Still in shock

[madrat]

Just filled up the car with Diesel for the first time in ages. It was practically empty and cast me £75.83 40p of that went on the floor that was 129.9p per liter. I'm trying to find out about using bio diesel but you can not get a defiant answerer from anyone as to whether your car will run on it or not.

[MrBen5]

Hmmm, i heard that some guy has designed a vehicle that runs on manure. It can reach a top speed of 35 mph.

[pitw]

not expert on bio fuels but belive most diesel cars will run on bio fuel as diesel engines were originally designed to run on almost anything.came across this which looks cool and may help you and others save a few quid
.cant post link because my post count is to low but it can be found @
yorkshiregreenfuels with co dot uk on the end.

[wod]

yes i think diesel cars can run on biodiesel or fuel made from vegetable oil

its is mad the prices of fuel i don't have a car but going to the garage for just a few litres for my lawn mower and that costs like 9 quid

maybe we should all drive tractors or whatever as i think red diesel is cheaper but i doubt very much

[fj1200]

Originally Posted by madrat

Just filled up the car with Diesel for the first time in ages. It was practically empty and cast me £75.83 40p of that went on the floor that was 129.9p per liter. I'm trying to find out about using bio diesel but you can not get a defiant answerer from anyone as to whether your car will run on it or not.

If you've a Merc or Volvo diesel they'll pretty much run on anything specially the older ones. Otherwise you're looking at exspenive modifications. Forget about it if you've got a common rail system as used in Toyotas.
Its amazing to think that the UK has all that North Sea oil yet you pay more at the pumps than practically anywhere in Europe. Its roughly £0.15 a litre cheaper here in Ireland for diesel.

[breezybadger]

Here's the facts:

Almost any diesel (some modern engines are designed for some silly ratio like 5% Bio!!!) WILL run on Biodiesel manufactured from Vegetable oils, these can be pure oils or waste oils (chip shop, restaurant, takeaway etc.), the latter is better as it is recycling at it's best, using waste oil that normally just goes into landfill. Just fill up & go, but keep a spare fuel filter handy as after 200-300 mile it will clog up with the waxy deposits that the Biodiesel has cleaned out of the fuel tank & lines as it is a solvent...

But, make sure your car has PLASTIC fuel lines as just like the Dino diesel the solvent action of the BioD will eat the rubber pipes and end up with your hard earned cash pouring out of your tank!!!

See here for your local Biodiesel filling station:
http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/

Some Diesel engines will run on vegetable oils, again waste or pure, filtered and dried, but, some diesel engines will not due to Common rail injector technologies and some fuel pumps (mostly Lucas rotary pumps) just not being strong enough to pump the thicker oil. Using this often requires a TwinTank system, where you start and shut down on DinoDiesel but run on Vege oil, if you didn't then the engine would struggle to start from cold. Or, you can use a pre-heater in the tank (some older (think 1980's!!) Peugeots have this as standard) to thin out the oil before use. Usually waste oil is the cheapest to use (but not the worst) as most oil-using food outlets will just give it away, but with the trend of people moving away from diesel, some places are charging for their waste oil, some are reasonable (10-15p/L) but others are trying it on by charging near Dino prices, just walk away from these places!!! As far as I know, VWs, Marcs and other "VAG " cars will run happily on Veg oil with little alteration needed, where as others like fords & vauxhalls will not run on it for long before they break down, run those on Biodiesel instead.

Hope this helps, and hope your car soon smells like a mobile chippy...

[madrat]

OK I have Fiat Marea JTD105 with common rail injection. any idea?

[breezybadger]

Originally Posted by madrat

OK I have Fiat Marea JTD105 with common rail injection. any idea?

Biodiesel should be ok, check with Fiat first though as to what they say about Biodiesel in their engines, and of course, keep a spare fuel filter in the boot...

[Robbo]

Hmmm,

How much is a litre of cooking oil from Sainbury's these days?

[fj1200]

Originally Posted by madrat

OK I have Fiat Marea JTD105 with common rail injection. any idea?

Once the bio fuel you use meets EN14214 specs you should have no problems. Otherwise you run the risk of oxidising with common rail systems. As said elsewhere you will need to change the fuel filter after the first couple of fills as bio is an excellent solvent. Most post 1992 diesel vehicles use plastic hoses on the fuel systems. Pre 1992 use rubber which would have to be changed.