Anyone running or know anyone running propane?

http://www.rpmoutlet.com/64prop.htm

 

Why of course, you once you buy it and install it and give us the low down.

 

Touché. Any reasons NOT to run it? I've always heard you can add propane to diesel on a minimal setting and get much better mileage. However, I realize that if that were the case, everyone would be running it.

 

Sorry, I dont know anybody running propane, someonw should though, you would think.

 

Something to think about when we introduce a combustable fuel through the intake into a motor that utilizes compression ignition: when exactly does that propane ignite?

That's the key. You don't really know when that explosion in the combustion chamber is going to happen. The fueling on modern diesels, with their high pressure pumps and multiple injections per event, have very precise SOI (Start Of Injection) combined with very precise IP (Injection Pressures), all resulting in a very exact SOC (Start Of Combustion). To put it in layman's terms, fuel is very precisely metered and timed so that it explodes at the desired moment for any given load, RPM, temp, boost, etc.

What this gives you is a controlled cylinder pressure. All motors, stock or otherwise, have a certain amount of cylinder pressure they can take before something goes wrong.... such as popping a head gasket or chunking a rod out the side of the block. Any time you alter this cylinder pressure, you alter power, MPG, emissions, and durability.

Now if you are simply adding more fuel through the injectors via tuning for example, you have the ability to continue to precisely control that fueling event to keep cylinder pressures at a desired level.

However, if you introduce more fuel through the intake, it's sitting there building pressure as the piston moves towards TDC. You no longer have control as to when it is going to ignite because it was not introduced into the combustion chamber at an exact moment that would lead to a precise SOC. If it lights too soon, cylinder pressures skyrocket.

Of course, small amounts of propane probably won't be enough to pre-ignite too soon and cause issues. However, the return on your investment probably won't be there either in terms of any minimal mileage gain.

This is why propane kits quickly lost popularity with the diesel crowd. It used to be the big thing just 10 years ago until people started popping motors left and right. They quickly learned what I described, and tried dialing back the amount. Of course that resulted in minimal gains and wasn't worth the cost of the kit in the first place. Some big name diesel performance shops around the country stopped offering the kits for sale because they weren't worth the risk to their business reputation.

That's the scoop on propane. It's your truck, do as you wish. But make an educated decision before you put a $15K motor at risk.

 

I ran propane on my 6.0 . Gained about 2 1/5 mpg. Ran good. Would take along time to pay for the kit and tanks.