OK.. Here what im thinking.. here gas sells for a min of $2.65 a gal.. And propane is $1.55 a gal... Has anyone done a 223 conversion to duel fuel? and how it work out? I know what I need. Tank, Reg, Solinoid, Pull off vapor convertor ( I done a lot of marine gens in the past )

 

Look up one of those gas company guys that drove a propane powered service trucks. Or call your local supplier and inquire. My only experience over the years is with forklifts. I had a leak (rotted out heat exchanger) and it leaked and blew a flame out the engine cover that put a 3rd degree burn to both my arms and face.

Rod

 

I run EVERYTHING on propane
.....except the wipper snipper. Tanks too heavy

It's $0.38 a litre compared to $1.15 for crap petrol (Gas in your terms)

I run Impco gear which is made in CA.

A 225 mixer and an L coverter would do it nicely

Ignition timing is always a compromise on dual fuel, which is why I run Propane only

You NEED a decent ignition system.

 

AK Miller did, though he added a Super Charger to make up for the 20% power loss one experiences using Propane.

 

Price may be cheaper, but what kind of milege do you get and what is the conversion costs? How many miles will you need to drive before you break even, then there's the problem of where do you mount a propane tank and is there enough available filling stations when/where you want to drive? Unlike gas stations, propane stations are typically only open 9-5 M-F. This is what has made propane unattractive to all but fleet users who have their own filling stations. I suspect that as the price of gasoline increases the LPG and natural gas producers are going to get jealous of those record profits... (backs away now to avoid political argument).

 

See I can get the parts at cost.. I do conversion on marine gens.. And im thinking duel fuel.. that wouldnt be hard becouse the Vapor pull off unit mounts on top on the carb.. Kinda looks like a donut.. and my Gas part( Carb ) has no modafiding done to it.. I run a eletric fuel pump all ready so All Id need to do is install a double throw switch.. So one way it turn on the Ele gas pump, and in the other it would open a Solinoid fo the propane.. A farly easy switch.. So if I needed more power for something all Id have to do is hit a switch.. Or if I run out of propane same thing.. And the way the 60 f-100 is built I can easyly mount a RV type tank under the bed to one side.. I have thought this out.. I do 99.99% of my driving here in town so the saving would show real fast.. I go thru about $50 a week in gas.. I could just about cut that in half on cost of propane.. The loss is only about 10% in HP.. Not much of a loss in a 223 rated at 126 hp.. Id be at about ( this is a guess) 114 hp.. And the same truck running a 215 is about 100hp.. So I would stay above the needed power curve to keep the truck rolling ( I just rebuilt it last year so im at lest at stock power right now ) So what your thoughts now?

 

I like it, though I still believe you should mount a Super Charger as AK Miller always stated it was a 20% loss of HP w/ this conversion.

 

"Price may be cheaper, but what kind of milege do you get and what is the conversion costs? How many miles will you need to drive before you break even"

None of us have the crystal ball we need to be sure of the economics down the road. It's a crapshoot, but I have a feeling you could come out OK on a vehicle you drove a lot. A handy option would be a system that you could flip the fuel back and forth on. Some of the farmers around here used to run them in the 70s. As I recall, the basic systems worked like an NOS plate. Best if you started on gas and then flipped to propane after a minute. At the time, operating cost on propane was significantly cheaper. Farmers that stay in business are usually frugal.

I remember a local drag racer that ran a 351 on propane. I could be mistaken, but I believe LP is equivalent of 110 octane. He definitely had no deficiency in performance.

In any case MAD, keep track of what you are doing, and tell us the real cost to make the mod. I'm interested.

 

I think its a good idea, especially since you already know what you're doing. If you do it and don't like it you can reverse it, you would be out the cost of the parts though.

AX has a point about the prices LPG and natural gas prices tend to mimick oil prices since there are huge industrial customers that can choose the cheapest fuel which raises the demand for that fuel and then the price goes up. But if you can still get it for less than gas, go for it!

I'd be interested in your miles/dollar since that's really what it's all about.

 

Well I order the parts I need today.. Supering charging is not a good idea becouse my engine not built for it.. Id mostlikly blow the head gasket with force induction.. But I will rig a under hood ram air.. And for starting on gas and switching to gas.. that a old idea.. But a good one.. let it warm up on gas would help .. Running propane makes it reall hard for the engine to warm up.. ( Propane runs a LOT colder than Gas ) But with the heat here in the summer.. it may be perfit to help advoid over heating...

 

Any idea what it would cost Joe average FTE guy?

 

I will know the full retail price once I get all the parts plues shipping cost..

 

There is usually NO power loss if you set the ignition curve and advance to suit the burn charecteristics of propane.......but then you can't run gas

In a dual fuel conversion you will get a small power loss on BOTH as you need to set your ignition as a compromise between both fuels.

I PERSONALLY don't like the "BBQ ring" propane units you decribe.
They are very primitive ways of metering propane and usually don't give great performance, and give lousy mileage.

I would recommend anyone contemplating propane use a more sophisticated metering device, like an Impco or OHG mixer

The setup I like is single fuel using an Impco 425 mixer, which bolts straight to a squarebore holley base plate. Just turn a holley upside down and undo the 4 recessed philips head screws and throw away the smell bit. Now bolt the 425 onto the base plate and bolt it onto a 4 barrel manifold.

Add an Inpco "L", "J" or "E" converter and a couple of solenoids and you are done.

If for availability reasons you MUST have dual fuel then an Impco 300 on a side snorkel off the carby is a neat setup on a V8 or 6

When you are building from scratch a single fuel propane setup is usually CHEAPER than putting it on gas. ie The cost of a mixer, converter and tank is cheaper than the comparable holley, pump and an under bed gas tank.

Consumption will be about 10% higher, but at 1/3 the cost who cares.

 

Just take a look at this and tell me it doesn't look neat........pink, but neat



It's a friends car with dual Impco 425 on a ram.

I am running the same setup on a 351C in my F1.......but I have better taste in paint

The round thing on the firewall is the converter, the books all say it has to be within 2 feet of the mixer, but I have run them up to 6 feet awau with no issues......so much for books

 

Hey halfdone.. That sounds very interesting.. I have been looking for more info on Propane for truck.. but there very few thing on line about it.. So I stuck with what I knew about from converting Marine Gen over to propane.. Im always open to more info.. Do U have some web site you can point me to?