Hey, I was getting my Amateur radio plate registered last week and when the nice lady returned my registration form I noticed in the "Fuel type" space it said "propane". I questioned that, and told her it was gasoline. She tells me the VIN indicates the fuel type as propane. I had her correct it. Now I want to fill my tank with propane. It's about a third the cost of gasoline right now. VA6DAB
Be mighty glad it did not say "Plutonium". P.S. Do not use the left over gas for your grill. It will not work out well for you or the grill.
I thought you do not get as much MPG with LPG since it does not contain as much energy as gasoline. I think in the long run you end up paying more per mile, but not sure.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Aug 3 2007, 06:48 PM) [snapback]490194[/snapback]</div> That is correct. Propane has much less energy content than gasoline but it burns a whole lot cleaner.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Aug 4 2007, 08:48 AM) [snapback]490194[/snapback]</div> I would doubt that. All the taxis in Sydney run on LPG because it is cheaper than gasoline. The MPG for the average taxi is about the same as an equivalent non-modified car, but here in Aust, LPG is about half the price of gas, so significant cost savings for the taxi operators. Of course, our gas is way higher in price compared to the US.
Yes, Propane gives a bit less energy than gasoline, perhaps as much as 20% less. It burns cleaner, and Propane is much less expensive. So it would still be much cheaper to use it than gasoline. Hey, no bladder in a propane tank. But my car is really gasoline powered, just that either Toyota or our DMV messed up with the VIN coding. Probably our DMV.
hhmm So could we replace the bladder tank with a propane tank? Possibly the spare tire location also?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Aug 3 2007, 12:33 PM) [snapback]489979[/snapback]</div> Better let Toyota know to include a propane BBQ as option 7 for the 2008 model. Think of all the time saved by cooking your dinner in the car on the way home. :lol:
I'll head down to the conversion place downtown tomorrow... See what they say So then as a LONG Term goal, it'd have Plug-in Conversion Solar Roof Converson, Unleaded(Smaller Tank though), and LPG... Would that be a If its Energy.. I will use? The Steaks
For conversion you need to have some addetif put into the propane tank to keep the cylinder head from damaging!
When I was growing up, the last big gas crisis was going on in the 1970's. My dad worked for a company that converted cars and trucks to run on propane. Our family car was a Ford Torino (with a 289 V8) that ran on propane. We also had a big Ford econline van on propane. Here are some pros and cons that I remember: - The propane tank is heavy and large and it has to be mounted somewhere that the Prius designers probably would not agree with. In the Ford Torino it was far forward in the trunk and that of course reduced the trunk space. In the Ford Econoline van it had two large tanks mounted underneath each side. Where would you put one in a Prius? Not practical. - The range was amazing. In our van we once drove from Raleigh, NC, to Miami, then to Illinios, then back to NC and still had fuel remaining. The car also had a huge range. It also burns near 100% clean. - Fill up. Most places that will fill your grill tank will not fill your car. Wheneever we went on a long trip we had to carefully plan where to fill up propane. AAA can not bring you propane if you run out along side the road. - As one poster stated above, propane does not have the same power as gasoline. The MPG's were always slightly less than a normal gas powered car. - It will probably void every Toyota warranty you can imagine. I like my Prius as it is and would not do this. IF someonee does, good luck and I will be interested to see how it works.
My car was just converted into a LPG-hybrid! See the topic here: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...oyota-prius-2nd-gen-converted-lpg-bybrid.html
Hi Tom, I'm not sure which is the difference between the propane and LPG, but from what I've read on [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane]Propane - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame], they are almost same thing: "Propane is a three-[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon"]carbon[/ame] [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkane"]alkane[/ame], normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. It is derived from other [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum"]petroleum[/ame] products during oil or [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas"]natural gas[/ame] processing. It is commonly used as a fuel for [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engines"]engines[/ame], oxy-gas torches, [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue"]barbecues[/ame], [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_stove"]portable stoves[/ame] and residential [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_heating"]central heating[/ame]. When used as vehicle fuel, it is commonly known as [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquefied_petroleum_gas"]liquefied petroleum gas[/ame] (LPG or LP gas), which can be a mixture of propane along with small amounts of [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene"]propylene[/ame], [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane"]butane[/ame], and [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butylene"]butylene[/ame]. An [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroma_compound"]odorant[/ame] such as [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanethiol"]ethanethiol[/ame] or [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiophene"]thiophene[/ame] is added so that people can easily smell the gas in case of a leak." Source: Wikipedia
IDK what your use is but my prius basically stays in the Baton Rouge area it would make sense to drop the 12 gallon fuel tank and install a simple 6 gallon gas and a 5 gallon propane tank this way locally we use propane cutting our fuel cost in half prolonging the life of the engine too. Basically the range would be about 450miles using both fuels 225+ gas. IDK about you but 225 miles 70 mph is over 3.25 hours driving ever since back surgery I stop every 2 hours for fuel and stretch. On the Interstate I would hate to search for propane the refueling process is too time consuming to warrant interstate travel as of yet maybe later this can change but so far I would wish to go with gas on the big road propane locally. I would say this because the incredible range prius owners enjoy the 12 gallon tank is really overkill for a mostly local driver.
