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propane conversion for EFI


Ozwynn

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If you can't go through it or around it, then go over it.
You know when I first found this site, over a eyar ago, there was a 93 ranger build with an electric motor. What happened to that? And is a propane conversion so much cheaper than a diesel conversion?
a 'pane conversion would be cheap and easier (unless you had the diesel engine laying around and it didn't cost you anything, and you did all the fab yourself)

can it go in a diesal without any mods? diesel engines can burn just about anything flammable
not as its only source of fuel. LPG is good for 14:1 compression and most diesels are in the 18:1 - 22:1 range. but you can add 'pane to the air going into the diesel to aid in combustion and see a nice power boost ........ boost is even further with adding nos................ just not on my diesel.... at 22:1 if I added 'pane or NOS I would experience head lift......
 


riquezada

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Propane powered EFI conversion- yes!

I have an old '92 Ford Aeostar with a 3.0. Last year the fuel pump went out in the gas tank. I had a propane "air horn". It fits in the air cleaner line on a farm tractor and uses the original carb instead of changin gto a propane carb. I plumbed up the usual converter (vaporizer) in the heater hose like as for any conversion from gasoline. I put this air horn right before the throttle body. I made sure it was a tight connection without any air leaks. I left all wiring untouched. Hooked up a propane tank and fired it up.

When it first started it ran rough and the engine light came on. After about 10minutes it ran pretty good and the engine light went out. On subsequent starts during the next month, I had no problems. I drove it around the farm for a month or so (had expired plates on it). The only concern I had was that the fuel injectors were still activated and continued to "dry fire". I eventually got a replacement fuel pump, took off the propane stuff and it still runs fine on gasoline.

Issues? According to my dad, this would have been "street legal" in Kentucky USA. Most states waive the emission checks for a vehicle converted to propane or for a dual fuel (propane/gasoline). I have a factory dual fuel propane/gasoline 2001 Ford F150. I think when the propane is used the fuel injectors are shut off. It does recommend a tank of gasoline is run every so often. Maybe its to keep the injectors "fresh"?

For an educational project, I have decided to pull the 3.0 engine out of the Aerostar. Its a factory rebuilt, ran very little. The body is basically junk. I want to put it on a frame, convert to propane, strip off all the EFI wiring (computer), convert to an electronic ignition (basically use a Dodge ECU, like a 1973 or so, using the existing pick up and reluctor, then fire it up like a power unit. I would of course scrap the auto tranny. Comments anyone?

Thanks... Wayne
 

03ranger4x4

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with all this hype about eco friendly cars and shit, i hoesntly dont see why most cars out there are not LP or CNG powered...its obviously propane is cleaner then gasoline, thats why any indoor appliance or vehcile with an internal combustion engine is propane powered (forklifts,floor buffers, etc yes, ive seen a propane powered floor buffer, the food store in our town uses one)

maybe its becuase in order to create propane, you need to creat gasoline (ive heard this, but not positive that propane is a byproduct of refinerys)
 

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Propane used to be a byproduct of the refineries and it used to be alot cheaper than gasoline. I think propane is actually intentionally made now because there is not enough by product. That's a bit hard to believe due to the EXTREME amount gasoline refining. I do think that all this ECO friendly talk is a bunch of crap. I think the CNG would be a better way to go. I heard it is like $.80 per gallon, but the initial set up is expensive (compressor, tanks, etc). After someone is set up, there's just not enough PROFIT in it for the big guys.
 

hartwrenches

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propane

There's tons of propane kits for efi. Their just not advertised well. Most carbed units only lost power because the timing wasn't compensated. Some just had to low of compression.

I'm going to put the powered by propane kit on my 94 probe 2.0 after the engine is rebuilt. The car very consistantly gets30mpg, so I have something to compare to.:icon_thumby:

Gas where I'm at is around $4 a gallon and up. Propane is anywhere from $1.5 to $2.5 so even if the mileage drops 30% its still cheaper.:icon_idea:

And if not for any other reason, propane engines burn so clean the wear is one tenth that of gas, so they last a lot longer and the maintainance is way less.:yahoo:
 

TheOne

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its even said that u can go longer on oil changes because propane is so cheap!

there is a bunch of info on the net that iv read..id really like a propane powered rig again!
 

Ak_Ranger

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its even said that u can go longer on oil changes because propane is so cheap!

there is a bunch of info on the net that iv read..id really like a propane powered rig again!
How does it being cheep have to do with not changing your oil as often? That makes no sence, just because its cheeper doesnt meen you can go longer between oil changes.
 

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The reason that propane and CNG vehicles can have extended oil drain intervals is that they are much cleaner fuels, and not as much carbon and acids are produced in the combustion process.

The reason that there are not a bunch of EFI LPG?CNG kits, or shops doing conversions is because the EPA requires a lot of money to certify one kit, and that has to be duplicated for every different variation on every model.

This certification is only good for one year, so any company that sold these in America would end up paying huge bucks up front for just a few models.

BTW, that is model of vehicle, not engine. So a company could build a unit that would run on a 5.0, but every model of vehicle that used a 5.0, and every variation (different trans, different differential, A/C or no A/CX, etc.) would require a different certificate.

This is why you only see companies doing conversions for fleet vehicles.

It's also the reason that we only see vapor kits, until now.

Roush is building a liquid injection system, but it costs OMG bucks, and is only available for the modular engines in Ford trucks.

Once again, the U.S. govt. is talking out of both sides of its face and the American people are getting screwed. Next time you hear that the EPA wants to clean up the environment, remember that it wants to use us as the T.P.
 

maemae

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Oh that makes me mad that the EPA is hindering the use of CNG/LPG. We have a Ford F150 that completely runs on CNG at work. That truck is cool, and eco-friendly, unlike the lame electric hybrids that are available. It is too bad that only fleet vehicles can use this technology, and not the average American consumer.
 

579

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I put propane on my 79 bronco rock crawler. like efi, propane runs at any angle, no stalls or tempramental carb to worry about anymore.

once i got a few pointers from the guy who sold it to me, putting it on was easier than installing KC lights. i love it. i think it burns a 110 octane so there is room to bump up timing without detonation.

filling my 8 gallon tanks is cheap and easy. u-haul fills them. i can run a long time on the rocks on 3 tanks. half a day fri, all day saturday, and most of sunday and i dont even burn 2 full tanks. way better than the almost 3/4 tank of gasoline i would burn in the same amount of time. mpg is hard to get with propane so i just use time incraments.

the worst part was tracking down the fork lift 8 gallon tanks at a reasonable price.
 

mentalbreakdown00

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There's tons of propane kits for efi. Their just not advertised well. Most carbed units only lost power because the timing wasn't compensated. Some just had to low of compression.

I'm going to put the powered by propane kit on my 94 probe 2.0 after the engine is rebuilt. The car very consistantly gets30mpg, so I have something to compare to.:icon_thumby:

Gas where I'm at is around $4 a gallon and up. Propane is anywhere from $1.5 to $2.5 so even if the mileage drops 30% its still cheaper.:icon_idea:

And if not for any other reason, propane engines burn so clean the wear is one tenth that of gas, so they last a lot longer and the maintainance is way less.:yahoo:
Not completely true, valve seats won't last as long, but the bottom end, oil, plugs, etc will last a lot longer
 

chazzone

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Not completely true, valve seats won't last as long, but the bottom end, oil, plugs, etc will last a lot longer
My grand dad ran propane on his hay truck (73 F-600) and some of the farm equipment, and I don't remember having any issues with valve seats.

Hell, the old hay truck still runs...

-zz
 

LittleHorse

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with all the mail jeeps out there I wonder if it's available for my TJ...and that manifold would be sooooo easy to drill and tap...
 

johnnyboy

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Propane on ranger v6 xlt 2,9. had it for one year and no problem.

Trow away spare wheel and replace with similar shaped gas tank. Cost is approx 1500 US for the complete kit, installation included. if you select propane run then it will allways start on gasoline and change to propane when temp on vaporizer is high enough.power and consumption is approx the same , but fuel price is reduced by 50%. Your emission is also reduced and the world should be happy.
Hi, I've read a few topics here relative to propane conversion and I was surprised to find out that it seemed obvious that EFI engines could not run on propane. I don't know too much about the subject but what I know for sure, is that there is one company that offers propane conversion kits for EFI engines. (Got to www.poweredbypropane.net to find out...).

Perhaps, I know that these kits are expansive (around 1000$ w/o the tanks) because they are all electronically controlled and tuned. And the kit comes with a complete set of independent propane injectors (so you have to drill and tap holes in your intake manifold to fit them), and (that's what I find the most interesting), the kit is installed with selenoid operated valves that enables a switch from gasoline to propane and vice-versa with the flick of a switch. (the original gasoline system all remain intact). In fact, the engine is started on gasoline and only switched to propane when it has reached an its optimal operating temperature.

Also, they say that there is no power loss or drop in mileage when operating on propane because of the higher octane rating of propane compared to gasoline (even if propane has a lower calorific value than gasoline...)

Okay, that sounds pretty cool but you have to keep in mind (I do!) that all these informations are sypplied by the company itself... So, I would be pretty interested to share any informations about this technology especially if someone knows somebody who tried this system.

Finally, I don't want to start a hole debate on it but I'm suprised to see people saying that running on propane is not an economy compared to running on gasoline. As far as I am concerned, I already heard a couple of stories about some (carbed) vehicules being converted and having a considerable economy (but a power and mileage loss...the economy was made because of the price of propane and not because of the mileage...). Also, all those stories were concerning people that use to make lots of highway mileage. And finally, these conversions were made with old systems on carbed vehicules (it has nothing to do with the system I've described above).

I can't wait to see if people experienced the new system (the one sold on poweredbypropane.net...)

Thanks
 

IndianScout

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I'd convert but damn the initial costs prohibit that for me..
 

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