PROPANE OR METHANOL???
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,086
Likes: 1
From: Malahat/Cowichan Valley
i still vote for ether injection! hahaha. If i had to chose i am not sure, i would need to research more. I do know that the propane inj is better suited for the turbo'd models. Not sure though bro. got me thinking though!
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Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,319
Likes: 4
From: Elk City, OK
loaded im gettin about 10mpg, would like to get that up a tad. not sure what my egt's are YET but i wanna keep em low. i think propane would drop them more then methanol would and helps burn the diesel way better.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 10,501
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From: Faibanks Ak.
I am a firm beliver that you can't have to much power and speed, however I like bullet proof and reliable power. I might take off at a moments notice on a 4000 mile one way ride and through a lot of very unpopulated country,While I like and sometimes need all the power I can get there is no was I will intentionally install something that has the capability and more importantly the proven reputation to dump a half a cupful of water inmy engine.(and making me walk) and costing me a few thousand bucks.
Propane may be a little safer, but I have picked up with a wrecker way to many expensive horror stories for there ever be propane in my engine.
Heres another way to look at it. I am in the trucking business 1/4 of a mile better fuel mileage means quite a bit of money in my pocket. There are big companies that spend a lot of money to get the best possible fuel mileage and a 1/4 mpg increase adds a million bucks a month to their bottom line. NONE of them are running propane even though it is available. And DOUBLE NONE are using meth injection wonder why.
Propane may be a little safer, but I have picked up with a wrecker way to many expensive horror stories for there ever be propane in my engine.
Heres another way to look at it. I am in the trucking business 1/4 of a mile better fuel mileage means quite a bit of money in my pocket. There are big companies that spend a lot of money to get the best possible fuel mileage and a 1/4 mpg increase adds a million bucks a month to their bottom line. NONE of them are running propane even though it is available. And DOUBLE NONE are using meth injection wonder why.
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Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,319
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From: Elk City, OK
they also arent running cold air intakes, synthetic fluids, any fuel additives or twin turbos but they do all work, and most work well. its a cost to return ratio for them. and for them to be able to carry a propane tank large enough for them to make it worth it they would all need a hazmat license. not to mention the extra weight. extra weight means less cargo. less cargo means less pay and then they are back right where they started.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 319
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From: Western Australia
I kinda agree with oreo but not totally. In aus (and I cannot speak for the US) most long haul trucks have cold air intakes and synthetic fluids from factory. Nearly all new trucks have turbo's from std and anything over 450 bhp over here has twin turbo's. A select few have propane or what we call lpg but the tank weight is an issue. The gov has allowed certain trucks to add this weight to their total gvm to make it more attractive to trial these systems. My cousins trucks have lpg on half of them and he see's 3-5%mpg gains which could be very significant if you had enough trucks or do enough miles but he said it would take 5 years of fuel savings to pay for the system on a truck. The thing that gets me over here is we pump gas from the north west shelf and process it onshore in aus but at the gas station the lpg price goes up and down with the price of diesel. They have nothing to do with each other over here. We make most our own lpg and our petrol/diesel mostly comes from Singapore. What gives with that.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 10,501
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From: Faibanks Ak.
The systems are out there for the big trucks, and large compayies spend massive amounts of money to gain as little as 1/10 mpg. Propane has benn tried in the industry but none of the big companies kept it or went fleetwide with it. If there were any small gains in the long run they would be running it. If you are running 5000 trucks an average of 9000 miles a month 1/16 of a mile difference is a lot of money, they would use if there were any long term gains.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Faibanks Ak.
I'm not saying it wont work and they have spent a boat load of money testing it.
You can bet the farm if it benifited them they would all be running it.
I don't know why it doesn't pay them to run it. But I do know they researched it for the long haul, maybe they had more maintenance cost. Or it wouldn't pay out in 500,000 miles that they keep the truck. But there is a reason none of them are using propane.
You can bet the farm if it benifited them they would all be running it.
I don't know why it doesn't pay them to run it. But I do know they researched it for the long haul, maybe they had more maintenance cost. Or it wouldn't pay out in 500,000 miles that they keep the truck. But there is a reason none of them are using propane.
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 825
Likes: 1
From: SW Washington coast
Considering in Australia the trucks are running loooooong distance with nada zilch nil between stops and may be a quad AB of 180 feet long and have a weight of around 170 tonnes you can see where they might be interested in fuel economy ...
If you have an idea, try it ... If it doesn't work, oh well ... If it does, great ...
If you have an idea, try it ... If it doesn't work, oh well ... If it does, great ...
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 110
Likes: 2
From: Fargo, ND
i have wanted to try propane injection on both my trucks. I just dont know if the cost of a kit is worth it in the end.... Plus i have not found a kit for these old trucks yet... i must not be looking very hard. haha.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 375
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From: Phoenix
keep in mind, a common misconception is how easy it is to "dump a cup of water in the engine"....in my gas turbo apps I am a die hard meth head...first thing is to make sure you have a light to know when the pump is running, the other is to keep in mind that the pump will have to overcome the pressure of the turbo...typically if something goes wrong you end up with boost pressure in your water tank, not necessarily water in your motor.
Admittidly I have not compared propane to meth yet (its on to-do my list), but I have run meth for 10+ years, and litterally hundreds of thousands of miles without issue....its all in how the system is designed and used
Admittidly I have not compared propane to meth yet (its on to-do my list), but I have run meth for 10+ years, and litterally hundreds of thousands of miles without issue....its all in how the system is designed and used