Diesel PRices

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 10 Apr 2010, 21:22

I'm back in Cassy so I can use veg

You make an excellent point Martin, and when you think about what is involved in making 1L of fuel and getting it to a car's tank, the price, even with tax, the price is really low.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 10 Apr 2010, 21:30

Much as I dislike fuel price increases, especially as I'm a pensioner

I must agree with Martin. When I had my first car in 1956 petrol was 5/- a gallon (25p in monopoly money) I was earning £5.00 per week as a TV engineer, so my total wages would buy 20 gallons of petrol - compare that with now.

Peter

Xaccers · Post by **Xaccers** » 11 Apr 2010, 00:24

superloopy1 wrote:
Xac wrote:I'm back in Cassy so I can use veg

You make an excellent point Martin, and when you think about what is involved in making 1L of fuel and getting it to a car's tank, the price, even with tax, the price is really low.
Xac, what's the mpg like running on veg, similar ie 45-47, or less?

Same as on derv, although I did get 5mph more top speed out of Cassy one night on the M3 running on veg

mark21td · Post by **mark21td** » 11 Apr 2010, 02:30

I'm soooooo glad I make my own bio-diesel, I get a nice worm feeling every time I drive past a TAX station and see the price.
My fuel costs me a whopping 7p per liter + my time to make it.
Full tank of bio for £4.55

boristhespie · Post by **boristhespie** » 11 Apr 2010, 13:17

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Biodiesel

could moidern engines run on recycled fat diesel?

I was trying to see a machine which makes it which costs around £2500 and which I saw on the telly.

Also while petrol was cheaper back when so it was the case that work was generally nearby. I have to spend huge amount of my wages getting to and from work 65 miles away.

Post by **myglaren** » 11 Apr 2010, 14:07

Perceived wisdom is that HDi's don't like it.

I ran mine quite happily on fully processed biodiesel for around six months with no ill effects that I am aware of but then the bio was as expensive as diesel so they stopped supplying it.

It may benefit you to consider a Xantia Turbo D or perhaps a 306 D-Turbo to travel to work in as these will happily burn easy to get raw vegetable oil (Mazola) which would be a considerable saving if you are doing high mileages - Xac, among others, will attest to that.

From what I have read then it would seem that rapeseed oil is the one to use above all others but it all depends on what you can get and how much it costs - look into local supplies before making any precipitous decisions.
You might be able to sweet talk a restaurant owner into letting you buy through them rather than buying in 1 or 2 litre bottles, at a more reasonable price.

If you use more than 2,499 Litres a year then you are supposed to declare it to HM Customs and pay duty on it like other fuel, but how will they ever know?

mark21td · Post by **mark21td** » 11 Apr 2010, 21:56

boristhespie wrote:http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Biodiesel

could moidern engines run on recycled fat diesel?

I was trying to see a machine which makes it which costs around £2500 and which I saw on the telly.

Also while petrol was cheaper back when so it was the case that work was generally nearby. I have to spend huge amount of my wages getting to and from work 65 miles away.

Do NOT buy any of the "off the shelf" bio prosessors, you can easly build one that is far safer and a lot ceaper (well under £500) with a little time and effort.

HDI's will run on bio made from waste oil as long as it's well made bio,
it's not that hard to make but is time consumeing.

For more info visit vegetableoildiesel.co.uk
For prosessor disgn google Graham Laming biodiesel to get a rough idea and the ask questions on the veg forum.

WARNING bio makeing can be addictive.

Old-Guy · Post by **Old-Guy** » 11 Apr 2010, 23:10

Peter.N. wrote:When I had my first car in 1956 petrol was 5/- a gallon (25p in monopoly money) I was earning £5.00 per week as a TV engineer, so my total wages would buy 20 gallons of petrol - compare that with now.
Peter

When I had my first car in 1970, petrol was 4/11d a gallon and I was earning about £15 per week, so fuel prices haven't stayed the same in real terms. In the UK, well over 3/4 of the pump price is TAX. The reason for rising fuel prices in the UK is that crude oil is priced in US$, while the £'s value was steadily falling against every major currency in the world, so was the price of crude. Recently the price of crude steadied and then started to rise - unlike the £ which has carried on sinking!

Just like last year, as soon as the weather starts to get warm, fuel prices start climbing - so we'll be driving around in a chip van again even though the price of veg oil has risen noticeably (that falling £), 90p/L is a lot cheaper than 120p+. Last year I found that the ideal mix seemed to be 75% veg 25% Shell (quite smelly enough, but the Shell kept pre-ignition under control without tinkering with the timing).

mark21td · Post by **mark21td** » 11 Apr 2010, 23:54

Running veg oil will show up any engine/fuel system problems that you wont notice with diesel,
so if your engine/fuel system is in good condition veg is no problem.
I would say that if you were haveing preignition/pinking/diesel knock that your injectors need looking at or your timing is to far advanced.

Julz · Post by **Julz** » 13 Apr 2010, 08:23

Xac wrote:
oxtailsoup wrote:Can you put sunflower/veg oil straight into your tank? Diesel of course
Yes as long as you have a bosch pump (ie 1.9TD Xantia)
HDi's and Lucas cannot cope with veg.

If you have an HDI is it possible to mix any veg oil in with the diesel?
Cost me £75 to fill up yesterday 62lts @ £1.199

mark21td · Post by **mark21td** » 13 Apr 2010, 09:00

Julz wrote:
Xac wrote:
oxtailsoup wrote:Can you put sunflower/veg oil straight into your tank? Diesel of course
Yes as long as you have a bosch pump (ie 1.9TD Xantia)
HDi's and Lucas cannot cope with veg.
If you have an HDI is it possible to mix any veg oil in with the diesel?
Cost me £75 to fill up yesterday 62lts @ £1.199

A quick ansser is NO, you run a big risk of doing major damage to the HP pump, some will say it can be done if you twin tank it and only run on the veg when the engine is hot, but it is not a good idea to risk it.

Bio diesel is the only real option for an HDI, and then it has to be well made.

Post by **Peter.N.** » 13 Apr 2010, 11:03

The problem is that unless you do your own repairs the cost of repairing/replacing the fuel pump will probably be more that you save in fuel.

Peter

Post by **Peter.N.** » 13 Apr 2010, 11:09

Old-Guy wrote:
Peter.N. wrote:When I had my first car in 1956 petrol was 5/- a gallon (25p in monopoly money) I was earning £5.00 per week as a TV engineer, so my total wages would buy 20 gallons of petrol - compare that with now.
Peter
When I had my first car in 1970, petrol was 4/11d a gallon and I was earning about £15 per week, so fuel prices haven't stayed the same in real terms. In the UK, well over 3/4 of the pump price is TAX. The reason for rising fuel prices in the UK is that crude oil is priced in US$, while the £'s value was steadily falling against every major currency in the world, so was the price of crude. Recently the price of crude steadied and then started to rise - unlike the £ which has carried on sinking!

Just like last year, as soon as the weather starts to get warm, fuel prices start climbing - so we'll be driving around in a chip van again even though the price of veg oil has risen noticeably (that falling £), 90p/L is a lot cheaper than 120p+. Last year I found that the ideal mix seemed to be 75% veg 25% Shell (quite smelly enough, but the Shell kept pre-ignition under control without tinkering with the timing).

The fact of the matter of course was that not many people could afford cars then, I was a TV engineer which at that time was a well paid job, if you saw a teenager driving a car in the '50s the chances were that he was a TV engineer, it was partly the relative drop in the cost of fuel that increased the number of car owners.

Peter

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 13 Apr 2010, 12:57

My 2.1 td 1991 H Manual has just done 250 miles on 30 quid @ 1.23ppl!

Thats 45 mpg ish, maybee 44, but thats 4 more miles to a gallon then the Xantia!!

Im quite impressed with that, and not pincy enough to risk the fuel system with Veggie, mind you, she has Lucas, which is noo good for that anyway.

Paul

seisporting · Post by **seisporting** » 13 Apr 2010, 13:13

C5 Averaging 57.4MPG at the minute.
Not bad as it doesnt get an easy life...