Who runs their vehicle on cooking oil?

Question

Can you please tell me your experiences of it and tell me the make, model and year. Thanks.

Answer 1

i owned a 1999 TD xsara and used cooking oil for 11 months the car run better and i got more mileage out of it.i got dipped several times but got sent on my way. the only thing i can say that in the colder months it can freeze so always top the tank up with a little ordinary diesel say a fivers worth and don't let nobody say different my uncle makes it and the lorrydrivers buy in 900litre square cubes all above board of course...... good luck

Answer 2

There are three fuels based on cooking oil. 1. Straight cooking oil. 2. Cooking oil thinned with anything from 10% to 90% petro-diesel, kerosene or even a little gasoline and some additives. 3. Biodiesel, which is chemically treated cooking oil.

Straight cooking oil will work in some diesel motors for up to several hundred hours. After that you get into "severe engine damage" from carbon accumulation on the piston rings, carbon blocking the injectors and damage to the injector pumps because the oil is too viscous. The more the oil is thinned with petro-diesel the longer this takes. Another factor is whether the engine has direct or indirect injection. Recent diesels have direct injection and are unsuitable for cooking oil. Common-rail diesel engines will cark it almost immediately on cooking oil. Older diesels like 20 year old Mercedes have indirect injection and a stronger type fuel injection pump which is not so badly affected. The best installations heat the cooking oil to reduce it's viscosity before it hits the injector pumps. In most cases you have to start an engine on petro-diesel and run it for a few minutes before switching to cooking oil. Then before stopping switch back to petro-diesel before stopping to make sure the pumps are loaded with the petro-diesel for the next cold start. Engines will hot-start on cooking oil though. All this means two fuel tanks.

There is masses of stuff on the net about this. It appears that the type of engine is one of the most important factors.

Answer 3

i know a guy who runs an older model Mercedes on it. it is probably 15-20 years old. its a diesel engine car. apparently it runs very well. he gets used cooking oil from fast food restaurants in the area for free. this saves them from having to pay the tallow people to come and pick the oil up, thus benefitting the restaurants and himself.he strains and filters the oil before putting it into the car's gastank. i hope this info helps you.

Answer 4

i am running a diesel corsa van and have used cooking oil in it now for about 4000 miles with no ill effects it starts better and doesnt smoke in the morning when it is cold

Answer 5

I run bio diesel in my work truck its a 98 ford E450 7.2 l turbo diesel I have never had any problems with it so far it burns cleaner and its cheaper my only complaint is that it makes your car smell like french fries

Answer 6

i saw a bit about this a few weeks ago on fifth gear. using an old Mercedes and it worked very well. but the presenter was saying you still had to pay some kind of tax on it. try looking it up on
http://fifthgear.five.tv/

Answer 7

my boyfriend's landlord runs a six seater ford (transit style??) minbus on watered down cooking oil! he is a taxi driver!

Answer 8

i was looking into it for my escort turbo diesel but i have a lucas pump, so it cant be done unless i get a two tank system, i am told if you have a bosch pump then it SHOULD be ok on some cars. join this forum for answers.
http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/index.php

Answer 9

it would cost me just the same i drive a range rover
what about those electric cars

Answer 10

welly nelson dose it for his bus and RV and he promote it always