Isuzu Trooper conversion to LPG

A friend has just converted his V8 Disco, now cost's him him £20.00 a week. He is so impressed, he is replacing the fuel tank for a further 100lt LPG tank and keeping a 10gallon petrol tank on board.

Beware, Gordon Brown has promised to raise LPG tax "substantially" at the next budget. We just don't know how a big a rise he considers substantial.

I think the sole reason to use LPG in your car in this country is the fuel cost, isn't it? Let me talk a little about LPG usage in Korea here. I'm from Korea and there are tons of LPG vehicle in Korea because of the high gas price. However, LPG vehicles are only allowed for commercial purpose or handicapped people because of the mechanical difficulties and also of government's concern about the reduced tax collection :). Here's what I heard from magazines and newspapers....

1.Usually, LPG engines are less powerful that gas vehicle. This is mainly because the engine and trans are not properly tuned for LPG property. Most of the LPG engines are just an fuel injecting device attatched version of gas engine in Korea. I think the situation is similar in this country.

1. LPG price is very very vurnerable to tax policy and supply.
2. LPG engine has quite annoying problem with cold start. The fuel will freeze in the fuel line during the night in cold weather.
3. Once fuel line starts to leak, it's extremely hard to find the problematic spot and fix it because its invisible. This is one of the main reason that lots of taxi drivers in Korea complains his health problem.

If you're ok with the listed problem, yes you can use LPG and save you m> I'm considering converting Trooper 98 (3.5L V6 petrol engine) to run on

This is generally caused by lpg being 114 octane and petrol being less - a device thats advances the ignition fixes it.

Only to the same degree as petrol or diesel.

You must have very cold nights in Korea. lpg boils at -42C and freezes at -187C!

Just replace the whole line.

In some european countries LPG vehicles are not allowed into underground parking garages because of this leakage danger.

Why? Leaking petrol drips onto the vehicle or polls on the floor underneath. LPG dissipates into the air. I'd much rather be in a car leaking lpg than petrol.

LPG has less energy in it than gas or diesel. *That* is the main reason an engine running on LPG is less powerful than one running on gas. Unleaded gas has approximately 114,000 BTU/gal, propane has only

84,300BTU/gal. to get the same amount of energy you need to burn 1.38 gal of propane for every gal of gas.

you're half right.... in cold weather, the LPG can't pull enough heat out of the air to boil into a gas... this is why any proper LPG engine (converted or otherwise) has a coolant loop in the LPG regulator and can be started on gasoline.

propane leaks are easy to find...... just ask any plumber that does heating systems.

Bret

I suppose its because gas fills a room much more quickly (poor ventilation underground), so if a smoker walks in it all over in one big bang. Petrol just causes a fire on the floor where the puddle is..

Or so the oil companies would like you to think :) I think they are both an explosion hazard but public perception plays a role in policy writing. Most people think that it's safer to have a rusting tin can full of gasoline strapped under our cars than to have a a carbon fiber wrapped aluminum bottle that is DOT tested every two years, full of Hydrogen. So we have gas tanks instead of Hydrogen bottles.

Is the power decrease really noticeable? I reckon that 3.5L engine has plenty of juice in it, so even if I lose 20% of power it will still be running strong.

BTW how much gas do you need to make one liter/gallon of LPG? Our house heating uses gas, I could be making some LPG in basement ;-)

(Just kidding, I know it's dangerous, and probably illegal)

AFAIK it's always a good idea to warm up the engine on gasoline, and switch to LPG afterwards. Gasoline is supposed to have better lubricative properties or something...

Thanks for all the responses!

Peter

I've never driven a dual fueled road vehicle, but on off road equipment (Bobcats, manlifts, saws, etc.) there is a big difference between LPG and gas.

if your gas comes from a city service, it's most likely natural gas, which has even less energy than propane (LPG). propane is sold by the liquid gallon, CNG is sold by the cu ft..... which is 127cu ft to 1 gal of gasoline

:|(Just kidding, I know it's dangerous, and probably illegal)

nah.... you just don't gain anything.

no... it's just easier to start on gas as it doesn't depend on ambient temperature to boil into a gas like LPG does. at work we have 115,000 BTU and 200,000 BTU LPG heaters... when you run either size on a tank smaller than 100#.... they'll freeze up and quit working in about 30 mins as the smaller tanks can't pull the heat out of the air fast enough.

-Bret

Bret Chase wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

In New Zealand LPG is readily available and has a price more stable than petrol or diesel (currently LPG 67c per liter diesel 55c petrol $1.10 or $1.15)LPG has been this pric for sev years as it isnt imported. Many people here convert to a dedicated LPG system with no petrol option These start perfectly even in extremly cold conditions and as they are tune exclusivly for LPG they have next to no power loss although they drink the gas pretty quick.