Petrol cost got you down? Try LPG on your 'Lux

[bluemountains]

If the cost of petrol annoys you, you can always put your Hilux on LPG. LPG will cut your fuel costs by about 50%. Will cost about $3000 to install but there's still a $1000 government rebate for installing an LPG system. You'll also still have the option of running on petrol if you need to, at the flick of a switch.

I had an LPG system installed on a 1986 HiAce van in 2008. At the time, there was a $2000 rebate so the net cost was $1000 out of pocket. The much lower running cost meant I recovered that $1000 in about 6 months.

Finally wore the van's gearbox out at 330,000km. Due to the cost of repairing the gearbox along with some rust & other necessary repairs the old van needed, it was time to retire it to the junkyard. I wanted to recycle the LPG system, so I went shopping for another Toyota of about the same vintage, also with a carburettor. Found a 1987 YN58 Hilux in very good nick to replace the van. Had the LPG system taken off the van and put on the Hilux- cost $1150. Got a $1000 rebate for converting the Hilux, so net cost was $150.

In both the van and the ute, the LPG tank is fitted where the spare tyre usually goes, so the spare has to be carried in the cargo area. I went 7 years with LPG on the van & never had a flat, so I haven't bothered to make up a spare tyre carrier for the ute- and probably won't. Can't see the point of carrying the weight of a spare tyre if I really don't need it.

LPG is a great motor fuel. Engines on gas last a long time because LPG can't wash oil off the cylinder walls. Gases that get past the piston rings don't contain any raw fuel that can dilute the engine oil. I only have to change engine oil about every 10,000km- and could probably go 15,000. Oil comes out honey coloured, not black, gritty, sooty and diluted with fuel. LPG doesn't leave any sludgy gunk in the engine. Petrol will not burn in liquid form- it has to be vapourised first- and carburettors don't do a very good job of it. Droplets of petrol don't burn as completely as LPG, which is in fully gaseous form when fed into the engine.

LPG has now been standardised across Australia. It's rated 100 octane, so there's never any knocking or pinging. No need to modify the engine at all to run on LPG. LPG mechos used to suggest running spark plugs one heat range cooler, but that's not necessary anymore. I did run cooler plugs in the HiAce, but they made the van fall on its face when giving it full throttle on petrol, so I haven't changed the plugs in the Hilux. Performance on the Hilux is identical on either fuel.

My Hilux has the 2.2L 4Y motor and a 3-speed/OD automatic. Goes about 10-10.5L/100km on petrol, 12L-12.5L/100km on LPG. Since petrol is more dense than LPG (about 720g/L vs 540g/L), you will burn more litres of LPG but since LPG is so much cheaper per litre than petrol, you save a lot of cash per km. The Hilux usually goes about 400km per tank of LPG. My LPG tank has 65L capacity but max fill on any LPG tank is 80% to allow for expansion, so max fill is 53L. I usually put in about 48-50L to go 400km, which with LPG at about 61cpl is about $30. Between the lower per km fuel cost and the ability to change oil about 2-3 times less often, there's a lot less dough out of your pocket.

If you're a greenie (I'm not much of one), you'll like the fact that running on LPG reduces CO2 emissions by up to 18% per km. Because gaseous LPG burns so much better than petrol vapour, LPG particulate emissions can be up to 70% lower than petrol. If you're a gearhead, you'll like the longer engine life and fewer oil changes.

If you can pony up the $3K for installing an LPG system (remembering that you will get $1000 cash back), it'll pay for itself in about a year or so, depending on how much you drive. Like I did, you
will probably be able to swap the LPG system onto another vehicle if you get something with a broadly similar engine/fuel system.

It's hard to go wrong putting your baby on the bottle!

Cheers

Brian

[Manxman]

Beware of the risk of fire/explosion. Few second chances with petrol, less with gas, none with Hydrogen Like petrol, there are mixture ratios which will not ignite, but Hydrogen will EXPLODE on ignition with ANY presence of free oxygen. Both far too dangerous to use in even low accident rate traffic, IMO.

[bluemountains]

You may think it counterintuitive, but LPG is safer than petrol. Statistics prove it.

LPG tanks are 3mm steel, where many petrol tanks are plastic. It's not unusual to find LPG tanks thrown free, intact, from smashes where the entire vehicle was destroyed.

LPG systems have both flow-rate cutoff valves, which stop LPG flow in the event of a severed fuel line to the engine compartment, as well as solenoid operated valves which stop LPG flow in the absence of +12V.

LPG systems are inspected annually as part of rego inspections. When the LPG tank is 10 years old, it's removed from the vehicle, inspected for corrosion (there never is any because the tank is not open to the atmosphere and thus cannot permit moisture to enter the tank) and it is pressure tested with compressed air. You can't say the same of petrol systems or tanks. Fires are much more likely with petrol systems than with LPG.

LPG cannot be spilled in a refuelling operation. There's no risk of static sparks igniting LPG during refuelling because an earth connection is established when the LPG nozzle is connected, before fuel can flow from the nozzle, unlike petrol, where there's always a few drops left in the nozzle.

People have a tendency to think petrol is safe, but that's mainly due to familiarity. Petrol is in fact a fairly dangerous substance to handle. There's many more safety measures built in to LPG fuel systems and refuelling stations than with petrol.

I'm 100% comfortable with LPG fuel systems.