LPG fuel around the world...

[rob love]

Originally Posted by cletrac

We had a 1988 Dodge V8 pickup that ran on propane and it got 20% less mileage than on gas. You couldn't always count on being able to buy propane when you needed it and if you ran out you couldn't get a can and dump it in the tank. We tried the BBQ bottle but couldn't get the liquid to flow into the tank. I hooked a tiger torch onto the bottle then removed the torch from the hose and poked the hose into the aircleaner. I regulated the gas flow with the bottle tap and we made it to town for more. All in all it was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth so we threw it in the junk and went back to gasoline.

In the DND we used to have a bottle and hose setup for refueling the LPG vehicles when they ran out . It was a standard BBQ bottle with a made up hose. To refuel, you had to stand the BBQ bottle upside down on the roof of the car and allow the LPG to flow down into the tank. It took more than a few minutes to get an appreciable amount of fuel into the car requiring the fuel, but it would eventually get the job done. Usually a minute or two was enough to get the car going long enough to make it to the next station.

Funny story: I had to use the bottle on a recovery of a staff car one evening, so the next day the Sgt told me to take the bottle to the civilian propane depot to get it refilled. We had the capability to fill vehicles in the DND, but not to refill BBQ tanks. Of course, the propane company that had won the contract to refill our bottles were on the furthest side of the city, so off I drove the 45 minutes to get there. Once there, they refilled the bottle but found it only needed a partial fill, so they only charged me for a "mini fill", which was $4 instead of $8. I then drove the 45 minutes back to the shop, and submitted the invoice. Next day the Sgt tells me that the supply guy was not happy about the mini fill since we were only tendered for full fill, so I had to drive all the way across town with the invoice, explain it to the company, and have them make out a new invoice for the full fill amount, which they gladly did.
So in total, I ( a military mechanic) had to spend a total of 4 hours, and drive a car across the city twice, just so I could get half a bottle of propane at the full bottle price. These were the efficiencies of the DND at the time.

One thing I have not seen mentioned in this thread is the need for hardened valves and seats when using LPG. We had new vehicles which would require completely new valve trains after only 6 months of service..