Veg oil..whats the big deal?

Ok, i live in denmark and dont follow the fuel battle going on in the uk, diesel is still cheaper than petrol here, i pay about 85p a litre. Sorry.

Now i hear lots of people on this forum talking about vegoil and how much etc etc

I have a 2.5N/A 90 from 1987, do i need a kit of some sort to run on veg oil? I am clueless but willing to hear about it. Can i run on a 50/50 mix or what?

Thanks, Mark

As longs as the weather is warm just whack a bit in the tank with some diesel. You could technically run it on 100% veg oil, but I wouldn't recommend it because the older lucas / Cav fuel injection pumps are very fragile and need the finer lubrication from diesel in order to run properly and remain fully lubricated. I have been running my 2.5 N/A on about a third veg oil last Summer and it ran well, but following a recent engine overhaul, my cylinders were heavily glazed. Whether or not this was down to the vegetable oil or just the effect of diesel over time I do not know, but one of my cylinders had been worked on earlier in the year and all four looked just as glossy.
The only thing to worry about is the glycerin content in straight vegetable oil. This can, when the weather is colder clog up your injectors and fuel lines because it thickens out and turns into a white wax like substance. You can remove the glycerin which gives you bio-diesel.
The other alternative is to buy a kit which allows you to switch to veg oil when the engine is warm. You basically startup with diesel, and then switch to veg oil when the engine is up to temperature, before switching back to diesel a good few miles before you are going to stop to allow it back into the system again ready for startup.

The main advantages are a cleaner burn with less emissions, better engine lubrication (don't know how cos it gets blasted straight away!) and of course it's also cheaper. The prices are rising in Britain, and for 85p a litre you're just as well sticking with standard diesel, unless of course you want to lower your emissions!

-Pos

the older lucas / Cav fuel injection pumps are very fragile and need the finer lubrication from diesel in order to run properly and remain fully lubricated.
Unquote

That isn't so much the problem ... the small low-pressure fuel delivery pump inside the injector pump is a ROTARY VANE type pump and the increased viscosity of cold veg oil may end up damaging and breaking the vanes, and if that happens the pump will fail.

Veg oil thinned or warmed will be fine.

CharlesY

there you go then!