lp conversion

[hedgehog69]

Perhaps not military vehicle related..yet...but am starting to research doing an lp conversion on a gasoline powered vehicle. Anyone knowledgeable? I have done somebasic google searching. A company called Hendrix out of Wauconda, IL does these....which is close to Iowa. They say Ill. EPA foots 80% of the $4k conversion cost....plus a .50 per gallon tax credit.
I need to see what Iowa does to promote alternative fuels. I know they still charge me 22.5 cents per gal. state tax for my homebrew biodiesel.

I remember when we had a shop in Riverside, CA back in the late 80's. An older gal came in with a mid 70's Chevy Malibu. Needed an oil change. We pulled it in...pulled out the dipstick and oil looked new. We questioned her...LP powered....and it was due for the oil change according to her mileage.

All knowledge appreciated....just bouncing some stuff around. Thanks!!

 

[m16ty]

If you can find an old carb engine you can convert for alot less than 4K. Basically all you need is a LP tank, a vaporizer, and a LP carb. I'd say all these items can be bought new for less than 1K.

Most of our forklifts run on LP and our biggest has a 460 Ford in it. LP is cheaper than gas but I think you would notice a pretty good drop in mileage. I'm not really sure if you would see any savings other than the tax credit.

 

[PropDr]

Are you trying to convert a fuel injected engine or one with a carb?

 

[AGE|kshaufl]

I personally would recommend a Natural Gas Conversion or Dual Fuel. You can get the Federal Government to pay for most of it. I think the cost is around $2500 for the conversion. If you have NG at your home you can have a compressor (Very Quiet) installed to fill your own vehicle. There is also a benefit of NG refueling stations in most large cities. The other benefit is very little difference in performance noticed. I had this installed on a 1998 Dodge Ram 4x4 and was Federally Granted. I just had to report mileage and tuneup information. With the EFI 360 I was getting better mileage with the NG.

I believe that the Feds are still offering the program on a limited basis and some states are also offering this.

 

[URBNFLX]

I personally would recommend a Natural Gas Conversion or Dual Fuel. You can get the Federal Government to pay for most of it. I think the cost is around $2500 for the conversion. If you have NG at your home you can have a compressor (Very Quiet) installed to fill your own vehicle. There is also a benefit of NG refueling stations in most large cities. The other benefit is very little difference in performance noticed. I had this installed on a 1998 Dodge Ram 4x4 and was Federally Granted. I just had to report mileage and tuneup information. With the EFI 360 I was getting better mileage with the NG.

I believe that the Feds are still offering the program on a limited basis and some states are also offering this.

I contacted a place that does the conversions and inquired about doing one for my old blazer(pre-cucv). The guy said that the don't really have anything that would work for my application and he said that the cost of the conversion would probably exceed the value of the truck... needless to say that didn't make me feel good.

 

[hedgehog69]

Are you trying to convert a fuel injected engine or one with a carb?

I am thinking it would be easier with an older, non-fuel injected engine. Guy at work has an older Chevy pickup....or if I could find a Big body GM sedan from the 70's

 

[hedgehog69]

I personally would recommend a Natural Gas Conversion or Dual Fuel. You can get the Federal Government to pay for most of it. I think the cost is around $2500 for the conversion. If you have NG at your home you can have a compressor (Very Quiet) installed to fill your own vehicle. There is also a benefit of NG refueling stations in most large cities. The other benefit is very little difference in performance noticed. I had this installed on a 1998 Dodge Ram 4x4 and was Federally Granted. I just had to report mileage and tuneup information. With the EFI 360 I was getting better mileage with the NG.

I believe that the Feds are still offering the program on a limited basis and some states are also offering this.

Sounds great!! Do you still have the Fed. Gov. info...address..web site...??

 

[AMX]

I had a burst radiator hose one evening on my 350 chevy delivery truck. Since it was winter and I had already added lots of water just to get through the day, I decided to let the engine run while I walked over to the nightcub for a drink (or 6) and dinner. After dinner I went home. The next day I went back to my warehouse and saw that my truck had been left running but had stopped on its own! I took my spare truck while my mechanic checked my less than 1 year old truck out. It had 6 spark plug electrodes melted. Replaced the hose and the plugs, never had another problem. The oil was always clean. However one guy didnt pay attention while fueling and a small leak froze the coupler on the truck, so he took a hammer to it. The 500 gallon propane tank exploded killing him and destroying 3 vehicles and heavily damaging two buildings.
Dont have a wreck bad enough to rupture the propane tank!

 

[AMX]

I contacted a place that does the conversions and inquired about doing one for my old blazer(pre-cucv). The guy said that the don't really have anything that would work for my application and he said that the cost of the conversion would probably exceed the value of the truck... needless to say that didn't make me feel good.

Look on ebay or similar. Most propane kits were only a few hundred dollars. You get a propane"carb." ,hose, regulator then add your own tank. I used to pay $300+ for the entire kits with the fuel tank, for small block chevies.

 

[ptg530C]

There is more to this than just converting to a diffrent fuel. LPG/NG conversions require extensive chroming of the engine internals otherwise you have a huge internal rust problem. On the positive side, we tore down engines wiith hundreds of thousands of miles and found no wear on anything. Then you have the fuel tank problem. The tanks should be wrapped in KEVLAR and REAL safety valves and other equipment MUST be used in order to prevent ingrates from blowing stuff up. By the way, Dodge built thousands of LPG/NG B-Vans for use by airport parking services. If you can find an old one, buy it.

 

[AMX]

There is more to this than just converting to a diffrent fuel. LPG/NG conversions require extensive chroming of the engine internals otherwise you have a huge internal rust problem. On the positive side, we tore down engines wiith hundreds of thousands of miles and found no wear on anything. Then you have the fuel tank problem. The tanks should be wrapped in KEVLAR and REAL safety valves and other equipment MUST be used in order to prevent ingrates from blowing stuff up. By the way, Dodge built thousands of LPG/NG B-Vans for use by airport parking services. If you can find an old one, buy it.

Over a twenty year period we converted several hundred vehicles to lp with no internal changes. The earliest ones we converted to dual fuel useage. The lp conversions were never a problem, and gave extreme engine life.

 

[Fredo Corleone]

Having worked for propane companies and have had converted many trucks to propane there is no internal changes on gasoline engines required for propane. Years ago when valve seats were soft for leaded gas we had to have hardened valve seats installed but with no-lead being the norm engines come with hardened seats already. propane and natural gas are dry fuels which allow for longer oil change intervals because there is no gasoline wash down of the cylinder walls contaminating the oil. I still have a bunch of old school propane carburation parts somewhere. Now I work for a natural gas company and fleets are switching their diesels to CNG because of the need for urea injection and the cost of fuel.