Bio-fuel

[andycktm]

Just wondering ,does anybody use Morrisons bio-diesel in their vehicle?
Is it any cheaper than fossil diesel?
Thanks

 

[cutting42]

Just wondering ,does anybody use Morrisons bio-diesel in their vehicle?
Is it any cheaper than fossil diesel?
Thanks

My work leasing company has banned us from using Moriiosons Bio diesel. Not sure why, shame as I like the idea but maybe the car needs to be modified in some way.

 

[RogerS]

There was a feature about this on the radio the other day. Biodiesel is a mixture and the ratio is reflected in the name IIRC eg Biodiesel 75, Biodiesel 100. There are claims that the manufacturers warranties are declared invalid if any sort of biodiesel is used hence many fleet companies banning the use of it. However, in Germany they apparently use Biodiesel that has a higher ratio of biodiesel than we do and yet there doesn't seem to be any issue regarding car warranty.

At least that is what I think the gist of the feature was about.

 

[andycktm]

Morrisons have b30 30%bio 70%fossil and i have a peugeot which according to peugeot is ok on this.
I just wondered if there was any incentive to use it?
I read the other day, 5% of all diesel is Bio!

 

[misterfish]

Be very careful before you decide to use biodiesel. Check with the manufacturer of the vehicle that it is OK - you will find a lot of manufacturers will not approve diesel with more than 5% biodiesel content (the standard sold in most petrol stations).

I'm saying this as a result of practical experience with our previous vehicle. We wanted to do the 'green' thing and used our one local biodiesel supplier - who is used by parts of the local authority and some local taxi firms for their fuel.

We had a '56' plate Mazda 5. After the first tank of biodiesel everything seemed to work fine. During the second tankful the engine lost power once but this cleared in a short time. During the third tankful the vehicle kept cutting out. Eventually the garage diagnosed that the problem was biodiesel 'contamination' and that the whole of the fuel system needed to be replaced - several thousand pounds worth of repairs. Fortunately my insurance covered me for fuel contamination problems and their specialist engineer agreed that the repair should be covered. (Quite a relief!) In the end they wrote the vehicle off as the garage weren't willing to undertake a contract repair - to repair whatever was necessary for a fixed cost.

It seems that some newer vehicles have high tech systems - DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) was one. The other was that the fuel was injected at extremely high pressure (they said 30,000 PSI).

Misterfish

 

[Karl]

Be very careful before you decide to use biodiesel. Check with the manufacturer of the vehicle that it is OK - you will find a lot of manufacturers will not approve diesel with more than 5% biodiesel content (the standard sold in most petrol stations).

I'm saying this as a result of practical experience with our previous vehicle. We wanted to do the 'green' thing and used our one local biodiesel supplier - who is used by parts of the local authority and some local taxi firms for their fuel.

We had a '56' plate Mazda 5. After the first tank of biodiesel everything seemed to work fine. During the second tankful the engine lost power once but this cleared in a short time. During the third tankful the vehicle kept cutting out. Eventually the garage diagnosed that the problem was biodiesel 'contamination' and that the whole of the fuel system needed to be replaced - several thousand pounds worth of repairs. Fortunately my insurance covered me for fuel contamination problems and their specialist engineer agreed that the repair should be covered. (Quite a relief!) In the end they wrote the vehicle off as the garage weren't willing to undertake a contract repair - to repair whatever was necessary for a fixed cost.

It seems that some newer vehicles have high tech systems - DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) was one. The other was that the fuel was injected at extremely high pressure (they said 30,000 PSI).

Misterfish

Same thing happened to my in-laws - but they didn't try to claim on their insurance (older vehicle). Car was written off - too expensive to repair.

Cheers

Karl

 

[andycktm]

Yes it's a very good idea to check first.
masterfish the peugeot/Citroen has exactly the things needed HDI/DPF
and the official sites say its ok.
But if it is cheaper to make, i want it cheaper before i run it!
And was wondering if anybody used it to compare price.
Unfortunatly the green side is a drop in the ocean

 

[Steve Maskery]

It's also not as Green as would first appear.

Apart from the fact that, as I understand it, it costs a lot in energy to make (as opposed to fossil which takes a lot of money to extract) there is the question of what is it actually made from? If it is made from waste, then great. But if it is made from corn, sugar, etc, then this means that the market price for basic foodstuffs goes up. I went to the Mill for flour yesterday, I bought my usual few (6kg) bags and the bill was over £35. It's not that long ago when I would have had change out of £20. It's bad enough when it affects me, but it also has a disproportionate effect on the poorest countries in the world, where basic carbohydrate foodstuffs are their staple.

It may keep carbon in the short cycle, as opposed to fossils which dump carbon onto us from the long cycle, but there are other, very serious downsides instead.
S

 

[big soft moose]

It's also not as Green as would first appear.

Apart from the fact that, as I understand it, it costs a lot in energy to make (as opposed to fossil which takes a lot of money to extract) there is the question of what is it actually made from? If it is made from waste, then great. But if it is made from corn, sugar, etc, then this means that the market price for basic foodstuffs goes up. I went to the Mill for flour yesterday, I bought my usual few (6kg) bags and the bill was over £35. It's not that long ago when I would have had change out of £20. It's bad enough when it affects me, but it also has a disproportionate effect on the poorest countries in the world, where basic carbohydrate foodstuffs are their staple.

It may keep carbon in the short cycle, as opposed to fossils which dump carbon onto us from the long cycle, but there are other, very serious
downsides instead.
S

quite so - there is also the issue of slash and burn agriculture in places like brazil where rainforest is being cleared to grow biofuel.