Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™

[paulenew]

Interesting posts. We've discussed at work the possibility of making our own processed veggie diesel at home, not least because all engineers are obsessed with dangerous chemicals. The process itself seems relatively straightforward, but one very interesting point arose - if you produce the 'chemically enhanced' veg oil fuel then the site it's produced on apparently becomes 'contaminated land' (doesn't matter whether you've spilt any of the chemicals or not), which if it's true will destroy the resale potential of your property instantly because it would show up on a search. I haven't looked into this in enough depth to confirm whether it's correct, and it wouldn't apply to anyone using pure veg oils anyway, but if anyones thinking of producing the 'full monty' homebrew diesel, it's definitely worth checking up on.

[Google]

[jubal]

Have been running my 3.1 on 15% svo cut with petrol as a thinner and a cetane enhancer. All seemed OK until the other day when I topped it up with the mix but the following morning (after a frost) it just kept stalling, had very little power and wouldn't run OK until I had made a enough room to dilute it with diesel. Seems OK now just with diesel. Any ideas what happened? Could it have been clogged fuel filter or corroded fuel lines?  Have only been using svo for 6 months. Advice would be appreciated.
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'92 Bighorn 3.1 TD

[dxmedia]

Sounds like waxing?
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[jwmagee]

Jubal, replace your fuel filter, 15% svo shouldn't make any difference, even around zero degrees, particularily as you cut it with petrol.  I run 35% veg oil uncut in the winter, only ever had a problem when the 24hr petrol station was shut and had fuelled up only on cold SVO, added diesel to the fuel filter, 10gal of diesel and a couple of litres of petrol and away we went.

It's probably just junk pulled up from the tank... how long have you been running SVO and when did you last replace the fuel filter?

John
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John

'93 Bighorn 3.1TD Auto

[jubal]

Haven't replaced the fuel filter since I started using svo about 8 months ago.  Just can't get the thing off but have cleaned it out now and have run it on power diesel with a load of diesel injector cleaner and it seems fine. Its made me a bit wary of using svo because if it does any damage replacement engines are not cheap for the 3.1 compared to an old banger of a peugeot. How long have you been using svo? Had any other problems?

Jubal
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'92 Bighorn 3.1 TD

[Topvaux]

I've been running my 3.0 on 50/50 SVO/DERV for quite some time now with no apparent adverse effects. Usage has consisted of periods of very short trips and the occasional 600 miles heavy towing in one day. I did cut it with 1.25% (1 litre in 80) petrol the last tankful just in case I was getting any lacquering but I don't know that I'd bother doing it again. Vehicle seems to go really well and I have noticed that it seems to be quite impossible to make any black smoke even under hardest acceleration even with a heavy load on tow: I wonder if it's the fuel being slightly higher viscosity and therefore restricting the flow rate very slightly at the nozzles, thus preventing the marginal overfuelling you normally get in full load conditions.

[jwmagee]

Used it for the last year in the Bighorn (couple of years with a fourtrak.  Be careful of additives as they can react with the vegoil and gelify.  I'd suggest taking the time and getting the fuel filter changed, it's straight forward, unbolt it from the bracket and you can apply more pressure using a filter wrench/band and a plumbers wrench.

John
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John

'93 Bighorn 3.1TD Auto

[Peter Bonnell]

i was using Bio from a authorised supplier in Sheffield until I broke down on the parkway , got it home and drained the tank , what came out was disgusting , thick yellow congealed fat   went back to the supplier and got my money back for 10 gallon , and 3 filters later I think it's all out , but still not 100% sure what state my tank is in inside   , buying fossil diesel now from a local haulage yard for 98p a Lt

[jwmagee]

Bio really does depend on trusting the supplier, if the reaction/conversion is poor then it's effectively waste fat in your tank, with blobs of gelatine floating round, definitely not good for the car or your pocket.  That was one of the reasons I opted for vegoil, in that I could control what went in my tank and I didn't want to play with chemicals.  Using greener fuels isn't cut and dry, and it's why when the major commercial fuel producers start with the 5% min renewable source there will be no change in fuel price as they have to do it right.  Certainly when Rix started this 4 years ago it was actually more expensive than dinoD (though I got more miles out of my GM diesel engined SJ got beter mpg).

I spent some time experimenting with oils, additives and petrol/dinoD mixes before I was brave enough to take the plunge.  I used to use PowerDiesel Plus all the time, until I found it could react badly with some vegoils.  Also you need to keep an eye on engine oil, due to it's use for cleaning soot etc, it is possible to get the oil to congeal, unfortunatly you need to test this in the engine, as you need the soot and heat cycles to test properly.

I do believe it's worth it though, better emmisions, better on the pocket, and better for the environment.  It's a case of being happy with your use.  Looking at the reports from Europe last week though it may be that HMRC may turn the tax situation round for SVO.... though so long as the oil comes out of the bottle it's 'used'.
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John

'93 Bighorn 3.1TD Auto