As a motorist I have certainly become more aware of my time spent driving since the price has shot up,and have tried to cut down on short journeys.
Do other people now limit the amount of journeys they take by car?

I voted no ... I can't see me changing the way I travel because of petrol prices :)

epsecially if you drive a diesel.

But hey - I think OPEC will panic today and raise crude prices if they have not already done so.

Then fuel will go up, as will the cost of everything that is transported by road.

And reducing fuel duty won't help, since that money will need to be found somewhere else.

Oh, I know, lets scrap trident and save a £1000,000,000 a year. We could use the money saved to lop between 3p and 4p off a litre to keep the petrolheads happy.

Even if it does go up then it's still a small price to pay for destroying the environment. :thumbsup:

a Diesel.... I could do that, I'm looking to change. Would that not go up the same though ?

Petrol and diesel costs roughly the same but you get a typical 50mpg with a diesel opposed to a typical 30mpg with a petrol. Of course theres quite a premium on buying a diesel car so it only really makes sense if you do LOTS of miles!

Originally posted by Lindseyw
a Diesel.... I could do that, I'm looking to change. Would that not go up the same though ?

You could buy a diesel, and run it on waste cooking oil from chipshops and the like.

After all, Rudolf Diesel designed his engine to run on peanut oil.

At something like 20p a litre from the shops, and virtually free as waste oil, that is cheap motoring..

Other benefits -

zero net carbon dioxide creation
low sulphur

Is it legal though?

Not really.

I try my best to use the car only when necessary though I know that I could do better.

Can you remember when unleaded petrol was quite a bit cheaper than regular petrol. That soon changed as more and more people drove newer cars.

Nope - stupidly enough- run your diesel on cooking oil and you will be had up for avoiding fuel duty! So here we have a fuel thats cheap, biodegradable, doesnt require heavy drilling or processing, has net zero CO2 and sulphide emmisions and can be made from rape which all the farmers were growing despite the lack of market to rake in EU subsidies and its pretty much unused and discouraged - hmmmmm there couldnt be someone in the government in the oil companies pockets could there?

did you see Top Gear when JC went from London to Edinburgh and back.:thumbsup:

I've had a diesel for about 10 years, currently I've got a 406 HDI, I wouldn't have another petrol car, I always stall them anyway:rolleyes:

I know who makes the diesel in sheffield, and he is registered to sell it and has the correct additives in and it works.

It is green has no poisionious fumes and is better for you vehicle.

PM me if you want details on how to get it.

costs 70p a litre.

You can`t make it with chip fat so don`t try or you might have a bigger bill from the garage for towing you car away.

Originally posted by rosie
I know who makes the diesel in sheffield, and he is registered to sell it and has the correct additives in and it works.

It is green has no poisionious fumes and is better for you vehicle.

PM me if you want details on how to get it.

costs 70p a litre.

You can`t make it with chip fat so don`t try or you might have a bigger bill from the garage for towing you car away.

You have three choices on using chip fat in your car

1) use chip fat and mix it with dino-diesel or kerosene - use direct in tank.

2) use pure veg oil (rapeseed is good) and have a 2 tank system

3)buy or cook up your own biodiesel - use direct in tank.

Biodiesel does have poisonous fumes and marginally higher particulate output than 'dino-diesel', but net CO2 emissions are virtually nil.

You can use waste vegetable oil (chip fat), you just need to be forearmed with a little information and the desire to avoid paying fuel duty altogether.

Don`t know where you get your facts but you are wrong on all three.

I have seen the biofuel made and it`s better in every respect than diesel and you can`t just use chip fat oil

1 - It is not biodiesel you can buy that but biofuel is not the same.
2 - you do not need 2 tanks if you use biodiesel that is made with veg oil and additives.
3 - you do not mix the veg oil with either of the two you said.

This person i know has a business in sheffield and the stuff works and its great and i know i can get it if the petrol stations are blocked, so i am fine for travelling to and from work.

For educational purposes only - use at your own risk!

http://www.veggievan.org/biodiesel/articles/make_biodiesel.php

know i can get it if the petrol stations are blocked, so i am fine for travelling to and from work.

Is publicising the fact that you break the law a good thing? Or do you send the chancellor a cheque for the duty you're avoiding?

Back on topic, the price of petrol has certainly curtailed my unnecessary use of the car, in much the same way that £5.10 for 16 fags made me stop smoking.

Am I right in thinking that petrol prices only ever go up? I seem to remember quite a big price hike during the first US-Iraq war that was "temporary" and never got removed. I'd be intrigued to see a graph that tracks barrel prices against pump prices....

EDIT - here's (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/picture_library/dir_11/car_portal_pic_5747.jpg?3025) an interesting graph, and another (http://www.wtrg.com/oil_graphs/oilprice1947.gif)

I`m glad you have said that Hotphil, this bloke that sells it for 70p a litre is trying to make a business out of it and pays duty and is registered, we should back people like this who try to make a living with something green and good for the environment.

But you still can`t put veg oil in your car it won`t work anyway, you have to have the knowledge to make biofuel.

I am fed up walking along the street and smelling cars, ain`t good for you.

Ah, if he's legit that's well cool, and yes, as a small-businessman should be well and truly supported. If my 250,000+ mile Renault diesel hadn't died, I'd be asking you for all his details!!!

I can asure you he is legal i have my reciept for tax paid, and if you ever get a diesel pm me and if you know of anyone let them know and i will pm you with details.

Originally posted by rosie
Don`t know where you get your facts but you are wrong on all three.

I have seen the biofuel made and it`s better in every respect than diesel and you can`t just use chip fat oil

1 - It is not biodiesel you can buy that but biofuel is not the same.
2 - you do not need 2 tanks if you use biodiesel that is made with veg oil and additives.
3 - you do not mix the veg oil with either of the two you said.

This person i know has a business in sheffield and the stuff works and its great and i know i can get it if the petrol stations are blocked, so i am fine for travelling to and from work.

all three?

Twin tank systems are in use worldwide burning pure veg oil, coconut oil, peanut oil and groundnut oil

You can mix veg oil with either dinodiesel or kerosene and your car will run on it, but you do run the risk of your engine eventually coking up.

Biodiesel is made from trans fatty acids (aka vegetable oil) that have undergone 'transesterification'. This is a relatively simple process of cat cracking the oil down to a more readily reactive pure methyl ester (as I understand it) - a similar process is already carried out in refineries worldwide and the mechanism is well established.

The diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oil, little wonder that it still does so.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
all three?

Twin tank systems are in use worldwide burning pure veg oil, coconut oil, peanut oil and groundnut oil

You can mix veg oil with either dinodiesel or kerosene and your car will run on it, but you do run the risk of your engine eventually coking up.

Biodiesel is made from trans fatty acids (aka vegetable oil) that have undergone 'transesterification'. This is a relatively simple process of cat cracking the oil down to a more readily reactive pure methyl ester (as I understand it) - a similar process is already carried out in refineries worldwide and the mechanism is well established.

The diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oil, little wonder that it still does so.

Well what a mess you have got into,

1st If you DO NOT register as a fuel producer and allow customs and excise the power to enter your premises you are breaking the LAW and will face prosicution.

2nd if you use new pure veg oil you are duty bound to pay 47.1p per litre to the government, or face a rather large fine or JAIL, and if you do not inform your insurance company that you have modified your vehicle you WILL NOT be insured.

3rd the mixing of used veg oil and kerosene is a very crude form of BIOFUEL, and you will pay the government 27.1p per litre in duty.

4th you make the process of making bio-diesel sound very simple, but unless you take the proper precautions it is VERY dangerous. This is why the collectors of used vegetable oil have stopped selling it to farmers after many accidents. You also have the problem of getting rid of the TOXIC by-products. You will also pay the government 27.1p per litre for this, after you have purchased the required equipment. Not such a cheap alternative.

The fuel that Rosie was talking about was a much refined BIOFUEL not bio-diesel, Biofuel is the ONLY true GREEN alternative to fossil diesel.

One thing you MUST KNOW is that if your vehicle is still under warranty the most BIOFUEL or Bio-diesel that you can use is 5% mix.

At the moment it is not affecting the milege I do.