Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club UK™

MrHoohaa · Joined: 02 Nov 2009 Posts: 4 Location: Penzance

Now let me get this straight in real basic terms! I have a L400 can i just put veg oil from tesco i it? Can i use chip shop oil and if so what do i have to strain it through? Pleasae dont say blah blah nicron stuff i dont understant that. will an old sheet work?#Cheers
Mr Hoohaa

nigel malpass · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 156 Location: nottinghamshire

hi yes you can put new oil from supermarket in your tank but in the cold weather i would go 70%dino30%veg as for used cooking oil yes it can be used but must be filtered as you say if you google vegetableoildiesel.co.uk you will find all the info you need about how to filter hope this helps cheers.

Jasper · Joined: 25 Nov 2009 Posts: 36 Location: Nottingham

I'm currently running on Morrison Veg oil which works out 83p a litre (cheaper than aldi) my van is much happier with a minimum 5% veg oil in the tank. I've yet to go beyond 50/50
Do watch out tho' some veg oils are actually more expensive than diesel per litre.
I've only filtered once, I used the oil from my christmas dinner at the end of 2009 to drive to the south coast along with fresh oil & diesel couldn't stop giggling about it.

geomore · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 15:18 Post subject:

I'm currently in the process of converting my L300 to run on 100% veg oil. I'll try and post pics and details once all is done.

Currently stuck at the hardest part - shoehorning everything into the engine bay. It looks so spacious until you try and fit in a full size heated oil filter!

Jasper · Joined: 25 Nov 2009 Posts: 36 Location: Nottingham

ah now that's interesting.
where did you get a heated fuel filter with the right diameter coolant hoses? and where are you feeding the coolant from?
(unless your filter is electrically heated or something)

geomore · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 19:22 Post subject:

Bought it off e bay for a ridiculous £60. When it says "heated" it appears to mean the filter housing is heated, I can't see how it could heat oil effectively. Bought it as i wanted to put the plate heat exchanger (£30, bargain, arriced in 2 days from germany) AFTER the filter. Personally I'd save your money and buy a normal filter holder. Took £10 worth of plumbing to get to 8mm and 15mm pipe connectors. You were asking about the heated fuel filter - its about 15mm pipe connectors for the water and 8mm for the fuel. The delica pipes are slightly larger diameter, I've bought clear pvc hose with the string reinforcement (similar to hose pipe) and used boiling water to stretch them onto the delica fittings. Will keep a close eye on the pipes once I get it working, as a burst could be more than annoying.

tttonyyy · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 19:54 Post subject:

Hiya why not put the FPHE before the filter, then you'll melt any fats that might block the filter. Also are you going to loop the pump return?

Is it going to be a twin tank arrangement with startup on diesel then switching to veg?

Can't beat running on veg one way or another... I haven't visited a forecourt for many a month now, almost forgotten how to use the pumps! Wink

geomore · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 21:56 Post subject:

hey tony, seen your posts here and there on veg forums. I'm going for twin tank, with veg in the main tank (and diesel when i can't source veg) and diesel in an aux 25l plastic boat tank popped in the boot. I have 2 fuel switch valves, which i will eventually wire with a seperate switch for each, so I can accurately purge the pump. Return will be selectable between veg return or recirculate. I wanted to fit the FPHE after the filter as I was worried about how long the enigne would be running on "cold" oil that would be sitting in the filter before the hot stuff gort through - although after disconnecting the normal tank return and filling a bottle, more fuel is pumped than i thought (about 1/2 a litre per min) - so should I not worry about this?

while i'm on the subject - will one big 5 micron filter and a pound inline filter as a failsafe be enough for sock filtered WVO? thinking of placing a water absorber inside the fuel tank as well for a pretty much "pour the oil straight in" set up.

Jetpilot · Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 16 Location: Dorset

I think can be very confusing, lots of abbreviations that need working out! Will be looking into this myself.

geomore · Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 0:06 Post subject:

Well update on the conversion:

I've removed fuel tank and cleaned out with petrol (although it was spotless, INSIDE of pickup filter was packed with sand)
Installed a heated 5 micron filter next to existing filter (crammed in).
Installed plate heat exchanger between floor and passenger torsion bar
Installed (placed) 25L Marine Fuel tank for normal Diesel in boot.
Wired in 2 3-way fuel valves

Installed plumbing -
Water Pipe from Engine to Filter to FPHE back to heater matrices - ~15mm cord braided transparent PVC pipe - protected by ~20mm clear pvc pipe
Fuel Pipes - (8mm cord braided transparent PVC pipe protected with 20mm pipe)
From rear tank to diesel filter
From norm tank via FPHE to Heated Filter
From both filters to valve to Pump
Pump return to valve then either direct return to pump or return to norm tank.

PROBLEMS:
I HATE PVC PIPE! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHHHHH! The addition of a mix of hot oil, hot antifreeze and freezing weather may have added to my Anger.
I chose PVC pipe as it is a little more resilient than rubber to veg oils. However it has other issues. It does not want to bend when cold (10C). It wants to kink too easily when hot (50C). It is not very "soft" so does not form good air-tight seals. Even after attatching every joint with help of thermos of boiling water, and tight jubilee clips, I still have serious air bubble problems. (Don't waste money on official jubilee clips like i did, they are made in england and are rubbish. various stab wounds from screwdriver)

Also, the circuit is designed to recirc Diesel from the pump directly back again, this does not help the air bubble problem. You can watch the air bubbles going round and round, and listen to the engine dieing slowly.

I am going to attempt another assault on the jubilee clips tomorrow - wish me luck!

tttonyyy · Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 0:16 Post subject:

Sounds just the job! Smile

I use these type of clips (though I think I bought a pack of 10)

http://cgi.e bay.co.uk/13-15mm-JUBILEE-MINI-FUEL-LINE-HOSE-CLIPS-DIESEL-PIPE_W0QQitemZ260331442929QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM?hash=item3c9cf692f1

Same brained clear hose but no problems with bubbles... yet! Must be tough stuff because one bit of clear hose has been on there in the fuel system for over two years now, it's turned a yellow colour but works just fine.

Keep us posted, sounds like a fascinating project Smile

geomore · Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 16:32 Post subject:

I will be buying a bucket of those after breaking 4 clips today.

IT WORKS!!!!!!! After fixing all 7 leaks in the veg circuit (including various leaks on fuel filter housing) I managed 10 miles on veg! Took 15 minutes of idling to stop hunting on idle (I guess air locks) but now I'm driving around smelling of a chippy! Wow does it make you hungry!

Off to makro now to buy another 40l Veg oil (until I can sort out using WVO)

bradburypizza · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 20:35 Post subject:

I've used SVO to 30% but never use it in winter ,just me knowing at the tempartures we've had lately veg oil does get very thick
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tttonyyy · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 22:34 Post subject:

Best to try are Indian takeaways, nice fresh oil (if smelly) and usually don't use the likes of A&B for oil (my mortal enemy Evil or Very Mad

).

Not visiting forecourts is a joy, it's like motoring used to be when you just went for a drive for the pleasure of driving without any worries about how much it costs!