Propane?

EvilEric

Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Location
Salisbury, NC
What are the pros and cons of using propane? Its for my trail only Raider carburated 4cyl. Just wondering if its worth it or not. How hard is it to do? etc.
 
704-ERIC said:
What are the pros and cons of using propane? Its for my trail only Raider carburated 4cyl. Just wondering if its worth it or not. How hard is it to do? etc.
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pro,s:cheap and very reliable.if its not injected go with the propane set up.
can run up side down.more power..100-115 octane..ok for the environment.
im putting on another kit(my 6,7th one )
 
I have a lockout, converter and mixer suitable for a 4 cyl ....brand new. Let me know if interested.
 
yeah i been wondering the same. at work the fork-lifts really burn it up quick. how long will one tank last on the trail?
 
just made my first trip since putting it on a 4.2 and love it. had the jeep for 7 or 8 years and it has never ran so good.i put a 10 gallon tank in and wheeled from 9:00 to 5:00 and used about 3/4 of a tank. if your's is a trail rig it is a must have. i can't believe i fought that stumbling,sputtering crap as long as i did. and there is not much to it to instal.
 
I installed mine......its easy
 
yea i installed mine.i didn't know crap about propane kits,but the kit came with instructions,atleast they called them instructions but once you look at the parts it's common sense. mine came from gotpropane.com there is a guy on here that sells used kits that i got my tanks and some extra fuel line from. i ordered the kit because i didnt know anything about it but there is not much to,very simple.look up 4x4girl on here,he is the one that sells the used kits.
 
I run 44's, one ton's, 4.56:1 gears, Atlas 4 speed, manual 4 speed tranny, heavy as heck rig, I have two tanks mounted. Very rarely have used more than a tank in a day.
So far even at Harlan I have not run out a while tank in a day.
It will not stammer like a carb, it will run at any angle even upside down,
Biggest pain is taking tanks to be filled, and having enough tanks for a long trip.
Only draw back I know of. Performance wise, it is even better than fuel injection in one respect. I have seen fuel injection run out after battling on a steep incline for a while due to fuel pick up at middle or front of a tank. Other than that, I would only change over to propane if I was running a carb. If I had fuel injection I would leave it alone.
 
77GreenMachine said:
yeah i been wondering the same. at work the fork-lifts really burn it up quick. how long will one tank last on the trail?
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All other things being the same, you will use more Propane than gasoline. The average calorific value for motor fuels vary a good bit but here is a list of minimum accepted values:
#2 Diesel Fuel - 128,450 BTU/Gal
Gasoline - 116,090 BTU/Gal
LPG - 84,250 BTU/Hr
It will take more propane than gasoline, and more gasoline than #2 diesel to do the same amount of work. Propane has a higher octane rating than gasoline. The higher octane rating of the Propane gives you the ability to play with the engine's timing:
Gasoline range 80-88
LPG 97
If you buy propane from a propane distributor, and not at a BBQ tank filler, the lower cost of the Propane should offset the greater fuel consumption. When bought at a distributor, Propane should be 20-30% lower than gasoline (no hghway taxes).

I am a gas controls engineer, and I also rep a company that produces LPG conversion systems for fuel injected engines.
 
witchdoctor said:
hey chip i sent ya a couple messages but never heard from ya.not sure if they made it or not
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Nope, sure didn't get anything from you that I know of. sorry to take so long to get back.

up-n-over said:
All other things being the same, you will use more Propane than gasoline. The average calorific value for motor fuels vary a good bit but here is a list of minimum accepted values:
#2 Diesel Fuel - 128,450 BTU/Gal
Gasoline - 116,090 BTU/Gal
LPG - 84,250 BTU/Hr
It will take more propane than gasoline, and more gasoline than #2 diesel to do the same amount of work. Propane has a higher octane rating than gasoline. The higher octane rating of the Propane gives you the ability to play with the engine's timing:
Gasoline range 80-88
LPG 97
If you buy propane from a propane distributor, and not at a BBQ tank filler, the lower cost of the Propane should offset the greater fuel consumption. When bought at a distributor, Propane should be 20-30% lower than gasoline (no hghway taxes).
I am a gas controls engineer, and I also rep a company that produces LPG conversion systems for fuel injected engines.
Click to expand...

As far as usage gasoline vs Propane, it all depends on a few variables.

I went from a four barrel carb, to propane. With the carb I was constantly having to feather the throttle, using more gas than I should. IT also loaded up at times and would flood, using more gas than I should. With the propane, I get nearly twice as much time on one tank than I did with a full tank of gas, simply because of the easy response and it being more efficient, being so much better than gas from a carb. I am sure I would not notice as much difference if I had been running gas through fuel injection.

I do buy my propane from a distributor. It was $1.99 a gallon forever. After gas went real high, propane finally jumped too. It is still where it was when it jumped. If I buy 20 or more gallons, I pay $2.79, if I buy less than 20 gallons, I pay %2.99 a gallon. on top of that, they charge a sales tax too.
Even at those prices, I pay less for a day of wheeling than I did when I was running a carb.

BTW not disputing, but had always read that propane was 100-110 octane. But you are right, you do have to adjust your timing, propane loves the timing advanced!
 
If you ever get down to Sanford (S of Raleigh), I'll be glad to show you my setups. I'm sure that anybody here running propane will be glad to do the same. It's real simple once you see it. I am running straight propane on my CJ5, dual fuel on my 715.

My CJ has a 258...I run thru about a tank per day. I have two tanks mounted, and just have one tank turned on at a time. I usually swap out the empty to 1/4 tank that night, then start over with 2 full tanks the next day. I have 7 tanks, which can get me about a week of wheeling (or more typical, a couple or three weekends without having to take off and make it to the propane dealer).

Propane likes advance, initial on my 350 is 14 btdc when on propane. And the advance, both vac and centrifugal, should come in fast. You can bump up your heat by one range.

Propane will idle REALLY low...my 350 likes about 750-800rpm at idle on gasoline, cut it over to propane, and I drop the idle to about 500. I was playing around with my CJ one day...it's the 258, had it bumping along around 250rpm (unloaded idle).

No choke, no warm up...crank up and go.

Another advantage of propane, especially with the E10 junk, is that propane doesn't go bad, not like gas... You have a tank of LP, let it sit a year or two, and it will run as good as the day you got it. Try that with gasoline.

The bad:

You have to take the tanks out of your rig to fill them...because you aren't paying road tax, they won't fill if you drive up. Also forklift tanks have to be vertical to fill (can run either vert or horiz), so most can't be filled in place (a pain in tall or loaded up rigs). I used to run my 715 on propane-only...with a fixed ASME tank...had to pull the tags off and trailer it down there to fill, they didn't want to get caught with it on the lot otherwise. Now I am dual-fuel (propane/gasoline), it's OK for them to fill it.

On longer trips, you have to have enough tanks to last you...sometimes propane refills aren't as close as the corner store.

Shitty workmanship on a gas or diesel fuel system can leave you stuck by the side of the road. Screw up with propane, you can get your azz burned up, or more likely, severe frostbite/freeze burns. You can't skimp on connectors, fittings, hose, etc. Don't buy your "brass" fittings at Lowes.

Also...not paying road taxes...it's expensive if you get caught running on the road (same guys that dip diesel -- DMV enforcement). You can get a permit, and submit taxes yourself, but it is not a simple process...the forms are the same as if you are opening a refinery or gas distributorship in the state. Plus, they are anal about audits, especially if they don't think you are burning enough (reported) fuel (this statement from my propane guy, that used to run propane in his personal pickup). Most of the propane distrubutors are now running diesel in their delivery trucks (partly because nobody is making big gas motors in med/heavy trucks, and partly because the road tax process is a PIA). I went to dual-fuel on the 715, with a lockout on the propane, to avoid this issue on the highway.

All that said....I am pulling the propane off of my CJ as soon as I find a 4.3TBI setup and sell the propane....we have adopted a trail dog, and need the space in the back of the CJ that is now occupied by the tanks...something has to go to make room for the pup. Tanks do eat up space.
 
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