Veg oil burner ?

[219]

I've just been offered a late ( V Reg ) W124 E250D , which is one of the Indian built ones after production ceased in Europe .

This is a manual car with the OM602 normally aspirated engine , just under 100K on the clock and has been SORN for the past year or so since the one elderly owner gave up driving .

My friend who discovered it didn't have the cash to buy it , so I jumped in given the chance .

The idea is that this will make a good , cheap runaround to use back and forward to work , and I'll keep my other cars for the weekend . I know that the 250 is no ball of fire , but if I can get mid to high 30's mpg , and maybe run it on veg oil , it should drastically reduce my motoring costs .

To those who already run cars on veg oil - I presume that this car will run on the stuff ? I know that regular filter changes are essential and that sticking some proper Diesel in every so often will help .

I presume that by buying bulk veg oil from Costco etc there is no need to strain the stuff and it can just go straight in the tank ?

Any more tips from those in the know ?

 

[mattc]

Cue Silversaloon!

 

[219]

D'oh

I forgot Derek runs his on the stuff !

I'll ask him .

 

[ecossebev]

Derek and Olivier come into the counter and always insist on aftermarket Guttman fuel filters as the others clog very easily (especially the Bosch filters). Derek normally buys about 6 at a time and l normally have to e-mail all the other branches asking if they have Guttman filters in stock. I think Derek changes the filters every 4,000 miles.

 

[flango]

You lucky man I hope you snapped his hand off Lovely car and hope I get to see it at one of your GTG's sometime

 

[219]

Indeed I did - as soon as I heard about it I agreed to buy it unseen ! At the price I've agreed it can hardly go wrong , either as a daily driver for myself or for SWMBO .

It does need a few minor jobs done : suspension bushes , brake pads , new battery and back box ( or possibly a weld ) but nothing too drastic .

 

[flango]

Great buy Derek really pleased for you and bushes etc can easily be sorted, sounds a really nice car

 

[219]

It is going to be a couple of weeks before I will manage to go and collect it , but the guy is happy to keep it for me - I can hardly wait .

 

[Dieselman]

I thought you always said diesel was for tractors only and you would never drive one.

 

[219]

I was buying it for SWMBO to replace her Hyundai Coupe ( which I hate with a vengeance ) . After my agreeing to buy this car she has now decided it will be 'too big' for her , so I may end up using it myself over the winter to preserve my W126 and to allow me time to do a few jobs I can't do whilst using the car everyday .

I am still not a fan of Diesels , nor of manual cars , so I still don't know how it will work out . I may end up using it for work or I may end up selling it on- time will tell .

Having looked in a couple of supermarkets , I am taken aback at the cost per litre of veg oil - seldom less than £1/L and usually more ! I thought people did this because it was hugely cheaper than Diesel . I still need to look at Costco etc but can hardly see any point if the stuff is almost the same price as regular fuel .

 

[mattc]

Having looked in a couple of supermarkets , I am taken aback at the cost per litre of veg oil - seldom less than £1/L and usually more ! I thought people did this because it was hugely cheaper than Diesel . I still need to look at Costco etc but can hardly see any point if the stuff is almost the same price as regular fuel .

I think the satisfaction comes more from if you collect your own waste oil and drive around for free/drastically reduced price. That, and the satisfaction of knowing you have shoved it to the "State" in your own small, insignificant but nevertheless very pleasing fashion

 

[trapperjohn]

I think the satisfaction comes more from if you collect your own waste oil and drive around for free/drastically reduced price. That, and the satisfaction of knowing you have shoved it to the "State" in your own small, insignificant but nevertheless very pleasing fashion

I think Matt is exactly rght. Its akin to illegal stills for poteen. Its the setting up of the system and the "Mad Wizard" hat that has to be worn when you are "brewing" and straining the stuff through various tanks and buckets. Then there are the kind ladies you meet at back kitchen doors. The recycling and being green ticks manyabox too. Then when you have enough "brewed" you can float around for "free"

I am yet to be converted. I would not touch the stuff with someone elses barge pole. Buying packs of fuel filters in bulk - Thats pre and main fuel filters, hoping the tank strainer does not clog up or your fuel lines get clogged. And putting real diesel in with it now and again to keep things "sweet" in the system.

All diesels of a certain vintage chug (mine do) But if you get extra chugging or faltering performance on a vegie set up you know you have a filter change coming up very soon. Buying and disposing of extra fuel filters does not tick my green box.

Good Luck to them as does it. It is a passion.

 

[corned]

I think ecossebev's post above was quite revealing, and not necessarily for the intended reasons.

Buying filters in bulk means you will spend loads of time under the bonnet. And other places as well.

Also, why do they buy a filter which doesn't clog up? Perhaps because it doesn't filter anything out? What other reason could there be?

If you need to rely on your car, then I would not recommend this path. Do you really want to be changing a filter at the roadside in the middle of winter when another filter or strainer becomes contaminated? What price reliability?

Nor would I ever consider buying the car off you afterwards if it came up for sale. Not after knowing it's been made to run on crap.

Just a couple of points to consider? And only my personal opinion, of course.

 

[Dieselman]

I
Nor would I ever consider buying the car off you afterwards if it came up for sale. Not after knowing it's been made to run on crap.

You looking to upgrade the 320Cdi then?

 

[SilverSaloon]

Hi.

Just noticed this thread. Just to answer the critics;

Due to the high cost of new veg oil (SVO) its probably not worth the hassle, but if you can get it at £1 a litre (Booker etc) then maybe it still is. It wont need any filtering - just pour it in!

Waste Veg Oil (WVO) is the best method but its very hard to find suppliers.

The reason Guttman filters seem to be better is that other (Viaco) seem to clog quickly... saying that i have one in mine at the moment and its still fine after 2k so maybe just a bad batch. I always put it down to the design/size of the inner filter elements. the gutman catches the same amount of stuff but it has a different pattern and therefore allows the fuel to flow for longer.

When you 1st start to chuck the veg oil in the car you'll soon have to replace some orings and CLEAN (note not replace unless you really want to) the in-tank mesh strainer - which will clog quickly due to the veg cleaning all the cr@ppy diesel deposits from the side the fuel tank.... all this ends up clogging the strainer.

the pre-filter is also similar - on the 606 engines it can be removed, washed and re-fitted. Not sure on earlier models but the inline pre-filter that they take is cheap enough anyway.

Once this is done it shouldnt need doing again for years. I cleaned out my tank strainer in June 2008 after a couple of thousand on veg oil from diesel and it was fully clogged up. I have checked it a couple of times since and its 100% clean and looks new still. so doing that regually is a myth unless your waste veg oil is awful of course!

then its just a case of replacing the main screw on fuel filters when they clog. They usually last a good few thousand miles if your fuel is well processed. this is the key. they will of course clog a little quicker initially as all the crap that didnt get stuck in the tank strainer comes through.

changing this is easy at the road side. just keep a couple of spare filters, a cheap adjustable spanner, rubber gloves, plastic bag and torch in the car. when it clogs, jump out, put gloves on, undo the old filter, pour the fuel from it into the IN of the new filter and fit it. put the old filter in the bag, put the gloves in the bag, tie it. Bin it there or take it home. the car should start quick as its hot and there is fuel in the new filter. You have clean hands and you are on your way.

this is all my own personal opinion but i've done 60k+ now on comedy fuel. the only comedy i can see is the laugh i have to myself when i drive past the tax station at 1.40 a litre!

i dont care who will buy my car from me as its not for sale.... why would it when its free to go anywhere? if i put it back to diesel who would ever know anyway, so it would still sell.

saying all that, due to the fact you will need to mess a bit occasionally with the odd fault (same risk as any other thing going wrong on the car) its best to be clued up on the fuel system of the car so you can tackle it yourself. this forum always comes to the rescue for those times where you are a bit unsure. i'm sure pontoneer has no problem in this area. i'll PM you

happy veggin'

 

[finisterre]

If you need to rely on your car, then I would not recommend this path. Do you really want to be changing a filter at the roadside in the middle of winter when another filter or strainer becomes contaminated? What price reliability?

I stuck forty litres of fresh sunflower oil in my van a couple of years ago. Just as an experiment. The van went like a train, faster, quicker, quieter, cheaper and it smelled nice.

I then topped it up a couple of times but gave veg oil up because the fuel sender device went a bit wonky and there was never any space in my supermarket trolley.

I can say a Vito 638 works fine on it though.