propane

[just-john]

Question can I change my 60 to run on propane?Will it run about the same?
will the millage go up or down.and what do you think it will cost. At about $1.75
gal looks interesting to me. cheaper than deisel and gas no line at the station and no shortages and maybe i could hookup a grill or gas fridge.

 

[Mace]

figure about $800 to get your rig on propane.

10% power loss and 10% mileage loss.

Mileage and power loss can be mitigated with engine work.

Crank the numbers if it is reasonable for you to do..

 

[Doc]

I was considering this too... where would one go to get a kit for propane switch? Since our fuel pumps are mechanical, there really is no way to keep the gas tank and have a dual fuel vehicle, is there? I've seen kits that use a switch to turn from propane to gasoline, but I don't know if we could manage that trick or not.

 

[andrew7elk]

If you were to do a propane switch where would be a good spot for the tank?? How would you gain the power and milage back?? And does anyone have any pictures? I am very interested in this subject as gas prices keep soaring!!

 

[Mace]

You have to run an electric fuel pump.

Propane tanks take up a lot of space.

 

[75pinz]

You can run a mechanical pump no problem.

This is not rocket science. I have recently removed the propane setup from my truck. Stupid now that gas is over 3 bucks. You have two fuel cut off solenoids and a switch to flip between the fuels. It's easy except for the tank. Don't think this would be useful on a Cruiser due to no where to put the tank that won't cut into your only storage area.

 

[Poser]

TDI Jetta......

 

[TopJimmie]

What parts do you need for the switch? Obviously the tank, but what about carb?

 

[fjman]

not to steal light from this thread, but is propane similar to natural gas? I've heard of a new home fueling system for natural gas. It just goes on your gas bill at the end of the month. Would it require the same types of mods? Supposedly it pretty cheap in comparision to the refined stuff!

 

[CruisinTiger]

Ditto on what Jimmie said, what do you need to do for the conversion? How many miles to the gallon or propane do you get? Can you just get the tank hook up a hose with an EFP and run it straight thru your carb. Then do the tweaking to get the power back?

 

[Mace]

If you want to do a dual fuel setup you can stic with your stock carb then run a adapter that allows you to use a seperate mixer. Basically you use the stock butterflies on your carb to meter the air intake. The propane is fed by a mixer that automatically feeds propane based on air flow.

Parts.
mixer
Vaporizer
either electric or Vacuum operated soleniod (turns on the fuel)
Propane tank
and the lines.


Very simple set up actually.

 

[Mace]

If you realyl want mileage Poser is right.

Get a feaking diexel Volkswaggon. I reccomend a 81 Diesel rabbit. Max speed is about 55 but 50 mpg..

And they are super cheap..

 

[RoddQLD]

Just copied my earlier post in the 'natural gas' thread. More appropriate post for here!!

LPG is very commonly used in Australia. Most (if not all) of out taxis use it, as well as quite a few family cars, vans, 4WDs, etc. Some manufacturers here, like Ford, sell cars that only have an LPG tank. Most cars have used a separate LPG and petrol tank.

The disadvantages: if you run both fuels then you need room for both tanks. The LPG tank is usually fitted under the vehicle, or inside the boot (trunk) or cargo area. LPG vehicles here cary a small red 'LPG' sticker on the front and rear number plate.

Fortunately, safety hasn't been a real cause of concern. I have seen one video clip of a car that caught fire and the tank later exploded and blew the car to bits (just like in US movies!! ). This wasn't due to an accident, was away from suburbia, and the occupants had moved far enough away from the car not to be injured. After saying that then I must say that LPG cars have proven to be extremely safe. In Australia they have to be correctly fiited, inspected and maintained.

A car uses more LPG per mile than petrol, but it is still more economical to run on LPG here.
LPG is $0.49/litre or less & petrol is hitting $1.30/litre at the moment.
LPG = $1.85/US gallon
Petrol = $4.92/US gallon

When we go to a service station here there are extra pumps for LPG. They plug into a separate filler that is usually near the petrol filler. The problem that you might have in the states is whether you have LPG pumps available at many/any servo's. The cost of LPG would be determined by how much LPG the US has available to them in comparison to petrol.

Most bugs have been worked out of LPG systems, here, and vehicles run very well off LPG. There is a small decrease of power.

Rodd

http://www.advancedfuels.com.au/

Another point that concerns me a bit with the US; does the US have all it's eggs in one basket by relying too much on petrol? I am in no way criticising the US and I don't know if that is the case. If the US has good gas reserves then it might be a safer option if the government also ensured that there were plenty of LPG service stations around at least for emergency services and supply services.

Also, here is an interesting link for running LPG in a diesel engine!!
http://www.dieselgas.com.au/home.htm

 

[Doc]

There was a company in the UK that made a LPG tank shaped like a spare, it would fit under the 60 in the stock spare tire location. I bet many of us have our spares in non-stock locations anyway. That'd be the way to go I think.