Propane

[LiL Bastard]

Anyone ever tried to run propane? I may be interested in converting my truck to propane. Anyone have any experience ??

[camoit]

From all the things I worked on. AKA propane fleet trucks and forklifts. It all sucked. The stuff is dirty dirty dirty. Fouled plugs. Blown regulator parts. Iced up evaporators. Never idled right for more than 2 weeks. Sorry I just hated them. Now CNG is a hole other story. You can fill up at your house with the right equipment. Then switch over to gas when you run out or want more HP.

[Fordubishi]

where to start....... Propane is a good fuel if you build your engine for it. I'll point out the basics that need to be changed. Propane is a very "dry" fuel so to start you need hardened seats and stainless steel valves. Next you need to bump up your compression so new pistons (Forged with Moly rings).
Propane produces about 20% less power over gas on a stock engine.After you spend double or more what you would on a gas rebuild you now have a nice clean burning engine that will save you fuel costs in the long run BUT trying to find a service station to refill it when you're out in the middle of no where might be a problem.

Friend had a 78 Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 with a 454 built to run propane and the damn thing got almost 30mpg and pushed just under 400hp. The only bad thing was the engine build alone was close to $10,000 before he even installed the propane system.

[camoit]

All of the 90 or so we had in the fleet were conversions and sucked ass in 1989 and still do today..... IMO it's good for 3 things cooking, heating, and shooting. Of course you need to have a road flair burning next to it.

[LiL Bastard]

Thank you for the information. Very interesting, I'll have to do some more reading on it. Maybe down the road I'll try to mess with it.

[camoit]

I always wanted to try to build a vaporizing carburetor. Some how have it switch from raw gas to a vapor after it warmed up. I was thinking of using the exhaust to vaporize the fuel. And parts from a propane system. Then get it working and sell the pattens to the fuel companies. That is what 3 other guys did. I remember hearing about the 150mpg carbs in the 80s. Then they quietly and quickly went away.

[LiL Bastard]

Something like that would be cool. I am very interested in alternative fuels. The diesels are very interesting to me. But propane, CNG, E85 and above, Mad Max beyond Thunderdome Methane, all have my attention

[pennyman1]

the vaporizing carbs won't work on todays gas - they changed the formulation to prevent it from working, right after Gm bought the rights and patents for the last one in the 80's. The reid vapor pressure is so high now that when you spill the gas on the ground, it takes forever to evaporate; that is why the vapor carbs won't work.