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 Diesel Prices

The current average price for Diesel is 99.8 p/litre . This is based on the average price of Diesel sold around the UK over the last 7 days. The cost of Diesel is at an all time high against Unleaded, typically you could expect to see a 1-2p difference, but recently that gap has increased to over 10p/litre difference! The chart below tracks the historical prices for Diesel

Diesel is generally easier to refine than than unleaded fuel and contains a slightly higher calorific value (around 17% higher than unleaded) this help it to achieve the higher miles per gallon that you get out of Diesel cars, but isn't the only factor. Diesel engines are fundementally more efficient that petrol engines as they can obtain higher compression ratios and still do not suffer from 'engine knock' which is where the fuel ignites at the wrong time in the cycle. This fundemental difference allows around 20-40% more efficiency in a diesel car.

Diesel fuel has had a bad name in the past as being a 'dirty fuel' this is mainly due to its generally high sulphur content and the fact that it produces particulates when burnt. Modern Diesel engines however to do produce these heavy particulates and modern legislation requires all diesel to have its sulphur level reduced significantly. These actions, combined with the higher fuel efficiency, have lead to Diesel being considered a more environmentally friendly fuel.

Unleaded Petrol Prices

The current average price for Unleaded Petrol is 88.9 p/litre . This is based on the average price of Unleaded sold around the UK over the last 7 days.

Gordon Brown has recently demanded that Petrol Prices should fall in line with Oil Prices. This is an astounding demand as the petrol forecourts have clearly being working hard over the last few days to keep track of the massive swings in oil prices.

Unleaded petrol has fallen from its peak of 118p per litre in Jul down to 102.7p per litre at the time of writing. It is falling fast and it should only be a matter of days before the average price drops below £1. These prices falls have been coming thick and fast in the last few weeks, with similar drops being seen before and after Mr Brown made his demands.

The supermarkets are leading the way, but we at whatgas.com can conclude that most, if not all, of the oil price drops are being passed onto the consumer. And it is all happening in a timely fashion.

Mr Brown has complained that some petrol stations are still selling fuel at £1.20 a litre, this is true in some cases but these high prices are now usually confined to small rural petrol stations which have a very low number of customers per day. They will have bought their fuel several weeks (or even months) ago when wholesale prices were at their highest; cutting prices down to £1 a litre would put them out of business in a matter of days.

Surely the Labour government is not trying to bankrupt small family owned rural businesses??

LPG Prices

The current average price for LPG fuel is 52 p/litre . This is based on the average price of LPG sold around the UK over the last 7 days. The cost of LPG is a lot lower than Unleaded or Diesel fuel, but its price has been rising over the last few months along with the increase in oil prices. The chart below tracks the historical prices for LPG

LPG stands for Liquefied petroleum gas, which basically means that when it is stored under pressue it is a liquid, but when being burnt in an internal combustion engine it evaporates into a gas. It is useful in cars as it is non-toxic, non-corrosive and doesn't require any additional compounds to prevent 'knocking' (Lead in petrol used to do this, and other compounds such as benezene in Unleaded petrol are still used).

Cost of LPG fuel

LPG actually has a much lower calorific value then petrol, so you will get less miles per gallon out of an LPG car, however in the UK LPG tax levels are much lower than both Diesel and Unleaded so it is still a far more cost effective way to run your car. The tax break is due to evidence that suggests that LPG is better for the environment than the mainstream fuels. This is probably due to it being a very clean burning fuel.

At present Diesel and Unleaded fuel is taxed at around 64p per litre, compared to only 16.5p/litre for LPG. This 50p tax saving is why LPG is nearly half the price of other fuels at present.

Unfortunately this doesn't mean that it is 50% cheaper to run your car on LPG. The decreased calorific value means that you get only 2/3rds as far on a litre of LPG compared to a litre of Unleaded. Still at todays prices that still means that driving on LPG is around 33% cheaper than driving on other fuels

Adding Vegetable Oil to Diesel Engines

With the recent rise of Biofuels one type of fuel that often crops up is the Straight Vegetable Oil additional to Diesel fuel. This is very different to the normal 'Biodiesel' which requires a bot of clever chemistry to turn the vegetable oil into something more like Diesel. Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) is quite simply achieved by pouring vegetable oil into your fuel in your tank! (with some modifications to your engine first..)

Vegetable oil will in theory burn well in your engine, the problem is the viscocity of the oil is generally much higher than diesel and can even practically set in very cold climates. For this reason if you wich to run your car of Vegetable Oil you will have to ensure that the engine is modified to preheat the oil before it is sucked into the engine. Failure to do so could cause the fuel lines to become clogged or the fuel pump itself could even become damaged. You can also just add a proportion of Vegetable Oil to your car instead of going for the 100% option, this will reduce the heating requirements on the fuel and you may be able to run with no engine modifications, especially in the summer. It is not something that we recommend trying without getting professional advice first!

Basically before using Vegetable Oil in your car you must ensure that the oil is heated to 80degree celcius before entering the fuel pump, this can be achieved either with electrical heating or by using heat exchanged from the engine itself

Also the vegetable oil must not cool down inside the pump or the fuel injectors, which means that the engine must be pretty well pre-heated before using the vegetable oil. One way to do this is to run the car on Diesel for a while beforehand and then switching over to the vegetable oil supply using a solenoid switch. This means that car will have one vegetable oil tank and one Diesel fuel tank.

For details on which car engines are suitable for running using Straight Vegetable Oil take a look at this Vegetable Oils Fuels Database (independant site)

To re-iterate, the safest way to use vegetable oil in your car is to have a properlly installed two-tank system where the oil is pre-heated and you run the car on pure Diesel (or Biodiesel!) during startup (warm up) and before shutting the engine off (to flush the system). You can try just mixing the straight vegetable oil with Diesel or even adding an organic solvent to try to thin it down, but, you are probably heading for trouble if you do this. There are also kits out there that cmopletely modify the engine to take work just of Vegetable Oil without any secondary Diesel tank. This isually involves replacing the injector nozzles, changing the glow plugs, adding heating elements and different fuel filters.

Take a look at the following website for more details on using Straight Vegetable Oil

Tax on Vegetable Oil

The tax or fuel duty you have to pay on Vegetable Oil when burnt in your car varies from country to country. In the UK the law has changed several times in the last few years. Prior to 2005 you had to register the fuel and pay 28.35p per litre of vegetable oil used, then in 2005 it was changed to 48.35p/litre which is the standard fuel duty to pay on Diesel. Then in 2006 it was changed again so that there was an exemptio on using less than 2500litres per year, anything after that and you have to pay the 48.35p/litre. To put this in context that is around 40 tanks of fuel for an average car of 60 litres. For average driving this would take you around 8000miles. Given that if you use over 2500 litres of vegetable oil a year you need to register and pay full duty on the fuel you may be better off diluting the oil down with Diesel or simply only using the Vegetable Oil in the summer months.

More Fuel Efficiency Ideas

Even if a large sports utility vehicle is your dream car, it's probably a lot more than you really need. Taking some time to make a list of the things you'll use the car for will help determine the difference between your true needs and your wants. It's important to remember that each additional want you add above what you really need will cost you not only at the time of purchase, but in most cases well down the road with an increase in maintenance and operating costs.

The size of the car you decide to purchase will have a direct effect on its operating costs. Purchasing the smallest car possible for your driving needs will save you a tremendous amount in fuel charges. Small cars weigh about half as much as larger cars which results in about half as much fuel being used.

Once you have decided on the size of car, it's worthwhile taking the time to research the safety ratings of the different cars in that size range. Not only will this improve your chances of staying alive in an accident, it will likely reduce your car insurance costs. A quick call to your car insurance company will tell you the tale. Remember, if you keep your car for 7 years, a $25 a month difference in insurance costs adds up to over $2,100 over the lifetime of the car.

Once you have a car, taking some simple steps can reduce your operating costs by hundreds of dollars. For example, if you reduce your gas consumption by $20 a week, it will save you over $1,000 a year. Most people can easily save this amount (and often much more) by simply changing their driving habits and paying a little more attention to their cars.

Save fuel by not driving

By far the best way to reduce your car expenses is to use your car only when necessary. Cars are extremely convenient and this causes people to use them much more often than they really need to. By simply asking yourself, "Is this trip really necessary?" you can greatly decrease the amount you drive.

For short trips close to home, try walking or riding your bicycle. Not only will you save money on your car expenses,you'll also get some healthy exercise. When you go shopping or run errands, take a little time to plan and combine them all into one outing instead of several. Of course, car pooling and using mass transportation systems when possible are always excellent ways to reduce car expenses. If you can find a different way to commute to work rather than by your car, there is a good chance that this will result in a discount in your car insurance.

Fuel savings tips

There are also a number of steps you can take to reduce your driving expenses while using you car. Here's a quick list of some actions you may want to consider while driving.

*** Take the time to check your car's tire pressure each month. Under inflated tires reduce fuel efficiency by 2% for every pound they are under inflated. Under inflation also causes premature tire wear giving your tires a shorter use life.

*** Drive at the speed limit. Cars use about 20% more fuel driving at 70 miles per hour than they do at 55 miles per hour.

*** Avoid driving fast in low gears. Driving at high speeds in the improper gear can reduce fuel efficiency by up to 40%.

*** Avoid using air conditioning whenever possible. Air conditioning reduces fuel economy by 10% to 20%.

*** Don't open windows when traveling at high speeds. Open windows on the highway can reduce fuel efficiency by 10%. It is much better to use the ventilation system. Also remember to remove car racks and other items which make your car less aerodynamic when they're not being used. Use cruise control to maintain a steady pace on the highway to increase fuel economy.

*** Avoid rough roads. Driving on roads made of dirt or gravel can reduce fuel economy by up to 30%.

*** Don't let your car idle. Even on cold mornings, there's no need to let your car idle for more than 30 seconds. Newer cars are designed to be driven almost immediately and letting your car idle longer is a waste of gas. In addition, it's more efficient to turn off your car and turn it on again than to let it idle for more than 45 seconds while waiting.

*** Remove all excess weight from your car. Many people use their car trunk as a storage space adding unneeded pounds to the car's weight. This unnecessary weight reduces the car's fuel efficiency.

*** Try to accelerate gently, brake gradually and avoid stops when driving. Gunning engines, quickly accelerating, and abrupt stops all waste fuel. Try to avoid driving during rush hour periods when you know traffic will be stop and go. If you do find yourself in stop and go traffic, try to maintain a crawl. When approaching hills or steep slopes, accelerate before the hill. Accelerating once on the slope will consume much more gas.

*** Service your car regularly while paying special attention to oil and filters. Blocked air flow from clogged air filters will increase fuel waste. Also check your car's alignment since this can cause engine drag which will also increase gas waste.

*** Periodically calculate your car's fuel efficiency. A loss in fuel efficiency is an indication of possible mechanical problems.

To really see how much you can save by using the above information, don't change your driving habits this week, but take note of the number of miles your drive and calculate your car's current fuel economy. The following week begin initiating any of the above ideas which you aren't currently utilizing. You are sure to be surprised by how much you can save over your regular driving habits, and you'll be able to enjoy some extra money jingling in your pockets