LPG conversion

Lots of V8 Range Rovers have been converted. Chris Perfect and RPi are long established suppliers for Rover V8's.

you don't have any electronic sensors etc you can't use EFi kitsthat have become the norm.

Try

and You will however require an inspection by an approved installer if you fit it yourself, and be aware that some insurance companies won't touch them.

Required by whom?

True: others insist on a certificate from a member of the appalling lpga; some charge a higher premium ("it's modified"); CIS only wanted proof that my Range Rover did indeed use lpg (an MoT test summary sufficed), and some don't give a hang.

Some installers will examine and certify d-i-y installations.

Worth checking the yahoo group lp-gas and uk.rec.cars.fuel.lpg

In doing the sums, remember to allow for the extra mileage making special trips to top up, which you'll probably have to do far more often than you expect, and note that motorway services charge a fortune for the stuff. Because both the range and choice of filling stations are both far less than for petrol or diesel, I found I used motorway services far more often than I would have liked.

Chris,

Thanks for that, an interesting read. I have to decide whether the cost is justified by the miles but looking at rough prices it does not seem so expensive an exercise.

Martin P

Kevin,

I live not far from two BP garages which sell LPG and the sort of journeys I make would not be serious mileage, I am just looking at reducing running costs and the cost of fitting looks to me to be worth the effort over a couple of years.

You've answered that yourself below!

It does depend very much on whether you have convenient lpg stations nearby, though when I had a gas-powered Omega I found several close to my normal routes, and my daily commute took me within 400 yards of the Altagas depot at Moorgreen which was cheaper than anywhere.

Most Shell stations seem to have it now.

No I haven't. There's quite a difference between "you will require" and

*some* insurers insisting on one.

It's dead in there, very very dead.

Get a map and find a few off M-way places.

Sanisbury's at North Western Avenue, Watford, WD25 9JS is a short detour between J5 and 6, and not too far off M25.

Morrison's Lysander Road, Cribbs Causeway, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, BS10 7UD has LPG and is worth the short detour off M5 even for Petrol.

In the early 1980s I fitted (post production) Landi-Hartog lpg conversions, after having been sent on a 3 day course at the area agent in Halifax. The course started with the guy saying that as lpg is heavier than air, and, if it leaks from any of "your" joints into footwells etc, and there was an explosion, "you" could be looking at " involuntary manslaughter " charges. That stuck firmly in my mind! The metering of the gas to the engine was controlled by the vacuum in the inlet manifold. A pipe from a manifold tapping was connected to the evapourator, which caused a spring loaded diaphragm to open or shut a gas delivery valve. 3 basic evaporator sizes to correspond with 3 engine hp ranges, with a range of jets and springs to adjust each range. To adjust the mixture, slacken a lock- nut, turn scew, and re-tighten. Too weak and the engine was sluggish. If the engine was slightly down on petrol performance then the mixture would just about right. A simple and effective device! The gas tanks were also much larger, the width of the boot and about 10" diameter (10-12 gallons) and crash test proven design. All pipes were drawn steel. The car's mileage range could be doubled. But, that was quarter of a century ago!! Basic fitting time was given as 20 hours.

Now the car's computer is operates the evapourator. Adjustment through your local dealer's expensive computer, no doubt! About four years ago I heard that on a BMW, the fitter had to make almost 30 connections to the vehicle's electrical system under/behind the dash. The tanks are fitted in the spare wheel well and hold about

25 litres by law(?)

Isn't technology wonderful?

Regards, A. Dinosaur.

I had my DS converted to LPG about five years ago. Although I have a certificate from the installer, somewhere, I have never been asked to show it. One broker politely declined to deal with it, but neither of the insurers I have used has been bothered in the least.

Incidentally, the conversion cost me about =A31000 and saves me 10p / mile in fuel. Since having it done I have done about 45,000 miles.

Ian

I did some sums on this a while ago for running a modern car. Reckoning on a £1500 installation cost and around 25-30MPG *and* an annual mileage of around 25k, I could expect it to pay for it's own installation in a year. So reckoning you'll get payback at around 10000 miles with a DIY install cost of around £700, but it could be a long while before you do 10k in it if it's only a weekend car.