Hi There,

in Europe it becomes popular to drive with LPG.
But here in the forum i don't see any post about a car equipped for propane.
Depend this on the price for that fuel?

 

Hello Tribute. Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts.

Propane is not a terribly popular alternative fuel stateside, but it is used in our diesel segment to augment diesel for power and efficiency.

Check our site's other alternative fuels section for more in depth LPG discussions. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum146/

 

Hi there I have a 1987 F250 with a 460 and a 1989 F350 4x4 both run on propane.They both run great .I live in NH and they start and run good even in the winter.

 

is your 89 a diesel?

 

Hi There,

in Germany we had to pay around 1,34 Euro for 1 Litre of Gasoline (most of it is tax) (today the price went down to something around 1,24 Euro, LPG only costs around 62 Euro-Cent is more constant.

I don't know how how this differs to the situation in the US.

My 2001 Mazda Tribute V6 takes around 12,5 litres gasoline, and less then 15 litres LPG for 100 Kilometers - its a little bit other than your xx mpg, but in my opinion around 24 mpg comes close to 10 litres per 100 Kilometers.

 

10 litres is 2.6 gallons. 100 Kilometers is 62.1 miles.

10L per 100K is 23.88 mpg

I'd say your opinion is spot on.

 

Is propane as efficient as gas? I have a diesel and want to add the propane for the upside to the mileage but I coudlnt remember if replacing gas for propane was as efficient.

I was in Germany (Ellwangen) around the middle of July for a week of training and it took some getting used to with the liters of fuel. We pulled in a gas station and I saw .99 for diesel and was excited until they told me that factored to roughly 3.50 per gallon plus the conversion rate. Of course then we went to England and it all factored out to 7.50 for regular gas there.

 

Hi, I have 2000 EX V10 4x4 with LPG conversion. This is a LPG injection system, witch is hassle free. It always starts on gasoline and switches automaticly from gasoline to LPG at a preset engine temperature. This keeps the original gasoline system fresh by running a little bit every day. The system is made by a Canadian company called Ecofuel, and mounted locally. I live in Norway, and here, the price of LPG is close to 1/3 of gasoline. The truck use about 12-15% more fuel operating on LPG, compared to gasoline, but the fuel expence in real money, is like driving VW Rabbit.
This is my third LPG vehicle. Before this one, I had a 97 Chev Astro and a 97 Suburban. As you can see, I am (and certainly my wallet are) very pleased with driving with LPG.

 

I believe that was the Liter price in Eurocent for Bio-Diesel - which raises up next year because government needs mor tax.

Just now normal gas is around 1.22 Euro/Liter and Diesel about 10 to 15 Cent less.

My Tribute V6 has a sequential digital injection system for Propane (here we love mixtures with 40% Propane/60% Buthane, because in summer that provides more mileage and smoother engine sound) than standard propane what ist 95P/5B - alike the bottled propane.

That systems starts on gasoline and switches over after a defined time and engine temperature (mine at 30° Celsius). If the engine is warm, it switches over within 0.5 seconds.

Propane for Diesel engines i don't have heard about in Germany - but some public transports use that and Methan, too for their busses.

 

Up here in British Columbia, Canada propane is definitely more popular than stateside. I run an '88 F250 XLT Ext. Cab, 460 ci on propane. No problems at all, propane is way cheaper here than gas or diesel, I just find it is lacking in power when pulling a trailer over the mountains. Otherwise great, just have to check your route when travelling to ensure there is propane available.

 

@victoriafordguy,

in Germany we just now have about 1200 propane (LPG) stations and the trend goes upstairs.

in the backkground is discussion for the mixture of propane and buthane, because that is a big point for the power of the engine under respect of the needed pressure in summer and winter.

Because LPG has a bit less power this should compensated with about 10 to 20% more fuel consumption normally and a better mixture as sold in the normal gas bottles - but that may depend on the kind of gas solution (Ventury type or injection) and how good the injection is placed.

Normally i don't feel any power loss, towing two horses overcomes the possibilities of the tranny CD4E and i was told right now better to run on gasoline on pulling, because the 3 L Duratec V6 has a sequentiell cooling system, where the sixth cylinder will become the hottest and than is a candidate for outlet valve problems in general.

 

where are you guys getting these kits and how much do they cost. I want to run a truck of mine on propane. I would like to up the compression of the engine (because propane is less volatile) and then only use 93 octane for starting. I heard about a performance tv show building a Small Block Chevy to 16:1 compression to run on propane.

anyway info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

The kits are available in BC, I haven't priced a new one in years but it used to average about $2k to have a conversion done. I have also seen used full set ups for sale approx. $500-800 Cdn.

 

BC meaning British Columbia correct? Would there be any info about this stuff in Victoria? I am not too far from there. Just a half hour boat ride from Port Angeles.

do you know of any websites I could check out? , google throws me way off on the subject.

 

I know this thread is only 6 years old but it came up when searching on converting over to LPG. I seen this conversion is very popular in Australia and New Zealand as well as parts of Europe and probably Canada but not so much in the U.S.A from what I can tell. At least not for average consumers.

Looks like if there was some way to buy mass quantities it sells at less than $1.00 per gallon according to this website:
Propane - Daily Price - Commodity Prices - Price Charts, Data, and News - IndexMundi

But according to this website, there are only 15 retail outlets in the 4th most populous city in the nation (Houston,TX). The LPG seems to sell as low as $2.50 to over $4.39. I don't get it. Is there that much markup in this stuff? The gas has been falling on the commodities market and there is a lot of talk of having a natural gas glut, so what gives. Maybe its time to open up an LPG station?

I was tinkering with excel and was playing around with what-ifs on converting a 460 to run on LPG. I really don't have a good handle on the cost but I figure somewhere between $1,000-$2,000 should cover it and might even provide a dual gasoline / LPG system. Maybe I'm dreaming. The lower the MPG, the "quicker" the payback on converting. At a conservative $2.60 / gallon for LPG vs $3.75 for Gasoline and a MPG reduction with LPG of around 80% of gas, its looking like 30,000 mile would be the distance needed to pay for a $1500 conversion cost. A better system might yield 90% rather an 80% and that drastically cuts down the payback period.

Does this even look right?

<a href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/4yl2e"><img src="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/newuploads/4yl2e.jpg"></a>

Anybody converting to LPG?

Propane - Daily Price - Commodity Prices - Price Charts, Data, and News - IndexMundi

Public Liquefied Propane Gas (LPG) stations and prices in Houston, TX

What about Gov't incentive or tax credits converting?