Can you use vegetable oil as fuel?

[Barclaybasher]

Saw vegetable oil at 80p a litre, can it be used as fuel?

 

[chaser]

Saw vegetable oil at 80p a litre, can it be used as fuel?

needs mixing a bit but yeah thats what bio diesel is , used chip fat.

 

[DBK]

Yes but it needs processing. https://www.thoughtco.com/make-biodiesel-from-vegetable-oil-605975

The above describes one method but there are probably others.

 

[Garfields]

Yes in old type diesels pre electronic control
Wouldn't put it into a modern engine

 

[pappajohn]

Depends on a few things.
Some newer fuel pumps will be damaged by cooking oil.
Old mechanical injector pumps should be fine..

You can make your own fuel from old chip oil, if you can find any, but more than 1200 ltrs a year (I think) and you must register with HMRC and pay duty.

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[jockaneezer]

A lot of modern injector pumps can just cope with the 5% bio diesel that's in most derv these days, in higher percentages, I think wear is a problem.

 

[Barclaybasher]

Depends on a few things.
Some newer fuel pumps will be damaged by cooking oil.
Old mechanical injector pumps should be fine..
You can make your own fuel from old chip oil, if you can find any, but more than 1200 ltrs a year (I think) and you must register with HMRC and pay duty.

The vegetable oil is new, my Eriba has a 1991 2.5 litre non turbo engine (no electronics).

Could it be just mixed with regular diesel?

Thanks @DBK but I wouldn't go to the trouble of creating bio diesel unless it was simple

 

[John65]

Yes. Quite a few people i know buy cooking oil and tip it straight in their tank,BUT Only use in older diesels and be careful in winter it solidifies. It is surprising what older Diesel engines will run on. Only downside is people behind tend to not like the smell.

 

[pappajohn]

You mean like following a mobile fish N chip van.

 

[Steve N Tracy]

Not in anything Euro 3 upwards without serious modification.

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[ambulancekidd]

The vegetable oil is new, my Eriba has a 1991 2.5 litre non turbo engine (no electronics).

Could it be just mixed with regular diesel?

Thanks @DBK but I wouldn't go to the trouble of creating bio diesel unless it was simple

An engine from this era should cope easily with veg oil.

I used to run my older Discovery's (300 tdi engine) on full veg oil in summer & 50/50 mix in winter with no ill effects whatsoever.
In fact when I was using the Land Rover for towing I actually preferred veg oil.

Now for the legal bit, have a good browse on line for any tax implications which might affect your new fuel usage.

http://vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/introduction.html

 

[tacr2man]

Re tax if its private use you are unlikely to reach the threshold !
Dont use in any common rail diesel .
It works best in motors that work hard , as it can lead to gumming of valve stems etc .
Not good for winter use , even if using a diesel/petrol cocktail for thinning down .
First use has a purging effect , ie cleans outs system and moves it all into the filters .
Older diesels it helps with emission test , get lower readings .

 

[Wildbill]

The vegetable oil is new, my Eriba has a 1991 2.5 litre non turbo engine (no electronics).

Could it be just mixed with regular diesel?

Thanks @DBK but I wouldn't go to the trouble of creating bio diesel unless it was simple

Yes it will work fine in a td it'd engine but it's better mixed with diesel and from time to time a tank of diesel with a dubbil dose of engine injector cleaner
My old van loves the stuff
Bill

 

[gus-lopez]

The vegetable oil is new, my Eriba has a 1991 2.5 litre non turbo engine (no electronics).

Could it be just mixed with regular diesel?

Yes. If you also have a Bosch pump then even better .They love it.
It used to be quite common in the UK sunflower or vegetable oil to the extent that when makro/bookers ,etc, had it in in 25l drums people would buy it in bulk & pour it straight in.
This is why the price of these oils in the UK was increased to stop it. For many years now in the UK, it has only been now & then that you could obtain any type of veg oil cheaper than diesel at the pump.Last time I managed it was on a 2-4-1 in Tescos in 2014.
Aldi's here sell sunflower @90c I think it is . I use it on & off mixed.
Your Eriba should have no problem running on it mixed with diesel.
Just an aside & for info i was informed on a UK car forum I use where many run on home made bio & veg oil that it is an absolute no-no in France .Even for a foreigner. Ok if you are only running a small % but many ran 100% bio & it is like being in a fish shop. Apparently totally illegal there to use any form of it. Not that it would stop me
The old type mechanical pumps & original diesels were designed to run on anything.

 

[joe and sue]

Hi all,
Very interested in this, will my 2000 W reg Ducato 2.8 Jtdi be Ok on a 50 / 50 mix, please

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[Silver-Fox]

Older VW's loved the stuff.
You can generally run 3 fills of veg to one diesel.
The seals may leak a bit on the pump with veg oil hence one fill of diesel.

 

[Solar]

Anyone know the legalities for Portugal and Spain

 

[gus-lopez]

In Spain bio-diesel used to be sold at the pumps but you rarely see it these days.
From January 2013 if you made your own you were supposed to tax on it of 30c/litre I think it was ? .
You also occasionally see new artics emblazoned with the
" this truck runs on 100% recycled veg oil " so I don't think you'll have any problem here. Next door I have no idea ?

 

[MattR]

We used to run 50% veg oil during the summer and 25% in the winter for our Mazda Bongo. I stopped a couple of years ago when veg oil went up in price and fuel prices came down. I started again this summer but guess that the veg oil dislodged a load of crud in my engine - the fuel filter clogged up and the turbo valve got stuck open (or something like that). It cost around £200 to fix. I might start using it again but all of the savings I've made by using it were wiped out with one 50% fill-up of veg oil this summer.