LPG

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mike_tseng

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2008 Scion xB
i recently came back from hong kong (props to everyone here that lives there) and all the taxis there have a corny sticker on the side with some chinese and LPG even though i am chinese i cant read the stickers at 65mph...

anyone here from HK know what the stickers say? or does anyone know what LPG is?
 
^it is,

to the engine, it has about the same response like ordinary petrol, but costs over here about 0.17?/l, while petrol costs about 1?/l.
it works on any petrol car with ignition (doesn't work on carbs), the tank is placed where your spare wheels needs to go, so you loose that,

it's very cheap to run, but there are some drawbacks:
1) it's highly explosive, if you have LPG in your car, you aren't allowed to park in underground garages, or drive thru some tunnels
2) it doesn't contain any oil, so your cylinders aren't greased while driving --> never abuse your engine, or drive more than 100km, while on LPG
you can easily switch fuel with a simple button on the dashboard

i'm planning on getting it in my car, use it to drive to work everyday, and if you wanne have some fun in the weekend, use petrol
 
The octane level of LPG is slightly higher than petrol but if you tune your car to take full advantage it won't run on petrol which would be a PITA as few places sell LPG.

The emission levels when running LPG are a lot lower too and thus you (in the UK anyway) pay less tax.

AFAIK there isn't any oil in petrol, that's on a diesel engine.
 
^i"ve also been told to that there is no oil in petrol, but then again, where do they get petrol? from under the ground, and what is under the ground? crude oil, so actually, petrol is a type of oil

i have no idea :)

and if it isn't for the oil, why can't you drive long distances on lpg?
 
Petrol is an extraction from oil, lots of things are extracted from oil, asphalt, petrol, petroleum, kerosine, you name it.

So my thought is: There is petrol in oil...right?
 
My dad has his landrover on LPG and it is bloody great.
LPG (or what is used to make it) comes directly from the oil well and used to be burnt to provide heating and power on some of the rigs. I think a great deal has come from the north sea oil wells as these produce a lower grade oil that can't be Kracked into the same quallity petrolium as the middle east can supply, though this lower grade has a lot more gas run off.

The benerfit I know of-

-Much, much better for the enviroment
-Higher octane so engine runs nicely
-Doesn't coke the engine
-Cheaper fuel (about 1/2 the price)
-Very simple injection systems

The down sides are:

-can't go on the channel tunnel
-high cost for conversion (good system from around ?1500 fitted)
-trouble with insurance, some companies won't touch you
-If you have an old points distributor system it's not quite as good as with an EFI system.

While it is theoretically is more explosive as it a compressed gas product the tanks are manufactured to a far higher quallity so I recon you probably run about the same risk. LPG systems have a lot more safety device fitted and the tanks can only be filled to about 60/70% capacity.

As for drivablillity you don't notice any difference apart from the engine being a little quieter.

it doesn't contain any oil, so your cylinders aren't greased while driving --> never abuse your engine, or drive more than 100km, while on LPG
Click to expand...
-I have never heard of this before, but on an internal combustion engine the engine is usually lubricated by the oil in the sump. I have heard of lpg causing problems with carbs (especially SU type) where the pistons would rust up due to not being covered in fuel.
All I know is my dad truck has done 70K miles on LPG with no problem what so ever.

It think it's great, the only other thing to think about is A) the kit is pretty heavy so make sure you haven't got a gutless piece of crap fiesta to haul it around.
B) it's pretty bulky, so unless your going to remove your old tank you might have to lose your spare tire to fit it.

Sorry for the essay got a little carried away
 
the LPG tanks aren't hollow, they're filled with layers of metal grills, so if it would catch fire, it'd burn, not explode
 
from what I remember when I live in HK... the LPG taxi's don't have restriction on where they go... they are driven around like normal cars and taxis in HK do abt 300km a day and I don't think there are problems with it.
 
but if its highly explosive and all that danger stuff you guys were talking bout, why is all of HK's taxi's run on LPG? and there are tunnels that connect from Kowloon to HK Island and taxi's go through those no prob. plus, those taxis will probly run about 150-200km per day. that is starting not to make any sense..
 
mike_tseng said:
but if its highly explosive and all that danger stuff you guys were talking bout, why is all of HK's taxi's run on LPG? and there are tunnels that connect from Kowloon to HK Island and taxi's go through those no prob. plus, those taxis will probly run about 150-200km per day. that is starting not to make any sense..
Click to expand...

Well it's not dangerous as long as the setup is OK, which it's not always. France is a perfect example of LPG ruining. The legislation required at first a plastic cam on the LPG tank, which was already notorious for its inefficiency, and backed up only three years ago requiring now the correct type of valve (don't know all the tech stuff behind it). But too little too late: the V?nissieux accident back in 1998 (I think) definitely doomed LPG in the eye of the French motorist, and last year a stupid bloke tried to mess up himself with his LPG system and blew his garage.

Even today and even though LPG systems are now as safe as you can possibly get, some underground parking lots still forbid LPG vehicles. Bah.
 
I don't think it is highly flammable if it is in liquid form... only in gas. I think the government in Hong Kong are really promoting LPG... they were offering a year free road tax for people who converts to it... but only like 2 people did it
 
it's only liquid because it's under pressure, puncture the tank, it'll become a gas, and explode
 
But I am sure when it is being refueled... it is in the form of liquid... the government would not put such a dangerous type of vehicle on the road which carry's thousands of people daily and fills 1/3 of the road. Maybe it is another form of LPG
 
it is, when you disconnect the cable at the end, there's always an amounth that escapes "pssssht", giving a white cloud, comming from liquid in the tube to gas in open air

this is why you never see an LPG filler at supermarkets or so, the law (belgian atleast) dictates that the owner of the gas station has to be around when you refill your tank
 
qube said:
AFAIK there isn't any oil in petrol, that's on a diesel engine.
Click to expand...

Jostyrostelli said:
Petrol is an extraction from oil, lots of things are extracted from oil, asphalt, petrol, petroleum, kerosine, you name it.

So my thought is: There is petrol in oil...right?
Click to expand...

Even LPG is made out of crude oil ;)
Petroleum, kerosene, petrol/nafta, diesel, LPG are oils. But the lower/heavier fractions have higher lubricating characteristics. So petroleum lubricates more than diesel, and diesel lubricates more than kerosene, and kerosene lubricates more than petrol and petrol lubricates more than LPG. In fact LPG has almost no lubricating abilities anymore.
 
he's too busy playing GT4... I haven't talked to him in ages on msn as well. I used to live in HK about 1/2 a year ago... btw... were in u hk on business or fun?
 
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