Didn’t the early Diesel engine run on peanut oil ..Infact I have a mate with an old Peugeot diesel he uses old cooking oil filtered out adding a drop of white spirit he’s even mixed in old engine oil to the fuel his spare downstairs room all geared up ..?? .he adds more pump diesel in the winter when temperatures get low ..I thought the newer diesel injector pumps wouldn’t run long using this cocktail ??? Interesting to hear back on what you get fir a grand ?...pre heat for the fuel maybe ..Great news to have an expert in our midst. So what’s your take on running veg oil with the standard fuel pump @TAABVW ?
Hi there,
I have run Elsbett 1 and 2 tank conversions in 6 cars for over 15 years. 2 A4s 2 A6s an A2 all 1 tank and a Merc V6 CDI 2007 2 tank. I must have done close to 500,000 miles on WVO. I have not had a single vegetable oil related mechanical problem in any of these cars. Converted properly and carefully they run completely reliably on 100% WVO all year round (though I do keep them in an underground garage in the winter). One of my current veggy cars is an A2 TDI90. It does 60-70mpg (normally over 600 miles on a tank) and runs much quieter. Power is unaffected when warm though a bit sluggish when cold.
Downs sides: Oil changes at 4500 miles. Fuel filter changes at 13500 miles (every 3rd oil change). Sourcing the oil can be tricky. Can't do more than about 30,000 miles per year legally. Importantly thats 30,000 miles per household, not per car.
Having done all the conversions myself I have a lot of experience and quite a personal relationship with Elsbetts ex chief engineer. Elsbett went bust some years ago but the Chief Engineer uses his knowledge to continue his own business.
Elbett kits are not cheap but they do what it says on the tin.
In summary. If you can fit the kit yourself, do your own servicing, have a reliable source of oil and don't mind the hassle, then svo/wvo is extremely viable.
I recently worked out that running my TDI90 at 65mpg on WVO at 40ppl is cheaper than electric!
Elsbett 1 tank A2 kits are currently 1050 Euros plus tax plus postage plus fitting so a little over £1000 plus fitting.
I have considered offering a fitting service but thought that it wouldn't be very popular or profitable. The final bill would likely be around £2k and not many people want to spent that on a 15+ year old car. Pay back is about 30,000 miles.
I'm happy to answer any questions about running WVO or Elsbett kits.
Trevor
Thanks Trevor, agreed with your comments 're twin vs single tank, I'll single tank the second a2 I convert. The quote I got was from Kerfoot group, they are based in Goole, but the price included delivery in a 1000l tank. they might do a deal on group purchases if a few of us go the vegoil route.....CheersHi Nod,
You could fit your twin tank kit to either 75 or 90. VVT wont be affected as starting on diesel, might even help it with better emissions.
To be honest, if you are fitting a twin tank system then you could have fitted an Elsbett 1 tank yourself.
Glow timing will be unaffected as you are starting on diesel.
Engine timing mechanically will not change.
Injection timing and duration will be ok as you are not switching to veg until it is hot. I don't know how (or even if) the Elsbett ECU adjusts this when hot but there are plenty of 2 tank systems out there that leave this alone.
I know you have already bought your kit, but for others I would warn that a 2 tank system can be quite inconvenient. You are going to drive about 5 miles before you switch and another 5 miles to purge so any journey less than about 10 miles will be on diesel. Its also very easy to forget to switch to purge. I twin tanked my V6 Merc E320CDI (common rail) and found that is was then only really good for long journeys, hence I bought an A2 as well and 1 tanked it.
Let me know how you get on with oil purchase as I'm always collecting leads.
Trevor
From memory it was about £850 delivered to Cornwall, but that includes a deposit on the IBC, it was for rapeseed oil, as I read that was best for running and also because I want to avoid Palm and soya based oils..sunflower might be cheaper and still avoid chopping down rainforests... CheersCan I ask what price they are offering for 1000l of new oil delivered in an IBC (tank)?
From memory it was about £850 delivered to Cornwall, but that includes a deposit on the IBC, it was for rapeseed oil, as I read that was best for running and also because I want to avoid Palm and soya based oils..sunflower might be cheaper and still avoid chopping down rainforests... Cheers
@Kaz does that explain you drop in MPG? "Just one other downside I missed running veg. If you love your trip computer then you might get a shock. For some reason, I assume viscosity variations, the trip computer might drastically under read (ie says your doing 45mpg when actually your doing 65mpg) "
Hi Trevor, rain stopped playing at the weekend, hopefully get the kit installed next weekend. My ecu is remapped, so I've no idea what will happen, but I'll let you know. Cheers nodIf you want to run new oil then I have always found Costo difficult to beat. They sell in 20L cubies and buying 4 or 5 of these from Costco isn't out of the ordinary for a wholesaler whereas buy 20no 5L tubs from Tesco starts to get inconvenient. Personally I have always run recycled oil that I filter through old sheets in a laundry basket in the top of a water butt. Primative but it works and is cost effective.
Just one other downside I missed running veg. If you love your trip computer then you might get a shock. For some reason, I assume viscosity variations, the trip computer might drastically under read (ie says your doing 45mpg when actually your doing 65mpg). Using VCDS one can adjust this but the 10% maximim adjustment is not enough to bring it back to correct. For example my average indicated is about 60mpg (after adjusting the reading to the max with VCDS) but I get over 600 miles on 42 litres. This might be due to the ECU reprogram so I would be interested to see if a 2 tank conversion running a stock ECU has the same characteristic.
Trevor
A bit off topic: The clip on the side of the oil sump that holds the pipe from the turbo to the intercooler is a poor design. Every A2 TDI I have seen this clip has failed. Resultant movement of the said pipe rubbing against the failed plastic clip can wear a hole in the aluminium pipe and leak boost. I didn't think plastic would wear away aluminium but I can promise you it can.It could be something else like a leak or oil getting to intake - when my turbo hose came off it was smoking bad for few days (i suspect i still have a hole in intercooler) it went away once that contaminated air burned off and it runs smog free now.
It could be simply that it is low on air to maintain the mixture, it doesn't seem to adjust very quick on mine, if i put foot down it can take a bit longer to spool up however if i got about half and then put foot down where it should have boost built up it goes fine.
Still investigating what it could be but intercooler or intake hose that goes onto the turbo are my prime suspects at the moment.