Chip fat

andromeda

andromeda

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My daughters response to my costings for a trip out in the van based on 20miles to the gallon at £2 a litre; ' Yeah we'll figure out how to use chip fat'.
Polite thoughts please
 
It depends on the engine. I used to run my 1995 Mitsubishi Pajero on 25% SVO (straight vegetable oil) until the price of vegetable oil got close to that of mineral diesel. A company called "Goat Industries" used to maintain a 'howto' website, including a database of diesel-powered vehicles and their suitability to run on both SVO and biodiesel. The website is still up (http://vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/) but the database appears to now be disconnected from the site and so is of limited usefulness. A lot of early 1990s and before diesels can be run on either -- but note that you should add a fuel heater and purge tank (so that neat SVO can be preheated and the vehicle started and shut down on regular diesel fuel) if you are to use SVO at more than about 25%.
 
andromeda said:
My daughters response to my costings for a trip out in the van based on 20miles to the gallon at £2 a litre; ' Yeah we'll figure out how to use chip fat'.
Polite thoughts please
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Polite thoughts ..... "when did you get a mobile chip van?" Well, that is the comments I used to get when I ran my VW T4 on veg oil. DIdn't care as any smells were behind me :)

As said, depends on vehicle.
An engine with a Common Rail engine (so anything reasonably modern) would be a big no-no.
My 2000/W Reg VW T4 ran perfectly on Veg Oil without any adjustment to anything. I would buy cases of 100% Pure Rapeseed Oil from Bookers C&C and fill up.
SVO vs WVO (you may have seen those terms?). SVO = Standard (i.e. NEW) Vegetable Oil. WVO = Waste (e.g. Chip Fat) Vegetable Oil. WVO MUST be filtered before use very well. Scrappings are a lot bigger than a fuel hose! Some people filter using pairs of old tights and the like. I just stuck to SVO.
Seasons. No worries in the Summer. In the Winter, Veg oil thickens up so much it won't flow. I used to use 100% SVO in summer, 50/50 mix Veg Oil and Diesel spring and autumn, 100% Diesel in Winter. I have a neighbour who used veg oil all year round... his pickup had to be collected on a low loader to the pipes cleaned out. I bet his fuel savings got wiped out! you can fit heaters as mentioned, but starting to get into extra complexities and costs - is the fuel saving enough to warrant it?
Rubber! depending on the fuel pump fitted it, the seals could disintegrate with Veg Oil. with the T4s, there were two official brands of pump, Bosch and (I think) Lucas. Bosch was fine, Lucas was a big no-no. I also had to replace the fuel filter on a more frequent basis (veg oil is a much cleaner fuel than diesel and tends to actually clean the fuel tank and dislodge years old gunk that then gets caught in the filter)

End of the day, if I still had a vehicle (such as that T4) that would run on Veg oil, I would absolutely be doing so :)
 
When I was in Romania over winter they put a couple of litres of petrol in with a tank full of derv in the mid 90's
 
I used to get the old cooking oil from a cafe ,free!!. Strain it through a cloth and mix it 40/60 with diesel in winter 60/40 in summer never had an issue. Well other than the smell like a chip shop if you were behind me. Don't even dream of it if your vehicle has a DPF fitted.
 
False economy. You will spend more on engine repairs that what you save ..just my opinion.
Based on people that I know who went down that path.
 
Mr and Mrs Tupcox said:
False economy. You will spend more on engine repairs that what you save ..just my opinion.
Based on people that I know who went down that path.
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I think it depends on the engine and ancillaries. As I wrote upthread, I ran my old Pajero 2.8 on an SVO/diesel mix for years without any issues. When the car eventually went to the scrapyard, it was the auto transmission and the dreaded rust worm, not the engine, that let it down. However, my car was one of the last 4M40Ts with mechanical fuel injection -- and many before me were already running on SVO.
Edited to correct typos
 
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GeoffL said:
I think it depends on the engine and ancillaries. As I wrote upthread, I ran my old Pajero 2.8 on an SVO/diesel mix for years on without any issues. When the car eventually eventually went to the scrapyard, it was the auto transmission and the dreaded rust worm, not the engine, that let it down. However, my car was one of the last 4M40Ts with mechanical fuel injection -- and many before me were already running on SVO.
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I would agree. Back to my T4 from year 2000, when you opened the filler cap it actually had a factory label saying "Biodiesel/Diesel" (or something very similar) so ready for that kind of option.
 
Probably another Oppy stoopid question, but, will our 1997 Ducato based 'van run on a mix of derv and veg oil? it's an old school engine with a proper injector pump
 
wildebus said:
NOTE: this is NOT ANY kind of recommendation, purely a link for the curious to get an idea of options ......
www.elsbett.com

Fiat-Ducato (1982-1994) - conversion kit- SVO/WVO/PPO

www.elsbett.com www.elsbett.com
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I agree -- and would only provide a link on the same basis. However, @oppy asked about a '97 Ducato, and the kit Elsbett sell for that is https://www.elsbett.com/epages/6310...4/Products/42100222/SubProducts/42100222-0001
Also, it should be born in mind that not all Ducatos of that era are even Fiat on the inside. For example, the chassis cab on which my van is built is actually an Iveco made in Brazil but fitted with Fiat body panels and badges. Even if @oppy's van is a dyed-in-the-wool Sevel, there's still a whole raft of differences between even vans built in the same week and Fiat/Citroen/Peugeot seem to fit whatever is in the stockroom at the time -- and personal experience with a 2001 Citroen Dispatch tells me that the sometimes don't even record the correct item in the build record...
 
Yup. I have mentioned my VW T4 a few times.... but it still took me around a year after considering the idea to pluck up the courage to actually tip veg oil down its fuel filler neck! And that followed loads of research to make sure I was not going to break anything! Everyone has to be happy with their own decision and not rely on random internet folk :)
 
I read once, and I don’t know if this is correct or wishful thinking, that some vehicles in Brazil were run on the waste from sugar refining and as they passed by you got a smell of candy floss.

Even if not true it always painted a pleasing picture in my mind.

Davy
 
Hi All,

Used to run my Mazda Bongo 2.5d, auto, using a mix of veg oil, bulk buy packs of 4 from Asda, and mix it with about 2/3rds derv.

Ran well, smelt nice, to others following me!

Cheers

Boots
 
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