who runs LPG?

[hondaguy]

Looking at buy a new vehicle that runs on LPG or getting it converted. With LPG about $1 cheaper per litre than diesel that i currently run and aout 70-80cents alitre cheaper than petrol. I know taxis use it, can a diesel convert easily to full time LPG? What are the pro's and con's? Any one with experience comments would be appreciated.

[SeaHunt]

No, Diesel cannot convert to full time LPG.
They do have a diesel gas coversion but it just injects gas into the air intake, improved economy and power (supposedly), but still needs diesel.
You loose a little power with straight LPG so go for something that has a little more than you need up front.

[FNQCairns]

Also with LPG I am pretty sure the taxation portion of it's future over time price increase is designed to be incremental, so the gap we have now with ULP will be slimmer over the next few years until LPG is fully taxed.... bloody Howard looking after his brother over ethanol production, LPG was way too much competition to feather his brothers nest.

cheers fnq

[cartman]

i run on gas/petrol as you already noted the cost of running on gas is a big plus.i spoke to my gas mechanic in regards to going full time on the lpg and he warned me against it as there are still a lot of small towns that dont have it ,this was proven 2 weeks later as i went on a camping trip ,the town near our destination didnt have it.Other things to know are servicing your lpg every 10 to 15000 kms or when you notice your not getting the kms when lpg first installed( i get normally 320kms to 54 litres of gas, at the moment im getting around 260 kms,my last service was easter).you must keep at least half a tank of fuel and run fuel at least 10 minutes a week,this was something i didnt know and cost me a new fuel pump,on another trip i went to run fuel as i was in one of those towns and had no power,my mechanic explained to me that i was like most other lpg owners and had a tendancy to favour lpg (my thoughts are the same as yours) but what happens is that the fuel pump components dry out and of course shits itself eventually.now i keep fuel full all the time and one trip to work a week to keep the system clean refilling when i fill lpg hope this helps Rob

[Aunty Jack]

Ive been running LPG on four differant cars from 1991
Ford xe @ 500thow new head [2nd hand] block like new
Ford ed 475 thow new head [2nd hand] block like new
Nissan patrol 420 thow new head needed[replaced with long motor =cheeper than new head] [2nd hand
Broke plug of in motor [shorten life of motor] PATROL.
Just six months ago had LPG fitted to wifes commador.6CYL 3.3L
with goverment rebait of $2000. only $800. out of pocket.
conditions apply for rebait.
20 letre LPG gets about 100. km on all four of my cars
Three of the four cars were 6cly 4.2 Leters[aprox]
l get and got about 100 km per 20 L gas on carbbi cars and falocn [roughly]
the ED falcon [fuel injection] with gas
62L gas and full tank LUP got me bit over 1100 km
new casste befor refueling
gas on long distance or around town only 20 or 30 kms differance
down side head ware out around 400.km to 500.km
Never looked into ware and tare on petrol only.
I say every car in the world should be on LPG
it runs cleaner its a by product of oil
cost only 18 cents to produce and deliver
[BIG DIFFERANCE TO BOWSER PRICE ] but thats another story

[mik01]

be aware that your engine components will suffer once you cease using petrol on a regular basis (as outlined above).
dual fuel is great as its cheaper to run on LPG, however you need to factor in the wear and tear on components - particularly injectors. dual fuel I have driven in the past have idled terribly and driven poorly on petrol after a while.

otherwise it is a genuine cost effective way to run your car

[Kleyny]

Taxis are now starting to head away from LPG as they say the extra running cost is allot more than a normal fuel motor. apparently yop need ot replace the plugs more and the ford blow air cleaners off ( back fire)and at the same time damage the airflow metres.
But on the other hand i have heard the new injector type LPG is the ducks guts.

But somehting all the people i have spoke to is you use at least 1.3 times the PLG than you do petrol.

And dont be surpised in a few years they put a tax on the LPG. thus making it hardly worth the effort IMO

neil

[station-rat]

The only problem with injectors are if people don't use petrol at all (they gum up)
Normal wear and tear is less with LPG than Petrol(spark plugs last longer, oil does not get dirty, but still needs to be changed at the recomended intervals)

[Dan5]

Hey guy's i just picked up my car today from a lpg coversion it's a 03 v8 4.7ltr landcruiser wagon,total conversion cost has been $3,750 with exhaust mod's to suit the tank.Usable tank space is 95ltrs,it's a landi system so send me some feed back on this system if you have any.....good or bad....The rebate is still going ATM so $2000 back to me via medicare office,





I'll keep you guy's posted on how it work's out in the long run,
Feed back welcome guy's........

Dan,

[Jock The Rock]

i was told by someone else who talked to a fella at agfest (tasmania's big agricultural show for those who didnt know).

apparently they have this new technology with the diesel/gas conversions which involves a computer in ur dash as well as other goodies, supposably the tanks arent too big as well.

the bloke also said that there is supposed to be no difference in power and you get great fuel economy out of gas.

this type of conversion costs $4500 and the government gives back $2000

i dunno how much of this is true as its second hand information but a diesel/gas conversion didnt sound too bad to me except for the fact ur $2500 out of pocket

Jock

P.S dont quote me on this information as i said its second hand info

[smeghead]

Jock the Rock : It is all true. The chip is to regulate the amount of LPG that needs to be injected into the air intake (or wherever). Obviously, less is needed at idle, than at full throttle, so the chip takes care of that.

Apparently, it can increase a tank range from 600 normal km, to 700 with LPG.

Yes, the tanks are small for diesel, a it is mixed in with it, not used alone.

TIP: If you ever go to WA, the state government there gives an extra $1000 rebate on top of the Federal one! Most WA'ers get the conversions for petrol cars done for free.

[joeT]

I run LPG on my 3L V6 Delica, does 16L/100km on petrol and about 17-18L/100km on gas.

Towing at 1.2T boat it uses heaps more, about 22L/100km of gas.

Conversion cost $2900 but after 2k rebate it was only $900 out of pocket. I calculated will make that up in about 18,000km on gas.

Slight power loss on gas but not too noticeable and it sure is noticeable on the wallet!

[harry_h01]

I am running two cars on LPG

97 EL Falcon wagon - 400km around town; 600km highway - 65lt tank

99 Mitsubishi Challenger - 340km town - 68lt tank

I have only just had the tank fitted to the Challenger, so still in the bedding-in stage.

Also something to not. LPG systems are affected by the amount of Tar in the gas. Some suppliers are a lot higher than others. When they fitted the system to the Challenger, it came with a warning about what type of gas to use and from what suppliers. They stressed that any issues or warranty claims caused by Tar would not be covered under warranty.

Harry

[station-rat]

Hi Harry
What are the recomendations for Gas type and supplier?
Station-rat

[harry_h01]

The installer issued a notice

They suggested Caltex and Woolies, and Vital Gas suppliers. All of these run 0% tar in their gas, unlike some of the other suppliers.

And no they have no aliance with Caltex or Woolies

Harry