Dual- Fuel Propane System Install - 4. Wheel & Off- Road Magazine. If You've Spied A Trail Rig Or tow rig running propane as a fuel source, you've wondered about its advantages and disadvantages. We've seen a number of respectable rigs spewing those odd fumes and had to experience it for ourselves. We chose to install a dual- fuel kit, having the flexibility of running gasoline as well as propane, supplied by Got. Propane. com. Propane (LP or LPG) is a gas but exists in a liquid state when compressed. While it does not possess the energy that a comparable unit of gasoline does, it burns cleaner and is typically less expensive to purchase. Engines that run on propane have significantly cleaner internals due to propane's low carbon content. Installing propane gas line questions Sprinter RV. Second LP tank, Propex and hot shower project with pics. The propane tank installation. Attempting to install your own propane tank is not advisable under any. Before you choose a company to install a tank. Install a RV radiant propane heater. I watched my friends Terry and Ted install a propane radiant heater in Terry's new. After the propane is turned off and. Dual-Fuel Propane System Install. Liquid fuel delivered from the tank travels through a. Also, since the gas is stored under pressure, vehicles running propane do not require fuel pumps, expensive injectors, or complex mixers such as those found in fuel- injected or carbureted systems. Another benefit is that propane's octane rating varies between 1. Finally, propane systems either mount on top of, or replace, the carburetor entirely. This eliminates fuel starvation and stalling caused from bouncing or excessive vehicle angles. Propane can be ideal for you and your rig, but truly gaining benefits from the conversion will depend on a few factors. First, you must carry more propane on your vehicle than you normally would with gasoline. Install Propane Tank Under Van WheelchairIt is generally accepted that a dual- fuel kit will provide approximate 1. Propane tanks for automotive use are available in two forms- the steel ASME or DOT tank most often found in the back of pickups and the common forklift tank that is available in steel or aluminum. Forklift tanks are easy to dismount and fill, but the largest available only holds 4. Finally, any tank used for automotive purposes must be of the type that pulls liquid from the bottom of the cylinder, not vapor from the top as the BBQ or RV tanks do. Second, propane is not as readily available as gasoline. For you to rely solely upon it as a fuel source would require knowledge of filling station locations and their operating hours, which are not as extensive as those of gas stations. Finally, an engine running on propane will simply not produce the power that it would on gasoline. While some engines specifically designed for propane have shrunk that gap or perhaps even closed it, the everyday propane- converted engine will produce less power. If you're still interested, follow along as we install a dual- fuel kit on a 3. Chevy 3. 50. This kit only applies to carbureted engines with less than 4. Be advised that the mixer and adapter are tall; you must be able to accommodate 6. To convert from gas to propane, stop the flow of gasoline by turning off your electric fuel pump or actuating the fuel cutoff solenoid. Wait until the engine uses the last of the gas in the fuel bowl, then pull the cable to actuate the cam within the mixer. The propane will replace the gasoline immediately. Got. Propane states that its propane- only kits provide power nearly identical to carbureted gasoline engines. However, the dual- fuel kit is expected to cost a few horsepower in comparison to the normal gasoline setup. We were able to take advantage of propane's higher octane rating by dialing in more timing advance than we would be able to run with gasoline. A trip to the dyno at DC Performance yielded the results below. We will, most likely, recover even more power while on propane through additional tuning and dyno testing. Overall, we enjoy our . Propane in our area ranges from $2. Fuel starvation off- road is no longer an issue, the horsepower loss is acceptable, and driving a wild, yet environmentally friendly rig just makes you feel good. All those benefits aside, perhaps the most fun derived from the kit is the look on a person's face when you inform them our big ugly ex- Army beast is an ultralow emissions alternative fuel machine.* Running on propane (factory advance) - 1. Running on gasoline (factory advance) - 1. Running on propane (optimized advance) 1. Overall, we enjoy our . Propane in our area ranges from $2. Fuel starvation off- road is no longer an issue, the horsepower loss is acceptable, and driving a wild, yet environmentally friendly rig just makes you feel good. All those benefits aside, perhaps the most fun derived from the kit is the look on a person's face when you inform them our big ugly ex- Army beast is an ultralow emissions alternative fuel machine. Running on propane factory advance. Running on gasoline factory advance. Running on propane optimized advance. Pro. Master DIY Camper Van Conversion - - DIY Propane System. Search The Renewable Energy site for Do- It- Yourselfers. Pro. Master Camper Van Conversion - - Installing the Propane System Important Update. The material on these pages describing our camper van conversion has been moved to our new new site dedicated to efficient RVs and camper vans. The new site covers all the material here and adds a lot of new material on other camper van conversions, camper van design and build, resources for people converting vans, other efficient camping vehicles, new ideas in efficient RVs and camper van travel hints. The new site is here.. I'm leaving these pages here as you may have bookmarked them and the Comments section has some good suggestions, but I suggest that you go to the new site - - I won't be updating this material anymore. Thanks to all the people who read these pages and especially to the people who left comments and suggestions! Feedback on the new site is very much appreciated. Gary Propane Tank Type and Location. We had a commercial van conversion RV some time back that had the propane tank mounted under the van. While this setup was OK, it did have some disadvantages: 1) the tank was always dirty from the road and tire splatter and all this dirt and mud made for a short life for the components like valves, gauges, and regulators, 2) the tank was one of the low points on the van and it seemed like it could be damaged, especially on back roads 3) the tank was difficult for the propane guys to fill due to its location and dirt, and 4) you had to find a place that refills cylinders and wait for them to find someone with the time to do the refill. On this conversion, we decided on using a standard 5 gallon refillable cylinder (e. On the plus side, this arrangement 1) keeps the entire propane system out of the weather and mud, 2) allows you to either refill the cylinder or just trade it for a new cylinder at one of the many places that offers this service, and 3) its much cheaper than using one of the under van tanks. On the negative side, 1) it takes up some space inside the van, 2) the capacity is only 5 gallons as compared to (typically) 8 gallons for the under frame tanks, and 3) some may feel there is a safety issue with having propane inside the van (see below). MMy guess is that the five gallon capacity will work out to be fine. For warm weather trips with little furnace use, the propane usage for just the stove will be small and the tank should easily last several trips. For cold weather trips, the van is small and pretty well insulated - - I believe (based on a little testing) that the propane usage per night at 3. F will be about half a gallon, so the change tank interval should be at least a week. If you are doing the Dempster Highway in the middle of winter, you might want to carry an extra cylinder. There are some potential safety issues both plus and minus to this arrangement. On the plus side, 1) the tank is protected from physical damage, 2) the propane compartment is strong, securely attached to the van, vented to the outside, and separated from ignition sources, 3) the whole propane system is inside and not subject to malfunction caused by dirt/mud/debris. All stuff for YOU to consider, research and make up your own mind about. There will, of course, be propane and CO alarm system to detect any leaks and incomplete combustion - - as there must be with any vehicle that uses propane (or any fuel). Some Information on 5 Gallon Propane Tanks. The 5 gallon or 2. They can be refilled at places that sell propane or there are many exchange services (e. Blue Rhino) that will exchange your empty tank for a full tank. While the tanks have a nominal capacity of 2. OPD) float and valve limit the capacity to 1. Blue Rhino) only fill the tanks to 1. Propane weighs 4. The tanks are only filled to 4 gallons max so that there is always a gas space above the liquid propane to allow for expansion if the tank is subjected to a hot environment. A gallon of propane has a heating capacity of about 9. BTU, so a full tank gives you about 3. BTU total. The empty weight of each tank is stamped on the collar of the tank - - usually about 1. If you have something like a 5. The tanks start at about 3. When the total tank weight is down to about 1. On the safety front: the tanks have overfill protection that prevents filling to more than 1. This could be a big inconenience if you take your RV to a place where a Blue Rhino exchange is not available. Installing the Propane System. The propane storage compartment is built into the aft end of the driver side bed unit. It is made with 3/4 inch high strength Medium Density Overlay (MDO) plywood and is bolted down through the floor in several places with 3/8 inch steel bolts. The compartment is made so that the cylinder just fits inside of it, so there is no need to fasten the cylinder to the compartment as there is no place for it to go - - this makes it easy to do swap outs when the cylinder is empty.
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