oil than bosch, but both will eventually fail at some point, the lucas one will do so quicker though.

[Paul296]

All vegetable oils are drying oils - I use them as a medium for oil paint as they are far purer than (so called) refined linseed oil. All of them dry with a very hard impermeable surface and I wouldn't like them doing that inside my fuel pump!

[RxBX]

One for Mulley here (As the 'Crisp and Dry' offer has finished)

Asda now have on a Roll-back which works out the same (£1/litre) :-

3 litre - Vegetable Oil Was £4.15 now £3 !



3 litre - Sunflower Oil was £4.55 now £3



Or if you prefer a larger size they have 'KTC' @ £15 for 15 litres on offer too !



Click on photo for links

There you are Matt, treat the 'Ole Gal' to good tanking up for the Bank holiday break !



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[Tim Leech]

I would never use cooking oil, if you can't afford to run a 20 year old BX diesel that get a push bike!!