Will Biodiesel knacker my TD5?

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john snoo

Active Member
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592
Location
uk
Howdy Zoners

2004 Discovery TD5. I have a biodiesel processor I was given, a good one, brand new. I have a source for used veg oil (restaurants/chippies). IF I were to do it, it would extremely good grade stuff. Not "hooch". titration test, ph test, dry washed, etc etc.

The thing is, the guy I knew years ago who did it by the thousands of litres - He gave up because he spent the 6 grand he saved on fuel, getting his engine rebuilt. He was convinced it was due to 'polymerisation' of the oil which wore away piston seals, something like that anyway. He knows his stuff but said he can't be 100% certain the biodiesel caused it, but seems pretty sure it did, and he was making top grade stuff (he runs a fuels company).

I don't want to bugger my Disco, took me a long time to find a good one and planning on keeping 'forever'. Also, my friend told me when you buy methanol you get flagged can get randomly inspected by the stasi c*nts at HMRC. Me and they do not mix so that may be reason enough to not go ahead with biodiesel plans, but if it can run well in the Disco and won't do any harm, I may look into it further.

Thanks
 
PS I should have added 'veg oil' to the title of this thread, as I am also interested in WVO as an alternative. I am learning slowly, but it appears biodiesel is actually more corrosive than biodiesel (from what I have read anyway). Wondering about the cost of a conversion system (IF TD5 needs it) so the TD5 can run on veg oil, heat exchanger and two tank system. I am already going off that idea though!

I am mainly interested to hear from anyone who's done it, and either raves about it, or has knackered their engine with Bio/WVO!
 
PS I should have added 'veg oil' to the title of this thread, as I am also interested in WVO as an alternative. I am learning slowly, but it appears biodiesel is actually more corrosive than biodiesel (from what I have read anyway). Wondering about the cost of a conversion system (IF TD5 needs it) so the TD5 can run on veg oil, heat exchanger and two tank system. I am already going off that idea though!

I am mainly interested to hear from anyone who's done it, and either raves about it, or has knackered their engine with Bio/WVO!
Hi, i've been making biodiesel for a couple of years and done over 15000mi on my 200tdi with no ill effects - i can feel a noticabe difference in power when moterway cruising but that should bother a td5 less. A friend who helped me get set up used to run WVO on a twin tank system and reckons that knackered his engine - lots of deposits inside found during the rebuild- he has since put over 100,000km on it on bio with no issues
 
Hi, i've been making biodiesel for a couple of years and done over 15000mi on my 200tdi with no ill effects - i can feel a noticabe difference in power when moterway cruising but that should bother a td5 less. A friend who helped me get set up used to run WVO on a twin tank system and reckons that knackered his engine - lots of deposits inside found during the rebuild- he has since put over 100,000km on it on bio with no issues
No experiance with running in on a td5 though
 
Howdy Zoners

2004 Discovery TD5. I have a biodiesel processor I was given, a good one, brand new. I have a source for used veg oil (restaurants/chippies). IF I were to do it, it would extremely good grade stuff. Not "hooch". titration test, ph test, dry washed, etc etc.

The thing is, the guy I knew years ago who did it by the thousands of litres - He gave up because he spent the 6 grand he saved on fuel, getting his engine rebuilt. He was convinced it was due to 'polymerisation' of the oil which wore away piston seals, something like that anyway. He knows his stuff but said he can't be 100% certain the biodiesel caused it, but seems pretty sure it did, and he was making top grade stuff (he runs a fuels company).

I don't want to bugger my Disco, took me a long time to find a good one and planning on keeping 'forever'. Also, my friend told me when you buy methanol you get flagged can get randomly inspected by the stasi c*nts at HMRC. Me and they do not mix so that may be reason enough to not go ahead with biodiesel plans, but if it can run well in the Disco and won't do any harm, I may look into it further.

Thanks
FAME biodiesel, which is the same as the stuff added to pump diesel up to 7%, can cause problems in engines that are not used very often, or only very low mileages, so fuel sits in the tank for a long time.
If you use the vehicle a lot, it should cause less problems.

The best " alternative" fuel I have ever used is HVO, the new generation biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil.
I have used it, with very good results, the main problem is getting hold if it. Very few places sell it, and demand is rapidly outstripping supply.
 
FAME biodiesel, which is the same as the stuff added to pump diesel up to 7%, can cause problems in engines that are not used very often, or only very low mileages, so fuel sits in the tank for a long time.
If you use the vehicle a lot, it should cause less problems.

The best " alternative" fuel I have ever used is HVO, the new generation biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil.
I have used it, with very good results, the main problem is getting hold if it. Very few places sell it, and demand is rapidly outstripping supply.
It travels from Scandinavian ways and alot of construction firms are starting to use it so it will continue to be difficult to get hold of, if not worse.
 
Thanks for those replies. Interesting. I have heard the exact opposite, i.e. that biodiesel is corrosive but WVO is not, IF you can run it (heating etc). I am told that WVO 'cleans' the sludge out which causes blockages etc so when first starting to do it you have to replace fuel pump regularly until the sludge in tank and lines is cleared out. I first thought that sounds like hocus pocus bull 5hit but the more I read the more it seems to be true. (Example http://vegoilcar.co.uk/my_experience_3.php)

On the otgher hand I can't afford to friggin drive anywhere at the prices, I THINK I can get a supply of used veg oil, and I have a biodiesel processor and the space to use it (if not the brains :D). So it sounds like I should maybe give that a shot after all! The worries are engine damage (with either really but more so bio). When I say biodiesel, just for clarity as people refer to different things with that term, I am talking about:

WVO, filtered, neutralised (ph), methanol and potassium hydroxide to remove the glycol fully, then washed several times to make it as clean as it can be. That, I am told, is better than the junk they throw in with fuel at pumps claiming ecowarrior status :D
 
Your last post is pretty much correct, I have used both home brew bio and then svo or just fresh new clean veg oil because I got fed up collection and making the home brew.

If made correctly you should be fine in a td5 with no bad effects. I would add into your bio 5% unleaded mixed well to both improved the burn in the engine, to thin it for the injectors and to stop it clogging up your filter.
 
Well today I got a source for waste veg oil, quite a reliable one hopefully. So might consider dragging the processor out and christening it after all!
Funny, I thought I would get more comments on this thread, I guessed there'd be copious amounts of thrifty landy drivers running around on stuff they just cookied their battered mars bar in! :D (Maybe they are all still stuck on't side of road :D)
 
Well today I got a source for waste veg oil, quite a reliable one hopefully. So might consider dragging the processor out and christening it after all!
Funny, I thought I would get more comments on this thread, I guessed there'd be copious amounts of thrifty landy drivers running around on stuff they just cookied their battered mars bar in! :D (Maybe they are all still stuck on't side of road :D)

Well, maybe not over the last few days, but historically there has been a lot of discussion on here about alternatives to forecourt diesel, its practicalities, possible side effects and legalities. So it's in here somewhere. I don't know how readily it can be found with the search function though.
 
I eventually just bought svo in the end as I got fed up collecting and making bio but as the cost of svo is currently much higher than pump derv it now makes sense. But I don't have a car that can run on either and if I did that cnt kharn is introducing ulez where I am so I couldn't drive it any way.

Let's be honest no modern diesel can run on the stuff Kia had an issue a few years back with fuel filters waxing up with pump derv which has a % of bio in it all ready.

Just make sure you polish the end product well and your good to go
 
Haha. Khunt. Couldn't agree more. Piece of ****en human trash.

"Just make sure you polish the end product well and your good to go" - If that's true I should look at it with the way things are going. Just nervous, spent enough on my bloody Disco (and yet more to spend for chassis replacement). The thought of buggering engine scares me, but I know it's probably a silly fear, bolstered by my mechanical ignorance :D.
 
Pump diesel is now called B7, and contains 7% bio content.
Most diesel engines built before 2010 aren't designed to run in it, but now there's no choice. :confused:
Except additives, which I use from time to time.
I don't know if it is absolutely necessary, but a Kubota injection pump is extremely expensive.
 
Except additives, which I use from time to time.
I don't know if it is absolutely necessary, but a Kubota injection pump is extremely expensive.
I don't know about the Kabota pump, but I suspect many injection issues in the future could be put down to diesel, which isn't 100% pure.
The wife's VW filler door and my FL2 owners handbook both suggest that bio-diesel shouldn't be used. :confused:
 
I don't know about the Kabota pump, but I suspect many injection issues in the future could be put down to diesel, which isn't 100% pure.
The wife's VW filler door and my FL2 owners handbook both suggest that bio-diesel shouldn't be used. :confused:
Not just injection issues.
The additives also deal with diesel bug, which is a big concern if you carry up to 1000 litres of diesel.
A lot to throw away if it all goes black.
 
Pump diesel is now called B7, and contains 7% bio content.
Most diesel engines built before 2010 aren't designed to run in it, but now there's no choice. :confused:

Choice? Of course not. What the hell do you want one of those for? You just do as you're told you pleb. Sorry, I was just imagining I was one of the elite working towards the demise of the cumbustion engine so we are all on foot or horseback, economies collapse, we starve, OR accept global communism where everyone is equal, even the elites driving Teslas and tracking our every move and every spend with their digital currency and tracking chips. Hooray, can't wait for 2030.

 
Sorry, I was just imagining I was one of the elite working towards the demise of the cumbustion engine

I'm ok with the demise of the IC engine if I'm honest. At least the oil companies won't be able to hold the entire globe to ransom.

Bring on the death of OPEC that's what I say!! :D
 
I'm ok with the demise of the IC engine if I'm honest. At least the oil companies won't be able to hold the entire globe to ransom.

Bring on the death of OPEC that's what I say!! :D

Crikey. Steady. OPEC? Yeah, kill em for all I care. But which major industry do you know of that isn't run by a cabal of masonic elitist satanic fu*ks?
After what we have just been through, today's global evil is far from oil, it's big pharma, big government, big power and tyranny, in my opinion anyway.

But cheering on the demise of the IC engine in order to take out OPEC, little bit short-sighted and dangerous if you ask me. Millions, tens of millions, or more likely hundreds of millions of people would die if the engine was done away with overnight. Just to take out a few corrupt big biz guys? Bit like saying nearly all serial killers are men, lets kill all men, so we get em all!

Fascinates me to see such a big contributor to LZ saying he's "ok with the demise of the IC engine". Bye bye forum. Bye bye healthcare, emergency services, economies (which poor people depend on more than rich), bye bye FOOD, bye bye everything which pretty much sustains life. I think I'd rather hang OPEC and keep the old oil, but hey, I was always a bit radical :D
 
Crikey. Steady. OPEC? Yeah, kill em for all I care. But which major industry do you know of that isn't run by a cabal of masonic elitist satanic fu*ks?
After what we have just been through, today's global evil is far from oil, it's big pharma, big government, big power and tyranny, in my opinion anyway.

But cheering on the demise of the IC engine in order to take out OPEC, little bit short-sighted and dangerous if you ask me. Millions, tens of millions, or more likely hundreds of millions of people would die if the engine was done away with overnight. Just to take out a few corrupt big biz guys? Bit like saying nearly all serial killers are men, lets kill all men, so we get em all!

Fascinates me to see such a big contributor to LZ saying he's "ok with the demise of the IC engine". Bye bye forum. Bye bye healthcare, emergency services, economies (which poor people depend on more than rich), bye bye FOOD, bye bye everything which pretty much sustains life. I think I'd rather hang OPEC and keep the old oil, but hey, I was always a bit radical :D
Bye, then.

The psychiatrists office is second on the left down the corridor on your way out.
 
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