ready to start veggie?

[deian]

Hi,

Erm, i'm kinda looking for the ok off you guys about the veggie oil idea.

I got a 25% of a tank of fuel and I bought 3 litres of rapeseed oil from somerfield for 2.19 (73p p L), not cheap really.

So I should be able to empty the whole bottle into the tank and have no problems right, as it's less than 50 50 mix at the moment. It it is a mechanical bosch 1.9td unit. Yay me.

I've read that rapeseed is the better oil, but what other veggie oils work? Sunflower oil is cheaper I think, will it work as well?

Does anyone get their oil from lidl or aldi, they are generally quite cheap and sell quality food, just wondering if their oils are as cheap too. Where do you guys get the cheapest oil?

Thanks again.

[XantiaMan]

Hi,

Erm, i'm kinda looking for the ok off you guys about the veggie oil idea.

I got a 25% of a tank of fuel and I bought 3 litres of rapeseed oil from somerfield for 2.19 (73p p L), not cheap really.

So I should be able to empty the whole bottle into the tank and have no problems right, as it's less than 50 50 mix at the moment. It it is a mechanical bosch 1.9td unit. Yay me.

I've read that rapeseed is the better oil, but what other veggie oils work? Sunflower oil is cheaper I think, will it work as well?

Does anyone get their oil from lidl or aldi, they are generally quite cheap and sell quality food, just wondering if their oils are as cheap too. Where do you guys get the cheapest oil?

Thanks again.

You'll have no problems with a small amount, the only difference you will notice is the smell, i'm running about 80% mix and the smell is strong but the car goes well on it.

Asda and Tesco sell 3 litres at £1.98 each, lidl oil (just buy the vegetable it will be 100% rapeseed) is 56p a litre at my local, i bought a box of 15 last time for £8.40, i will be buying some more soon and then adding £5 of diesel to thin it down a little.

[deian]

excellent, thanks for that, i'm going to start with small percentage and aim for 50 50, then see how it goes on that for a while, come next summer i will be looking to run 100% veggie minus the mods (hopefully).

i think a trip to lidl is called for, has any one ever had any checkout operator putting a limit on the amount of oil you can buy, or can you just walk in with a trolley and fill it up?

thanks

[Xaccers]

Tescos didn't even blink when I walked out with 48L worth

[deian]

of course... tesco are greedy, all the better for us though! shame my tesco is 18 miles away!

Oh, do i need to register with the tax man? I know we get 2500litre tax free, but do we need to still register, so he knows if we got over the limit?

[elma]

I'd say go for it. The cars seem to perform better on it as well.
I used 100% veg 2 summers ago happily.
Only warning, cos it happened to me, is monitor your oil. Not the level but the condition.
Mine would turn sludgy so I stopped using veg unless in the last 1000 miles before a service. I later was told here on the forum that this was due to reaction between the veg and the engine oils. Only happens if your piston rings aren't sealing properly though. In my case it meant the engine will die in a year.
I don't use it now as the wording of the law is unclear, but as soon as I've seen it tested in court I will use it again.
I know lots of you will link to the customs update but that is for bio fuel and veg oil is not bio fuel it is veg oil.

[KP]

Well I currently run a 95%+ SVO mix with BP Ultimate Diesel in 5litres of the tank to help thin things down as winter comes along and may move it upto 10% and maybe invest in a tigerloop as well but make sure the engine is in good nick as well and do it about 1000miles before your next service if possible as this will mean you can take out the gungy fuel filter as well as the veg will clean it out

I use Lidls best Corn Oil at 49p/litre so i bought up as much as possible and have a full tank which is about 70litres full and then 2tubs of KTC full of it and an old kitchen bin which is like another 35-40litres as well

[deian]

damn, just changed my fuel filter! they're only cheap anyway.

[howiedean]

Hi,

Erm, i'm kinda looking for the ok off you guys about the veggie oil idea.

I got a 25% of a tank of fuel and I bought 3 litres of rapeseed oil from somerfield for 2.19 (73p p L), not cheap really.


Thanks again.

If you look around you can buy proper biodiesel for around that price. There is also a place in rochdale selling WVO already filtered for 33ppl!!!
Whichever you decide to use it is always a good idea to change the filter after a few tankfuls. Another tip is to use an inline clear filter before the main fitler so that you can see what is being dragged through the system.

I never had any problems with the engine oil whilst using biofuel/veg oil in my previous Xantia 1.9 however the guys I purchased my oil from did on one of their vans. The oil sludged up and basically the engine threw a piston, when I asked about it they said that they had forgotton to change the oil and the mileage on the engine was 180,000 miles!!!!
regards

[deian]

Which reminds me, I need to do an oil change too!

[MikeT]

Doesn't biodiesel or WVO contain some really caustic nasty additives?

My advice would be read all you can first then make up your own mind. Personally, I can't find any clear evidence that it does or does not affect the pump seals, fuel lines, filters or engine oil.

But to be on the safer side, having run up to 100% SVO I do change my oil & filters far earlier than recommended for stop-start, intensive or short distance driving. Apart from unexplained gunk around the filler cap (prior to my taking ownership) and the slight fuel leak that began after I tweaked the fuel pump for more power, I can't say I've noticed any worrying issues in the last 4-5 thousand miles.

[Xaccers]

I know lots of you will link to the customs update but that is for bio fuel and veg oil is not bio fuel it is veg oil.

Veg is bio fuel, it's not biodiesel (although it could be if you paid to have it tested to see if it meets the fiscal definition of biodiesel, most veg oil should, it just hasn't been tested)

[elma]

I sort of agree with you, after all the diesel engine ran on peanut oil in its infancy.
However I cannot find any acknowledgement of this in the customs and excise pages and there is no peer reviewed scientific journal which gives the argument any support but many which don't.
As a person who will get thrown out of my profession (in which I'm only a learner) for the slightest offence I am of the opinion that it is not legal enough for me.

[elma]

I would like to add that this is something I still haven't entirely made up my mind about yet.
Its the wording of the customs paper which makes me weary.
It says something along the lines of a person may produce up to 3500litre of biofuel per annum and pay no tax.
The person must keep records of the size of the batches produced and when for inspection by hm customs... at any time.
There is no mention of reciepts for veg oil and there is a lot of writing about the processing of the oil. I get the impression that you must process the oil for this to be allowed
I think people have grossly misinterpreted the change in legislation and it could potentially cost them their car and a fine.
On the other hand I may be absolutely wrong and far to cautious.

I have started a thread on this subject before and I thought that it was inconclusive, very much depending on personal interpretation.
As I have a slow day tomorrow (first lecture at 14.10-15.00 followed by nothing else) I am going to dedicate the morning to speaking to someone at customs and finding this out for sure. If the answer is yes I can use veg oil I will begin to do so, after they send me a written, signed letter, which confirms that veg oil is included in biofuel and does not need to be processed.

Sorry for going on about this. I've given it a lot of thought over a long time and never really been happy with my answer. I'm not trying to quarrel with you xac so please don't be offended by this its not an argument with what you said its what I've been mulling over in my head since the legislation was changed.

[Xaccers]

Phone 0845 010 9000
I did and was informed that you could just pour veg oil into your tank.
By pouring it into your tank you are producing biofuel from a food substance (ie the oil).
Think of it like this, you have a 1L bottle of rapeseed oil in your kitchen.
At the moment, it has a multitude of uses, cooking, running your heating, running your car.
As soon as you run your heating or car off of it, it can only be biofuel as it can't be used for anything else, so you have "produced" biofuel.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/excise-duty/brief4307.htm

Those who declare that they expect to produce less will be deregistered and will not receive any further returns. We will refer to producers operating below the threshold as “exempt” producers. They must, however, contact us to enter their premises if they subsequently exceed 2,500 litres in a 12 month period, or if, at any time, they expect to exceed this amount within the next 12 months. Exempt producers are also required to keep simple production records (date of production and quantity produced, in litres) on an ongoing basis, and retain these for six years. Production levels should be checked at the end of each month. If they find that they need us to enter their premises, they should contact the HMRC National Advice Service on 0845 010 9000.

So file away your reciepts at the end of each month and keep them for 6 years, if it looks like you're going to go over the threshold, phone HMRC and ask them to come visit.