LPG and Biofuels...

[ZetecVan 2.0]

My mate who I carshare with has a diesel and is going to start filling up with rapeseed oil.

 

I had a diesel years ago (non turbo) and it was as slow as anything, so I'm thinking about getting a car with an LPG conversion.

 

Has anyone got any experience of either LPG or biofuels? You read on the LPG site that it's great if its set up right but most of the time conversions aren't done right and so the cars are pants.

 

And you read on the bio diesel sites that you need to make sure it's got the correct injection, and the correct hoses etc etc.... or it'll clog up.

 

I can see benefits in using either, but has anyone on here got any proper experience of them?

[Mr Sam]

get on old TD car steel block (apparently they dont need changes ) and run it on chip fat

[antz]

lpg takes up a lot of room with the tank. its cheaper per litrew but you nede more of it to fill the car.

[mk2_escort_chick]

Pelvins is the man to speak too.

He's got a volvo estate that runs on lpg

[ZetecVan 2.0]

get on old TD car steel block (apparently they dont need changes ) and run it on chip fat

 

That is an option. There's a chippy at the end of my street.

 

I've read that on lpg you lose about 10% of your petrol economy, so if you had a car doing 35mpg on petrol, it would do about 31 on lpg.

 

I'm not too bothered about losing boot space. If I've got to move anything big, I'll use the van

[razersedge]

don't no much about all this but i have seen a newish range rover with no head lamp and some very big dents in the bonnet from something called the heads and a single point lpg kit but on top gear when they raced the diesel bmw on the track with the diesel from the rape seed oil it killed the seals in the pump and i'm sure they said it was a problem with using it but i had the same problem on an ex royal mail van i wonder if they use bio diesel but it might be worth checking out first

[bortaf]

It depends on the system for LPG, the latest sequencial ECU controlled stuff looses less power

 

http://www.tinleytech.co.uk/lpgsys.html#lpg

 

You loose power with chip fat as well, bloke came round in an 06 ford pickup to get a gearbox on saterday, he reconed the top end was down to 70 on used oil but he also had run a heat exchanger to heat the oil to keep it thin, processed oil (bio fuel) is thinner so doesn't need the hear exchanger.

Diesel pumps need to be bosch not lucas as the lucas ones can sieze with cooking oil, really dends what engine you are using TBH

[ZetecVan 2.0]

If I go with diesel it will be German. All VAG diesels can run on 100% rapeseed, and Merc engines are the 'right' kind of diesels to run chip fat according to a site I read today.

[FredTransit]

The DI transit will run on fresh or waste veg oil, up to 80% in the summer, but you still need diesel for lubricating the pump. In cars Peugeot and merc are bomb proof.

[Vista]

 

I had a diesel years ago (non turbo) and it was as slow as anything, so I'm thinking about getting a car with an LPG conversion.

 

Modern diesels are anything but slow mate, try one before committing to LPG.

[pelvins]

yes i do run lpg at the mo but cant say how much greif they are or not at this stage but ive found someone who will service it for £50 and it has the latest sequential injection system and i can say that i can only notice a very small amount of difference in performance only at high revs , as a run around its exerlent but does take me 10mins to fill up from empty

[ZetecVan 2.0]

What volvo is it and what MPG do you get?

[GT_Jim]

there is a good LPG conversion place in huddersfield i know of

[oldbus]

Hi Mike,

 

if you want to go down the LPG road i´d definately get it fitted professionally, most of the bodge jobs you hear about were DIY.

 

Cooking oil is a different kettle of fish (sorry fo rthe pun.)

 

I´ve ran all my Mercedes diesels over the years on cooking oil without any problems. There is however a big difference using new stuff and used from the chippy. If you use the fresh stuff, as long as it´s not too cold outside jus mix it in a bit at a time and see how much your diesel will start up with..running it isn´t the problem getting them started can be, depending on what condition they´re in.

 

I´ve found the older the diesel the more likely it´ll take cooking oil- The new VW´s/Peugeouts do have problems with it sometimes depends on what pump is fitted.

 

The Bosch Injection pumps don´t rely on the chip oil to lubricate their internals and are more up to the job than Lucas & co.

 

You can now buy fresh new chip oil at the pumps over here AND EVERYONE IS UP TO IT:::

[FredTransit]

I didn't know you could buy veg oil at the pimps in Germany! No wonder the price has gone up here.

[m1c]

plenty of threads in www.landyzone.co.uk about lpg conversions and other fuels... some osf have v8's fitted too

[FredTransit]

plenty of threads in www.landyzone.co.uk about lpg conversions and other fuels... some osf have v8's fitted too

 

Don't forget a lot of landies will run on gnat's wee if they are tuned for it.

[pelvins]

What volvo is it and what MPG do you get?

 

 

1.8 t4 se only does 30 odd but oviously its cheaper

[sab6024]

I had an XR4x4 on LPG, I didn't notice too much difference in power until I drove someone elses still on Petrol My one was a DIY job done before I bought it and only had single point LPG injection so the back cylinders weren't getting any fuel to them Really economical though Have found a site that does LPG kits for 1600 Capri's which I'm considering now

 

Trouble with conversions is the tank, the guy who fitted the kit to the XR4x4 used it for towing his Mk1 Escy everywhere so had a 80 litre tank in the boot. Go for the small tank which fits into your spare wheel well especially if you've got a local garage that sells LPG

[ZetecVan 2.0]

I didn't know you could buy veg oil at the pimps in Germany!

 

Normally it's just drugs and prozzies...