Running Your Rig on Propane/LPG?
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 125
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From: Lynchburg, VA
Running Your Rig on Propane/LPG?
Ok,
With the cost of gas going out of control something's gotta give and I really don't want it to be my truck. (Gas here is $2.85 in Central Virginia, $3.01 at my brother's house in NC, and $3.40 at the in-laws in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1 ="">Baltimore</st1></st1:city>, and more out west!) So, in thinking and poking around it looks like propane/lpg is the best alternative fuel source. It looks like a straight out swap, especially since there are lots of vehicles on the road using propane (such as many Municipal vehicles, Canadian vehicles). Propane is much cheaper than gas, right now it is around $1.50 a gal. Also propane runs so much cleaner and gas mileage is supposedly just slightly less than gas. The cleaner burning engine is also lasts much, much longer from what I've read.
So is anyone out there running propane on your 67-72? If so what setup are you using and how good or bad has it been for you? And....if you have a dual fuel setup are not using it....please feel free to PM and maybe I can get that off of your hands.
With the cost of gas going out of control something's gotta give and I really don't want it to be my truck. (Gas here is $2.85 in Central Virginia, $3.01 at my brother's house in NC, and $3.40 at the in-laws in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1 ="">Baltimore</st1></st1:city>, and more out west!) So, in thinking and poking around it looks like propane/lpg is the best alternative fuel source. It looks like a straight out swap, especially since there are lots of vehicles on the road using propane (such as many Municipal vehicles, Canadian vehicles). Propane is much cheaper than gas, right now it is around $1.50 a gal. Also propane runs so much cleaner and gas mileage is supposedly just slightly less than gas. The cleaner burning engine is also lasts much, much longer from what I've read.
So is anyone out there running propane on your 67-72? If so what setup are you using and how good or bad has it been for you? And....if you have a dual fuel setup are not using it....please feel free to PM and maybe I can get that off of your hands.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
The big things about propane is that it burns really hot, and it's dry. You need to have stainless valves, or at very least one-piece valves if you have an FE, the extra heat will make the stock two piece valves snap. You can't run it without hardened seats, either, or the valves will sink into the heads in a matter of months. You should run diesel oil, or a very good 10w40 synthetic to prevent upper cylinder damage too. The fun about propane is that you can run high compression, 12:1 would be easy with propane with the proper spark timing. IIRC propane is about 130 octane, so you can make up the lower btu's per gallon with a higher compression, leaner burning engine to get the same or maybe a little better mileage.
FTE Legend
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 53,997
Likes: 2,399
From: NY and VA
Local propane dealer here in NY converts all his trucks to propane, no interior mods done to engine, and they run over 400,000 miles. Carb conversion costs about $1000, runs on propane only. EFI runs around $2000 with special injectors vehicle is started on gasolene then switched over to prop. You can go back and forth with a flip of the switch.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 26,007
Likes: 575
From: Brentwood,CA
Originally Posted by Ford_Six
The big things about propane is that it burns really hot, and it's dry. You need to have stainless valves, or at very least one-piece valves if you have an FE, the extra heat will make the stock two piece valves snap. You can't run it without hardened seats, either, or the valves will sink into the heads in a matter of months. You should run diesel oil, or a very good 10w40 synthetic to prevent upper cylinder damage too. The fun about propane is that you can run high compression, 12:1 would be easy with propane with the proper spark timing. IIRC propane is about 130 octane, so you can make up the lower btu's per gallon with a higher compression, leaner burning engine to get the same or maybe a little better mileage.
the propane setup is easy to do. check out my post in the alternative fuel section.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
I'm working off the damage I have seen to OHV Forklift engines run off propane, and what I have seen on trucks run primarily on propane.
Where I am working, we have an 00 Hyster, the thing is a gutless wonder so service got called, compression test came back as 83-80-95-91, oil brought them all up to the 130 range. I'm pulling the engine in the next few weeks to rebuild it, I'll have a better idea of the damage then.
Most stock replacement valves for gasoline engines will say, not for use with propane. They overheat, stretch, and if it's a stellite head welded to a stainless stem like stock Ford valves, they can break at the weld.
Where I am working, we have an 00 Hyster, the thing is a gutless wonder so service got called, compression test came back as 83-80-95-91, oil brought them all up to the 130 range. I'm pulling the engine in the next few weeks to rebuild it, I'll have a better idea of the damage then.
Most stock replacement valves for gasoline engines will say, not for use with propane. They overheat, stretch, and if it's a stellite head welded to a stainless stem like stock Ford valves, they can break at the weld.
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