The best way to run A2 on bio fuel/SVO/RME/Refined WVO

ecoangel

ecoangel

Well-Known Member
ELSBETT do 4 kits for the A2 TDI:

1.2 TDI
1.4 TDI: 3 models: 2000-2003, 2003-2005 and the 90HP model.

From their tech bumpf:

Short technical description of the conversion kit
The kit contains all relevant parts necessary for the modification of your diesel engine to
be operated with vegetable oil according to the „Vegetable Oil Quality Standard“.
Specifically, the conversion kit contains - among other parts - the following components:
 
kit contents:

http://www.elsbett.com

• EDC / PCM modification
• Glow plugs
• Fuel filter
• Stop-****
• Hydraulic fuel heat exchanger
• Electric fuel pre-heater (assembled on
the fuel filter)
• Temperature sensor
• Relays and relay holder
• Fuel lines
• Coolant lines
• Manual fuel feed pump (to bleed the fuel
system)
• Instructions for installation
• Add. Tank for diesel burner (preheater)
– on request

Wire harness for the electric system is supplied, Wire capacities are to be seen from the wiring
scheme which is part of the delivery package. All components have to be installed according
to the instructions and in consideration of the applicable safety standards!
ELSBETT conversion kits always marked out by a high quality and a high range of
completeness. However in case you will miss something from the part list, we will
deliver it shortly and cost-free.

This modification-kit is designed to be installed by people who have the necessary expertise
to consider the professional requirements in the field of diesel engines, electronics etc.. The
expected fitting time is app. 2 days (1 person).

Important: During the conversion you have to send the EDC / PCM module to the
ELSBETT company. We recommend to start with this step, so we can do the
modification work while you are finishing the other part of the conversion. The
modification work takes normally 1 day in our company. After this we send the EDC
/PCM-module back to you.
 
Biomotors Offer

Perhaps if there is enbough interest we as A2OC TDI members could get together to get a group discount for an Elsbett conversion!

Kit cost was just under £500 (but Euro rate now worse for us Brits) and installation was £750 incl VAT.

Please read below:

Dear Lukas

You recently requested information about upgrading to run on pure rapeseed oil.

Please accept my apology that you have had to wait so long for a response.

This is partly because I have been very busy campaigning to ensure that the government does not increase the tax on rapeseed oil, and partly due to the huge response to our advertising campaign in TheBigIssue. That showed me that there is obviously widespread concern about Climate Change, so I find it all the more difficult to understand why the government seem to be turning such a blind eye to the dangers it presents. I have put links in a "politics" page to some of the reports from Parliamentary Committees on the subject.

We are also conducting a very exciting pilot scheme to offer complete solutions for carbon-neutral living:
- using the rapeseed cake (the co-product from when the oil is extracted) to power biomass boilers
- using biodiesel (produced from used cooking oil) as a direct replacement for kerosene in unmodified domestic boilers and Aga cookers.
- setting up a community green-car pool and vegoil filling station to encourage car-sharing.
- promoting even quicker ways to start going green. For example it is really easy to switch to a green-source electricity supplier. We use Good Energy and are very happy with them, but there are others to choose from too.

Our aim is to offer all the bite-size elements which anyone can fit into their everyday lives, which build to give a complete carbon-neutral solution. Whether you want to heat your house or workplace using a Biomass boiler or biodiesel, use direct solar water heating, buy locally grown food, drive on locally-grown rapeseed oil, pay into a carbon-offseting fund whenever you need to fly, you really will be going green, without any reduction in quality of life.

I'll keep you updated with progress of our pilot schemes over time.

Tell People About it

Even if you do not upgrade your engine, please TELL PEOPLE about driving on rapessed oil. Even many MPs don't realise it is possible, and is the second best way to reduce our road-transport carbon emissions - (the best way being not driving at all!!)

Oil supply

Note that you can always fill up with normal fossil-diesel even after your vehicle has been upgraded. Apart from that, please remember the following:

1. Only use rapeseed oil that has passed the DIN51605 quality standard to ensure trouble-free running. WE NEED YOUR HELP to set up our network of filling stations - If you know a farm-shop or community shop which might be interested in hosting one of our distribution tanks, then please suggest it to them.

Until then, we can supply 1000 litre cubes (called IBCs) at 91p/l including duty, VAT and delivery.

2. Do not use fuels that have led to rainforest destruction - imported soya and palm oils, which are also imported to make biodiesel, are even promoted by UK legislation. They may be "Bio", but they are certainly not Green!


Installing the upgrade kit

We will be happy to fit car and van kits for you at an additional cost of 750 pounds including VAT, but your garage may be able to fit it for you if you prefer.

Kit Prices for your vehicle

Current prices include delivery and 17.5% VAT and are in pounds sterling. Prices offer a 3% price reduction relative to Elsbett list prices.

Please confirm back to us the code of the kit you wish to order and we will send you a proforma invoice. Your upgrade kit will be despatched on receipt of payment.

Biomotors receive a 10% margin from the German technology company Elsbett, (who pioneered the concept of driving on vegetable oil), on sales we make of Elsbett kits, and we offer 3% back to you as a price reduction.

We are investing the remainder in promoting the concept of driving on locally produced rapeseed oil, as we feel it is essential to raise people's awareness of the dangers posed by using fossil fuels and by using biofuels produced at the expense of the tropical rainforest.

All published price lists are subject to change without notice and are only for shipping within the UK. The offer in this e-mail is valid for 21 days.

Type of upgrade possible on your vehicle

Unfortunately, not all vehicles can have a 1-tank system fitted. Kits saying "2-Tank" need a small starter tank in the boot for normal diesel, which is used until the engine is warm, when it switches to taking veg-oil from the main tank. You must remember to switch back to diesel about 3 miles before arriving at your final destination to ensure that the pump and injectors are clear of veg-oil, ready for cold starting the next day.

Vehicles listed as IMPOSSIBLE cannot be safely converted, as they have an injection pump that is unsuited for vegetable oil. Vehicles listed as UNFEASIBLE would require special tuning of their engine management system, which render the upgrade impractical.

Alternatives

We understand that people are hesitant to make any changes to their cars, so we are setting up two alternative concepts, UPGRADED VEHICLE SALES, and UPGRADED VEHICLE LEASING. Would you be interested in either of those? If so, let me know what your ideal vehicle would be, and a price range.

Pricelist matches to your enquiry:

Make
ID
Model / Year / EngineCode / Cylinders / CC / Power[kW/PS/BHP] / revs / PumpMake/Type / UpgradeType
Type
Kit Price
AUDI 40500010 A2-1,2 TDI PD/2001-05/ANY/3cyl./1191ccm/45kW/61,2PS/BHP/4000min-1/BOSCH/UI/2-Tank-SE2010 2-Tank-Kit 497.12
AUDI 40500020 A2-1,4 TDI PD/2000-05/AMF/3cyl./1422ccm/55kW/74,8PS/BHP/4000min-1/BOSCH/UI/2-Tank-SE2010 2-Tank-Kit 497.12
AUDI 40500024 A2-1,4 TDI PD/2003-/ATL/3cyl./1422ccm/66kW/90PS/BHP/4000min-1/BOSCH/UI/2-Tank-SE2010 2-Tank-Kit 497.12
AUDI 40500022 A2-1,4 TDI PD/2003-/BHC/3cyl./1422ccm/55kW/75PS/BHP/4000min-1/BOSCH/UI/2-Tank-SE2010 2-Tank-Kit 497.12

The essential things to check are the injection pump make, and the power and year. These give the best indication of which is the right kit for you.

We will put carbon-neutral living on the map. Be a part of it....

Many thanks,

Dominic Goodwin M.Eng MBA
Director
Biomotors Ltd.
Tel. 01622 858325
 
Where do these rapseed oil come from? Does it take away farmland that was otherwise used for crops? I do hope these oil wasn't contributing to the high food prices and starving the people who can no longer afford the basic staple food.
 
In the developed world, rapeseed is mainly grown on fallow fields, as it nitrates the soil as well as providing a useful crop.

In other parts though, forests are being cleared just to plant the crop and palm oil too, leading to de-forestation and loss of habitat for many species.

We all need to breathe first and foremost, and without forests, the worlds oxygen production line is going to grind to a halt!

There is always enough food to go round, but slowly and surely, mankind is becoming more of an infestation on this planet, rather than a part of the balance.

Cheers,

Mike
 
did you see the tv programme this week with the kids eating mud pies as they have no food thanks to growing biofuels? shocking stuff, looks like a big problem developing.
i'm running some vehicles on a 50/50 mix of diesel and old veggie oil, i'm not sure if that's contributing to the same problems indirectly? though i must add some places i'm aquiring the stuff are actually throwing it away instead of returning and recycling, one cafe has been throwing 20lt drums into a skip!
 
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yep, 22k miles in one (07 registered!) vehicle and going strong possibly 60k miles combined in various vans/cars at work, if my pump fails i'm still quids in, b****r paying £1.21 lt at the pump for a full tank.
 
I Wonder how long it will be before the goverment catches up with the fact that
some people run there cars on Veggie Oil and they whack 100% Stealth Tax on it
then the price of Fish and Chips will Break through the £5.00 Barrier LOL !!!!
 
the law was updated in 06, totally legal to use up to 2500lt a year in your car without paying duty, i posted the article sometime ago, you can google the legal document:D
 
OK this thread is just testing the water

Let's have a seperate thread on the ethics of biofuels chaps and chapesses.

This thread is for those of you who want to convert you car to run properly on biofuel and Waste Veggie Oil.

The club has managed to obtain discounts in the past and this could be an opportunity to run you car even more efficiently on both wallet and the environment.
 
RME is widely available in the EU to a standard that IS suitable for A2 TDIs.

However in the UK there are lots of horror stories of clogged fuel filters and injectors because the source fuel did not meet the EN and RME standard.

There are also some cowboy devices on ebay that claim to let your TDI run on chip fat.

Well - it's not worth it - far better to get a proper system from the designers of Dumpe Duse.

With fuel likely to hit £1.50 a litre by Sept 2008 I am up for starting a group buy if there is sufficient interest in an Elsbett system.

Please PM or post here.
 
As an 'early pioneer' of using veg oil I am always interested in such options, however given the present price of SVO, the payback time for me would be near 2 years - at current prices!

Back in my Cordoba days (non pd) SVO cost half that of diesel when bought from Lidl etc.. nowadays it's nearer 2/3 of the price. On these grounds, a conversion would have to be much more economical to perform in order to justify the extra effort required :(
 
New to this thread - but I've read quite a few stories of people running older diesels perfectly happily on normal vegetable oil - there was a feature on Fifth Gear on it too which had a Merc diesel I think - is there something about the PD engines that means they can't be run this way? Fully understand there might be problems if it's waste cooking oil that has lumps of goodness knows what still stuck in it, but is there something else going on?
 
well i'm a chef and when we clean the fryers at work the oil gets ditched. If I get a special filter I think I could get free fuel. Assuming that I need this kit that costs about £990 in order to prevent damage in the long run, how easy (or not) is it to fit? Might be interested in the group buy thing if the prospect of fitting the kit myself seems likely. Otherwise I think the cost of getting a mechanic to do it would make the investment not worth the while.

Also, has anyone been running their A2 engines on waste veggie oil that has been filtered WITHOUT any engine mods and if so how long have you been doing it (miles) and have you had any probs?

Cheers,

Martin
 
@Martin - I'm still new here and still catching up on the posts on this subject, but I understand that you should be able to use a mixture of pump diesel and filtered waste oil safely without any mods, so long as you don't push the ratio of pump diesel to oil too high (50:50 maximum I think)?

I'm sure other members will correct me if I've interpreted the information incorrectly.
 
Very interesting. Is there anyone here 'in the know' so to speak who can confirm or deny this? Given the rise in fuel prices I'd be keen to get a filter off ebay and start using waste oil from work.

cheers, martin.

PS I have checked the elsbett website and unless I'm mistaken the a2 system costs £990 PLUS 19% VAT which is £1178.10 not including delivery cost. Are there not cheaper alternatives? I see ATG have a kit that costs between £500 and £600 claiming to do the same thing.

PPS, Just found this website: http://www.biomotors.co.uk/CarsVans.html where the elsbett a2 kit appears to be on sale for £497.12 all in! This INCLUDES VAT and delivery!!! I assume the prices on the elsbett website are actually intended to be euros even though there is a £ sign next to it :D Quite tempted to buy this kit to be honest.

-I just noticed that the one on the elsbett website is a one-tank system and the other one I found is a two-tank system. Website says 2-3 days fitting time by 'trained fitter'. They will do it for £750 PLUS vat. Bit pricey I think (all things considered) but I don't think it's a great idea to buy the kit with the intention of undertaking the job myself. Not had much luck with these things in the past :(
 
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I recently drove through Bolney in Sussex and noticed bio diesel available for £1.19 a litre, regular diesel is available locally for £1.24, I reaaly didn't feel the cost difference justified using biodiesel for the potential risk to the car.
 
Hi Martin

There is some interesting info on processing veg oil to make your own fuel in the attached link. For anyone not aware, the rules on excise duty did change to allow home production (up to 2500 L??) without paying fuel tax.
http://www.bio-power.co.uk/svo.htm

Cheers Spike
 
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