Veg oil ?

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Veg oil ?

Post by froggy »

Hi, I currently spend around £65.00 a week on Diesel, with my 1997 Xantia T.D. Iam considering running on Veg oil from the supermarkets . Anybody know what sort of savings I might make. cheers Terry.
P.S. probably silly question, but, will this spoil the running of my beloved Xantia? thanks .
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Post by Xaccers »

Your savings will be DIESEL PPL - SVO PPL
:D

Most likely it will run smoother.
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Post by imperial21 »

I have run my old xantia on veg which it ran fine on but more long term is the seals in the diesel pump which will deteriate due to veg oil, I think it hardens them ? but people on here suggest having a spare pump to swap over with. Dont get me wrong i think veg is good, Just warning you of long term problems I know of !
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Post by Peter.N. »

OK providing you can repair the pump yourself - if not could be expensive.

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Post by Xaccers »

Even if you just swap the pump for another old on it should last at least 2 years on average so that's £10 a year.
To have an indi fit it you're only looking at a couple of hours labour (could combine it with a cam belt change).
At today's prices of ktc v diesel you're saving more than enough to cover the costs. Even better if you use waste.
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Post by redzzed »

better make sure you have a bosche fuel pump first of all .
Sometimes asdas/tesco/sains do an offer of 3 ltrs for £2:95 or something similar otherwise svo isnt much cheaper , perhaps a cash and carry would be .

The art is to get waste veg oil and get it filtered and use that .
The filtered waste oil i am using (when i can get it) is filtered to 5 micron .
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veg oil long term problem?

Post by jgra1 »

Sorry to highjack Froggys post..
As some of you know, I have been running on WVO (waste veg oil) for the last 2-3 years (?50,000 miles) trouble free..

Just recently the EM light has been coming on all too often.. As I understand it, normally this is due to low fuel pressure, caused by a blocked filter....

the problem now is I am getting the light every two weeks.. it's getting expensive in filters, and I am not doing many miles..

the last filter was swapped after 13 months, but I have just done 3 in about 6 weeks, (but was away for two of those weeks)

question...
is the injection pump struggling finally to draw the fuel, and the filter blocking is a kind of red herring? i.e. the filter is only partialy blocking but the pump gives in?

The supplier tells me no one else has had a problem, and for what it's worth I am on the last 2 barrels of a 10 barrel stash... I guess it is possible the whole batch was not good, but I have only just started getting issues... I have used this chap for most of the last 2 years...

I suppose mayby the tank pick up filter needs a clean, which would not help.. this hasn't been done for a while..

But, is the pump loosing efficiency? ...

sorry for the highjack

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Post by Gibbo2286 »

Maybe you're jumping to the wrong conclusion, the EM light may be coming on because of some fault not associated with your fuel.
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Post by jgra1 »

Maybe Gibbo, but I just know the symptoms too well really..

Less throttle will extinguish the light, and the filter change removes it completely..

I crawled to work this morning avoiding the pedal as best as possible, and will change the filter again at lunchtime, the car will be fine for another week or so...

dunno, just wanted an idea on whether now I really need to get inside the pump...
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Post by Xaccers »

Is it still revving well over 3K or does it feel like fuel starvation?
Could be air ingress, tank strainer blocked, return line blocked.
You did 13 months on a filter??? :shock:
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Post by CitroJim »

Hi John,

Before getting right inside the pump there are three things to check after excluding any possible air ingress and the strainer...

The transfer pressure regulator valve. This device occupies the spot opposite the fuel inlet banjo on the top of the pump and looks like a blanking plug. Undo it with a 10mm spanner and give it a good clean in solvent. Carefully press the base of the plunger with a small pin punch and make sure the plunger is free to move in its bore against its spring. I've sen them stick open on pumps that have had long usage with 'exotic' fuels due to gum deposits.

The return line banjo. This has a very small calibrated hole in it. Check it is fully clear.

The timing valve. This looks like a fuel injector under the pump and has a fine wire mesh basket filter on the end of it. It is possible this is a a bit gummy. Sadly, to get the injector out it is necessary to de-armour the pump even though it looks accessible. With armour on you can't withdraw it fully.

It is unlikely the lift pump has worn (I've never seen a worn one) but it is remotely possible. That's a full pump strip job though.

Finally, remember the filter element is a one micron filter and it won't take a lot of impurities in the WVO to plug it.
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Post by jgra1 »

hmm thanks both..

Xac.. sorry maybe my post was not clear..

I did 13 months on a filter without any issues.. but started getting the EM light and decided to change it..
this was beginning of June...

I was amazed the old filter did so well :twisted:
however, last week (about 300 miles since the change) I got stuck on the A27 with the usual starvation symptoms, ot my surprise.. and this time I had no spare filter.. (Jim will remember my first experience of this happening!)
I Had no option but to try and scrape between the leaves of the filter, and then got myself to the nearest Halfords and put a new one in.. all was fine again until yesterday.. now exactly the same symptoms and problem.. I have to drive very carefully, hills bring on the light and the power drops.. after a while, even running on flat ground stops the car.. i ahve made it to work and will put another filter in, and I know the car will be right again for a while..

I did some thinking.. maybe it is a bad batch of oil... it does tie in quite well..

Jim thanks will read your post in a sec..
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Post by jgra1 »

the filter looked pretty dark... and that is about 11 days...
car running fine again..
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Post by Xaccers »

jgra1 wrote:the filter looked pretty dark... and that is about 11 days...
car running fine again..
Sign of heavy particulates in the fuel then.
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Post by jgra1 »

hmm...

I may take a snap of it..although I expect you can guess what a dark brown 11 day old filter looks like.. :D


just checking back through my emails.. I brought oil on 14th April.. and then again last week (although have not started using that stuff)
So there was 6 weeks or more of driving on the oil, (about 150-200l) and then all the problems with the last 50l.. in the last few weeks..

i wonder if can test the oil someway? (I still have one more barrel at home)
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