[DeTomaso] While off topic - Propane

wkooiman at earthlink.net wkooiman at earthlink.net
Sun Feb 14 15:44:40 EST 2010


I've mentioned this before...

My dad worked for a propane company in Arkansas (Thermogas).  We had 2 pickups plus a station wagon converted to propane.  Our experience was similar to Dave Bell's.  They had less power and lower mpg on propane, but it was roughly 1/3 the price, so it was more economical.

Also - propane burns cleaner, so we extended oil changes, and when we finally changed the oil, it came out golden brown - not black like it does on gasoline.

We sold one pickup and the station wagon, but my dad kept the other pickup.  It had 280,000 miles at last count.  It's parked in the pasture waiting for the next stimulus.  It'll be tough, though.  We harvested an axle to use on the hay-fork.  Maybe we'll three-wheel it to the Ford dealer for a trade-in.


-----Original Message-----
>From: Ken Green <kenn_green at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Feb 11, 2010 11:44 AM
>To: boyd411 at gmail.com, davidabell at att.net, Bill Lewis <lotus0005 at hotmail.com>
>Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] While off topic - Propane
>
>I recently read that we (the US) have new massive reserves of natural gas.  It looks like there isn't much difference between natural gas and propane, so if the clowns in Washington could ever get the heads out of their A##@s and build nuclear power plants for electricity, we might just use the natural gas for vehicles and be done with the oil imports for the next 50 years.  Am I missing something?  I think this is all existing off the shelf technology.
> 
>MSD is selling off dual fuel kits for pennies on the dollar.  I guess they dropped the product line.  If anyone is serious about this I can email links.
> 
>Ken
>
>--- On Thu, 2/11/10, Bill Lewis <lotus0005 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>From: Bill Lewis <lotus0005 at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] While off topic - Propane
>To: boyd411 at gmail.com, davidabell at att.net
>Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
>Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 7:23 AM
>
>
>
>OK, Boyd, I'm putting a hex on you!  Sometime, within the next seven days, you are going to dream that you have invented the  first propane-powered engine in a Viper, which you have wisely painted PINK, and you drive it to the POCA Fun Rally in Reno, where you are awarded the  trophy of "....fill in the blank...."   ---Bill
>
>
>
>
>
>Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:30:40 -0500
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] While off topic - Propane
>From: boyd411 at gmail.com
>To: davidabell at att.net
>CC: lotus0005 at hotmail.com; detomaso at realbig.com
>
>How about a BMW 850 csi with a Viper engine converted to propane! And a self destruct button when you can't sell it you push the insurance button and the propnae tak explodes!
>Cool! 
>Boyd
>
>
>On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 11:47 PM, <davidabell at att.net> wrote:
>
>In another life, when my brother and I owned a custom grain harvesting business, I converted our work truck to propane inexpensively using a bunch of second hand equipment.  The main downside is that the propane tank is very heavy and takes up a large chunk of the bed, plus fuel milage and power were poor compared to gasoline.   The propane plumbing was pretty simple though, mount the tank and run a line under the cab to the engine compartment. The propane nozzle was attached to the top of the air filter which turned the carb into a throttle body of sorts.  I installed a solonoid that switched the fuel from propane to gasoline from inside the cab so going back and forth was easy when one tank was empty.
>
>
>As I mentioned, here was a noticable power (and fuel milage) drop when using propane though so when we needed to tow something heavy we generally switched to gasoline.  The propane was a fair amount less expensive, due in no small part to the fact that we had our own bulk propane storage tank and we didn't have to pay road tax on the fuel.  There were plenty of places to refill an auto propane tank in east and south Texas as most rural homes use it for heating.  Refills just weren't available at the typical gasoline service station - you got to go to the propane sales store.  One other downside is that propane is significantly heavier than air so if the tank or line springs a leak, you can end up driving around with a pickup bed full of loose propane just waiting for a spark to turn into bananas foster.  Don't ask how I know this.
>
>
>But, if I had a pickup with plenty of unused space in the bed, I'd definitely consider propane.
>
>No, actually I'd rather have a BMW850csi.
>
>
>
>Dave Bell
>
>
>
>
>-------------- Original message ----------------------
>From: Bill Lewis <lotus0005 at hotmail.com>
>>
>>
>> Does anyone have any experience with running a pick up on propane?
>
>> ----Bill (Anticipating the next gas crunch) Lewis
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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