Biodiesel - is it safe to use?

[TriumphVitesse]

Hi All,

Theres a yard near where I live advertising 'Biodiesel 85p per litre'. Question is can I put it straight in my car & drive off into the sunset without having to modify anything? Car is a 2001 Rover 2.0TD which used the old BMW 320D engine I think.

Car is bog standard with no modifications.

Cheers

[The Wookie]

generally, old non-commonrail jobbies should run no problem. Newer stuff can be problematic.

It needs to be filtered and have the water removed, and I believe a mix with 'normal' diesel is recommended, but I'm sure someone will be along soon to explain in detail.

Edited by The Wookie on Thursday 21st October 16:35

[TheEnd]

That's generally it, mechanical injection systems work OK, but common rail stuff is done to a lot higher tolerances.

The biggest factor might be car companies not too keen on people picking the chips out of their fuel, and variable quality etc.

[nottyash]

That engine will be fine.I ran an old cavalier on it no problems.
The VW PDI engines take a bit to start on the stuff but actually run ok, bit I wouldnt recommend it.

Just find what temperatures its suitable for with the cold weather coming up.
That is cheap, a place near me charges £1.09 so its not worth it.

[dome]

TriumphVitesse said:

Hi All,

Theres a yard near where I live advertising 'Biodiesel 85p per litre'. Question is can I put it straight in my car & drive off into the sunset without having to modify anything? Car is a 2001 Rover 2.0TD which used the old BMW 320D engine I think.

Car is bog standard with no modifications.

Cheers

What kind of Rove is it? If its a 25/45 with the Rover L series then at that age you may have problems-the earlier version of that engine in the 200sd is fine with its Bosch fuel pump but later ones have Lucas pumps which aren't as good.

Have a look at www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk for info, also theres a good MG/Rover forum which escapes me.

[thinfourth2]

Be aware it can strip the rubbish out of the fuel lines so carry a spare fuel filter


You'll never need it until the day you don't have it in the glovebox

[Rich_W]

Anything post circa '05 is probably not ideal for BioDiesel. A lot of manufacturers actually ay so in the tank flap. Given they don't really care where you get fuel from you have to wonder why if there was no long term problem.

[binlicker]

Biodiesel is still an unregulated industry, if you can get the equipment you can make and distribute biodiesel. This in itself makes using the stuff a risk in my eyes.

Currently any diesel you buy has an element of biodiesel in it now, around 5% I think and at that concentration most engines are fine. As stated by someone earlier most older engines will happily chug around on much higher concentrations.

However modern diesels utilizing common rail and multi jet etc technology are far more highly strung and can react badly to high concentrations of biodiesel. The main problem is a higher water content than normal diesel, this can sometimes lead to algae growth in fuel tanks, also as somebody has previously mentioned it is more harsh than normal diesel and can strip crap from the inside of your tank and fuel lines.

From experience blocked fuel filters and burnt out injectors are the usual result.

[anonymous-user]

o.k 1 pound a litre and seems to offer a good service. I have a 306 hdi and looking at max 1-1 with diesel.

but a few things pout me off, a Gumtree add saying he a crook and his eBay buying habits...


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Biodiesel-1-per-litre-no...