Sorry I missed you. I would have loved to help. This guy has gone up on prices lately, but he has the parts as a kit. He should sell pcs. http://www.propaneguy.com/parts.htm These guys are always helpful and should have the parts individually. http://www.hendrixsystems.com/index.htm
Cool, just checked. He has it. Calls it the "cheater hose". Seems a bit steep at $85, but I need to get one. I let my tank empty out and now I either need to tow the truck to the filling station about 2 miles away, drop the tank out and take over or get this and go fill up my BBQ tank and get enough in it to drive it over. I tried to get my local guy to get this for me a long time ago before this happened because I knew it would at some point, but never seemed to click with him. FYI, you can also use a small propane torch bottle to get a tiny boost too in a pinch if you have the right fitting, but that obviously won't get you too far, but maybe off the side of the road and down the street for a bit when no other options. I was thinking of stashing a couple of those in the truck because they are so small for emergencies. Another more permanent option is to install a second smaller tank hard piped into the whole system, but with the valve on the tank shut to keep it only as a reserve. When low or out on the main tank, just open that one up and you are good to go. Maybe a later project at some point. Thanks for the lead on the "cheater hose" Post up some pics of your project if you don't mind. Would love to check them out.
That cheater hose idea would be handy. I run straight LPG in my Chev truck. No second chances. I'm always very careful to top up well before empty. That's fairly easy in Australia. Pretty much all service stations have LPG on tap here. LPG conversions are very common over here. Pete
Not too popular over here because it would be too easy to do and make too much sense. We need to find harder, more expensive alternative fuels before we do much on the simple and easy ones.
Hey phil, its me, you know, the guy you got your desoto from? anyhoo i got a 425 imco mixer and the regulator doohickey cheap! if your interested give me a call. Dan whachalookin4
The problem with it as an alternative is that it is derived from the same oil as gasoline, basically a by product of the process. So when we run out of oil, we run out of Propane too. As said above, it is very common in Australia. At the moment the government is giving $2000 to anyone who converts their car. I've fitted quite a few cars with systems (mostly late models) but it is fairly effective on older cars. I personally don't think of it as a great fuel for performance. I think you lose about 20% depending on the system you use and the engine. As for economy, you use about 20-25% more, again, depending on you system and engine, so it depends on how much you pay for it. Australian prices vary from 55-75 cents a litre, where as petrol (gas) is about $1.50. Most of that is tax. The government doesn't tax LPG as much as petrol because it helps to save fairies and hug trees.
I have burned propane in vehicles for close to 30 years and really like it. It works the best when set up as propane only, no duel fuel. scottybaccus has some great advice but I will ad to his cold starting comments. Living in North Dakota, I have seen plenty of below zero temps. and have seen propane that will fill a glass and sit there like water at 40 below zero. The trick to getting propane engines to start in way below zero is to use block heaters, pour hot water slowly over the propane converter and in real extreme conditions heat the tank alittle as well. If you flood them at below zero you are pretty much screwed for awhile. You can turn off the gas, remove the vapor hose and turn the engine over to purge it but it still may not start for awhile even than. Usually best just to stay home when it gets to 40 below anyway but on the ranch you sometimes have to get them running to get things done.
Chet Herbert's sedan...one of the "75 Most Significant 32 Fords" In this pic, the car was equipped with a flathead, (this would be the post-Herbert "Gaskin" version, I believe?) but prior to that it had a propane-powered Jimmy six. And hand controls. And four doors. Chet Herbert's a genius and his legacy is unimpeachable....so there is all the "traditional" precedent you need to using propane.
They work good in hot dusty climates too, besides 40 below. We can get into the 100+ degree too. 114 one day last summer. Anyway, propane likes cool air, block off the heat riser on the manifold, run as cool a thermostat as you can get. Colder range spark plugs also.
Propane don't know if it's on a Hemi when it wants to ignite and make your ride have Real Flames>>>>.
My Dad ran propane on a 460 Ford back in the '80s. It was a propane-only system, made good power, and the damn oil never looked dirty. It's good for your engine in that sense. But, propane powered rigs smell funny.
lot of guys running it here on rods with big motors, if set up properly its fantastic, I have it on my ute, best thing out. Can get 3-4 weeks of daily driving out of a 25 gal tank for $50. It a 6 cylinder ute, but as cheap to run as my wifes 4 cylinder. I wouldnt hesitate to use it here, but then its available. also alot of guys like running it on blown motors as the charge that is going into the blower is nice and cold, which helps overall. impco 425's on a holley base seem to be the go, only issue on an open hood car is hiding the mixer and making the feeder pipe less promenent, but I'm sure that can be done if you think about it enough.
Being in the auto repair and the engine bizz for years I guess I've seen a lot of things. Some good and some bad. I'm not sying that you can't use propane I'm just pointing out some of the things I've seen. Carbs melted,pop off valves blowing at terrible times,engines on fire,valves burnt and cupped beyond recognition,just to say a few. I'm sure if maintained properly some of this shit would not have happened but I look at propane as a less foregiving fuel. But I can see one thing good about it. When you take your ride out for a cruze you can devize a barbecuer that will run off of the same fuel as your car, burgers for everyone>>>>. Once again this is just my opinion and I could be wrong!
Gasoline vapors and dripping liquid can ignite as well obviously. Actually, gasoline is more flammable and more explosive than propane. Propane is 115 octane or so and is therefore harder to ignite. That is what higher octane means and that is why higher compressions engines need higher octane fuel so it doesn't ignite too soon in the stroke. But once it does, more compression = more bang = more power. It also has a smaller window of % mix with oxygen before it will ignite - too much oxygen or too little and it won't ignite. Gasoline has a bigger window and therefore easier to ignite and explode. A gas tank will explode if ignited. It is much more unlikely that an LPG tank will explode as the inside mix with oxygen has to be just right within that small window of mixture. Gasoline vapors are toxic, LPG is not nearly as much. Same for the burnt gases. People have died fairly often running their there cars from the fumes either by accident or on purpose. That is pretty hard to do with propane. That is why they use it on forklifts in warehouses, etc. There are certainly pros and cons to both, but the reality is LPG is no more dangerous than gasoline and in a couple regards much safer. But, if you don't maintain either properly, then you can expect problems. LPG systems are pretty darn simple actually and aren't at all hard to maintain. You wouldn't park a car with a leaky gas tank in a garage, don't do the same for an LPG car. It is very easy to smell even pretty small leaks in an LPG system, so it is not like it usually happens with no warning. If you can smell propane, then time to see what is leaking If it is leaking somewhere, just turn the valve off at the tank and that takes care of the immediate problem 99.9% of the time.
Caught fire? Hmmm. Guess that there has never been a gas motor burn to the ground. 20% in power? Umm, guess you missed the air displacement statement above. And less fuel economy? That's interesting too. Both of these have a foot note. Build an engine for gasoline and run it on, oh, peanut butter, and it will make less power and get lousy mileage. Tune one for propane and it will match gasoline, pound for pound. The BTUs are slightly less, but it will permit more than enough compression to overcome that. How efficient do you think kerosene would be in a diesel? That's about the same relationship gas and propane have. Build for it. Oh shit, I have to go put out the fire in my garage from the tank that's been sitting there for 2 years without leaking. I better hurry before my carb melts... This message has been brought to you by Strickland Propane, Arlen's number one dealer of propane and propane accessories.
Hey scotty. you are a funny man but keep your day job. I guess you've never seen any of these things happen. But if you hit the key to start one of these prizely tuned propane rigs up in the shop that was parked next to your hot rod and shit started melting I know you would get excited. I have never had a gasoline engine do this to me. I don't like propane and that's my opinion! And like I said before I could be wrong>>>>.
i am getting propane for $2.00 a gal,my company sponsors fuel for a 1000 propane chevelle.working on converting my ride,half the price of gas,i'm happy.i guess there are some perks working for one of the world's largest propane companies. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/31/sema-2007-1-000-hp-propane-chevelle-by-mothers/
<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.0 (Linux)"><meta name="AUTHOR" content="David"><meta name="CREATED" content="20080429;23244700"><meta name="CHANGED" content="16010101;0"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> Reactionary thinking is detrimental to a broad encompassing understanding. Its not wrong that one might emotionally categorize based on azygos evidence, but dwelling in a statically unlikely event as a “what if” scenario leads to narrowly decisive mindset precluding alternative solutions to ever present problems. solution: explore entire spectrum of outcomes before allowing emotionally driven response to affect analytical decisions. ie: yes, one propane fueled vehicular caught on fire, but most do not and never will. David
I would personaly never do it. It may burn clean and make good power, but that fucking nasty smell makes me sick!
The only woman I'm pimping from now on is Sweet Lady Propane. And I'm tricking her out all over this town. -Hank Hill
The Jalopy Journal
