Bio diesel in TD5

[lightning]

I want to buy one of those home kits for producing bio diesel..they cost around £1,000 but it should pay for itself in a few months as I also have a diesel van.
Can I put biodiesel in our TD5 Defender? The handbook says no but the manufacturer of the plant says yes...they claim to have numerous customers running the TD5 on it with no problems. They also claim that Land Rover is "about to officially warranty up to 30% biodiesel in some of it's diesel engines" and that the previous advice from car manufacturers not to use it was due mainly to "poor quality home made fuel made from oil with a bit of drain cleaner and a bit of meths"

So can I put properly produced biodiesel in my Defender...or is the jury still out?

 

[Patman1200]

Ask Big Dick at It's not easy being green. His TD5 has been running on waste veg oil converted to Bio-diesel for a couple of years now. If it is done correctly then the only difference is that the bio-diesel has been produced from recently living plants.
http://www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.org/forum/index.php

 

[Pikey]

why bother with bio just chuck 50:50 veg oil & diesel in the tank.

 

[badadj]

How you getting on with yours redhand ? Still running ok ?

 

[Pikey]

Yep done 2K in it so far and no problems at all. Bit choppy when cold but that soon goes. Then it's great.

 

[badadj]

it'll be interestin when the temp really starts droppin. Lets hope it doesn't give you any probs.

 

[Pikey]

Nah I'll just up the amount of diesel I put in. at the mo I'm runnng 2/3rds vegoil 1/3rd diesel once the temp starts dropping I'll goto 50/50

 

[badadj]

Keep us posted.

 

[CharlesY]

Nah I'll just up the amount of diesel I put in. at the mo I'm runnng 2/3rds vegoil 1/3rd diesel once the temp starts dropping I'll goto 50/50

Lob in some kerosene when it gets cold.
Even 5% will make a BIG difference.

CharlesY

 

[muddythelandy]

but is it no total illegal to bung in parrafin by the way man?

A boy round this way puts in veg oil, diesel, turps and paraffin. Runs ok but smells o ****e.

 

[Pikey]

Yep it is. But hey as long as yer don't get dipped who'll know

 

[Sean]

Petition to: reduce the road tax on diesel vehicles using vegetable oil as a fuel.

it'll never happen but you got to be in it to win it ....

 

[achuakh]

some of the land rover owners group in singapore are actually running bio-diesel on their Td5.

1. you immediately notice reduced black smoke to no black smoke. instantly passes the MoT smoke test.
2. you need to change your diesel filter after about 2 mths as bio-diesel acts as a cleaning agent and hence suddenly all the stuff is getting unstuck and moved around. however, once this is done, it's back to the normal change intervals.
3. bio diesel does 'clump' up together when left sitting along for a long time, hence it's good to do some mix of petrolum diesel and bio diesel. 50-50 is good. if you drive your truck everyday, this will not be a problem.
4. idle rate is slightly smoother in hotter climates. not sure abt what wil happen in winter. (can't find out as it's so hot in sg)

 

[enery8]

I make and use bio in my 300TDi and it runs fine. In cold weather (like old derv before additives) it tends to gell in cold weather but 5% unleaded petrol sorts that out. I always carry a spare fuel filter just in case. Be careful about buying a ready made plant, better to do some research and maybe build your own. Do a search for 'GL eco-system'

 

[The Gribbin]

I had a go on Bio last year... made by a local farmer... ran smoother, and felt like a bit more power.

I also went to The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales on their ' Make your own Bio-Diesel' course... cost couple of hundred quid, but got all the info needed to set myself up... alot cheaper than these £1000 jobbies...

It's taken me this long to get power in my shed, and have yet to set myself up...

Now there's a few on here running on straight veg oil... so I'm thinking of saving even more, and trying SVO... This was covered on the CAT course, but they indicated a need for filter and tank heaters???... possibly not required on the TD5 as it recirculates hot fuel through the tank?

Have just changed my fuel pump ££££ 'cos it died on me... and found black snot in the tank... not sure if this was as a result of my forray into BIO!! Hence my slow uptake...

Teetering on the fence... but the VAT increase in Jan might just be the final push I need to go for SVO...

Any persuasion/encouragement appreciated...

 

[Tivster]

Been running my 19J 1987 LR90 on proper Bio for 10 months/8000 mile now NO problems.
I tried initially on SVO 50/50 mix in the tank with regular derv - ok.
I then tried filtered WVO, it ran ok but not really happy.
So took the plunge & went the whole hog...

Costs me 15p/litre to make when I can get my WVO for free.
Otherwise I can buy as much WVO from a local supplier for 34p- again 15p to convert.
Better than £1.26 which reg derv is down my local

I use KOH rather than Sodium- easier to get a proper mix. never had a bad batch yet
Buying in bulk is cheaper - natch.
I also sell my excess KOH & Methanol on Fleabay- discount to LZ users if you ask

 

[markconnor33]

Yep its illegal to use parafin, turps, white spirit, kerosene, red diesel etc, as they are all fuels without HMRC tax on them.

USe it at you're peril, cos if you get caught the HMRC will impound your car till they work out what they think you owe them, and until you've paid them.

Mark

 

[markconnor33]

Been running my 19J 1987 LR90 on proper Bio for 10 months/8000 mile now NO problems.
I tried initially on SVO 50/50 mix in the tank with regular derv - ok.
I then tried filtered WVO, it ran ok but not really happy.
So took the plunge & went the whole hog...

Costs me 15p/litre to make when I can get my WVO for free.
Otherwise I can buy as much WVO from a local supplier for 34p- again 15p to convert.
Better than £1.26 which reg derv is down my local

I use KOH rather than Sodium- easier to get a proper mix. never had a bad batch yet
Buying in bulk is cheaper - natch.
I also sell my excess KOH & Methanol on Fleabay- discount to LZ users if you ask

Hi fellow bio-brewer.

Just out of interest, where are you, and where do you get your methanol and KOH from. Might do some business with you, if you can beat my suppliers cost/locality. Or alternatively could club together and buy methanol by the IBC load.

Mark

 

[LR90]

why bother with bio just chuck 50:50 veg oil & diesel in the tank.

Bang on! been doing it for years but KC Oil 25litres has shot up nearly as much as derv when they cottoned on!

in my old 90 td5 did around 25.000miles on mix & in my new one not so many as the price plus hastle about 5.000 HMMMM CHIP SHOP!

Lob in some kerosene when it gets cold.
Even 5% will make a BIG difference.
CharlesY

He's right
legal? just change the ratio of derv & oil

Petition to: reduce the road tax on diesel vehicles using vegetable oil as a fuel.

it'll never happen but you got to be in it to win it ....

SIGNED!

 

[LR90]

Been running my 19J 1987 LR90 on proper Bio for 10 months/8000 mile now NO problems.
I tried initially on SVO 50/50 mix in the tank with regular derv - ok.
I then tried filtered WVO, it ran ok but not really happy.
So took the plunge & went the whole hog...

Costs me 15p/litre to make when I can get my WVO for free.
Otherwise I can buy as much WVO from a local supplier for 34p- again 15p to convert.
Better than £1.26 which reg derv is down my local

I use KOH rather than Sodium- easier to get a proper mix. never had a bad batch yet
Buying in bulk is cheaper - natch.
I also sell my excess KOH & Methanol on Fleabay- discount to LZ users if you ask

Hmmm very nice shame your up york bit far for me come fill my tank LOL
What price for a couple of 1000L IBC's?
cheers

If you want pm me no mither!