LPG - Anyone use it?

mdollan

mdollan

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Mark
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I live in the country and have done for a few years. Ended up having to buy a 4x4 as we kept getting stuck with all the snow we had over the past few years.

It's handy as I can get a lot of equipment in it, it comfortable with a nice high driving position.

The negative side as the cost of fuel increases I'm starting to feel the pinch.

My question is, have any of you had a vehicle converted to LPG. What are your thoughts?

Mark :)
 
I was thinking of it till I see the cost of conversion.... Also are there many petrol stations around you that you can fill up with LPG :shrug: as that prob needs to be taken into consideration...
 
I've had 3 vehicles converted to LPG. I converted a Ford Explorer and had two tanks in it which gave me a huge range.

I then bought a 2nd hand 316 with LPG already fitted. Wifey hated it and, when I came to sell it, I realised what a cheap and poorly installed conversion it was. Ended up removing the LPG kit before selling it.

Then I converted an 'S' Type. I'm still trying to remember why I sold it :thinking: :shrug:

Make sure that you use an installer that is recommended to you and that you get the installation certificate. If buying a vehicle with LPG then make sure it has the installation certificate. I didn't - I believed a local car dealer when he said it had one and he'd get it from the previous owner. Lesson learnt.

Some insurance companies will charge you a small extra premium. No other reason than that they are thieving barstewards. Shop around as not all do. But you must inform them of the conversion and be ready to supply a copy of the installation certificate.
 
Trig's said:
I was thinking of it till I see the cost of conversion.... Also are there many petrol stations around you that you can fill up with LPG :shrug: as that prob needs to be taken into consideration...
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There's absolutely no problem with filling up. Apart from many many places around the country with LPG pumps, if you are stupid enough to run out, you can run on petrol until you find an LPG pump. Simples!
 
There's a few companies locally that will convert for around £800 which will pay for itself in around 13-14 weeks.

My concern is getting it done properly! Always have the car warranted and would hate to invalidate that.

As far as performance goes will I loose much?

I'm glad there's so many people with positive results!

Mark
 
mdollan said:
As far as performance goes will I loose much?
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In my experience the answer depends on the size of the engine. The bigger engine the closer the power and the mpg will be to the original petrol configuration. On my 4l Exploder there wasn't any difference. On my 3l 'S' there was about a 5% hit on performance and mpg. It's not really a concern unless you're converting something below about 1.8l.
 
£800 seems cheap. What car are you converting and what LPG system have you been quoted for?
 
Its a 2007 2.0 Litre Deisel Kia Sportage. I've yet to be quoted just been told what to expect to pay but have yet to get a proper quote.

Would appear that deisels get a BHP increase - not worried about an increase, just didn't want a decrease!
 
mdollan said:
Its a 2007 2.0 Litre Deisel Kia Sportage. I've yet to be quoted just been told what to expect to pay but have yet to get a proper quote.

Would appear that deisels get a BHP increase - not worried about an increase, just didn't want a decrease!
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Interesting! .... I didn't think a diesel could be converted :thinking:
 
Splog said:
Interesting! .... I didn't think a diesel could be converted :thinking:
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I thought the same Steve, but reading round it would appear that it is used like NOS injection increasing power. Oh well, looks as though I'll have to carry on being raped by the government for now :(
 
Ah! I've no experience of diesel/LPG mix systems. Never liked the sound of them. Do your research thoroughly.
 
My thoughts exactly, reading round, no one else does either! :LOL:
 
I might be buying a corrado VR6 thats had a LPG conversion.

Owner says it costs half the price of petrol and gets equal mileage, cost £2k to convert and should see your money back in a year.

Also needs petrol to start but then converts over.

£800 seems cheap, too cheap. Guy I might be buying from is getting another car done and its around £1700 for that.
 
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Harvey_nikon said:
I might be buying a corrado VR6 thats had a LPG conversion.

Owner says it costs half the price of petrol and gets equal mileage, cost £2k to convert and should see your money back in a year.

Also needs petrol to start but then converts over.

£800 seems cheap, too cheap. Guy I might be buying from is getting another car done and its around £1700 for that.
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But this is a diesel conversion :thinking:
 
Splog said:
But this is a diesel conversion :thinking:
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Conversion prices should be similar from diesel to petrol, and I was simply giving the experience I had.

If LPG gives same mileage as petrol for half the price, then for diesel you won't get the same sort of mileage but will be less than half the price. Which is still a great deal :)

Don't forget, you'll also need space for the LPG tank which means you'll lose some of your boot space.

In the Corrado, it was a 40L tank built in to the spare wheel well and stuck up about the height of another spare wheel :)
 
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I had a Volvo XC90 (3L petrol) converted. cost me about £1500. Paid for itself in about 18 months. Didn't really notice any performance loss.

Asked about diesel conversions when I was looking to get a new (2nd hand) car and my mechanic said it was possible. but it was expensive and VERY unreliable. That was about 2 years ago.

If you've got a large car I would say do it.
 
I ran a Ford Maverick 4x4 on LPG for a couple of years and it was great. Def no loss of power, a small loss of mpg but made up for it with the cost of fuel. I'd recommend it. I think there was an association of LPG installers. Also i had an overlay that could be used with MS Routeplanner and told you where teh garages that sold it are and if you entered your mpg it would highlight refuelling stops on your route.
 
I'm pretty sure that you would need some sort of spark ignition for LPG use in a diesel, seems pretty pointless for a diesel, my diesel BMW can get over 40mpg on a run, I can go through the chunnel no problem.
I am lucky I have a works vehicle, but am still suffering paying for her in doors to drive round in an old shogun 2.8 diesel that must have a hole in the tank the way it gets through juice, but it is damn handy for pulling trailers and getting about in the snow etc. Guess it will have to be the motorbike for the eco drive, only trouble with that is back tyres only last 3k miles, so basically its the works van for me!!
 
mdollan said:
I live in the country and have done for a few years. Ended up having to buy a 4x4 as we kept getting stuck with all the snow we had over the past few years.

It's handy as I can get a lot of equipment in it, it comfortable with a nice high driving position.

The negative side as the cost of fuel increases I'm starting to feel the pinch.

My question is, have any of you had a vehicle converted to LPG. What are your thoughts?

Mark :)
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A former colleague of mine had a Grand Cherokee that had an LPG conversion, and could swap between petrol and LPG, and he loved it. He said it saved him an absolute fortune on the motorway and normal driving, but still had the big meaty petrol side of things for when it was needed. He swore that he'd always get LPG in the future.
 
My Fiat Panda runs on LPG - cost me £1400 to convert 4 years ago, paid for itself in 18 months. Costs me £30 to fill up my 40 litre tank now, and I get about 300 miles out of it, which is pretty good going I reckon!!
 
Dale_d3100 said:
http://www.go-lpg.co.uk/diesel.html
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Precisely what I thought! I really thought I'd skipped a class at Automotive 101 when I thought of a CI engine running LPG!

Mum's thinking of having her Rav4 converted now the cost of fuel is increasing drastically. £800 does sound like a bargain to boot. I'd have thought there'd be no problem in your area with supply, we even have it down here!
 
LPG conversions on diesel engines is quite common in the trucking world BUT you end up using both fuels at the same time so don't really see any savings ... just a boost in HP. LPG needs a spark to ignite.

My suggestion would be to flog off the diesel and buy a Discovery 1 (pre-1998) V8 (preferably one that's already been converted) which you can pick up for less than a grand right now. If you have to get the conversion done yourself then £800 sounds about the right ball-park. I'm on my 2nd LPG converted Disco and love it to death - no noticeable loss of power and on the plus side the engine runs smoother and goes further between oil changes. LPG doesn't contain horrible hydrocarbons that turn the oil black and degrade its performance.

JMHO, of course :)
 
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