Veg oil legal in the UK

[Chris Scott]

Or VAT free should I say. And about time too assuming I've got the right end of the stick.

Motoring News - - Fifth Gear

No need to look sheepish coming out of Macro for 30 gallons worth... or worry about the smell when you pass the rozzers.

(fyi my '95 Audi and '89 MAN run fine on a 50% mix outside of winter - as does a TLC 80).

Ch

Overlanders Handbook Website

[Bill Holland]

The stuff you get comercially has some adatives, but as Chris says 50/50 with regular diesel for summer use works well, I've used it in my tractors several times when I couldn't get red (untaxed in the UK for off-road use). I seem to think that vegetable oil from off the supermarket shelf has problems in winter with it turning to jelly at low temperatures.

Good to see the new regulations as vegetable oil from Tescos is only 40p litre.
Bill

[mattsavage]

Hallelujah! This is fantastic news.

I bet veg oil will shoot up in price over the next 6 months though!

So, where's the best place to buy 25L of veggie oil?!

Cheers,
Matt

[Dodger]

Get it free as waste oil from fish and chip shops and filter it through about 4 pairs of socks .Wrap the fuel line [ copper] around the exhaust pipe about half a dozen times to heat the fuel and make it less viscous .
Then plumb it into fuel line to injector pump with a tap to shut off the veg oil for starting and stopping .
The Lister generator guys have been doing this for years .

[moggy 1968]

how about extra virgin!!

seriously guys, are there any long term issues with this (fuel pump wear, injector clogging etc) or is this really a (almost) free lunch?)
TLC H60
mitsi L200

[Chris Scott]

are there any long term issues...

Depends on vehicles - they say older ones (20-30 yrs+?) with rubber not silicon seals in the fuel lines are less good and I imagine 'correct lifestyle' sensors on ultra modern tds might flip out. Who knows so I think the crux is to buy new oil (ie: clean) and use it mixed at around 50/50. More on a long summer run; less in winter. Your 60 - which has the better inline pump to modern cars I believe - will lap it up. I think I ran some in a 60 I had briefly last year, as well as a 2.4D Hilux. No probs in either (well the Hilux died prematurely in the desert...)
There is much less chance of damage than with say, Nigerian border fuel. It pays to oil right up only on longer 'hotter' runs and oil down round town I read.

On my old '95 tdi road car I had nothing to lose and initially it did feel odd pouring something other than diesel into the fuel tank. On the 6-litre n/a MAN I felt sure I could all but piss in it to keep it running, although a cold start at high % in Jan did asphyxiate the neighbourhood for a few mins. Try a few shots in the 60 - you'll be amazed at the unchanged or possibly even slightly improved performance. This is what Matt did on his 80, more and more until starting got ropey. It just shows what low-energy crap our 95p/L diesel really is!

To me the hassle and risk of Dodger's bodge is not worth the bother unless I drove much more in the UK. I imagine most of us are simply looking to run around at a price they do in most neighbouring countries so we can feel less shafted.

Ch

NB: I did not research this too much; just went for it so pls dont blame me if you wake up one morning and find your car covered in batter ;-)

[moggy 1968]

I have always supspected that I could run the H60 on anything, including pissing in the tank as long as I had done enough drinking the night before!! Not sure I would want to try this on a high pressure modern injection system though
I am a bit concerned as I live by the seaside, yesterday I was followed by a flock of seagulls, and this morning I woke up with a piece of cod on the bonnet )

[roamingyak]

I looked into this quite a bit last year. The obvious answer was that each engine/vehicle had it's own unique points to consider. My own 200 tdi would run ok on straight veggie oil, provided you heated it up before it went into the fuel injection pump.

It is too thick in it's natural state to lubricate the fuel injection pump which over time will lead to it wearing prematurely. A kit existed that would heat the oil before it went into the pump to solve this. From memory it was about £440. Or as above, perhaps wrap it around the exhaust, but you can't use this method to start or do short trips.

Many people also reported that they needed to change their fuel filters once or twice within the first 1,000km of use as the veggie oil seems to clean out the fuel lines quite well.

I've chucked in 20 litres with 40 litres of deisel and not noted any difference of any kind.

Whilst it pollutes less from memory, it's not going to save the planet unless you all want to stop eating meat and suffer from hay fever (in a nutshell from research) See this link for more:
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007...thal-solution/