Anyone have nay experience with this? What's it take to do the conversion?
Anyone have nay experience with this? What's it take to do the conversion?
I'll let you know in a few months. 
There must be a bunch of old taxis with this conversion on 5.0 P72s(?). At least there were in Madison, the hippy capitol of Wisconsin.
Pretty much the same as converting a carbed engine, you rip out all the gas stuff and slap on a propane kit or the system from a propane forklift...there's a lot of work involved but it's not complicated. In the offroad world, NG & propane conversions are common on rock crawlers since you don't have to worry about fuel starvation at extreme angles. It's also possible to run a dual-fuel system but then it gets complicated.
The dual-fuel conversion isn't that uncommon in parts of Europe (especially the Netherlands). Most of the cars start on gas and switch over to Propane once the engine has warmed up (I had a Range Rover with a kit like that) although there are a few cars around that just run on LPG all the time. IIRC an aquaintance of mine was trying to build an LPG-only FB RX7 at some point...
The old Propane mixers were infamous for having poor cylinder-to-cylinder mixtures. I don't know what the newer technology uses. We had a truck at work that burnt a piston from running lean.
Propane, and even more so NG, have higher octane equivalent ratings so to really take advantage of them you need to run dedicated systems (no duel-fuel) and jack up the compression (or boost).
Isn't there an issue with propane burning hotter than gas which causes the valve seats to recess?
Propane burns hotter than gasoline. GM Vortec V6s used in forklifts often burn up exh valves & seats for this reason, not because of lean/poor A/F mixture.
To the OP. Why do you want to convert to LPG? I work in the forklift industry, and I can tell you that I wouldn't convert a car to LPG just for the novelty of it. That novelty would wear off fast. Also the LPG fuel systems on forlklifts would only be suitable for small car engines, they are not designed to support the higher HP output of a car engine. BTW, no LPG fuel system that I know of (including; electronic LPG fuel injectipn) injects the fuel in liquid state, all systems use a fuel pressure regulator/vaporizor to convert the fuel from liquid to gas.
Impco is one of the most common LPG guel system suppliers in the forklift industry, and the do make stuff for automotive use. Impco automotive website
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When I drove for the newspaper and before the eventual switch to diesel, we had a fleet of 460 powered F-SuperDuty cab chassis box trucks. All they did on those was to kill the power on the fuel pump relay to stop the flow of fuel and run on propane. This made it fun when you ran out of propane, which happened often and in the most inappropriate places around town.
Thanks for all the information guys, but getting back to my original question, what is necessary to do a conversion? What equipment? I'm just looking for a general explanation on what is involved in the conversion. Thanks!
Here's a good guide:
http://www.patooyee.com/propane/propane_1.htm
The majority of propane conversios replace a carburetor. It is a fairly simple system. On an EFI engine there is a lot more involved. Fuel pressure regulation would be an important one.
It's very common downunder as well, I have run several Propane/LPG vehicles including a 5.0 Commodore and 91 F150 351, both were EFI vehicles
http://www.lpgconversioncentre.com.au/converting-vehicle.html
video on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3inlbWAxJ0
and just because its cool to watch a fast I6 Ford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrZm_eKfOKk&playnext=1&list=PL0759BE4BC5E215EF&feature=results_video
bravenrace wrote: Thanks for all the information guys, but getting back to my original question, what is necessary to do a conversion? What equipment? I'm just looking for a general explanation on what is involved in the conversion. Thanks!
A basic carbureted LPG fuel system will need a fuel cylinder and mounting brakets, a fuel lock valve, which can be vacuum or electrically operated (and sometimes includes a filter), a fuel pressure regulator/vaporizor assembly (which needs to be heated by warm coolant), and a carburetor.
High quality spark plugs are needed too, NGK, ND, Bosch. Belive it or not, LGP fouls cheap plugs easily. A plug fouled by LPG doesn't look like a gasoline fouled plug, and to the untrained eye doesn't look fouled at all. Start with
HappyAndy wrote: To the OP. Why do you want to convert to LPG?
$1/gallon when home-fuelling.
Not the OP, though.
Knurled wrote:HappyAndy wrote: To the OP. Why do you want to convert to LPG?$1/gallon when home-fuelling. Not the OP, though.
Home fueling eh? I assume that your talking about CNG, not LPG. Most if the LPG sold for home heating & cooking is not suitable for use as a motor fuel.
Betcha didn't know that.Not all LPG is the same?!
Sorry, I thought the OP was asking about CNG.
(Litella) Nevermind. (/Litella)
I looked in to this but could not find a source for a conversion kit for cars
HappyAndy wrote:bravenrace wrote: Thanks for all the information guys, but getting back to my original question, what is necessary to do a conversion? What equipment? I'm just looking for a general explanation on what is involved in the conversion. Thanks!A basic carbureted LPG fuel system will need a fuel cylinder and mounting brakets, a fuel lock valve, which can be vacuum or electrically operated (and sometimes includes a filter), a fuel pressure regulator/vaporizor assembly (which needs to be heated by warm coolant), and a carburetor. High quality spark plugs are needed too, NGK, ND, Bosch. Belive it or not, LGP fouls cheap plugs easily. A plug fouled by LPG doesn't look like a gasoline fouled plug, and to the untrained eye doesn't look fouled at all. Start with
Correct, but he is looking for EFI conversion.
iceracer wrote: Correct, but he is looking for EFI conversion.
Why reinvent the wheel when a mixer in the intake tube is all you need, plus all the other BS?
saw a few local recently... a crown vid (that looks like it's gone) and this...
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3352075830.html
Ranger50 wrote:iceracer wrote: Correct, but he is looking for EFI conversion.Why reinvent the wheel when a mixer in the intake tube is all you need, plus all the other BS?
That's the way dual-fuel systems work. The original EFI/tank stay in place and the car can run on either.
The numbers I have for CNG is $8-10k for a conversion, with fleets seeing a ROI in about a year.
Isn't there a lot of moisture in propane? Would that have a long term effect on the engine?
In reply to Woody: there is no noteworthy mousture in LPG, unless it is contaminated, and moisture is not a common contaminant. Dirt & rust from bad tanks, and non gaseous petroleum byproducts that wont evaporate (but get left behind in the vaporizor to foul it) are much more common problems.
The modern LPG EFI systems are highly vulnerable to contaminated fuel, and the petroleum based contaminants go right through the filters with the fuel, and get deposited in the vaporizor or injectors.
These guys: http://www.gotpropane.com/ are the go to folks for parts/info in the off road community.
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