Vegetable Oil ?????

soupy_sam · Post by **soupy_sam** » 11 May 2005, 23:33

When using Veg Oil is there a specific type that should be used?
I notice on some of the labels that they are a blend of sunflower and Rape seed, others say that they may contain nut oil.
Which should be used ???

CommY · Post by **CommY** » 11 May 2005, 23:52

Yes my Xantia has a nut allergy too, I wish they would label veggy oil properly. Very irritating!!

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 12 May 2005, 00:45

whats that the nut behind the wheel sorry commy,i had to get that one in before somoneels,i herd you can use second hand chip shop oil regards malcolm

stewart_c · Post by **stewart_c** » 12 May 2005, 01:03

I use costco's pure vegetable oil at half the price of diesel( £9 /20lts).If you are using old stuff then you should filter it to get the fatty acids etc.out before it goes into your system,and unless you have the time and a free source of used oil may be more bother than its worth.
I would like to use sunflower if I could get it,it could be like the HONDA DIESEL ENGINE ADD flying through colourful scenery (sorry I just had a non citroen dream there)

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 12 May 2005, 01:33

tut tut crindge crindge regards malcolm

JohnT · Post by **JohnT** » 12 May 2005, 01:58

I prefer beef dripping, its a bit difficult to spoon it down the fuel tank but it smells better and is OK on plain bread.

zorgman · Post by **zorgman** » 12 May 2005, 02:34

use veggie oil at a mix of 50/50 but make sure u got a bosch pump on car, should have no probs running it except the tickover will be slightly higher than normal and it smells oh does it smell i had to stop using it as the wife was nearly sick in car off the smell.

davek-uk · Post by **davek-uk** » 12 May 2005, 14:40

As has been said before ensure you have a bosch pump. And not a HDI...
When I did my month long test last October, I found rape seed veg oil to be the best as it's slightly runnier than veg oil made from other sources. To be honest, I didn't find much difference in performance between veg oil and diesel.
I did notice that when added seperately to the tank, veg oil and diesel didn't mix too well. At a 50/50 mix I had periods where the chippy smell was worst than others indicating a varying mix through the pump. Mixed seperately and then put into the tank I didn't notice a very different smell until somewhere around 70% veg oil.
The car started and ran fine until near neat veg oil where the car hunted a bit on starting in the cold mornings. Towards the end of my month trial I was running on (pretty well) neat veg oil and the car was fine except for a low idle when cold - and hunting slightly if the night had been chilly.
My other half didn't like the smell either. So now I get moaned at if I go too near the veg oil when out shopping!

drpau · Post by **drpau** » 12 May 2005, 15:15

What is it about the HDis that causes the problem? Is it down to the higher viscosity of the oil compared to diesel that causes probs to the pump?

capri_tzd · Post by **capri_tzd** » 12 May 2005, 15:30

How can I tell if I've got a Bosch fuel pump? And what would happen if I tried it on a non-Bosch pump?

Oscar Too · Post by **Oscar Too** » 12 May 2005, 19:23

It will say either CAV Lucas or Bosch on it when you have a look. Not being flippant, I had to ask myself the same question [:)]
Apparently if you run veg oil in a Lucas pump, it can dissolve the internal natural rubber seals. There is another school of thought though that says only biodiesel will do this, pure veggie oil won't. Certainly one or two members claim to have run veggie oil on lucas pumps successfully. The other thing to bear in mind is that it is illegal without various certificates and taxes, so you are liable to fining and losing your vehicle if found out.

capri_tzd · Post by **capri_tzd** » 12 May 2005, 23:28

Rockin, cheers for that [:)]

rory_perrett · Post by **rory_perrett** » 13 May 2005, 17:39

Oscar Too is quite right and I suspect that Customs and Excise will be out on the prowl looking for those filling up at Tesco rather than Texaco especially as more and more people are becoming aware that you can just stick neat veg oil in. Bet "old" cits will be top of the target list. However if you want to be legal decent and honest, with Derv pushing 90p/l we are past breakeven point. Veg oil from my local is 46p tax on bio diesel is 27.1p add on the VAT and its 85.9p/l. (I'm assuming that veg oil is counted as food and is therefore VAT exempt. Tell C&E you are using it as a fuel and I'm sure they will want the VAT on the 46p as well.) Its probably better than that, as 46p is buying individual litre bottles, go wholesale and its got to be less. OK 3 or 4p a litre isn't much for the hassle but if the difference becomes 10p or more I might just think about it. On the 4000 litres or so a year I buy that's 400 quid in my pocket which will cover the road tax and insurance nicely.
Oh yes and I can be all smug about being "environmental" as well.
Rory

j_roc · Post by **j_roc** » 13 May 2005, 21:28

Try ASDA. In South Wales a few years ago there was a crisis brewing where Taxi drivers and the general public was going into ASDA and completley depleating the veggie oil counter to put in they Xantia's, Mondeo's and Vectra's. Much cheaper than derv! Can you hear your back pocket go ching ching [:D] [:D]

ssray · Post by **ssray** » 14 May 2005, 01:46

generally the cheapest veg oil is rapeseed even if its not labled, the pump thing is the way bosch and lucas move the oil thru each pump, can`t rember the technical reason but lots of info out there.