Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Guinney1971]

hi all,

the answer to my query may well decide whether or not I get an Omega, or whether I go to the dark side and get a Mercedes 300D Estate.....

We want a car that will run on WVO (filtered waste cooking oil) like our Cavalier and Astra do (with the 1.7TD Isuzu engine).

I've been hearing horror stories about the fuel pumps on the Omega 2.5TD, and wondered if anyone on here had any experience of running an Omega on WVO, and if so, if you modded the car in anyway or just ran it.

Cheers,

Claire

[twiglet]

Hi Claire,

It would seem as though our minds are on the same track...  I also run a cavalier 1.7TD on WVO, and I've just acquired an Omega 2.5TD that I plan on converting to run on WVO.

When I asked this very question a few months back, I didn't get very positive feedback if I'm honest.  Having done more research, there seem to be 2 weak points in the Omega setup... 1. the seals on the injection pump don't seem to like wvo, and are likely to leak, and 2. the lift pump in the fuel tank may well struggle to pump straight wvo, especially when cold.

These problems can be overcome, but it depends how far you want to go.  The Merc 300D is a far more tried and tested car if you don't want to spend time and money on a conversion.

Out of interest, do you run the Isuzu lumps on straight wvo, or a wvo/diesel mix? Do you use any pre-heating in the colder months?

Cheers 

[tidla]

good place for info.

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/index.php

preheating the veg/diesel is a good thing any time of year, more so when its thick as treacle at temps like this.

i have fitted a coolant heat exchanger which is only 4" square and does a good job of preheating.

[Guinney1971]

my other half is on the veggie oil forum, so we often look on there for info.

The Cav and the Astra run on 100% WVO, the Cav has done about 70k on it now, the Astra 8k.  The Cav has got a flat plate heat exchanger, but we havent put one on the Astra yet.  The Astra was a bit reluctant to start the other day, so I've (reluctantly) stuck 15L of dino derv in it, and now it starts fine.

It would seem then, as we dont want to muck about modding cars (again) that an Omega will not be my next car then      oh well, a Merc 300D it is then - luckilly I used to work for Mercedes so have plenty of contacts for spare parts and getting it fixed when it goes wrong 

Gutted, I was really looking forward to getting a 2.5TD Elite with all the bells and whistles 

Claire

[Andy B]

....
Gutted, I was really looking forward to getting a 2.5TD Elite with all the bells and whistles 

Claire

They're thin on the ground anyway. 

[Elite Pete]

I sold the Omega Wheesel and kept the Disco because it would run on WVO

[tigers_gonads]

Imo Yes, but in winter, no more then 20/80 mix 
In summer, 30/70 will run very well as long as you change the canister fuel filter every couple of weeks.  I used to pour in some injector cleaner into the filter, once a month to give it a good clean out.
Your car will smell like a rather chip shop but seems to run smoother and better 

Run mine like that for 2 1/2 years untill I scrapped it.  ( engine was great / rest of the car fell apart  )

[Guinney1971]

lol, I laugh when people say about my Astra Cabby that runs on 100% WVO "but doesnt it stink of chips when you've got the roof down?"

Well, as far as I knew, exhaust fumes go out of the back of the vehicle and therefore *away* from the car, so .............   

Veg smells a darnsite better then diesel any day of the week.

Anyway, having chatted further to 'im indoors' and him saying "its your car, have what you want", I'm gonna go for a 2.0 Auto estate with LPG - hopefully I'll get a reasonable one in my £1000 budget?

Claire

[Debs.]

I sold the Omega Wheesel and kept the Disco because it would run on WVO

That reminds me, Pete: I`ve got half a bottle of this here for you; when next we meet!

....I used it with the Disco`s DERV/VO mixes last winter.

http://www.lucasoil.co.uk/products.php?page=products&subpage=product&product=79

[albitz]

Im very keen on the idea of running a car on chip fat. Problem is finding a good regular, cheap supply of the stuff.

[Guinney1971]

Im very keen on the idea of running a car on chip fat. Problem is finding a good regular, cheap supply of the stuff.

we're finding that now, we've got our regular suppliers, and have been leafleting local cafe's, pubs and restaurants, but we're finding now we have to pay for it, typically anything up to £3 for 20 litres of waste oil, which then has to be filtered before it can go in the Cav or the Astra.

Chip shops are no good though, they never change the oil in their fryers, the just get the batter bits and fish heads out at night and top the oil up.

You can buy it new from wholesalers like Makro, typically around £18 for 20L, which is about 90p a litre - still 40p a litre cheaper then buying it at the pumps, and of course you dont have to pay any duty on it or declare it to HMRC (since June 2007), so its tax free too! 

[vaiduoklis]

Done almost 30.000 miles on wvo. There is a lot of money left from your fuel bill. Diesel magic and new fuel filter with every oil change.  Cleaned tank twice during year during winter i really like to do this recipe - 60 % wvo, 30 % diesel , 10 % regular petrol. Runs fine. Most important bit is to remove water from vwo ! Had disco before 200 tdi. They run on anything but with millers eco stuff doing 70 mph im getting 45 mpg average without chip.