| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Treacodactyl |
Waste Veg OilDoes anyone work where they produce plenty of waste veg oil? If so does anyone collect it for use in their cars or home-made boi-diesel? Does anyone collect it commercially and pay for it?Also, does anyone run their own car on WVO and how easy do you find it to collect enough to use? I'm particularly interested in in recent experiences as I expect demand has increased lately. |
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| vegplot |
Re: Waste Veg Oil
Not yet but I hope to soon, on both counts. |
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| cab |
Excellent chaps to talk to on this subject:
http://www.cambridgebiodiesel.co.uk/ |
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| RichardW |
I can see demand out stripping supply very soon. Also prob tightening up on waste carriers liecences & processors regulations too.
Richard |
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| cab |
I'll ask the chap from Cambridge Biodiesel whether they've had any more queries than previously; I cannot imagine that they won't have. |
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| RichardW |
was actualy thinking more at the small producer level cos buying in ready made bio is still costly.
Richard |
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| Maxwell Smart |
I am in the process of trying to convert from VO use to WVO. But it helps that a friend owns a chain of restaurants and can provide me with the oil.
I have been very intrigued by the simplicity of the GreenFuels solution. Yes I know you can do it yourself but this takes the mess out of it. Actually if anyone is in North London and interested in sharing... let me know. |
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| orangepippin |
My brother in law works for a major multinational. He has a brand new Audi company car, and - at the company's encouragement - has got a 3rd-party vegetable oil kit fitted. It is a 2nd tank in the boot, contains I think 20 litres of veg oil. This has almost certainly invalidated the Audi warranty of course but as it is a company car and they are aware he is not bothered. He does not use WVO though, his argument being he can get normal VO at Makro for about 80p litre, far cheaper than normal diesel and much less hassle for him than trying to source WVO. His kit still needs ordinary diesel whilst the engine is cold, but can then switch to VO. He cites 3 advantages: lower cost, extra range (he reckons he could now drive 1000 miles between stops), and some independence from petrol stations if there is another fuel protest (i.e. he can fill up with diesel once, and then always use his VO tank - and refill that from a supermarket rather than a petrol station). | ||||
| RichardW |
If I remember rightly you still need to do the titration manualy which is the only complicated bit of the process anyway. Yep just checked. On all domestic models you still have to do all the work. Its just neatly packaged.
Richard |
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| Treacodactyl |
That's sort of what I plan to do, have an extra tank and switch over to veg oil and had thought of using plain VO. I would rather use WVO but expect it's not as straight forward to come by and use, hence the question. Still, 80p is a saving of 50p a litre on diesel and 40p over some of the bio-diesel clubs. |
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| Rob R |
80p, is that in 20 litre cans?
How much for GMO free? |
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| RichardW |
Oddly in 20L cans it costs more. Tescos online cheapest is £1.10 L richard |
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| Rob R |
That is odd  No wonder there is so much waste (packaging).
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| Maxwell Smart |
If you are using SVO then it is fairly straight forward depending on your car.
A lot of older diesels can run directly on VO with no conversion. This is particularly true of German vehicles such as Mercedes and VW where they use Bosch fuel pumps. One thing is you may need to upgrade the seals in your fuel lines as VO can cause natural rubber to break down. Again many of the Germany manufacturers are ok from around the the mid-80s/90s onwards. You will also need to replace your fuel filter fairly soon after starting to run VO as it will cause a lot of the diesel gunk to come loose and block your filter. I run a single tank with no conversion and put in 80/20 of VO/dino diesel. I know others who put in 100% VO in summer with no conversions. 50/50 to 80/20 in winter. If you run when its is very cold you may need to install a preheater so that the VO doesn't gel in winter. However Rapeseed is good to about -15°C. If you run WVO you need to not only filter it but treat it as well as it can cause long term damage to your engine as it has already been pre-heated to a high temperature. If you have a CDI type of diesel you will need to get a conversion kit - Elsbett makes them. |
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| Treacodactyl |
Tesco's price check thingy lists 15l for under £15. |
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| vegplot |
What is the feeling that the general public aren't aware of the difference between VO or WVO and Biodiesel, that is vegetable oil chemically modified to behave like minerall diesel? | ||||
| RichardW |
I would say unless they are "in to" svo, wvo, bio then they wont have a clue.
Richard |
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| vegplot |
That's my worry. I've already seen some misuse of terms being bandied about, without clarification, on some forums. It's a concern when one is talking about biodiesel and the audience thinks you're about vegetable oil used in diesel engines or vice versa. |
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| wellington womble |
We just chuck filtered waste veg oil in the surf for most of the year - it runs fine. In the winter we put a bit of diesel in too, to keep the viscosity down. Waste stuff is awfully variable, and the crap stuff is hard to get rid of! Check the quality before you commit to taking any quantity! Some people are luckier at getting that others - places that know you are better. | ||||
| RichardW |
Its not on the online site for purchase. Must be shop only. Richard |
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| Maxwell Smart |
I hope that you are de-acidifying the oil first and removing all quantities of trace water or else you can cause serious engine damage. |
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| wellington womble |
no idea (not my department - I've got no clue what all that swmbo stuff's all about!) but the surf seems pretty indestructable so far. Even when himself put shortening in it by mistake (well, I say mistake, more a what-the-hell-let's-give-it-a-go, really!)
Ah, come to think of it, I think it was new oil that was just chucked in. Lots of things are happening with the waste stuff first. Quite possibly whatever Maxwell Smart said - it seems to take about a fortnight, and involve endless amounts of barrels, my kitchen sieve and the compost bucket. I'm only the general public. I did come up with the waste disposal solution for the real rubbish though. |
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| Will |
I've been using B100 from these folk: http://www.bioukfuels.co.uk .
This is in an Audi A4 with the PD engine and I've not had many problems apart from the usual clogged filters. However local Bosch diesel specialist has recommended against using more than 50/50 even in summer, and Audi main dealer has official guidance that no engines pre-2004 are suitable (mix of rubber hoses, lack of pre-heating, high pressures in PD engines). bioukfuels have found that the price of WVO has rocketed recently, partly due to a monopoly of suppliers in the Sheffield area. |
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| James |
I was talking to someone from the waste licencing branch of the EA a few days ago who said that the UK waste vegetable oil market is all wrapped up. Apart from small amounts here & there, the whole lot is being bought up by large WVO/ biodiesel companies. There are german companies that are hoovering up the excess that our biodiesel co's cannot use. Apparently in London, there are WVO turf wars.
So you're not likely to get a whole lot of WVO dirrect from source. |
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| vegplot |
It had to happen someday. |
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| Treacodactyl |
Many thanks James, that's what I thought the situation would be - if not now it would be in a year or two. Probably only worth thinking of a veg-oil conversion if I track down a source of WVO first or if I ever get to make my own veg oil. |