Vegetable Oil

[scottydog]

I have a 1989 (J) Mercedes 250D, 5 cylinder normally aspirated auto. I have been told that this will run on SVO or filtered UVO without the need for conversion.

Can anyone confirm this?

Scott

 

[*Thumper]

I don't know about your car .... but my old transit, pick up (T reg 79) loves the stuff ............ I go 80/20 veg oil to deisel.

Dont drive behind me though ......... smells like a chippy ......... lol

And no, I'm not a Pikey ............... I just kept the old girl, after selling up a few years ago, because she refuses to die !

 

[Naraic]

You probably can because its a low pressure, non-turbo. Do a search and you should find plenty.

 

[scottydog]

I've googled about a bit but opinion is split, but mainly over the vehicle type. true information is pretty diluted due to the swaithes of companies selling conversion kits and warning of dire consequences without them.

I just wondered if anyone on here had more vehicle specific information.

I've read allsorts about viscosity etc and don't want to ruin what is a great engine and built like a tank.

I was thinking that maybe a 50:50 mix could be a better option.

 

[Naraic]

I mean do a search on here. Drop down from the search button above and put in vegetable oil or such like.

 

[Dosco]

And no, I'm not a Pikey ............... !

Not what I had heard

 

[burdy]

ran my old td5 landrover on the suff for 3 years (neat!) it was cheaper in france than diesel use auchan finest sunflower oil 78 centimes a litre when diesel was 1.2 euros a litre........... looked a bit daft with a trolly cart full of the stuff though...........

 

[Dosco]

I think it was Parrot of Doom who ran his oil burner (W210?) on the stuff

 

[Naraic]

Firth gear ran a 124...they just put it straight in. Choose your restaurant carefully...what smell do you want?

 

[Top Cat]

Firth gear ran a 124...they just put it straight in. Choose your restaurant carefully...what smell do you want?

Here is the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZX2BRdXkzA

What he omits to tell you is the filtering process needed to get bits of batter and debris out, and water/other non combustibles. There is also mention of adding some sort of 'thinner' to add fluid flow and cold starting, but there is loads of information available on this on various forums and user sites such as this one, someone very much more knowledgeable will be along shortly to fill in the details.

 

[Top Cat]

The actual Fifth Gear car was sold not that long ago:

http://www.carandclassic.com/car/C117575/

 

[Naraic]

Ah yes...and it was a 250D.

 

[tonychunk]

I've done 17,000 miles in 18 months on veggie in my '91 300d. I use 40 litres of oil (£28.38) and add £10.00 of diesel, this thins it and stops the slight smoking at idle. Waste oil now is very scarce as the outlets now usually get paid for it by big companies as opposed to being charged for removal.

Used is available on ebay at sort of 45-60p a litre, but with new at 70p its not worth the time or hassle of collecting it, filtering it that coupled with the initial outlay of filter system and consumables it's a busy fool's task.

 

[OwenE280]

I used it in a NA 1.8 escort back in the day, it was knackered and it would start much better on veg oil than diesel! I would throw anything into it and it loved it, the chassis rusted away and the engine is still in work I have been meaning to strip it to inspect the internals for years!
Done my time on bio diesel when doing transport and lost a few diesel pumps etc on a bad batch so decided the saving were outweighed.
The smell of the veg oil is brutal and my Mrs would refuse to get in to the escort van. My trooper with the bio in wasnt as bad but did stink, quite a nice smell to me though!!

 

[David-Butter]

Our old 98 LandRover Defender runs on it and has not missed a beat we flush it through with diesel once in while to keep it fresh, Its so much smoother on the veg and its free. The one to watch out for is the glue like leftovers i would advise you to fit a new fuel filter and maybe another filter within the fuel system to filter out and odd bit's you may find in there.

 

[Tashman]

I've done 20000 miles on it no real trouble - used to buy SVO which is 74p/l at bookers, then bought WVO filtered to 10 microns by the vendor for 45p/l.
Sometimes I've even just run unfiltered oil thats just been left to settle for a couple of months and it loved it. This is a W123 300D btw. Experience taught me to keep an eye on the fuel filter tho, which blocks regularly. I now have a large see-thru one fitted thats washable and keep a couple a spares in the glove box (and a stubby flat blade screwdriver to undo the jubilees) just in case. Takes 30 secs to change one. You know when your filter is getting a bit blocked up because you can feel the engine hold back a bit when going up a big hill on the motorway, or under high load.

The only other thing to say is that you will find the car harder to start in cold weather. It always does start, but you may have to run the glow plugs twice or hold down the accelerator to get it to start, and it'll run lumpy the first few minutes so I don't bother with that. I don't use veg oil at all from November to march. If you did want to run it through the winter on veg oil then I would suggest mixing it 50/50 with diesel to help. Some people add 5% RUG (petrol) too to help make it more fluid but not tried this.

 

[wireman]

Beware of used veggie oil, it may contain substances which are injurious to the injection system.

Use SVO if practical and avoid the trouble with processing used stuff into road worthy fuel.

The process of home refining of used cooking fat involves heating large quantities of "fuel" to high temperatures and there is a significant increase of fire risk.
Some authorities and insurance companies will take a dim view if your home refinery burns down, and there are limits on how much fuel can legaly be stored in a shed or garage, it's 2 gallons for petrol in the UK.

Ask your home insurer and local fire brigade before you undertake construction of a waste oil reprocessing plant. Some form of fire suppresion should be mandatory.

 

[teabag]

I used it in a NA 1.8 escort back in the day, it was knackered and it would start much better on veg oil than diesel! I would throw anything into it and it loved it, the chassis rusted away and the engine is still in work I have been meaning to strip it to inspect the internals for years!
Done my time on bio diesel when doing transport and lost a few diesel pumps etc on a bad batch so decided the saving were outweighed.
The smell of the veg oil is brutal and my Mrs would refuse to get in to the escort van. My trooper with the bio in wasnt as bad but did stink, quite a nice smell to me though!!

I am regularly stuck behind the same 250D for about 25 miles each day, the stink varies between "Chips","Garlic" and "Fish" but it is still going strong after 4 years and probably 100,000 miles on veggie

 

[Tashman]

With my 300 D it always makes the same smell - BBQ

 

[SilverSaloon]

Yes it will run on 100% veg oil no problems.

I've done 40k on mine (almost 100%) without any major issues.

the only issues i have had are the rubber orings perishing causing leaks and airleaks. all these have been replaced and its now running fine.

visit www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk forum for best info.