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Author Topic: Car Fuel  (Read 7112 times)

Offline Darren

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Car Fuel
« on: January 14, 2009, 09:46:39 PM »
From a BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/cookingoil.shtml

""Is running a car on pure vegetable oil legal? Doesn't the government
levy tax on fuel?"

It's all perfectly above board, and there's no tax to pay unless you
use more than 2,500 litres a year (enough to take you about 20,000
miles). Hang on to your receipts in case you're ever asked to prove
you haven't exceeded the limit."


I used to do this around 7yrs ago, collected waste veg oil from local Kebab shop, filtered it though a bed sheet into a large bin that had a tap about 1/4 the way up (so remaining crud could settle below)
I ran a car on this neat with no added diesel for two years with no probs at all. Traveled all over the country.

Why did I stop? I found out that at the time it wasn't strictly legal and peeps were getting done for it. It seems the law may have changed now so maybe worth another look?

« Last Edit: January 14, 2009, 10:07:28 PM by Darren »
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Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2009, 10:36:03 PM »
There a kits you can get to convert diesels here to run on veggie oil. Grease cars!

Not sure what is involved in doing that. I started to look into it... maybe I should again. Been thinking of an electric commuter when I didn't have to drive as far to work. Maybe biodiesel is something else to consider.

How hard was it to get your car to run on veggie oil?


Eric
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Offline Darren

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2009, 10:42:56 PM »
Kit...!!!

Don't be silly....I just stuck it in

No conversion needed, nothing, not even an adjustment. I still see the car about sometimes as I sold it to a friend.

What you want is a pug engine with a heated fuel filter, mine was a Citroen ZX.

I panicked a bit in the winter mind, hard to start but fine once you got the chill off the engine. Diesels pump more fuel to the engine than they need, so some returns back to the tank and warms that a touch too.

It ran great, in fact it was smoother with cooking oil with less of the diesel knocking noise.
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Offline Bernd

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2009, 10:45:50 PM »
Eric,

You need quite a bit of veggie oil. There are presses you can buy to make your own. The only thing you'll need will be several hundred acres of sunflower seeds. Then you'll need to plant and till that field, harvest it, turn it into bio-diesel using some chemicals.You would be further behind then ahead.

Just do a Google on Bio diesel. let me know what you find when we meet at Cabin Fever.  :D

Bernd
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Offline Darren

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2009, 10:50:02 PM »
Guys,

Biodiesel is a smoke screen, designed to make you pay, inc taxes

My car ran on neat used cooking oil simply gravity filtered, and not that finely either. Two years as I said and not a spot of bother with the engine. I was doing about 40,000 miles a yr back then. Oil supply was not a problem. Shops where happy for you to take it away for free, otherwise they had to pay to dispose of it.

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Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2009, 10:52:28 PM »
Ahhh.

Looked at the link for the kits that I remember seeing. It has a heated tank and filtering equipment. Should be easy to do on my own!

LINK HERE

Eric


Now to find a small diesel to stick in a trike frame....
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Offline Darren

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2009, 10:57:36 PM »
22mm copper water pipe, short length say 8", 15mm adapters on each end, connect in fuel line.

Wrap 10mm microbore around it and feed coolant fluid through this to heat the oil/fuel.
Veg oil or diesel will be fine with this set-up

Or find a car with a heated fuel filter fitted as standard, many have this. Peugeot engined cars and most volvos I believe.
Not sure what you will find in the US but you have colder areas there than here so there should be plenty to choose from.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2009, 11:00:35 PM by Darren »
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Offline Brass_Machine

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2009, 11:04:59 PM »
Not a lot of Peugeots here. Volvos yes... not sure about the diesel models. VW has one here.

Eric
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Offline Darren

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2009, 11:54:29 PM »
You prob already know this but I'll put it up for those that don't

The diesel engine was invented before before diesel was around. The fuel was named after the engine it was refined for.

Dr. Rudolph Diesel invented the engine and designed it to run on peanut oil, al la vegetable oil. Realistically the engine has changed little in design since and so it follows that it will run on vegetable oil quite happily.

Beware though, this does not apply to the latest breed of high pressure diesel engines. There is a theory about that these have been designed for the petroleum companies to keep a hold on their dominance with fuel oils over veggi trends. Aided and abetted by the more powerful governments. Lets face it, the two are almost the same.
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bogstandard

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2009, 05:26:35 AM »
Very early industrial diesels could also run on powdered coal. So out with the pickaxes lads.


Bogs
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Offline Bernd

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2009, 10:08:26 AM »
Quote from: bogstandard on January 15, 2009, 05:26:35 AM
Very early industrial diesels could also run on powdered coal. So out with the pickaxes lads.


Bogs

I've always wonder if you could take powdered coal and burn it in a Tesla Turbine?

You could make your own crusher.

Bernd
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Baldrocker

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Re: Car Fuel
« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2009, 07:09:59 PM »
Quote
Aided and abetted by the more powerful governments. Lets face it, the two are almost the same.

Nah, Oil companies are  much more powerful. They must be to get away with the crap they pull.
BR
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