# LPG Conversion



## 113663 (Jun 24, 2008)

Hi
My 7.5 litre ford drinks like a fish!! :x 
Had a quote for 95 litre tank and four filling points = £2600.00
Is this reasonable?
I know I wont get anymore mpg but will save as we are looking around 60p litre.
Anyone else converted?
Any issues in doing so?


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*LPG*

Hi

I have no idea about the cost of the conversion.

When I looked into RV'ing, I was told to expect to loose 10 - 15% in terms of economy, but obviously the fuel used is about half price, so this more than compensates.

I think OLLEY has a LPG RV.

Russell


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## 103356 (Mar 11, 2007)

Although I have not got my RV converted, I did have my Ford F150 pick-up truck (5.4 litre V6) converted. The difference in mpg between petrol and LPG is insignificant. At 10-12 mpg, the difference is about 1mpg, well within normal variation anyway. However, although the cost of the fuel is much lower, you need to calculate the distance you will have to travel in order to recoup the outlay on the conversion. The reason I got my truck converted, but not the RV, is that I do about 10 times the mileage in the truck, so it paid for itself in less than 2 years. In my case the 4 1/2 years since then have provided major savings. Unless you are doing fairly high mileage then it is going to take a long time to recover the nearly £3000 it will cost to get the RV converted (around 12,000 miles, even at 12mpg, on the current differential, and even longer if the price difference narrows again). On the sort of annual mileage I was likely to be doing in the RV it was going to take longer to break even than I would probably keep the vehicle for. 

There is also the issue of the weight of the tank and contents, which will decrease your loading margin accordingly. If the RV has been re-badged to be under 7.5t, but was originally higher, then you are eating into the remaining margin quite a lot. You need quite large tanks to be worthwhile for a vehicle with that sort of consumption. I have 140l (2 x 70l tanks) on my truck, which I reckon is about the smallest size worth having. LPG tanks may also need to be installed behind the rear axle, thus changing the axle loadings on both front and rear, with all the associated issues there. Suggest you do your sums (both financial and weight-wise) before taking the plunge.


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi I have a disco that runs on gas,it does about 15 mpg on petrol and about 14 mpg on gas,thus at my last calculation (before fuel went up) = about 32 mpg=petrol eqivelent.The disco was already converted so I only can win,that is untill the engine packs up early as my mate who is a mecanic says it will!!! He has a waiting list for taxis that run on gas to convert to diesil fuel/engines.He swops about 6 a year all have dead engines due to gas at about 100,000 mls,so it must take it's time before burning valves etc, out £2600 buys a lot of petrol that will not dammage your engine,but at the same time it feels good every time i filled up on gas
terry :lol: :lol:


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## olley (May 1, 2005)

Hi Yam I had my Brave converted 2 years ago and have since done about 24,000 miles which on my calculations puts me at the break even point vis-a-vis the cost of the conversion.

Mines the older gas carb not the latest multipoint conversion which I recommend you go for. In my experience you will lose around 20-25% on MPG which fits in with the fact that LPG has about a third less power in it than petrol. Some posters agree with this percentage loss other's claim much less, why this should be I have no idea as I have no reason to doubt people like maddie.

I would certainly recommend a minimum of 200litres of LPG otherwise you will get fed up refuelling every 100 miles or so. I have two 100litre tanks behind the axle giving me about 170 actual capacity, they had to shorten the main fuel tank by about a third to fit them in.

4 fillers sounds like overkill but you can never have to many, especially in the UK with our overpowering H&S regulations, go to France and the hoses are half as thick and twice to three times as long making filling easy.

If I remember rightly mine was £1000 for the conversion plus £500 for each tank and £500 to cut the petrol tank down, all plus Vat.

John (Roadrunner) has just had his 7.5 converted, but you may need to post on the _other_ site to get a reply from him.

Olley


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## 107088 (Sep 18, 2007)

95 litres isn't enough. 

other than that, nuff said already. 

I'll convert, maybe next year, and look for 3x70 litre tanks, as I average about 12K per year, and it wont take long before I am in profit. 




( actually, if I get paid for the last few jobs, I'll convert in November/December when things slow down a bit.)


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## des (Aug 13, 2005)

hi yam

i have 3 x 70litre tanks, get about 8-9mpg, and usually pay less than 50p. the level indicators are useless, so i reset the trip mileage when i fill, and reckon to do at least 225 miles before refilling. i have 2 fillers, and have never wanted more.

des


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## 98452 (Apr 2, 2006)

I had my 460 done with the sequential system and there wasn't much change out of 3 grand but did include 3 x 100 ltr tank and a filler on each side.

The 460 is a gas guzzler but found my LPG mpg mirrors the petrol mpg figures and the more fuel they drink the sooner the conversion will pay you back.

I buy LPG locally at 40.8p a ltr plus vat.

I will at some stage add so more gas tanks.

My bus run beautifully on LPG and thoroughly recommend it


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

I also have a Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 with the sequential system and does 15mpg on petrol and 13mpg on LPG


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## johng1974 (Jan 17, 2007)

Mine is 100 L single tank.
One day may get another added... Have not driven the thing enough to know how far that will get me..

Looking into the monopoint system this week, as how it got an LPGA cert. is beyond me..

sorry not much help


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

I have just come back from a trip that has involved both motorway and dual carriageway travel together with hill climbing, some as much as 1:4 and country lanes.

I have a Ford Econoline 450 6.8 litre R/V with an LPG conversion. Last night with much headbanging my family and I worked out an average of 8.34 mpg with the motorway travel and 6.42mpg for the other.

My questions are: 
1) does this sound reasonable?
2) How often should I get the LPG conversion serviced and would this make any difference to the fuel consumption? (I am sure when it was first fitted the mpg was around 10mpg).
3) does using cruise control make much difference?

LPG prices have varied from 49.9p/litre (Asda) to 59.9p/litre (BP)-how can there be such a variation in prices?!


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## 118328 (Nov 20, 2008)

I have a 31ft Damon RV. I have just been converted !! £3100. Filled the tanks in Portsmouth and then took the ferry to Bilbao, got all the way to Madrid and they ran out within 2 miles of the LPG station, re-fuelled - 84 euros, then went on to my house in Malaga and have not yet run out, therefore 84 euros from Bilbao to Madrid and approx 75 euros from Madrid to Malaga. I love it !!


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## 109412 (Jan 22, 2008)

Hi we had a Fleetwood Pace Arrow 7.5 v8,sold early on this year.we had a gas conversion done in chorley lancs for £1600    for one 130ltr tank it ran great alot smoother than petrol,then we added another 130ltr tank for £300
Both of them were put under the bed .we had no probs in getting to our fuel point but i think 2 points would make it easier.we have just got a :lol: :lol: dodge 2500 truck to pull our 5th wheel trailer and just had this gassed we paid £2500 but we are down south now,the installer said the installation prices are going up all over the country quite rapidly so don't hang about get it done and get to the sunshine!!!!!!!! good luck


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## rickblake (Jan 14, 2009)

*FORD E350 7.5l v8 dual fuel 1987 RV leisurecraft lpg*

Hello everyone

just bought this RV with 7.5l v8 carb engine with lpg gas conversion in may 2008 with three tanks , 90l, 79l, 80l ie total of 240 litres. Looks like done 150 miles on 120 litres which is nuts!!!! only 5.75 mpg on gas mainly on M4 motorway at 55mph - surely it should be nearer to 12. If this is the case then any ideas on improving performance ie tuning etc

Help much appreciated :roll:

Also as new to this - where do I go for lpg system check and also engine service - I am in bagshot surrey jcn3 m3

cheers

rick


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## chasper (Apr 20, 2008)

Found 2 installers in Surrey, try a search at www. go-autogas.com. Hope this helps. It sounds that you may have a problem with the system with that sort of consumption. Cheers. Chasper.


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## G2EWS (May 1, 2006)

Hi All,

As is known I believe that LPG conversion is a false economy, IF you are trying to save money. Unless you do a lot of miles and intend to keep your bus for a long time.

I created a spread sheet which many of you have now.

Here is a calculation of a typical costing based on the conversion you mention:

Petrol 
Monthly Mileage 500
MPG 10
£ Per Litre £0.88
£monthly £200.05 
Annual Cost £2,400.55 


LPG 
Monthly Mileage 500
MPG 8
£ Per Litre £0.60
£monthly £170.49 
Annual Cost £2,045.93 

Cost of install	£2600 
Payback in Months	88

So for an average mileage of 500 per month the payback at todays rates is 7 years 4 months!

This is based on published figures of loosing approx 20% of your fuel economy.


Best regards

Chris
PS Don't shoot me I am only the messenger :lol:


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

Interested in your post, Maddie.
I had a Land Rover 2a converted in 1972! Naturally aspirated, of course.
At the time, it was deemed essential to replace the valves and seats with hardened ones and I was told to always run the first 5 miles and the last 2 miles of any journey on petrol in order to keep the coking going.
Does that advice still hold good today?
Patrick


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi Patrick,some are claiming that hardened valve seats etc stop the wear / melting.My mate thinks it delays :lol: Others swear by valve lube additives,again my mate thinks not :lol: #(and after paying for additives you are making the gas dearer :lol While these things all may well help prolong the life of the engine the inevitable melting will happen 8O :lol: It is just a case of when 8O or if you have still got the vehicle.My disco runs for a couple of mins on petrol before changing to gas so this may help ?The v8 disco is a superb drive ,much better than the td 5 my son sometimes uses but alas without the gas jobby would be far too expensive to run.
The good thing is v8;s are ten a penny at the moment :lol: whether or not I am still running on gas is another question :lol: 
terry


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

maddie said:


> The good thing is v8;s are ten a penny at the moment :lol:
> terry


You are exaggerating 8O I got £50 for my disco V8 and that was without MOT :lol:


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Awww, don't tell me that Patrick,I need a new ecu for the one I have and they want £800 for that :lol: 
terry


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Hi Yam,
You will never live long enough to break even on a LPG instalation cost on a private leisure vehicle.
Great if you can pick one up that someone else has had the outlay and you can benifit from the economy. 
The only other benifit is resale value.

Ray.


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