bio fuel

[motopitcrew]

I have been told that it is now leagle to use cooking oil as fuel. however i was wondering if anyone knows how safe this is to use as a fuel, and do you need a aditive to protect the engine. or what exactly is the law on this thanks

[Rheghead]

I looked into it a couple of years ago now, it has always been legal so long as the road duty is paid on it. TBH, it sounds simple to do but it is a bit of a pallaver to carry out.

Firstly, you need a steady supply of cooking oil from chippers and pubs etc, most will be willing to give you it because they have to pay for disposal, but you will be running around picking up bulky containers which is a hassle.

Secondly, you will need to build a mixing vessel and need a little mechanical/welding know how to do it. There is plenty of designs out on the net. I also found that I had garage space problems inorder to store, lift, mix and dispense the fuel.

Thirdly, you will need a supply of chemicals. They aren't cheap, especially for up here and delivery charges etc.

Fourthly, you need to be confident about handling bulk chemicals in a domestic environment, eg fire , chemical burn, spill, poison risks. You will need speciallist fire extinguisher(foam/powder) and a bund to go around your vessel.

fifthly, you will need a car that you are confident can run on bio or even a mix. I doubted that mine could since it was brand new at the time and there were some warranty issues that mainly put me off.. You need to get it filtered well and a spare inline filter to catch the gunk.

Give it a go otherwise. Don't think you will save any money, just think of it as a wee idealistic hobby and you will be fine.

[thebigman]

Use cooking oil in my K Reg Frontera straight from the shops. Works out at 70p per litre so I good saving. Works for me up to 50% but will reduce that in the winter.

I wouldn't use the straight oil if vehicle has an engine management system.

You no longer have to keep records for the Revenue unless you're a business.

Only disadvatage, other than having to pour oil is is that I'm always hungry cos Fronty smells like a chip van :-)

[Riffman]

You no longer have to keep records for the Revenue unless you're a business.


I very much doubt the revenue agree with you about that.

[riggerboy]

I looked into it a couple of years ago now, it has always been legal so long as the road duty is paid on it. TBH, it sounds simple to do but it is a bit of a pallaver to carry out.

Firstly, you need a steady supply of cooking oil from chippers and pubs etc, most will be willing to give you it because they have to pay for disposal, but you will be running around picking up bulky containers which is a hassle.

Secondly, you will need to build a mixing vessel and need a little mechanical/welding know how to do it. There is plenty of designs out on the net. I also found that I had garage space problems inorder to store, lift, mix and dispense the fuel.

Thirdly, you will need a supply of chemicals. They aren't cheap, especially for up here and delivery charges etc.

Fourthly, you need to be confident about handling bulk chemicals in a domestic environment, eg fire , chemical burn, spill, poison risks. You will need speciallist fire extinguisher(foam/powder) and a bund to go around your vessel.

fifthly, you will need a car that you are confident can run on bio or even a mix. I doubted that mine could since it was brand new at the time and there were some warranty issues that mainly put me off.. You need to get it filtered well and a spare inline filter to catch the gunk.

Give it a go otherwise. Don't think you will save any money, just think of it as a wee idealistic hobby and you will be fine.

you dont need to pay duty on the used oil, as for running you car i have ran my jeep and van on it for some years with no problems at all, i just mixed it with 50/50 with diesel, never had problems

[bekisman]

Bit more info on regulations:

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD1_024771&propertyType=document (http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD1_024771&propertyType=document)

[Geo]

I very much doubt the revenue agree with you about that.

The regs changed this year I believe. You can use up to 2500 litres a year without having to declare it. I think they ask that you keep a simple record of it.

I've been thinking about using a 50/50 mix of diesel and vegetable oil, (Lidls seem the cheapest.) It's straightforward on older diesels but you can't do it on the newer common rail type from what I've read, so the likes of the Peugeot HDi is a no go.

There is a lot of very useful information on it here:
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=37078
http://www.ravenfamily.org/andyg/vegoil.htm

[riggerboy]

The regs changed this year I believe. You can use up to 2500 litres a year without having to declare it. I think they ask that you keep a simple record of it.

I've been thinking about using a 50/50 mix of diesel and vegetable oil, (Lidls seem the cheapest.) It's straightforward on older diesels but you can't do it on the newer common rail type from what I've read, so the likes of the Peugeot HDi is a no go.

There is a lot of very useful information on it here:
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=37078
http://www.ravenfamily.org/andyg/vegoil.htm

thats a bit of a con when they say you cant use it on newer diesels, i know of people who use it on a brand new (nothing changed on the engine) shogun 28 turbo runs as sweet as a nut, you have to remember that the diesel engine is a heavy oil burning unit, not just for the diesel we buy out of the pumps,

[Geo]

There may be exceptions but I've read a lot about it and the consensus is that you have to be careful with modern diesels.

[Riffman]

Just checked the website, you are right we can now produce up to 2500L without paying tax as long as you keep a record.

The general consensus is that older diesels work well on lightly refined biofuels like you make at home, whilst the more modern ones are more fussy.

[Dog-eared]

Vegetable oil.
There is a type of fuel pump fitted to some motors that can be damaged by veggie oil. Check a biofuel website to find out.
You can run 50% in summer and 30% in winter without any probs.
Adding a little white spirit helps.
100% veg oil needs to be preheated to achieve the same viscosity ,therefore spray pattern at the injectors, as diesel.
Remember, bio fuel is recycled used veggie oil and needs lots of processing to be safe to use.
Veggie oil comes straight off your supermarket shelf at 49p per litre.
Check the calorific value on the label - some are 874K/joules, most are 900K/Joules.
1 litre bottles are cheaper per 100ml as the supermarkets have cottoned on ages ago, but the 1li tre bottles are easy to scoosh out with a good squeeze!

[corgiman]

We got stuck behnd a car for miles last weekend and it stank of chip fat or something and my eyes were nipping with it. Now after reading this post it makes more sense to me it probably was cooking oil it was running on.