Quote:
Originally Posted by jrdv
We used to run our ranch pickups on propane back in the eightys. It was cheaper than gas, but you didn't get the same range or power. It has been a while, but I remember being nervous everytime I filled the tank!
They were also hard to start in cold weather. You had to make sure to switch to the gas tank before you shut it off in the evening or else it might not start very easy the next morning. The tank in the back pretty much took up all the room in front of the fender wells on the 3/4 ton chevies.
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That's one of the biggest misconceptions with Propane or CNG. If you build the engine specifically for Propane, you can get the same or more power, better economy and the internals stay VERY clean. You can go 15,000 miles between oil changes due to no carbon contaminating the oil (which is why oil turns black). The octane rating of Propane is like 110. You can run 13:1 compression ratio, which majorly boosts your power output and in turn economy. If you just convert a normal gas engine over, it won't run nearly as well, you will be down on power and the economy will be lower.
I truly did 2 months of solid research on this and if it wasn't for the whole certification issue so the tanks can be filled in vehicle, I would be doing this big time.