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Who would believe....that cars could run off re-used cooking oil. Heard about biodiesel?
Dom Littlewood finds out how using biodiesel is saving people thousands of pounds simply because they're processing used cooking oil.
He meets a man whose 4x4 purely runs off the vegetable oil used to cook meals in his pub.
With the cost of fuel having increased by almost a third since August last year, some 20,000 people up and down the country are now making biodiesel.
Such is the demand for biodiesel, people are now selling used vegetable oil on auction wesbites!
There are around 75 outlets around the country who supply biodiesel. Click here to find your local supplier.
But before you start storing your chip fat away.....note there are strict guidelines you must follow. Renewable Energy Association (020 7747 1830) or Energy Savings Trust (0800 512 012) can also advise you.
Is biodiesel really worth it? Would you try it?
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Why can't you use fresh vegetable oil?? Still much cheaper than forecourt fuel, especially if you buy it in catering drums??
Will it work - so is it just the Tax element that would be "prohibative" :-)
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bio diesel. your comments saying that bio diesel smeling of chip fat is completley untrue if manufactured to the correct standard. the quality of cooking oil used is not as inportant as you may out. (bio logic fuels. amesbury)
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neat cooking oil new or used is not allowed as no road duty is paid as is in commercial bio manufacturing
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How much a litre is biodiesel from a forecourt?
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Have been using biodiesel for last 5 months and car runs a lot smoother, better mileage return. I know where and how it is made and I quite like it smelling like a bbq - no black smoke coming out my exhaust!
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You can't use fresh vegetable oil as it is to thick, even after being in the machine it is just to think to use in a car. Seeing as that oil has been used its thinner.
We have been using bio-fuel for a few weeks and i can say i haven't smelt any chip fat or bbq smell so far.
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Making Biodiesel for yourself is only a small part of the overall debate.
Why make Biodiesel for yourself? Because it's cheaper than buying petroleum diesel, maybe my car runs better and gets better mpg, I'm doing my bit for the environment because biodiesel is cleaner burning. These may all be good reasons to produce the stuff for yourself but what about the bigger picture?
The nub of the debate is around the development of biodiesel for use on a much larger scale. Governments are setting targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and see the use of biodiesel as a contributing factor to this strategy but without stipulation on how and where this fuel is produced. This has given rise to a growth in demand for so called green fuels and more importantly the demand for the raw materials from which they are made. Current crops cannot keep pace with the demand and this has lead to wholesale destruction of rainforest being laid over to palm oil production which can be used for biodiesel production amongst other things. Surely we should be protecting our environment? and maybe this has been a contributing factor in rising food prices?
Maybe the future should be more about finding a more green source of raw material for biodiesel production such as from algae and other more sources that don't compete with food production.
Many complex issues surround the overall debate about whether biodiesel is good or bad for the environment and if you make biodiesel for yourself then you should at least be aware of all the issues surrounding the bigger picture.
Alan Folkard
You may want to read this "Biodiesel-Is it really that Green" on http://hubpages.com/hub/is-biodiesel-green
or " All About Biodiesel" at www.squidoo.com/allaboutbiodiesel
I'm currently publishing an article that asks the question "Is Biodiesel Good or Bad for the Environment?" - It looks at the overall debate and what all the fuss is about.
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In my previous comment entitled "Making Biodiesel for yourself is only a small part of the overall debate " I mentioned some additional reading and here are the links again -
Biodiesel - Is it really that green?
and
All About Biodiesel
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What I don't understand is how biodiesel smelling of chips is a disadvantage - must be an improvement on the usual stuff.
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Having just caught up on the Biodiesel program via the i-player can I just say I dont think 99% of the folks who do it are doing it for the green thing, its purely a cost thing nothing more nothing less.
I drive a fully Electric Vehicle caperble of 65mph and a range of 60 miles, this is my daily driver for me and with it costing me just over a £1 to recharge it and added to that free road tax I drive it for exactly the same reason cost, what other vehicle do you know currently that can do 60 miles for around a pound.
An EV is even easier to run than anything that runs on Bio Desiel, my ownly hardship is to bend down to plug it in, far less servicing costs and lot less to go wrong in the first place.
Oh and did I mention no smell OR noise ;-)
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A mechanic told me recently that there are 1000's of people running their cars on chip fat oil, our local supermarket has doubled the price on the big 3 litre bottles of oil and reduced the amount that any 1 person can buy - tightwad Tescos strikes again.
Aparrently you need to change the fuel filter every 3000miles and can run a mix of 30% veg oil to diesel in the winter to up to 100% veg oil in the warmer months.
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