Propane Vehicles

[CanaMark]

I have been trying to find what the mileage is on late model trucks that have the propane conversion kits on them. But I am having no luck. Propane is significantly cheaper then gas here its around 55 cents where as regular gasoline is $1.00. In Canada!! I found a few older model F150 and F250 trucks with "Dual Fuel" meaning you can switch from gasoline to propane. Propane burns cleaner, but in winter they can be somewhat of a pain to start if left outside for a long time. If any of you have trucks with propane, what do you like and dislike about it. And what are some of your other thoughts.

Thank You

[MagicRat]

Propane at 55 cents is not quite the screaming deal it seems to be. Propane has about 30% less energy (BTU's) per litre, so your mileage is lower. Your 55 cent propane is equal to about 71 cent gasoline.
So its still a saving.

Although dual fuel trucks tend to be expensive, a propane only truck (if you can find one) should be really cheap, since no one wants propane-only, unless its a city-only taxi or something.

You can run high compression with propane, which improves power and fuel economy a bit.

Propane engines run so clean, the oil never gets dirty, unless the engine is really dirty inside the crankcase. Often, oil changes can be extended, especially if you run a synthetic oil.

Propane is just a bit bulky. My last propane vehicle was a full size Chevy van with a HUGE tank, 6 ft long and 3 ft around, mounted inside, at the back. It would take 230 liters of propane giving me terrific range. But it was scary to share the inside compartment with that much propane.

[CanaMark]

What kind of gas Mileage you get on that truck MagicRat.

[MagicRat]

I never measured it, but it seemed to be about 25% worse than my present gas powered chevy van. (both with Chevy 305 v8,s ) but since propane then was 45% cheaper than gas (the same as it is now) there was still a substantial saving in $$$

[TheStang00]

so do propane powered vehicles make about 30% less power too?

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by TheStang00

so do propane powered vehicles make about 30% less power too?

Yes.

If you are building a propane-only engine you can get about 5-10% of this loss back by increasing the compression ratio. Propane will easily tolerate 11:1 compression.
However, if its a dual-fuel, (gas and propane) set up, you cannot increase the ratio by that much.

[OverBoardProject]

Before you consider Propane try adding acetone to your existing truck.s gas. It doesn't take much and might give you way better fuel mileage.

I'm actually almost doubling the economy in my Blazer while off roading (going to the fishing holes) with a full load.

I'm trying it in my Diesel Topaz, and noticed more power, but haven't checked the mileage yet

Here's 2 links to read
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=385048
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=385048