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        General >> Give/Need advice to/from others >> ccoking oil
        
(Message started by: bobtheyop on Apr 19^th, 2006, 7:38am)

Title: ccoking oil
Post by bobtheyop on Apr 19^th, 2006, 7:38am

hello gang,

anybody out there using cooking oil to power a diesel?
just wondering if this is a cheaper fuel to use as my missus wants a new car,and i'm thinking diesel,

cheers,
bob. :)

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by martin_rowe on Apr 19^th, 2006, 8:43am

most diesels will run on fresh cooking oil, but its not 'road fuel' get caught & you may loose the car, plus costs as the powers that be decide how much back duty you have to pay, not to mention having to buy 25l drums from the local s/market, if they think you are having too much they will bar you also.

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by JohnJ on Apr 19^th, 2006, 9:04am

Cooking oil is thicker then diesel and will block fuel filters if it gets slightly cold, also the pump will seize as the proper lubrication is not present so the pump will fail, there are kits out there to convert normal pump engines but not sure about the new common rail high pressure fuel systems, which consist of a fuel line heater that thins down the oil and make it more combustible under pressure or something.
Not to mention it is Illegal, customs and excise will take your car if you do not pay them the difference, so at the moment there is no direct benefit to your pocket, its good for the environment but unfortunately not good for Gordon and his purse.

Title: Re: cooking oil
Post by bobtheyop on Apr 19^th, 2006, 9:24am

ok,thanks chaps. :)

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by mazzy_j on Apr 19^th, 2006, 10:11am

JohnJ is 99% right about running on cooking oil except that cooking oils generally have better lubricataing properties than ordinary diesel. Some people actually recommend adding a small bit amount of oil into a full tank to aid lubricating the injector pump on the old skool mechanically controlled diesels.

I run my diesel on a mix of sunflower oil (thinner and more power than veg oil) with 20-30% petrol added to thin it out and make life easier for the injector pump.

If your're looking for a good a car to run on oil then i'd recommend the 1.8td versions of either the older Escort or the Mondy. Whatever car you use make sure it has a Bosch pump as they seem to be a bit more tolerant then others. The VM engine fitted to the Scorpio (and others) is actually supposedly the best engine to use cooking oil with 8)

At the current derv prices even after the lovely people at C&E have taken their wedge it still ends up cheaper than running on 100% diesel, plus its better for the environment :)

You can even buy tax paid biodiesel on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BIODIESEL-25-LITRES_W0QQitemZ9511066100QQcategoryZ26261QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Matt

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by mr._floppy on Apr 19^th, 2006, 12:35pm

Talking of diesel, maybe someone will know, what business do you have to be in to qualify for the subidised "Red" deisel ?

The bloke opposite does paint jobs on Artics and trailers so he has a few shunting lorries and tractors that never leave his pound, however he gets large quantities of diesel deliveried to a large holding tank and proceeds to fill up his and his wife's 4x4 BMW's.

I'm convinced he's on the fiddle :(

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by Baw_Flinger on Apr 19^th, 2006, 1:32pm

Military are one.... Didnt know civies could get that stuff??

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by mazzy_j on Apr 19^th, 2006, 1:56pm

Agricultural use is another...

'The bloke opposite' may actually have normal diesel being delivered to him save him constantly going down to the petrol station with a jerry can to fill up the lorries ;)

EDIT: Lol! Just found this: http://deadbrain.co.uk/news/article_2005_10_21_0146.php

Matt

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by JohnJ on Apr 19^th, 2006, 2:09pm

You are not supposed to use red diesel in cars or lorries, it is used (according to Gordon) only on Tractors, Fork lifts, Generators, Diggers, and boats.

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by lonesomecajun on Apr 19^th, 2006, 2:58pm

A friend of mine has been running his motor on filtered oil which he gets for FREE from a local restaurant.

He has been using this for a few years now and says that his motor actually runs better on this than it ever did on pump diesel.

Apparently there are a huge number of people doing it and the only problem you're likely to have is on cold days when the oil gets really thick - hence heater kits are available which warm it up, I believe certain cars already have these as standard anyway. Or you just mix it with either pump diesel to thin it or add a very small amount of white spirit.

Hmmm £5 a gallon or a few pence a gallon - Tough Choice....

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by martin_rowe on Apr 19^th, 2006, 3:31pm

red diesel / central heating oil / cooking oil will all run in a diesel car, big problem when you are caught / reported as you have not paid road duty, could mean a stay in the hotel, thats after car is confescated, oh and they will make best guess on how much back duty you will have to pay.

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by sector-9 on Apr 19^th, 2006, 9:55pm

Red diesel is legal everywhere except the road! It's often used by farmers for their tractors, boat owners for their engines and contractors for their generators - but if they dip your car's tank and find it in there you've had it.

FWIW I did a web search yesterday for diesel pump adjustment and it came up with somewhere that did testing of veg oil compared to diesel. Apparently, although the top end wear was about the same as using diesel fuel, the piston rings and pump were significantly more worn Uprated injection equipment can be fitted which is made to handle veg oil, but the price of this would probably not be worth it for the average Scorpio - and you still have to pay the tax or risk a spell inside...

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by JohnJ on Apr 20^th, 2006, 8:28am

The new tDCi engines cant handle Veggy Oil, I read somewhere and damage that can be caused can lead into thousands, well a couple maybe. But if fuel prices keep going up everyone will be on the red stuff and what is the Customs going to do then, conviscate every diesel car. It is terrible that the Government not only British but Irish to are looking at road fuel as a viable profit making buisness.

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by martin_rowe on Apr 20^th, 2006, 8:33am

better off having a petrol engine & converting to lpg. and its legal.

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by Daven on Apr 20^th, 2006, 8:37am

So is it illegal to fit the veggy oil where with all or is it just illegal to use it to run a car on the public highway?

Reason I ask is I watched a documentary about a guy doing an old farm up - he converted an old Citron to run on veggy oil but didn't mention about it being used on the PH!

Seems crazy that Taxes get in the way environmental issues! :-/

Dave

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by mazzy_j on Apr 20^th, 2006, 9:31am

Its perfectly legal to run your car on veggie on the road as long as you pay the tax, which at the moment stands at 27.1 pence per litre for biodiesel and 47.1pence for clean cooking oil.
To register you need the form ex103 which you can pick up from a customs office, takes a while though and they can get very questioning about the composition of the stuff you want to make.

As for studies into using veggie oil, most seem to contradict each other about long term effects of using cooking oil. Taxi drivers in Germany who have been using the stuff for years and clock up 10's of thousands of miles without any probs.

The standard injection set up on mine handles it ok so there wouldn't be much need of converting anything, a DIY kit shouldn't cost more than about £150-200 which is cheaper than an lpg conversion.

Matt

Title: Re: ccoking oil
Post by Daven on Apr 21^st, 2006, 12:47pm

Thanks Matt - interesting thread!

Dave