This section of the website is focusing further on the use of non fossil fuels, SVO, veg oils etc.
Whilst the diesel engine in theory, will run on non fossil fuels without a problem it is often overlooked that the injection system which delivers the fuel that is liable to fail.
Below are most forms of diesel injection pump/diesel injection system with details of their suitability to run ANYTHING BUT 100% clean diesel. Because there are so many variations on the forms/blends of non fossil fuels it is impossible to give a 100% accurate reliability report for each pump/injection system so our information is for guidance purposes only.
We have provided a star rating system as a guide.
Yellow stars (
) relate to running a particular injection/system on bio diesel.
IMPORTANT: When we refer to 'bio-diesel' we are considering that quality is of 100% perfect quality and that it conforms to the correct standards/ratings, anything less than perfect quality ought to be considered as 'vegetable oil'.
Blue stars (
) relate to running a particular injection pump/system on veg oil, veg oil/diesel blends and all other alternative fuels
The star ratings are out of 5, the more stars the better the injection pump/system is capable of handling the fuel, clean diesel can be considered as 5 stars.
It is often thought that the most important factor to consider when using non fossil fuels is that fuel must be clean, whilst this is important it must also be understood that non fossil fuels are hygroscopic, that is they absorb water from the atmosphere. This creates two major problems.
WATER: water is very undesirable in the fuel system and measures must be in place to prevent the water reaching the delicate injection components.
ACID: when water is present in the fuel it creates a chemical reaction resulting in acid formation. Acid can wreck an entire injection system very quickly and will require all the injection components to be serviced and the fuel tank to be internally steam cleaned and flushed with detergent to eliminate all acidity.
Our information is based on several years of testing and having to rectify mistakes made by many past clients.
The suitability of an injection system to cope with 'alternative' fuels cannot be confirmed after a round trip to the supermarket.
To view info on which vehicles are better suited to non fossil fuels please click here.
NOTES:
BASED ON THE VE TYPE PUMP BUT USING ELECTRONIC DIESEL CONTROL, COSTLY TO SERVICE SHOULD IT FAIL. REQUIRES UPRATED SEALS TO PREVENT LEAKS AND INTERNAL ALTERATIONS TO INCREASE OPERATING LIFE.
No Stars
NOTES:
VERY WEAK PUMP AT BEST OF TIMES, SENSITIVE TO THE SLIGHTEST CONTAMINATION AND FUEL VISCOSITY, CANNOT BE MODIFIED
NOTES:
EXTREMELY ROBUST PUMP, WILL HANDLE JUST ABOUT ANY FUEL WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS.
No Stars
NOTES:
VERY WEAK AT THE BEST OF TIME, SENSITIVE TO THE SLIGHTEST CONTAMINATION AND FUEL VISCOSITY, CANNOT BE MODIFIED.
NOTES:
SIMILAR TO BOSCH EDC/ZEXEL COVEC BUT USUALLY MORE COSTLY TO SERVICE IF FAILURE OCCURS, SEALS REQUIRE UPRATING AND INTERNAL ALTERATIONS NEEDED FOR MAXIMUM OPERATING LIFE.
No Stars
NOTES:
THE ULTRA FINE TOLERANCES WITHIN THE HIGH PRESSURE PUMP AND THE INJECTORS MAKE THIS SYSTEM HIGHLY UNSUITABLE FOR USE WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN 100% CLEAN DIESEL.
VERY COSTLY TO RECTIFY IF THE WORST SHOULD HAPPEN.
NOTES:
QUITE A ROBUST SYSTEM THOUGH CLEANLINESS IS KEY.
NOTES:
SIMILAR TO VP44 BUT MORE ROBUST. COSTLY TO SERVICE IF FAILURE OCCURS.
SEALS REQUIRE UPRATING AND INTERNAL ALTERATIONS NEEDED FOR MAXIMUM OPERATING LIFE.
No Stars
NOTES:
INTERNAL DESIGN VERY SIMILAR TO ROTODIESEL/LUCAS/DELPHI/ DPC SO VERY FRAGILE, COSTLY TO RECTIFY, CANNOT BE MODIFIED.
NOTES:
THE MOST ROBUST ROTARY INJECTION PUMP, IDEALLY REQUIRES INTERNAL ALTERATIONS FOR MAXIMUM LONGEVITY AND UPRATED SEALS TO PREVENT LEAKS.
No Stars
NOTES:
POSSIBLY THE WORST DIESEL INJECTION PUMP EVER FITTED IN GREAT NUMBERS. VERY WEAK, VERY UNRELIABLE AND VERY COSTLY TO SERVICE. CANNOT BE MODIFIED. TRULY AWFUL!
No Stars
NOTES:
NOT THE STRONGEST OF PUMPS, CANNOT BE MODIFIED