Vegetable oil in a diesel

[megah0]

Anyone tried this?

My dad has decided he wants to use it in his 3.0l merc.

Are there any disadvantages to using it, any major or minor reason he might want to steer clear?

[unrealrocks]

Well I've only read a few things about it - seems to work ... you need to put a small amount of solvent (white spirits is best IIRC) to keep the mix more fluidy.

[TeePee]

Remember you MUST register with inland revenue and pay tax on vegetable oil used as a fuel. It's not much, something in the order of 12p a litre as I recall. Not worth the pain of not paying. Oh, and if you are recycling fuel from a restaurant, filtering is a good idea .

[Nox]

hmmm, bung it into google, i seem to remember there was one car manufacturer that didn't need either pre warming or a solvent, and merc seems about right (wasn't a 4x4 manufacturer)

Nox

[Tumble]

the biggest downside of course is that your posh Merc will smell like a common chipshop......

[Swafe]

yeaah filter the stuff first otherwise ( if you get it free from the local chippy) youll have some people chasing you for cod and chips

[TeePee]

There are many websites with good advice. This: http://www.vegoilmotoring.com/ may get you started...

[RVF500]

I just read the veg-oil link above. Just goes to show how much the govt will tax a product to keep hitting the cash cow that is the motorist even though by converting to vegatable oil on a huge scale, existing fuel stocks would have their life extended. British farmers would finally be able to grow and sell a crop as opposed to letting their fields lie fallow as a result of EU directives. Oh, and the environment would be the better for it. But then, the govt makes a lot of money out of the oil industry so why would they want to let anyone put a dent in that.

So much for environmentally friendly govt. Also so much for the oil companies looking for cleaner fuels. It's there right under their noses (especially if they stand at the back of a converted car). But then, they don't own the farms so they won't be too eager to let this one take off.

Still, its worth a look. Anything that would free the world from the grip of the oil companies gets my vote. That and the fact that you could always slip in the odd litre of contraband from your local Tesco without telling HM customs and excise. Even so, the tax on veggie oil is still less than its mineral counterpart. Wonder how long that would be the case if it ever came into widespread use?

I particularly like the idea of flavoured oils. Kind of aromatherapy for the road.

[megah0]

There are many websites with good advice. This: http://www.vegoilmotoring.com/ may get you started...

Thanks, will give that a good read through