Auto-LPG Conversion Thread

**ssalonga** · January 1st, 2008 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by mark_t

Hi Guys!

Ako i am for the promotion of lpg, lng for auto use pero ang hindi ko maintindihan eh bakit inu una pa natin i export ang natural gas natin at import naman tayo lpg it does not make sense to me.

mark_t that's a very interesting question, and i'd like to take a swing at it if you don't mind. I asked the same question last year when I first researched what I could do to reduce my individual carbon emission contribution to global warming.

You're right, we do produce our own Natural Gas from the Malampaya field in Northern Palawan which is exported as such. Natural gas is extracted directly from the ground and is made up of all the usual gases found in hydrocarbon petroleum. The Rep of the Phil has already commissioned franchises for 50 to 60 buses (can't remember exactly) to use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from the Bicutan daughter terminal of the NG pipeline from Batangas City Mother Terminal which is connected to the Malampaya fields by UW pipeline.

LPG on the other hand has traditionally been extracted as a by-product of petroleum refining (about 3% of the petroleum feed stock) most of the rest is gasoline, kerosene (JET A-1) diesel and bunker C. However, newer NG fields are putting up processing plants that strip LPG and other gases directly from Natural Gas. We do not yet have this ability since the demand for LPG is still quite low, but will certainly have it in the future as we join the LPG Highway (a pipeline that will originate in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, pass through Palawan on the way to China) in the next ten years. At that point we should be a net exporter of NG and LPG with a good supply of LPG.

If you check most of your LPG conversion suppliers you will find that they also carry kits for CNG (called "metano" in Italy) which should allow you to use CNG in Bicutan in your motorcar. The tanks will be heavier, efficiency lower than LPG and hardware more expensive.

That's what I know on that issue for now.....hope that's helpful to everyone... Cheers!

steve

**ghosthunter** · January 1st, 2008 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by webmiester

By any chance would you be representing a particular company if you were able to go? NAIDASS perhaps?

I would be representing myself and similar private end-users of auto-LPG.

**emghee** · January 3rd, 2008 04:57 AM

Hmmm... As of now, may mga taxi dito sa Ortigas Center na naka LPG converted na yung kotse nila. Sabi nila, medyo mahina daw yung hatak kumpara sa Gas. Kasi alam nyo naman na pag taxi, unahan sa pasahero. Less power daw talaga... pero is it true na mahina talaga or depende sa Car model?

Since i just read sa thread na idealy, 2000 model and up yung idealy ang gusto nila i-market wih the company who is promoting this kind of alternaive.

Eh pano naman yung mga Old car models? Applicable pa rin kaya to? Like Year 1990 and below. Sigurado may interesado rin sa kanila.

**ghosthunter** · January 3rd, 2008 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by emghee

Hmmm... As of now, may mga taxi dito sa Ortigas Center na naka LPG converted na yung kotse nila. Sabi nila, medyo mahina daw yung hatak kumpara sa Gas. Kasi alam nyo naman na pag taxi, unahan sa pasahero. Less power daw talaga... pero is it true na mahina talaga or depende sa Car model?

generally the carb type LPG will result in less power than gasoline but only by 5 to 10 percent if the engine was properly tuned.

Since i just read sa thread na idealy, 2000 model and up yung idealy ang gusto nila i-market wih the company who is promoting this kind of alternaive.

Eh pano naman yung mga Old car models? Applicable pa rin kaya to? Like Year 1990 and below. Sigurado may interesado rin sa kanila.

Older cars can be converted to LPG. It simply depends on the engine type if you are going to use the carb or SGI type LPG kits.

One reason why maybe LPG companies would prefer to market LPG kits to more recent cars is the cost versus savings analysis. An old car like the lancer box type has a value of less than P100k. Would an owner of such invest P30K (amlost a third of the car's value) to make it run on LPG?

**eyshmechanic** · January 3rd, 2008 11:09 AM

hi gh, i have toyota 4k engine sa jp ko. pwede ko ba i-cnvert to lpg. where can i get literature regarding lpg conversion and where can i get the hardwares. kasi gusto ako ang gumawa. tnx

**ssalonga** · January 3rd, 2008 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by eyshmechanic

hi gh, i have toyota 4k engine sa jp ko. pwede ko ba i-cnvert to lpg. where can i get literature regarding lpg conversion and where can i get the hardwares. kasi gusto ako ang gumawa. tnx

Hi there, eyshmechanic! Glad to finally meet someone who wants to DIY his own conversion. I got most of my initial information from this website:

http://wps.com/LPG/LPG-book-final.html

more information on Propane conversion kits here:

http://cars.rasoenterprises.com/index.html

I have some Do-It-Yourself installation experience and parts and would gladly share any comments and insights. Just ask.

steve

**eyshmechanic** · January 3rd, 2008 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by ssalonga

Hi there, eyshmechanic! Glad to finally meet someone who wants to DIY his own conversion. I got most of my initial information from this website:

http://wps.com/LPG/LPG-book-final.html

more information on Propane conversion kits here:

http://cars.rasoenterprises.com/index.html

I have some Do-It-Yourself installation experience and parts and would gladly share any comments and insights. Just ask.

steve

hi steve, thanks for the info and don't worry you will hear a lot from me he he!

**ghosthunter** · January 3rd, 2008 09:17 PM

slightly OT: if this goes on, we actually might have enough people to form an auto-LPG users EB.

**niky** · January 4th, 2008 12:54 PM

Hmmm... just talked to Tartarini... they quoted me 66k pesos for an SGI kit with the donut tank (that fits in the spare tire well... that's 6k alone!).

The SGI kit requires no holes to be bored in your intake manifold... it'll use your stock injectors, with a computer-controlled valve system to seamlessly switch between gas and LPG on the run. There's also a bundled ECU (which probably explains the price... most ECUs cost 20-40k pesos) that'll monitor the system and switch back to gas if anything goes wrong. The whole system uses your stock timing maps and fuel maps...

Supposedly, the difference in power is very slight (na-dyno-test din nila), and with a donut tank, I won't have to sacrifice luggage capacity... just imagine... a 1000+ kilometer range with two full tanks and a trunkful of luggage...

Going there this Saturday. Will take pics.

**ssalonga** · January 4th, 2008 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by niky

The SGI kit requires no holes to be bored in your intake manifold... it'll use your stock injectors, with a computer-controlled valve system to seamlessly switch between gas and LPG on the run. There's also a bundled ECU (which probably explains the price... most ECUs cost 20-40k pesos) that'll monitor the system and switch back to gas if anything goes wrong. The whole system uses your stock timing maps and fuel maps...

niky,

I am really curious how they are able to use your stock injectors to feed propane into your intake manifold. The stock injector only handle liquid fuel (not gas like lpg), unless they propose to inject liquid lpg through the same injector. The pressure requirements for liquid lpg would mean that the injector must handle upwards of 300 psi!

I have been researching and only GTI in Australia has developed such an injector and it has to replace your stock injectors! I suspect they will use an ordinary mixer to feed your intake manifold and use an emulator to "fool" your injectors when operating on lpg. That way no extra vapor injectors, no extra holes!

Sequential Gas Injection usually requires vapor injectors in each cylinder, its best to find out exactly what hardware you are getting, you may be paying more than you need to.

BTW, what car and engine are you installing it in?

regards,

steve