Propane questions

[CRaSHnBuRN]

I was discussing the merits of fuel injection with a friend, and got off onto the subject of fuel injection. During this conversation we got onto propane, and this got me to thinking. From what I understand propane works like a cheap form of fuel injection, but doesn't make the HP that gas does, nor is it as easy to come by when your out in the middle of nowhere. Well when I was younger I worked at a state park that had several duel fuel trucks, but they were all fuel injected. Surely you can setup a carbed engine with a duel fuel system right? Seems to me like it would be the way to go for a DD/trail rig that isn't fuel injected. You could run gas on the street, and in places such as mud and sand where FI isn't needed, and then switch to propane for the off camber trails. Am I missing something on this, or does it simply not work well. Do you really need to build the engine for one fuel or the other?

[AgDieseler]

Anything is possible with money. I think the first problem you would run into would be space. A gas tank takes up enough room as it is, then adding on a big enough propane tank consumes that much more.

Dual fuel isn't that tough to do actually, and while I can't help you on specific details about gas and propane, guys do diesel/veggie oil all the time with no problems. The difference between what you're talking about is that most use the diesel to start the engine; then once the engine is warm they switch to veggie oil.

For simplicity's sake, I would choose one fuel and go with it.

[bburris]

When I started driving I had an 85 Chevy truck that was setup to use either of the dual gas tanks or a huge propane tank that was in the bed where a normal person would put a tool box. I swear if my dad filled everything up I would go a couple months without needing fuel. The only problem doing that on a small offroad rig would be space. I would personally just go with one fuel. Propane doesn't really rob that much power...

[robertf03]

Doug K's dad had a chevy that was efi/propane.

I never looked under the hood, but i suspect it killed the power to the fuel pump and injectors when it was running on propane so the ignition would still function.

[stx4wheeler]

talk to doug kieswetter his eb(thingy) is on only propane and i have heard him and austin say it still has good power.

[CRaSHnBuRN]

The power thing came from personal experience with those trucks, and helping my friend do work at his shop. It does kill some power, but hey, I used to drive a truck with a 3 legged squirrel for a drivetrain so power ain't a big concern. I think a propane only rig would be nice, but then you run into fill up problems. A carbed rig sucks offcamber. Just seeing if it was possible to split the difference.

[Cajun]

I helped convert my in-laws K5 to propane, and in short, it rocks! It runs on ANY angle, it's a completely mechanical system, easy to convert, and no worries about fuel pickup. They're using an Impco 425 mixer to feed a 454 (bored .030 over, cam, ported & polished heads) which seems to be borderline on being able to deliver enough fuel. It does lack some punch when you stomp on it, but I'm not sure if that's the due to improper tuning of the mixer and poor timing or if the mixer just can't keep up. That mixer is supposedly good for engines up to 500 hp, and I know the Blazer dosen't have those kind of ponies.

I'm completely sold on it, in fact I'm selling the digital EFI system I bought for the Scout and going propane on it too. Check out www.propaneguy.com (http://www.propaneguy.com) for all of your propane needs, or talk to your local Amerigas or whatever. The one in Sulphur carried most of the stuff that we bought from the above site, and was able to point us to a local mechanic that works on propane and dual fuel engines.

Good luck!

[CRaSHnBuRN]

yeah, the more I hear about propane, the more it sounds like a cool system. Oh course right now I'm still running EFI on my toy, so propane is just a pipe dream for a future rig, or one of my friend's rigs. But like I said, I guess it really wouldn't work for a daily driver, huh? I mean, if you ran low at 10 pm, where would you get the thing filled?

BTW, Cajun, do you have anymore recent pics of the blazer? Didn't you say it was getting 42s? How much lift did it end up getting?

[uglyota]

there's a good thread on LPG 22Rs right now on pirate.
Sounds like it's a good cheap way to upgrade a carbed motor without getting infection (:D ).
I'm gonna be looking at a propane system in the next few years when I build a little 20r/22r motor, but I have no desire to lose infection in the Uglytruck

[Cajun]

Crash, the Blazer is getting 42s. They're supposed to be mounted tomorrow on the wheels they already have for testing, and we'll be cutting to fit this weekend. They're waiting 4-6 weeks for Stazworks double beadlocks. It has around 7" of lift, 6" springs and ORD zero-rates up front and 2" springs, 4" shackle flip, and ORD zero-rates out back.

As for the propane, they're using large forklift bottles on K5, and I'll be doing the same on the Scout. 2 stay in the truck and 1 or more spare. This way you bring the bottle to get filled and don't raise any flags about running an alternative fuel vehicle without tags or a permit, plus you always have a bottle to fall back on when you need to make that late-night beer run. :D

[CRaSHnBuRN]

I've always wondered, just what kind of mileage do propane trucks get?

[Cajun]

I have no idea. 1 bottle will get the Blazer through a day of 'wheeling.

[froader03]

I think 2 full taks of propane are more than enough for a weekend of wheeling. however, you run into the problem of spare parts. for example, doug fubared a plate that held something ontop of his intake while we were in llano. of course you generally can't do this kind of fix at a parts store or any small town store for that matter. we drove around half the day until he found a guy to custom make a similar part that worked well enough so he could get his rig running again.

[froader03]

also true... I remember now that he said he had a spare back home.

[Cajun]

Yup, they carry a spare mixer and regulator. It bolts to the intake like a Q-jet, so no special adaptors there. You have to be more self-sufficient (fuel and parts), but I'm sold on it.