Not that i want to disparage biodiesel production but unfortunately one must expend a lot of energy to make biodiesel in the first place (which is fine if you can guarantee that the energy used wasnt created with fossil fuels).

Owners of Diesel cars, please note (if you cant get biodiesel) that its perfectly possible to run your car on pure vegetable oil (normal, unprocessed NEW veg oil).

Rudolf Diesel's original engine was designed to run on peanut oil. This wonderful invention will run on many many types of fuel and its only a cruel twist of stupidity that the oil refineries had some nasty crap left over that this marvel would also run on. They renamed this stinky by-product "diesel" fuel - and the rest is history.

BUT....as far as veg oil goes there are some caveats (which are related to the engine design not the fuel itself).

1) Make sure that your pump is up to the job (Bosche pumps are good, CAV pumps are bad and will tear themselves apart within a few miles (seriously!).

2) Investigate preheating and twin tank methods on the net.

3) Please Dont think that you'll be able to just pour in the chip fat and go. Vegetable oil is about 10x more viscous than diesel fuel - at this thickness your car will NOT remain happy (hence pre-heating systems heat the fuel to thin it out before injection and/or very decent fuel pump (Bosche NOT CAV).

4) Never, EVER, EVER use "used" vegetable oil as-is. Used fat MUST be cleaned/washed/filtered before use. Failure to do so will simply result in a knackered car.

4) If this all seems like a lot of hassle (albeit well worth it) then , if you have a decent pump and want to mix vegetable oil in with your diesel at ratio's of up to 2:1 (2 diesel to 1 veg oil (up to 33% vegetable oil)) then all /should/ be fine (although, of course, i make no guarantees and would recommend that you ONLY do this if you have a bosche pump) - you should investigate further before trying any of this).

I've been running my small diesel car on 25->33% straight vegetable oil for over a year and a half with no problems.

If you own a diesel volkswagen or Mercedes then your car will probably run fine on straight vegetable oil (german engines are built to last!)

I advise you to investigate this further - there are many websites devoted to this endevour.

Run your (diesel) car on veg oil hoob? - you must be daft.

It sounds daft (but perfectly true) but when you consider that crude oil is basically very old vegetable and animal fats then maybe its not so daft after all.

Oh, and finally. Our grubby government gets very unhappy at people that use vegetable oil in road vehicles without paying duty. So, dont get caught - or buy your biodiesel/modified vegetable oil from dealers/fuel companies that will have already paid the duty.
Then you can wave your receipt at HM Customs and tell them to FU^H^H^H^H^H^H ,er, kindly read your documentation.

Or. Better yet. Ride a Bicycle.

I use comes from this company:

 http://www.good-energy.co.uk/

They only own 100% renewable generation facilities, so every penny I spend on leccy goes to the development of renewable power sources.

Sweet ;o)

The debate basically comes down to:

1) Modify the oil (make biodiesel)
2) Modify the engine (add pre-fuel heaters / second tanks)

I prefer to modify the fuel for 2 reasons:

1) I don't (currently) know enough about engines to modify mine confidently.
2) You can run a car on straight biodiesel without any dino-diesel in the mix.

The choice is yours :o)

On the tax front - there is a big reduction in fuel tax for biodiesel which allows you to legally produce the stuff AND still save money (it is 27p per litre as opposed to 47p per litre of dino-diesel).

Just contact your local customs and excise and as to be registered as a biodiesel producer. They will then send you out a form every month allowing you to fill in how much you have produced and you send them a cheque.

Peace and grease,
Dan
 http://prisonerblog.zapto.org

cool. this is the old "unit-e" ? (i think).

>On the tax front - there is a big reduction in fuel tax for biodiesel which allows you >to legally produce the stuff AND still save money (it is 27p per litre as opposed to >47p per litre of dino-diesel).

The big trouble with this (and believe me, i'm on your side) is that the government set this level so that Biodiesel producers can "only just" compete with oil companies (as the fat costs (in pure monetary terms) much more than it does to suck crude oil out the ground (at the moment).


The other kicker though, is that your biodiesel must be very good quality (and "certified") for the govt to consider it "biodiesel" and then give you the lower rate of tax.
There was some ambiguity over modified waste fat fuels (ie cleaned and thinned straight veg oil) as to whether it still counted for the tax break (I dont know, i havent been paying attention lately, i made the decision (in my own quiet way) to F*ck the government a year or two back (i'm not adverse to paying tax and with the hassle, it probably costs me more to be green - but i'm not paying into an "oil fed idiot machine" (sure, a petty protest, so sue me!)

Oh, and of course, the mountain of burocracy that is involved in becoming a registered alternative fuel producer is nightmarish..... - Forget to send in a chit for "this months oil" on time and you WILL get a visit by HM Customs..

The reality is, that the govt are petrified that people can easily produce their own fuel because it becomes very hard to tax when they do so.

As usual, govt greed will get in the way of a good (and very necessary) idea.
Biodiesel unfortunately will never be "the" answer to the upcoming energy crisis, but it certainly has a part to play.
Now all we need is a government willing to deal with Oil stock depletion by methods other than helping an idiot invade another country.

Still, as i say, I really dont want to sound disparaging.... I wish more people would at least make the effort

Good on yer....

Hoob.