VEGOIL as fuel

A bit off topic: The clip on the side of the oil sump that holds the pipe from the turbo to the intercooler is a poor design. Every A2 TDI I have seen this clip has failed. Resultant movement of the said pipe rubbing against the failed plastic clip can wear a hole in the aluminium pipe and leak boost. I didn't think plastic would wear away aluminium but I can promise you it can.

Trevor

Appreciate the advise - certainly noticed it when poking around, though mine is held up by zip ties now - the bracket seems long gone but pipe is still sound. Need to get around to checking intercooler as i am quite sure i am loosing boost somewhere on mine and pretty sure it is intercooler - just really don't want to take the bumper off :D
 
Appreciate the advise - certainly noticed it when poking around, though mine is held up by zip ties now - the bracket seems long gone but pipe is still sound. Need to get around to checking intercooler as i am quite sure i am loosing boost somewhere on mine and pretty sure it is intercooler - just really don't want to take the bumper off :D

But you know that are going to


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Ah, remapped ECU's. I've tried veg on a remapped ECU and it smoked quite a lot so I took the remap off, then it was fine. I've often thought and questioned......... If it is possible to get extra power and economy from a manufacturers engine then why doesn't the manufacturer map them to achieve this. After all with better bhp, 0-60 and MPG figures they would sell more cars. The most common reason I've heard as well as emissions legislation and marketing slot are redundancy. Manufacturers have to account for environments in other countries your car is never likely to experience including -20C, +50C, poor servicing, substandard fuel. Remaps take advantage of this by narrowing the required operating window to extract better performance. For example I had a BMW 530D which I remapped and it was much better for it, until I took it on a skiing trip and drove it at high altitude where it was absolutely rubbish, barely got up the mountain. Back down the mountain and it was fine again. Obviously Veg oil, even when it is hot, is substandard fuel and as such the narrower window that a remap exploits might not be conducive to clean burning.

I'm not scare mongering here saying it will instantly break your engine or tosh like that. As from my experience, the most likely immediate outcome will probably be more smoke than you are comfortable with when you boot it. Over a longer period excess smoke will likely clog up the variable vanes on the TDI90's turbo.

When installing your kit use every method you can to get that veg as hot as possible:

keep the path from the heat exchanger to the tandem pump as short as possible.

Insulate the filter, heat exchanger and hot fuel lines.

If/when you are confident you will not run the car on neat diesel again you could even bypass the fuel cooler.



Adding about 20% diesel to your veg will likely improve matters, especially for the MOT.
Let me know how it runs on veg with the map, hopefully all will be well.

Trevor
Hi Trevor,

thanks for the information. I've not had a chance to install the twin tank kit yet, annoyingly. a series of other car issues getting in the way. i'm hoping i'll get some time in the new year to get it installed. I've also noticed the price of the second hand electric car I was hoping to by is creeping up, by about 2k in the last year. this is making the single tanking a more likely route for the second a2 i'm going to convert to run on veg. What would be the cost of a single tank elsbett kit if i installed it? Are you able to get hold of one and reprogram the ecu? I'd be converting a tdi75 to single tank veg. cheers nod.
 
I don't seem to see veg oil for sale at any filling stations? :) So just where DO you buy it and at what cost? I'm always interested in things like this ! It is possible to add LPG to a diesel fueled car. I think that it can be added up to 35% of the fuel input. It would be a saving but isn't really financially viable. However, that hasn't stopped me before! So tell me how I'd obtain the veg oil?

David
 
I don't seem to see veg oil for sale at any filling stations? :) So just where DO you buy it and at what cost? I'm always interested in things like this ! It is possible to add LPG to a diesel fueled car. I think that it can be added up to 35% of the fuel input. It would be a saving but isn't really financially viable. However, that hasn't stopped me before! So tell me how I'd obtain the veg oil?

David
Hi David it can be obtained from recyclers who collect, filter and resell used oil. If you're lucky someone in your area does this, just google veg oil recycling. If not you can bulk buy it. If you have room in your garage / a garage a 1000 litre tank of rapeseed oil costs around £800 delivered. If you read posts from September in this thread you'll see one supplier. I'm not interested in gas as my main motivation is reducing carbon footprint. Cheers
 
I don't seem to see veg oil for sale at any filling stations? :) So just where DO you buy it and at what cost? I'm always interested in things like this ! It is possible to add LPG to a diesel fueled car. I think that it can be added up to 35% of the fuel input. It would be a saving but isn't really financially viable. However, that hasn't stopped me before! So tell me how I'd obtain the veg oil?

David
Otherwise David - places like Costco or wholesalers for the catering trade (most of the places I've seen suitable 5 or 10-litre containers are bigger Asian shops & cash and carrys) - even Tesco if they're doing a deal on a specific pack-size - drums of rapeseed or generic veg cooking oil are down around the 80-90p per litre price if you want to try it on the scale of a part tank rather than a full tonne container of it. Obviously there are various recycling places that have oil from chip shops probably cheaper still, but you always run the risk that unless they are guaranteeing how it has been cleaned you run the risk of getting bits of batter in your injectors (!). Good luck - will be interested to hear your opinion as a professional with significant expertise in the fuel trade (I am discussing this with my brother who has an older Peugeot diesel that would probably run on a few % veg oil pretty well).
 
Hi Trevor,

thanks for the information. I've not had a chance to install the twin tank kit yet, annoyingly. a series of other car issues getting in the way. i'm hoping i'll get some time in the new year to get it installed. I've also noticed the price of the second hand electric car I was hoping to by is creeping up, by about 2k in the last year. this is making the single tanking a more likely route for the second a2 i'm going to convert to run on veg. What would be the cost of a single tank elsbett kit if i installed it? Are you able to get hold of one and reprogram the ecu? I'd be converting a tdi75 to single tank veg. cheers nod.
[/QUOTE]

Nod,

I've PM'd you
I don't seem to see veg oil for sale at any filling stations? :) So just where DO you buy it and at what cost? I'm always interested in things like this ! It is possible to add LPG to a diesel fueled car. I think that it can be added up to 35% of the fuel input. It would be a saving but isn't really financially viable. However, that hasn't stopped me before! So tell me how I'd obtain the veg oil?

David

David,

Running SVO / WVO is not something you can do without any extra hassle. I think it needs to be a hobby as well as a cost saving exercise. You will need 4500 mile oil services and more frequent fuel filter services and for the most cost effective WVO (40p/L) you will have fuel collection and filtering hassle. I have found several reliable suppliers in my area over the years but finding a good reliable supplier of good quality WVO can take a bit of trial and error. I have gone through 4 or 5 suppliers from Ebay before finding a good one. I currently have 2 suppliers that I now consider friends, one for about 11 years and one for about 6 years. You are right to point out that reliability of fuel supply is an issue. I always have my 1000L IBC about 600L full which gives me about 7500 miles of driving to find another supply should I get let down. In the event that the WVO supply completely dries up you can still run on diesel but it is recommended to isolate the hydraulic heat exchanger.

If you or a family member runs a chip shop and waste oil is free then payback could be as low as 11k miles.

I also looked at running LPG with diesel. Set up right, I believe it gives you more power, more economy and cleaner burn but given you are burning both fuels at the same time, the cost saving is marginal. Good for HGV maybe.
 
I don't seem to see veg oil for sale at any filling stations? :) So just where DO you buy it and at what cost? I'm always interested in things like this ! It is possible to add LPG to a diesel fueled car. I think that it can be added up to 35% of the fuel input. It would be a saving but isn't really financially viable. However, that hasn't stopped me before! So tell me how I'd obtain the veg oil?

David
David,

Running SVO / WVO is not something you can do without any extra hassle. I think it needs to be a hobby as well as a cost saving exercise. You will need 4500 mile oil services and more frequent fuel filter services and for the most cost effective WVO (40p/L) you will have fuel collection and filtering hassle. I have found several reliable suppliers in my area over the years but finding a good reliable supplier of good quality WVO can take a bit of trial and error. I have gone through 4 or 5 suppliers from Ebay before finding a good one. I currently have 2 suppliers that I now consider friends, one for about 11 years and one for about 6 years. You are right to point out that reliability of fuel supply is an issue. I always have my 1000L IBC about 600L full which gives me about 7500 miles of driving to find another supply should I get let down. In the event that the WVO supply completely dries up you can still run on diesel but it is recommended to isolate the hydraulic heat exchanger.

If you or a family member runs a chip shop and waste oil is free then payback could be as low as 11k miles.

I also looked at running LPG with diesel. Set up right, I believe it gives you more power, more economy and cleaner burn but given you are burning both fuels at the same time, the cost saving is marginal. Good for HGV maybe.
 
I don't seem to see veg oil for sale at any filling stations? :) So just where DO you buy it and at what cost? I'm always interested in things like this ! It is possible to add LPG to a diesel fueled car. I think that it can be added up to 35% of the fuel input. It would be a saving but isn't really financially viable. However, that hasn't stopped me before! So tell me how I'd obtain the veg oil?

David
UK behind much of Europe on SVO and especially new HVO gen2 Biofuel made from waste. See NESTE who are also working on renewable Jet fuel.
 
I don't seem to see veg oil for sale at any filling stations? :) So just where DO you buy it and at what cost? I'm always interested in things like this ! It is possible to add LPG to a diesel fueled car. I think that it can be added up to 35% of the fuel input. It would be a saving but isn't really financially viable. However, that hasn't stopped me before! So tell me how I'd obtain the veg oil?

David

Hi David

For yourself - the best place to get it would be asda or Tesco in the 5l varierty (sunflower or rapeseed oil) - I know Tesco is £4.50 per 5 litres = 90p a litre at the moment - I would put 4 containers in and top of with diesel in my car - maybe you can start of with 3 to a tank as its a bit colder? Theres no point in going the lpg route - you will never get your money back - might as well just mix with SVO (straight veg oil) which doesn't need filtering or anything - just out straight in the tank and save 40p per litre!

KR

Kaz
 
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