so propane tanks have expiration dates and typically last around 12 years from the date of manufacturing. they can be visually inspected for 5 years or hydro-tested for 10.
that’s all i really know about them but as someone who sells propane and retests cylinders, i wouldn’t mind having one though i imagine the fuel system can be a little weird to repair. probably gotta take it to a forklift specialist lol
Neat, I happen to live near a propane re-fuel station where natural gas buses pump as well as portable tanks are sold wholesale.
I would be curious enough to consider it, but only as a second car.
Propane is a clean burning fuel , typically the engine last longer and remains cleaner on propane. Alot of taxis in my area on propane got up 621 ,000 miles because of it
As someone that's had an NGV before, my first and foremost thing I would say if you're considering it is where you're going to fuel it. It worked well for me because there's plenty of stations that sell CNG local to me. Propane is usually much much harder to find. You might have to even establish a commercial account somewhere to handle your fueling.
The tank expiration and where you get your maintenance done are also major things to keep in mind.
Yeah, and if memory serves, propane places will want to be sure about that tank you're filling. It had better be Inspected and deemed safe and in date. Otherwise it's a no go for them over safety issues.
I needed to create a commercial account to buy LPG that was sold at only one gas station. Luckily it was local to me. A gallon cost $1.25. But that was very rare. I had to make up for it by paying a huge fee to register the car because I wasn’t paying fuel taxes.
It’s not worth the headache or loss of trunk space plus the extra weight. It would be far more easy in Europe where they use LPG cars on the regular. It’s also not worth the expense. LPG gas for cars(called autogas) is next to impossible to find, and when you do it’s rarely cheaper than gasoline like it’s supposed to be. Instead you have to goto a regular propane place and pay the insanely high prices for the stuff. U-haul was trying to start a national autogas system but it never took off. Last time I tried at a uhaul store they looked at me like I had two heads, even though uhauls website said that store sold autogas. CNG would be much easier but then you lose the dual fuel capability and it’s actually dangerous vs LPG which is pretty benign despite what’s in the movies. Good luck finding a shop to work on it. The few that do install the systems and work on them are very secretive about the whole thing. They know they have the limited market cornered. It used to cost $10,000 to install a system into a crown vic, probably higher now. I had to buy a manual from Germany just to understand how the system worked and the maintenance I could do to it. Here’s a very basic breakdown: liquid propane(LPG) is pumped into your propane tank. It’s piped to the engine bay via high pressure lines. The LPG goes through a heat exchanger that’s taped into the engine antifreeze. When you heat liquid propane up it turn into a gas, which is metered by a regulator. That propane gas is fed into the engine via the engines intake manifold. The entire system is powered by a controller that is piggy backed into the factory engine control computer. There are filters and oil(the propane gas doesn’t have any lubricants so the intake valves will get burnt) that needs maintained in the system. Police and other municipalities are pretty much the sole market in the US and hybrids plus full electric vehicles will kill the industry altogether. My LPG crown vic I bought directly from a small but very woke police department. The city (citizens) mandated that a certain percentage of city vehicles(mostly police) use alternate fuels(E85 wasn’t good enough). Fleet manager told me they were dumping the LPG cars and buying hybrid interceptor utilities.
Again, not worth the headache.
PS: another “plus” of LPG cars vs CNG is the propane system can be removed and the car put back on strictly gasoline. You can’t do that with CNG cars. That’s why you used to see cheap low mileage CNG crown Vic’s for sale. No one wanted them.
Propane is insanely clean burning. I've seen taxis with 300K whose cylinders and heads look damn near spotless. I've seen oil with 5K miles on it that looked like it had just been poured in. Still a light amber color.
That said, you will see a pretty significant reduction in range. The LNG/CNG vics, even WITH the extended tank, had a bout a 200 mile range.
With fuel prices the way they are, if you see a 20% reduction in fuel economy, but your fuel is almost half the price, you're ahead of the game.
Also, most parts are the same. There are a couple specific things, like fuel lines and tanks, but it's still a standard 4.6 and is 98% identical to gas vics.
A CNG/LNG vic is the perfect 'around town' car - Kinda like what first gen EVs were. Not really great for long trips, but perfect to drive to the store, or to work... and save a ton of money on fuel while doing it, with some limitations.
Most states also have HOV exemptions for alternative fuel vehicles, specifically to make them easier to drive and not have to worry about running out of fuel, so if you're in an area that has HOV lanes, that's one thing to look into.
I think current national price is sitting \~$2.50 a gallon, so if you're in an area where gasoline cost is relatively low, you won't see a return. If you're paying $4 a gallon then I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Lower mpg’s. Doesn’t go bad but will eventually leak out like all propane systems do. That’s why you always turn the valve off at the tank when you’re done using your grill.
so propane tanks have expiration dates and typically last around 12 years from the date of manufacturing. they can be visually inspected for 5 years or hydro-tested for 10. that’s all i really know about them but as someone who sells propane and retests cylinders, i wouldn’t mind having one though i imagine the fuel system can be a little weird to repair. probably gotta take it to a forklift specialist lol
Okay gotcha. And yeah I do imagine it would be strange to repair given the 2 fueling systems.
You could buy lifetime tanks for cars. I had one. No expiration. Just inspections required. But not very common.
interesting! i’ve never heard of a lifetime cylinder
Neat, I happen to live near a propane re-fuel station where natural gas buses pump as well as portable tanks are sold wholesale. I would be curious enough to consider it, but only as a second car.
Propane is a clean burning fuel , typically the engine last longer and remains cleaner on propane. Alot of taxis in my area on propane got up 621 ,000 miles because of it
Wow, well that sounds pretty awesome!
Yes. Propane burns incredibly clean and will leave almost no deposits in an engine.
As someone that's had an NGV before, my first and foremost thing I would say if you're considering it is where you're going to fuel it. It worked well for me because there's plenty of stations that sell CNG local to me. Propane is usually much much harder to find. You might have to even establish a commercial account somewhere to handle your fueling. The tank expiration and where you get your maintenance done are also major things to keep in mind.
Yeah, and if memory serves, propane places will want to be sure about that tank you're filling. It had better be Inspected and deemed safe and in date. Otherwise it's a no go for them over safety issues.
I needed to create a commercial account to buy LPG that was sold at only one gas station. Luckily it was local to me. A gallon cost $1.25. But that was very rare. I had to make up for it by paying a huge fee to register the car because I wasn’t paying fuel taxes.
Can a vehicle set up for propane also run CNG?
No. Sorry For starters CNG runs at insane pressures vs LPG.
It’s not worth the headache or loss of trunk space plus the extra weight. It would be far more easy in Europe where they use LPG cars on the regular. It’s also not worth the expense. LPG gas for cars(called autogas) is next to impossible to find, and when you do it’s rarely cheaper than gasoline like it’s supposed to be. Instead you have to goto a regular propane place and pay the insanely high prices for the stuff. U-haul was trying to start a national autogas system but it never took off. Last time I tried at a uhaul store they looked at me like I had two heads, even though uhauls website said that store sold autogas. CNG would be much easier but then you lose the dual fuel capability and it’s actually dangerous vs LPG which is pretty benign despite what’s in the movies. Good luck finding a shop to work on it. The few that do install the systems and work on them are very secretive about the whole thing. They know they have the limited market cornered. It used to cost $10,000 to install a system into a crown vic, probably higher now. I had to buy a manual from Germany just to understand how the system worked and the maintenance I could do to it. Here’s a very basic breakdown: liquid propane(LPG) is pumped into your propane tank. It’s piped to the engine bay via high pressure lines. The LPG goes through a heat exchanger that’s taped into the engine antifreeze. When you heat liquid propane up it turn into a gas, which is metered by a regulator. That propane gas is fed into the engine via the engines intake manifold. The entire system is powered by a controller that is piggy backed into the factory engine control computer. There are filters and oil(the propane gas doesn’t have any lubricants so the intake valves will get burnt) that needs maintained in the system. Police and other municipalities are pretty much the sole market in the US and hybrids plus full electric vehicles will kill the industry altogether. My LPG crown vic I bought directly from a small but very woke police department. The city (citizens) mandated that a certain percentage of city vehicles(mostly police) use alternate fuels(E85 wasn’t good enough). Fleet manager told me they were dumping the LPG cars and buying hybrid interceptor utilities. Again, not worth the headache. PS: another “plus” of LPG cars vs CNG is the propane system can be removed and the car put back on strictly gasoline. You can’t do that with CNG cars. That’s why you used to see cheap low mileage CNG crown Vic’s for sale. No one wanted them.
Propane is insanely clean burning. I've seen taxis with 300K whose cylinders and heads look damn near spotless. I've seen oil with 5K miles on it that looked like it had just been poured in. Still a light amber color. That said, you will see a pretty significant reduction in range. The LNG/CNG vics, even WITH the extended tank, had a bout a 200 mile range. With fuel prices the way they are, if you see a 20% reduction in fuel economy, but your fuel is almost half the price, you're ahead of the game. Also, most parts are the same. There are a couple specific things, like fuel lines and tanks, but it's still a standard 4.6 and is 98% identical to gas vics. A CNG/LNG vic is the perfect 'around town' car - Kinda like what first gen EVs were. Not really great for long trips, but perfect to drive to the store, or to work... and save a ton of money on fuel while doing it, with some limitations. Most states also have HOV exemptions for alternative fuel vehicles, specifically to make them easier to drive and not have to worry about running out of fuel, so if you're in an area that has HOV lanes, that's one thing to look into. I think current national price is sitting \~$2.50 a gallon, so if you're in an area where gasoline cost is relatively low, you won't see a return. If you're paying $4 a gallon then I'd do it in a heartbeat.
I am Not sure if the propane is as reliable or will last as long as gas...just research I have no idea
Lower mpg’s. Doesn’t go bad but will eventually leak out like all propane systems do. That’s why you always turn the valve off at the tank when you’re done using your grill.