Running on veg oil

[georgemason]

Hi folks,

I know this sounds mad :rolleyes: but has anyone tried running their TDi motors on anything other than forecourt diesel? I just found this site: http://www.veggiepower.org.uk/vegoilcar.htm and it made me think.

Anything for a bit of fuel saving :p and it sounds quite eco-friendly too.

Cheers.

[jjsaul]

Theres a few people on here have considered / used it.

Try the search function with things like 'vegetable oil' or 'biodiesel'

:)

[mike tilley]

You do have to be a bit careful using straight vegetable oil (SVO) in direct injection engines as the injectors don't like it. Also SVO is quite a bit thicker than normal diesel which can mean extra stain on the fuel injection pump.

I tried small amounts in my 300Tdi mixed with normal diesel and had no problems apart from the smell....makes you feel hungry all the time :p My advice would be to research it thoroughly before trying.

[georgemason]

I tried small amounts in my 300Tdi mixed with normal diesel and had no problems apart from the smell....makes you feel hungry all the time :p My advice would be to research it thoroughly before trying.

I'm undertaking a long (2000 miles approx) journey across Europe in my 300TDi Disco in the next few months, hence the interest. I was thinking of maybe a 50% mix.

[mike tilley]

I never tried that much in my 90, the maximum I added was about 10 litres to a full tank, which I think worked out to be about 25%. I only did it on one or two occasions though as I was scared there may be some long term damage to my pump.

The real problem is the viscosity of SVO...it might not be so much of a problem if you're travelling somewhere warm or hot as the SVO will then be thinner.

[georgemason]

The real problem is the viscosity of SVO...it might not be so much of a problem if you're travelling somewhere warm or hot as the SVO will then be thinner.

Going from the UK to Greece, so I imagine by the time I get to northern Italy the temperature will have risen a few deg's! Is it the tank pump or the injector pump that's at risk? Or both:eek:?

[mike tilley]

Going from the UK to Greece, so I imagine by the time I get to northern Italy the temperature will have risen a few deg's! Is it the tank pump or the injector pump that's at risk? Or both:eek:?I would've said both but I would imagine that as the injection pump is a very precise bit of kit it would probably be somewhat more choosy about the fuel going through it. Having said that I'm no injection pump expert so I may be wrong.

Something else worth thinking about is that I've heard that SVO can be quite a good fuel tank cleaner, lifting all the crud and gunk from the bottom of your tank. Extra fuel filters might be a worthwhile investment. :)

[buzz]

Hi there,

Apparently mixing with Petro-diesel you won't come across problems.
Using SVO pure will require preheating the oil as has been mentioned because of viscosity.

Actualy the Diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oils, by Rudolf Diesel. He showed it to the world running on peanut oil!


Another set up that exists is using two fuel tanks, one for Diesel and one for SVO.
Starting and ending a trip on Petro-Diesel and in between using SVO. Thus the engine heat will provide the preheating of the oil.

I have been running my 300tdi now for around 4 months and just clocked 2200 miles on my own home brew Methyl-esters or as is commonly known "Biodiesel". I have had no problems what so-ever except that the fuel filter got glogged cos the Bio-diesel is a solvent and basically cleaned out the muck from the tank and ended up in the filter, apart from that no problems as yet..... ;)

[toiletduck]

Also don't forget to talk to your local kind money grabbing branch of the Inland Revenue, you have to pay tax on the fuel (still costs a good bit cheaper than Diesel) but if you get caught not having paid duty its going to cost you...

[HCR]

There will be no problem running a TDi on SVO providing that you heat the oil first. 50/50 is too thick a mixture to use without preheating.

Check out some of the links in my signature for more info.

H

[Millsy]

A chap in the local pub runs a old 110 2.5TD on SVO and it's the sweetest running old Landy diesel I've seen, and he says it is a huge improvement on economy and power. :)

[HCR]

A chap in the local pub runs a old 110 2.5TD on SVO and it's the sweetest running old Landy diesel I've seen, and he says it is a huge improvement on economy and power. :)


Do you know what set-up he is using?

[Millsy]

AFAIK he obtains it in drums from a firm in Southampton. During the winter he was running a 50/50 mix and was planning to increase the SVO intake as the weather got warmer. I should be seeing him this weekend so I'll get some more details and some pictures of the 110.

[HCR]

I'm a little curious - if it is SVO he could get it from a local chippy, there would be no need to transport it from Southampton. As the 2.5TD has a rotary fuel pump (AFAIK) I doubt this would last very long on an unheated 50/50 blend.

Could it be biodiesel?

H