L.P.G.

[Dunaruna]

Saw this recently at a local ramp on a popular skiing lake:<br /><br /> Gilflite Integra 21ft 350 inboard. Converted to L.P.G.<br /><br />One bottle under custom made bench seat. Two bottles (forklift type) mounted on boat trailer frame (spares I assume). Flexible filler hose connecting trailer bottles to rear of tow vehicle (1985 landcruiser). Fitting at rear of cruiser looked identical to service station fittings. Two forklift type bottles under rear of cruiser.<br /><br />Owner was bragging about how neat the whole package was and that he had another 2 bottles that mounted on his roofrack (hidden under a box).<br /><br />Estimated 500 litres of L.P.G. rumbling down in SEVEN seperate bottles. <br /><br />Aldo

 

[DJ]

Re: L.P.G.

Yikes!!!!<br /><br />LPG in a boat? What an idiot. LPG is heavier than air. Can anyone say-KABOOOOOM?

 

[ChrisMcLaughlin]

Re: L.P.G.

Gasoline vapors are heavier than air. Wouldn't the same safety rules apply?

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: L.P.G.

trblshtr, I can't find any reference to L.P.G. conversions in the boating regs. but I'm still looking. Definetly illegal to carry bottles on roofrack and trailer (connected via hose!).<br /><br />I'll be given him a wide berth if I see him on land or water. Aldo

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: L.P.G.

LPG on boats is not new.<br /><br />Shotover Jets, Tourist operators here in New Zealand have run LPG powered jet boats for many years on their canyon runs. These craft carry up to 20 passengers on a real wild ride on the Shotover River near Queenstown with no problems. Some of their boats are using twin SB Chevs with Hamilton Jet drives.<br />Their new boats are now using twin Buick V6's with superchargers. <br /> Shotover Jet <br /><br />Regards<br />Peter

 

[ZmOz]

Re: L.P.G.

Yeah, there is nothing stupid about running a boat from propane. I have thought long and hard about getting an inboard just so that I could run it on propane. It's cheaper, lighter, and doesn't go bad when stored over the winter. It is stupid to have all those tanks hooked up at once though...

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: L.P.G.

Propane is even better than LPG as it is clean fuel only. No rubbish in the fuel.<br /><br />Peter

 

[spike440]

Re: L.P.G.

UMM... isn't propane and LPG the same thing? LPG = liquid propane gas?

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: L.P.G.

L.P.G. = Liquified Petroleum Gas. Its the stuff we used to see burning off at refineries - until some smart cookie decided to sell it. Its a mixture of propane & butane. The mix is different depending on application & the country it is refined in. Higher concentrations of propane is better for auto use (cleaner etc). I live in an area that has a lot of hot air ballooning, those guys have a source of very high propane L.P.G. Your cigarette lighter is mostly butane. Aldo

 

[Mercury140-I6]

Re: L.P.G.

My father converted our old motor home to LPG in the mid 70's, it was only 0.35 a gallon. Yes it does burn clean and cool, but without a turbo or blower, you don't get the power out of it, also, in 1986 they were going to drive from the SF Bay Area to Cape May, NJ for my Coast Guard Boot Camp Graduation. Got as far as Oklahoma City and found out that you couldn't buy LPG as motor fuel east of there. May you can now, but couldn't then. And it's almost the same price as gas now anyway. Works really good with a Diesle engine "Advanced Turbo Systems" has a unit that adds propane to the diesle and get 100% burn instead of 75 - 80%<br /><br />Craig

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: L.P.G.

How popular is L.P.G. conversions in the U.S.?<br /><br />About 30% of the cars on the road here are on gas (we call L.P.G. 'gas' and gas 'petrol'). Its still cheap, about one third the price of petrol, but the cost of conversion is getting out of control with rising labor rates etc. Aldo

 

[ZmOz]

Re: L.P.G.

LPG isn't very popular at all over here...probably less than 1% of cars have it. I'm thinking about building a stroker motor in my Jeep, and if I do it will probably be high compression and propane powered. It's been a while since I bought bulk propane...I recall it being about $1.80 at the gas station. That's per pound isn't it? Anyone know pany pounds of propane is equal to a gallon of gas?

 

[Mettaree]

Re: L.P.G.

Avg. is 4 lbs. LPG per gallon(LPG). The $1.80 would be per gallon.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: L.P.G.

Well does propane get you farther per gallon than gas? If not it isn't any cheaper...

 

[bomar76]

Re: L.P.G.

Propane - 92,000 BTU / gal (may vary slightly)<br /><br />Galoline - 115,000 BTU / gal (may vary w/o... alcohol)<br /><br />So, yes propane has LESS heat per gallon and will deliver fewer MPG

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: L.P.G.

ZmOz, good question! Its cheaper to produce, much cleaner burning, better for the ozone layer, higher octane than regular unleaded, so why isnt L.P.G. 99% in use and gas 1%.<br /><br />I worked for a L.P.G. conversion workshop for 6 years and have my own theories. When tuned correctly, L.P.G. is more economical but most vehicles are tuned for dual fuel and therfore compromise MPG on both gas & L.P.G.<br /><br />Most people chose L.P.G. to save money, that usually means they also chose cheap conponents which dont give the best performance.<br /><br />L.P.G. has a bad reputation based on perception rather than fact, people think its a bomb waiting to explode. The reverse is true, gas is far more dangerous, assuming the L.P.G. conversion is done correctly, unlike the original subject of this thread. Aldo