Propane Conversion?

[Mike Phillips]

Anyone here ever converted their Datsun Truck to run on Propane?

 

 

:)

[Phlebmaster]

I found this interesting article:

 

Do-It-Yourself Automotive LPG Conversion

 

Sounds like a neat idea. Let us know what you decide. :cool:

[Mike Phillips]

Definitely leaning towards the conversion after I get this truck back on the road and dependable.

 

Thanks for the link, will look into it.

 

 

:)

[Orange620]

If you have a gas main to your house, you might want to look at CNG.

 

http://www.myphill.com/vehicles.htm

[Phlebmaster]

If you have a gas main to your house, you might want to look at CNG.

 

http://www.myphill.com/vehicles.htm

 

Never thought of that! Fill up at home in your driveway, and in your neighbor's driveway, and at the business down the street. hehe

 

Great idea! We could all join with T Boon Pickens and make it happen! :lol:

[dat521gatherer]

i remember my auto shop teacher telling us about some couriers that were converted to natural gas. they burned way cleaner and had more power. the biggest problem was the storage tank issue. not a good thing to have in a crash. big boom. our pierce transit buses run on cng compressed natural gas. and the tanks are on top of the bus for impact reasons i think.

 

i dont know of any dat conversions that have been done. would be super cool though.

[motavated]

A guy from the forum and I think Australian said that MPG wise it was not so good. I was told it was better to run gas unless you need to make lots of modifications...

 

The MPG at the moment is rubbish. I have to change a few things to make the engine more suited to lpg. I get around 17 litres to 100km with a little less power than when I had a 32/36 weber with the same engine and got approx 12 litres to 100km with at least another 10Kw. It has approx 55Hp at the treads. LPG in its natural state blends poorly with air so I need to modify my head ( I have another ported A87 in the shed) and a LPG specific cam and possibly a turbo setup if the $$$ allows. I should be able to tune it to get approx 15 litres to 100km but with near double the power by forcing the lpg to blend with the air and with only low boost. (around 8 psi) The engine conversion is legal as it meets all emission requirements being straight lpg and all the brakes come from a stanza so from the conversion point of view it is a stanza in a 120Y body. A bit like a transvestite but with more balls! The cross member is from a stanza and 120Y combined. I grind the mounts from the 120Y and drill the mounts of the stanza and re jig it up. With the new member I am going to drop the mounts bu 20mm so I have better bonnet clearance as well as nicer trans tunnell clearance.

 

This is the crossmember from my sedan. I made it about 4 years ago in the old shed I had with lots more room. After I do the next one I think that engine mounts might become a problem to change.

 

 

This is the lpg tank in the daily. 44 usable litres until I have to get out and push. The filler is in the origional position to neaten things up.

 

[Orange620]

i remember my auto shop teacher telling us about some couriers that were converted to natural gas. they burned way cleaner and had more power. the biggest problem was the storage tank issue. not a good thing to have in a crash. big boom. our pierce transit buses run on cng compressed natural gas. and the tanks are on top of the bus for impact reasons i think.

 

i dont know of any dat conversions that have been done. would be super cool though.

 

 

If you buy CNG at a station its about 30% cheaper than gas. At home its even cheaper. In Utah its $.88 per GGE (gasoline gallon equivalent). Its also the cleanest fuel, short of hydrogen. However its lots bulkier and burns hotter. It does have a very high octane rating so to use it most efficiently the engine needs to have at least 12:1 compression. Even though its stored in a 3600psi cylinder, it has a much better safety record than gasoline.

 

http://www.ngvc.org/buz_dir/index.html

[]2eDeYe]

You need to build a high compression motor to get the most out of propane.

 

A couple benefits...

 

100 Octane (hence the need for high compression)

Burns clean, no carbon buildup.

 

Not to forget...

Propane L's are in Datsun forklifts...it's factory

 

Boeing's factory pickups are all propane due to the clean emissions, they have to drive them inside the factory. They used to run Datto's ;)

 

DO IT!

 

Post pic's :D

[datsunaholic]

I have one of the factory Nissan Propane carbs from a Boeing Dat 620. Don't have the other bits to make it go, but have the carb mounted on the manifolds. They ran cast-iron heads on them, but the guy I got the carb from wanted way too much for the head.

[Llittle_Llama]

now im wanting to do this...... there is a guy in nice getting into an rb20 with propane.... i'll find a link here in a moment.....

[Llittle_Llama]

and there you go :) http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/304128

[Z-train]

A few things here true & false.

 

CNG does NOT make more power.That is total bull$hit.

You have to completely alter the motor for CNG.

CNG run on a non-"altered" motor will be slow to the point of being dangerous and fuel mileage will be horrendous

 

Safety:CNG vehicles are out-numbered by gasoline by 1000 to 1.So of course CNG is statistically safer.But we all know statistics are bullshit-right?The reality is when a gasoline tank blows up it just ruptures.When a Propane or CNG tank pops it can send shrapnel up to a 1/4 mile away.Safer?My ass.:eek:

 

The largest Natrual Gas supplier on the planet,The So California Gas Co. has had two fleets(at different times) of CNG powered vehicles.The last go-round was early-mid 90's and this time they went as far as to open CNG filling stations.They've shit-canned them all and closed the stations.Take the hint.

 

If these systems really "worked" and were a good return on dollar invested,you'd see them everywhere.You don't.There's another hint for you.:mellow:

Edited October 10, 2008 by Z-train

[]2eDeYe]

CNG is not propane (LPG) :rolleyes:

 

There are lot's of LPG cars in Austrailia...more and more here in the US everyday. Last time I filled my BBQ for 1.25/GALLON :eek: I started thinking about the conversion myself.

 

100 Octane is 100 Octane, build the motor properly and it will make more power.

 

Plenty of conversion kits available...

 

http://gotpropane.com/

 

Mike or dwnshfter ^ this guy has a pretty good 'kit', give him a call and see what he says.

[fastdadd]

my uncle and i did propane on an s10 sometime in the 90's just had an adapter that sat on top of the carb we would kick it on when doing highway runs worked good but the state of cali wouldnt let it stay when it was time to smog it...and there was a guy that owned the lpg shop in town that had a drag race built 61 willys truck that ran only on lpg

Edited October 10, 2008 by fastdadd

[Z-train]

2eDeYe;87194']CNG is not propane (LPG) :rolleyes:

 

There are lot's of LPG cars in Austrailia...more and more here in the US everyday. Last time I filled my BBQ for 1.25/GALLON :eek: I started thinking about the conversion myself.

 

100 Octane is 100 Octane' date=' build the motor properly and it will make more power.

 

Plenty of conversion kits available...

 

http://gotpropane.com/

 

Mike or dwnshfter ^ this guy has a pretty good 'kit', give him a call and see what he says.[/quote']

 

You're right CNG isn't propane-CNG is safer.And I just bought propane 4 days ago-2.99 a gallon.

 

Add up the cost of a TOTAL rebuild/re-calibrating of virtually the whole combination,which BTW makes it a dedicated"Bottle vehicle".So to convert it to run on pump gas would require another total rebuild.Plus limited refueling facilities.

 

When you add up the costs it just doesn't make financial sense.

 

In my first post, i mentioned So.Cal.Gas Co.I have a pension from them.I've forgotten more about CNG than you'll ever know.

[]2eDeYe]

I just got gas yesterday.. $3.75 a gallon...for 92 octane :)

 

I'm not saying there aren't issues, but if done right, you'll have a cleaner burning more efficient powerplant...and I've never had a problem getting my tanks filled.

 

Building a motor for gas or for propane will run you about the same either way... I have around $1500 in my gas powered L so far...can't see bumping up the compression costing me that much more, if I had planned to run propane. That is of course not counting my dual webers, which prolly run a bit more brand new than a propane conversion kit, which is around $900. (I paid $400 for my used carbs)

 

Is there really that much to know about CNG....? :lol:

[jetdoc1971]

Run a LPG motor for 10,000 miles and pull the dipstick. You will have to squint real hard to see the oil level due to the fact it is so clean. Do the same to a gas motor , the smell will knock you over much less the sight.

[Z-train]

Run a LPG motor for 10,000 miles and pull the dipstick. You will have to squint real hard to see the oil level due to the fact it is so clean. Do the same to a gas motor , the smell will knock you over much less the sight.

 

1) i don't run my oil 3.3 times longer than i should.

2)So the oil is cleaner-BFD,if you're taking proper care of your vehicle,you should be changing it at regular intervals anyways,so the point is moot.

3) I just passed a gas station with 87 octane at 2.99 a gallon,so there goes the "it's cheaper thing".

4)This propane thing is not a new idea by any means.Having said that-if it's such a bitchin' idea where are they all?

 

Propane conversions do have their place:

Indoor Forklift and other vehicles

Ranch vehicles

Tugs(Airport type)

[Llittle_Llama]

Z-train, i think you are one of the great minds on this site, however....... with what you said it seems like you issued a challenge... i will now be looking into this and POSSIBLY setting up an LP conversion.....

[Z-train]

It wasn't intended as a challenge.And i'm not out to disuade anyone who wants to do it from doing it.

I'm just pointing out facts that are obscured(intentionally and otherwise).The equation is not as simple as it seems on "paper".Just letting folks know ahead of time that the "return on investment" isn't there.If it was,you'd see them everywhere-but you don't-do you?:mellow:

[Llittle_Llama]

i know :) i have been thinking about it for other reasons though and i like the little "challenge", lol

[]2eDeYe]

Seeing them more and more. Electrics and hybrids too...shit staring to finally see hydrogen vehicles now.

 

Just from a cost to power aspect...

 

2.99 for 87 octane.

 

2.99 (your price) 100 octane (my price was 1.25)

 

I have yet to see gas less the $3 anywhere, in fact prices went back up again since the last time I filled up....and I run the good stuff.

 

 

Just because you don't see alot of them, doesn't mean it's not a good idea....I think your starting to convince me to build my 401 to run pane....

[Cuts metal like mad]

2eDeYe;87328'']Just because you don't see alot of them, doesn't mean it's not a good idea....I think your starting to convince me to build my 401 to run pane....

 

401 on propane? FORK YEAH!! Who needs fuel injection to run upside down when your running lpg? In the case of an offroad rig theres no down side... wait, there is... no nearby filling stations to the trails...

 

BTW (completely off topic) my brothers FSJ just did evan's creek up the hardest trail with stock suspension (except shocks) and open diffs! :D

[Mike Phillips]

Just to note, I wasn't interested in the LPG conversion to save money or burn clean, was looking at the meager benefit of not competing with everyone else for gas should it ever become scarce. Saw on the news all the people waiting in lines to get gas somewhere back in the mid-west or east, (don't remember), didn't look like fun.

 

Seems there would be less competition for LPG

 

Not that it's any more readily available or that if gas became scarce that LPG would also become scarce also.

 

Just an idea...

 

For now we're going to get this truck up and running just the way it is, might be able to test fire it this weekend if I don't run into too many problems.

 

:)