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LPG, CNG & LNG - General Info and Issues Share experiences and problems

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LPG: When will people learn! (???)

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Old Jan 29th, 2019, 08:08   #41
mentepazza
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Engine always start on petrol. I enter the car, turn the engine on, fasten my belt,turn the radio on and switch to lpg.
You could save these pennies starting directly LPG but it doesn’t worth the hassle. 10 liters of petrol to me last 3k miles.
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Old Feb 8th, 2019, 22:07   #42
arctan
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Smile LPG 940's- no bother for me...

I'm in Wembley.
I've had two 940's on LPG with very little trouble.
Approx 100k on first car, one injector wire broke (15 min fix).
Approx 40k on second car, Earth prob (30 min fix).
Kit was transferred between cars for £800. Kit now 10 years old.
I sometimes do the two year-ish filter change (£25), sometimes get an lpg inspection.
Paying 55p per litre (Feb 019). Ave 18p per mile.
Original install by Gas4cars, Milton Keynes. Happy with them. Went for high end Prinz Kit with nice injectors (£1700). I think the retail on those injectors could be £400 and they are thought to be good for 250km or so- hence some of the higher install cost.
I've used BPH garage Slough for any LPG repairs, I hear good reports about ECOtec in west drayton but haven't used them.

And, of course, a healthy ignition system, esp the insulating items. Magnacore leads.
As others have said, get a good install (a bad installer is the root of future problems), avoid clowns if you can!
Personally, I find the stuff coming out of Diesel exhausts really offensive.
What would happen if people had their Diesel exhaust pipes pointing out of their bonnets?
More crap advise from a 'government'.
Also LPG is more frequently used, common even, in a lot of other countries.
I'm happy with it, and will budget for it on my next car.
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Old Feb 12th, 2019, 00:06   #43
CNGBiFuel
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OK, before we all go away with the idea that gassing a car is some pot of gold, it isn't. As I came in, it does take effort.

If you're going to blindly stomp in, or operate some half-baked solution, you may well get away with it, but chance is, you won't. LPG is for those of you, right from the off, willing to put the work in. It's for those that play long-game. It's not suited to a registration-plate queen or those with little will to understand it. You don't trust it to luck.

Be minded to do it right, stick it in the car you intend to keep, and don't sell. Choose very carefully. It's taken time to understnad, yet aside form houses, I can't think of many things I've done where I've made more money for less effort. Because I did 'make' money. Simply because saving the stuff is the same as earning it, and easier. Had I not gone this route, I'd have spent amounts akin to numbers many of you will prefer to deny you've trashed going with the more converntional path.
The reward comes later.
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Old Feb 12th, 2019, 09:46   #44
CNGBiFuel
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The safety thing if you stop to think about it is a non-starter. An LPG tank won't rupture as easily as petrol can splash, by quite a margin, but if you’ve got to the point where things go bang, one or the other - or both- you’re set for a bad day.

This leads to the question. match ready, take you pick - Petrol splashing over you or the whiff of gas, which sounds the most fun?
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Old Feb 12th, 2019, 10:29   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CNGBiFuel View Post
The safety thing if you stop to think about it is a non-starter. An LPG tank won't rupture as easily as petrol can splash, by quite a margin, but if you’ve got to the point where things go bang, one or the other - or both- you’re set for a bad day.

This leads to the question. match ready, take you pick - Petrol splashing over you or the whiff of gas, which sounds the most fun?
My main take away from this thread is that the real supporters of LPG own businesses and supply services to the LPG industry.

The other supporters have 20+ year old cars and then there are various posts from people not in the industry accepting that the installs have potential for much trouble and problems.

On balance I stand by my comments that for me I would not LPG as I value reliability, luggage space and convenience above the cost savings which are often no where near what people (usually in the industry) tell you.
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Old Feb 19th, 2019, 08:53   #46
mentepazza
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That’s a good point. There was a time, recent, Diesel engine were very noisy and clattery. They still are at idle and when accelerating but at the beginning of 2000 up to 2012 going Lpg on big engine was definitly an excellent reason to enjoy comfort and refinement compared to a very expensive new engine diesel.
My 320 6 in line converted LGP was much better than any diesel around (in terms of refinement). Done 160k miles with not many issues.
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Old Feb 19th, 2019, 09:22   #47
XC90Mk1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mentepazza View Post
That’s a good point. There was a time, recent, Diesel engine were very noisy and clattery. They still are at idle and when accelerating but at the beginning of 2000 up to 2012 going Lpg on big engine was definitly an excellent reason to enjoy comfort and refinement compared to a very expensive new engine diesel.
My 320 6 in line converted LGP was much better than any diesel around (in terms of refinement). Done 160k miles with not many issues.
My D5 is wonderfully smooth, powerful, has never broken down etc. I have retained my boot space and don’t have any tanks under my car preventing me off roading.

No engine management lights etc, lovely car.
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Old Mar 4th, 2019, 10:20   #48
CNGBiFuel
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Originally Posted by pinballdave View Post
What do you expect, this is an internet forum for car enthusiasts. You are going to get outspoken people from both sides, some with a vested interest, some with a single bad experience that they are going to go on and on and on and on about, and you are going to get some who delight in joining in with a subject they know very little about, and offering very little of substance apart from second hand opinions they've found from reading other forum posts.

In general most people with LPG just get on with it, they don't know or care enough about it to feel qualified to offer an opinion on a forum, so they don't get involved. You only get participation from the outliers, the ones who've had problems, or have had good reliable systems for many, many years (hence the higher proportion of older cars).

You're not going to see many people posting about LPG on brand new cars. Most people won't want to have any modifications done until after the warranty is over, and would you want to offer an opinion on a forum when you've only had experience of a conversion for a short amount of time (unless you've had a problem).

In the interest of full disclosure, I had an LPG system installed on my 850 in 2001. It is a basic mixer system, and has covered 250k on LPG in 18 years. It's had a few issues, but to my mind it's been no better or worse in reliability than the base car it is fitted to.

Would I do it again? If I was still doing high mileages, I'd much prefer an LPG converted petrol engine than a diesel. I mostly drive a diesel cars for work, and still find the old 850 a more refined driving experience.
Absolutely correct. You'll get the full range...

1) The likes of me, with an old car. Done right, doing real miles at LPG's sweet spot.
2) Someone with a lash-up conversion with every bad experience as a result.
3) Professionals with vested claims.
4) The pretenders that report on rumour.
5) And those you won't hear from. They quietly get on with it.

I can sum it up. In all other situations, particualry if you only drive a car 30,000 before getting rid, you're losing money in so many other places anyway, LPG is not for you. If you actaully drive or set to keep a car until you've done 100,000+ miles on LPG, and won't succumb to a new one out of vanity, and you do it properly, LPG works. And the longer you sustain this mantra, the sweeter it gets.
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Old Mar 12th, 2019, 02:05   #49
Russki
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XC90Mk1 View Post
OK, I will admit to being the poster of that comment....

Unfortunatly I can only say it as I find it and I maintain that close friends and others vehicles that I have been in have been very unreliable and that based on this I would not buy or consider a conversion.

Due to the nature of my work I purchase my vehicle privately and then charge 45P for the first 10,000 miles and 20P there after (I do 15-25K a year).

If I thought I could buy an LPG equipped car and run it whilst claiming 45P a mile I would do so this afternoon.

Based on experience however I don't feel I can.

To me LPG is a somewhat niche offering which is really applicable to those with the knowledge and ability to run them, a personal interest and ability to work from home or get paid if they break down.

For the average person who runs a 2012 model car onwards (as I do) and who is not interested in tinkering they are not really a reliable product based on what I have seen.

The EML on is now an MOT failure despite assurances from an LPG owner on here that its not.

My post above was regarding someone looking into converting a 2018 model T6 and I voiced my opinion that this is likely more complex and involved than they may think.

Its not for me, if you have been successful and have not had EML on etc then that's great, I am happy for you.
Oh my god! What an eye opener! Please travel to Ukraine and tell all of those private taxi drivers that they should stop immediately, because they unknowingly drive LPG all the time and it is so popular that almost any petrol station there now sells LPG.

I seen one guy with 230l of LPG tank in his a4 avant
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Old Mar 12th, 2019, 08:21   #50
mentepazza
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The fact they use it doesnt make it reliable.
I think the point is mechanics are cheap and they won’t charge you a fortune like in Uk everytime the system is at fault.
This said I have seen many Toyota Prius converted lpg in Italy by taxi drivers.
Quite complex hybrid car. It may worth the money lpg conversion.
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