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[BazaJT]

What is wrong with the stuff?In all my motoring years I've never owned a Diesel engined vehicle and as far as I can see at present I'm unlikely ever to do so.The reason for the question[out of curiosity]is that I saw a 15 plate Mondeo[the latest shape]Diesel today and in the rearmost nearside window was a sticker which said biodiesel should not be used.Surely a modern car should be able to run on it?Or is the Mondeo engine an "old"design,just refreshed in some way?

[Doctor Gollum]

Most diesel sold contains a biodiesel element...

They don't tell you that when you buy the car new, and the first 'normal' people find out about it is when the garage uses it to wriggle out of warranty claims

Another reason why some diesels are best avoided

[TD]

What is wrong with the stuff?In all my motoring years I've never owned a Diesel engined vehicle and as far as I can see at present I'm unlikely ever to do so.The reason for the question[out of curiosity]is that I saw a 15 plate Mondeo[the latest shape]Diesel today and in the rearmost nearside window was a sticker which said biodiesel should not be used.Surely a modern car should be able to run on it?Or is the Mondeo engine an "old"design,just refreshed in some way?

Other way round....modern diesels are fussy on what they burn....pick on a 10yr+ old diesel and you can pretty much chuck in it what you like 

[ronnyd]

Some people used to run their old oil burners on used chip shop oil.

[BazaJT]

Surprising is that TD.I'd have thought with biodiesel being the "new"fuel that modern engines would be designed/built with this in mind.Yes ronnyd I know some used to use old chip shop oil,I've even smelled some of them as they passed by on the road

[Sir Tigger KC]

I've run 2 cars on 'Bio Diesel', a Rover 216 and a Mercedes C250.  I used to get it from ASDA or Costco whichever was cheapest! 

I used to get some funny looks in ASDA when I turned up at the checkout with a trolley full of veggie oil! 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Some people used to run their old oil burners on used chip shop oil.

I still do. My Merc 190D runs on it all the time. 2% petrol mixed in to thin it in the winter months.
Including the previous owner, its done around 40k on it now and still runs perfectly.
Its only done 227k miles though ,so the engine is still a bit tight. 
The injection pump is the size of a Honda 50 engine, and could probably pump grease through to the injectors if asked to.
Modern diesel pumps though, are fragile little things with electrickery attached, so they wouldn't last 5 minutes on it.
I do love the running costs which vary between 150mpg and infinite mpg, depending on whether I get the oil for free, or sometimes have to pay 30p per litre. 

[biggriffin]

It's all to do with the way bio diesel burns, and yet again it's all to do with dpf's they basically don't like bio-diesel at over 5%, also the injectors/pumps gum up, on modern high pressure systems.

[Ever Ready]

Fuel dispensers don't like it either.

Many a time the dispensers at our sites would stop giving out fuel due to the pump filter being full of gunge

[citroenguy]

Biodiesel and veggie oil are two different things.

Biodiesel is refined Vegetable oil/plant oil. it is produced using an alcohol (usually methanol).
The end result is a fuel with very similar properties to normal derv.
PSA says that all of their HDI diesels can run on a 30% biodiesel mix.

The problems with running unprocessed veggie oil are that the seals don't like it an they'll start leaking, though there is seal kits that can handle it for some models. It also freezes easily which requires the need for heated lines and tank, unless you live in Spain or California  also it gums up the fuel filter more quickly (as does biodiesel).

But I like the idea.. Might buy an Miggy 2.5 td or XM diesel and give it a try som time     

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Vegoil damages the seals on some engines and not others. For example, 190D never has a problem, the c250 engine which followed it does. Isuzu 1.7 is ok and I believe the XUD1.9 is ok too.
Freezing or clogging up filters depends greatly on the quality of the vegoil used, but 2 -3 % petrol mixed in, or 15 - 20% diesel, usually overcomes these pitfalls.
To my knowledge the 2.5 Omega (BMW) engine was never very happy running on 100% vegoil, but was fine on something like a 50/50 mix.
I'm pretty sure the XM would be fine on 100% vegoil.

For anyone interested, there is a very good online forum which hasa wealth of info / knowledge on the subject.
http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/mybbforum/index.php

[citroenguy]

Biodiesel and veggie oil are two different things.

Biodiesel is refined Vegetable oil/plant oil. it is produced using an alcohol (usually methanol).
The end result is a fuel with very similar properties to normal derv.
PSA says that all of their HDI diesels can run on a 30% biodiesel mix.

The problems with running unprocessed veggie oil are that the seals* don't like it an they'll start leaking, though there is seal kits that can handle it for some models. It also freezes easily which requires the need for heated lines and tank, unless you live in Spain or California  also it gums up the fuel filter more quickly (as does biodiesel).

But I like the idea.. Might buy an Miggy 2.5 td or XM diesel and give it a try som time 

Edit: *it the seals in the diesel pump

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I was also referring to the seals in the pumps, but didn't word it very well. 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Yup, the old Turbo Weasel ran on 50-50 for a long while.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

General rule of thumb with vegoil is, if the engine has a Bosch fuel pump it will probably be ok to use . If it doesn't, it probably wont.