Morrisons B30 Bio-Diesel 'Here we go'

[Amarok]

Hi,
on friday I took the plunge and filled my Tank to the neck with Morrisons B30 Bio-Diesel !.
well after around 20 - 30 miles I had to turn the radio down as it was loud, this was due to the fact that my 2.5 had gone from Bang Bang Band to thump thump thump . I did 70 miles on friday with no loss of power, the engine is running really smooth and is getting better with each mile.
Saturday morning after 1 heat of the plugs a 2 turns of the engine, it started on the button (under normal diesel the best I ever got was 6 - 7 revolutions) and you could knock me down with a feather the motor is VERY quiet running on this stuff and this is on only 30% bio fuel... I did another 100 miles on saturday mostly around town and a couple of 65 MPH blasts down the open roads, I checked the rear view and no smoke. So far so good...
Today (sunday) this time it was cold and a tad frosty, so I did 2 heats and again 2 turns and away she went, no smoke and quiet ! todays run was a blast along the A47 to Wisbeach and back 65 - 70 most of the way again the engine is smooth as silk and didn't miss a single beat. On the way back to Peterborough I checked the rev counter and she is pulling over 70 MPH at 2500 RPM squeeze it to 2800 RPM and she sails through 85 MPH without breaking into a sweat also when I pulled up tonight the odometer was showing 229 miles and the fuel guage was showing 3/4 mark.

Back in October my Fronty was my number two car (only used it for towing and the odd weekend to keep her running) but since the demise of My Omega she has been my daily ride and is currently my only means of transport so I need it to be 100% reliable, but when I spotted a 2.5 fronty owner filling up from the 'Orange' pump at my local Morrisons I collared him and he said he had been running on B30 for around 4 - 5 months and the motor loves it , so it was with fingers crossed I pumped the stuff in mine but to date I can't fault it, as they say on a number of websites and the range rover forum etc it is doing what it says on the tin. !

I will do a daily update this week with how things are going

Regards
Mike

[andysd1]

well all im going to say is good luck, and i hope you have happy motoring, and i do mean that, keep us posted,

[Hound Dog]

I manage to wreck a fuel pump on bio fuel which cost me £900.00 to put my ride right. All i can say is good luck

[jmc]

So how long was it andysd1 and houndog from when you started to use biodiesel to trouble with the pumps?

[Hound Dog]

About 3 months for me

[jmc]

A friend of mine who is a mad scientist and interseted in all things mechanical looked into biodiesel and came back saying he didn't like the look of the esters or something in it. Is anyone running a frontera on straight vegetable oil?

[country_Est]

What price was this set at, here in local morrsions at Basingstoke it was the same price so no point trying it in my mind.

Trev

[Amarok]

The price is the same here in Peterborough, my 'experiment' is to see if I can get the following benefits that is claimed with Bio Diesel

1. Better fuel consumption
2. Smooth running
3. More power

after 3 days all I can say is yes to all three so far plus a really nice quiet diesel.
I am still quite skeptical with 100% Bio, as B30 is 70% Diesel and 30% Bio I am hoping this is going to be a happy mix and not the horror stories of Fuel pumps etc with 100% Bio
Having to use my Fronty as a daily ride, If it works (better fuel consumption) then it will save me money in the long run which in the current climate is my number one priority.

lets see ?

Kind regards
Mike

[andysd1]

[simon65]

i remember posting something simlar to this when i got my first 2.5 diesel a few years back ,all i can say is i got rather upset from peoples responses with the "it will kill your engine" down to "gunge up the fuel pipes"

all i can say is ,i was running my 2.5 diesel on SVO from Costco and i had a lot of happy miles from it ,i had no problems whatsoever ,i put a whole bottle of diesel treatment to every 20 liters of oil i used ,the engine sounded sooooo sweet BUT mark my words lol it CAN bugger up your engine ,i think this link will be of interest but its not a frontera but diesels all work on the same priciples ,HEAT .
i think the main pont is that some areas of the engine do run cooler that other parts and thats where the problems start ,its the build up of crap
this is the link ,just have a look and make your mind up ,i think the pictures sums it up quite nice lol

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=186108http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=186108

[jmc]

Hi andysd1 .My computer wont do these links but, I think I read your story on bio a while ago it was rather a long and agonising to read one I seem to remember.

[Amarok]

Wow that engine looked a mess . Reading through the write up this chap was using 100% Bio diesel not the 30% Bio mix I am experimenting with. You are quite correct there are a number of horror stories with 100% and I don't feel confident going down that route. I havent found any complaints with Morrisons B30 (yet!) but this is the purpose of my 'Experiment'
So far the Morrisons B30 has made my 2.5 a lot smoother (this could be down to the cleaning out of fuel lines and injectors) the fuel consumption looks to be good, possible gain of around 200 RPM with increased power and easy starting. I have about 1200 miles to go before the next oil change (145,000 Miles) at that point I will replace the Diesel Filter I am tempted to cut it open and see what state its in.
As my Fronty is my current daily ride, and on average I do a tankfull a week (468 miles has been the best I have got out of the beast and that was from to the neck to dry tank) I am tempted to go at this early stage for a once a month B30 the rest of the time standard Diesel, hopefully that will keep the fuel system clean and tidy.

So far my fuel needle has just gone below half and the odometer is showing 279 so I am looking at 500+ out of a tankfull.
Still running smooth and steady and cold start's are still on the button with no smoke so far !

I will keep you updated

Regards
Mike

[FUDDY MUCKER]

Just a quick point.

On the Morrisons B30 BioDiesel pump handles and on the label on the pump it states ........

WARNING.

PLEASE CONSULT ENGINE MANUFACTURE
BEFORE USING BIO DIESEL.

Have you, or anyone else who used or is using B30 BioDiesel contacted Vauxhall to see if it is compatible ?????????

[jmc]

Good idea I'll ask my local one tommorrow.

[Amarok]

Ok,
Its Sunday and day 9 of my experiment.
Speedo is showing 542 miles and no low fuel warning so I have gained about 100 miles on straight diesel so far.
In all the 9 days the engine hasn't missed a beat so I am going for week two with another Tank full of B30 and continue my findings. I have about 700 miles to go before the next oil change so I will do that next weekend and renew the fuel filter.

Youtube plugin ?, I hope you like my youtube offering a tribute to Donald Campbell with the Marillon Track ''Out of this World", I did this about 2 years ago now so crank up the volume and enjoy a bit of rock on the forum



Regards
Mike

[Amarok]

Another 540 miles down and still going strong ,
Economy is still good (150 -175 more per tank full)
smooth and quiet, motorway driving is very smooth and she will sit at 75 - 80 all day
still starts on the button

I can't be cerain but the engine is running slightly cooler on this mix.

I will keep you updated

Kind Regards
Mike

[jmc]

I rang Perrys the vx dealers nearest to me and I had an unofficial verbal "it should be fine that bio is only a percentage anyway". All a bit casual for my liking. I think I would want a written guarantee from vauxhall. Andysd1 is going to be cross with me but I've tried 45 litres in my tank and it is looking like better mpg, and it does run cooler because the heating is even worse! I think it runs quieter, but it dosent seem to make any difference to the performance.Is the pump on the 2.5's different to the 2.3's?

[Amarok]

1 Month on well over 2,500 miles and all is working OK . Hasn't missed a single beat
I will update in a month I have over 600 miles towing coming up this month so we will now see how the old girls hauls on this stuff

Kind Regards

Mike

[andysd1]

[jmc]

I only tried the one tank three quarter full and now back on diesel.