Skoda Fabia 2012 1.6 TDI Vegetable Oil fuel mix?

[howard2]

Does anyone have experience of running a Skoda Fabia 2012 TDI or another vehicle with the same/similar engine (*see end for details) on fuel containing vegetable oil? Lots of the articles/posts I've come across just mention older vehicles (mid 2000's and earlier) and tend to discourage doing this with "newer" diesels.

I've done some research online and it looks like blending in small amounts to each tank probably wouldn't do harm, but too much probably might cause issues such as problems starting it, particularly in cold weather. The main issue it might cause particularly at first is apparently clogged fuel filters, so factor changing them regularly at the start till the system gets flushed out.

If anyone has tried this on this model or similar models experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I was thinking of adding say 5l of vegetable oil to a tank of standard diesel to start with might be a good starting point. Alternatively I've seen some people recommending mixing vegetable oil with petrol, particularly in winter (e.g. 20% petrol to 80% vegetable oil should be ok in temperatures down to -18C http://www.biopowered.co.uk/wiki/Blending_vegetabl... ). So could add 5l vegetable oil, 0.5l petrol to a tank of diesel to offset viscosity and cold temperature issues? If this went well then gradually try increasing the ratio of vegetable oil and petrol to diesel and see how it goes?

For starters I would just test with fresh vegetable oil but if it went well I might try processing used vegetable oil in the future.

Thanks for any help and If there are good resources you'd recommend checking please post.

• 1.6 TDI CR, 66 kW, 2010–2014, CAYB (EA189), 1598 ccm, I4, 16V, DOHC, common-rail, turbocharged 66 kW (90 PS; 89 hp) at 4200 rpm, 230 Nm. (170 lb•ft) at 1500–2500 rpm

[howard2]

Thanks for the replies. Roughly how many miles did you manage on the veg oil lost in espace before the engines died? That's impressive using a centrifuge, it must have been massive to have processed enough for it to have been worth it, I used to work in a lab with one but it was for small volumes only.

If you buy the oil at 80p/l which is the cheapest from the supermarkets currently (Morrisons in a 5l bottle), you'd be saving around 50p/l (40%) compared to standard diesel. If it would cope with 10l or 15l in the winter and maybe 15l or 20l in the summer it could add up over time e.g. filling a 40l tank with the following veg oil quantities instead of diesel and assuming same mpg would save:

Veg Oil Cost saving Cost saving %
5l £2.50 5
10l £5.00 10
15l £7.50 15
20l £10.00 20

Also it's more environmentally sustainable, but maybe not worth the hassle and risk! Red diesel would save a lot more but I wouldn't do that. Hopefully others will reply about their experiences in similar cars.

[howard2]

Thanks for the advice. I've found some forums where blending veg. oil with petrol and/or diesel seem to have been ok with these sorts of vehicles but who knows?! Bit of a gamble!