Advantages:
Cheap fuel, reliable, good for the enviroment
Disadvantages:
Takes up some space, only 1200 filling stations
Recommendable Yes:
How would you like to pay 1995 prices again for your fuel? That is between 56p - 61p a litre! Too good to true? A gimmick? Not so, it's even encouraged by the Government.
There is no catch, if you want to pay these prices, consider having your car converted to run on LPG.
LPG is short for Liquid Petroleum Gas, commonly known as Auto Gas, most petroldrivencars or vans (not diesels) can be converted to run on LPG which almost cuts your fuel costs in half.
Currently, there are around 140.000 cars running around the UK able to run on LPG & 11 million worldwide. With around 1200 filling stations with LPG facilities in the UK you are never far away from being able to fill up.
LPG is a by product of the extraction & refining of crude oil giving no burn off & it is very environmentally friendly. LPG vehicles emit less Co2 gases, little sulphur & no soot particles. In the UK we export about 45% of our LPG supply.
When LPG is stored under pressure at certain temperatures it becomes a dense liquid allowing a large quantity to be stored in a small space.
How does it work in a car?
LPG cars run on both fuel & gas separately, in most cases the spare wheel is removed & a round tank that stores the gas about the same size is fitted in its place.
There are pipes that run along the length of the vehicle underneath next to the fuel pipes that carry the gas to the enginecompartment. Additional injectors are fitted along with an additional ECU to monitor its progress.
Externally, the only thing that distinguishes a LPG car from a normal petrol one is the extra filler neck to allow the gas to be filled. It usually sits next to the petrol one on the rear wing.
Internally the only extra item fitted is a digital gauge to allow you to monitor how much gas in your tank & a switch to allow the driver to switch from fuel to gas or gas to fuel.
Each time you start the vehicle it starts on fuel & switches automatically to gas about 15 seconds later, so it is important to have some fuel in the tank.
What about performance & fuel consumption?
If you drive two identical cars with & without LPG I doubt if you would notice any difference in performance. However, connect these vehicles up to an engine analyser & it would show a slight reduction in performance on the LPG car.
Fuel consumption for one litre of LPG is slightly less than one litre of fuel, however paying just 56p - 61p a litre for LPG still means you can save a fortune depending on your annual mileage.
Firstly you can't accidentally put petrol or diesel into a LPG tank but filling it up is slightly different. The filler pipe has to be inserted into the tube & a lever on the pipe turned 45 degrees to lock it in place to allow for a gas tight seal. Press the trigger & the LPG starts filling into the tank, just like fuel it will cut off when its full. You just release the lever & place the filler pipe back into the forecourt machine.
You can't siphon LPG out of a tank so no worries about it being stolen. If you travel abroad you will need an adapter as they use a slightly different filler pipe design on the continent.
Is LPG safe?
Safer that petrol to be honest, the LPG tanks are stronger & they don't rely on their mountings to retain their structural integrity. They will vent safely in an accident despite operating at higher pressures.
Unfortunately you won't be allowed in the Channel tunnel with an LPG vehicle, ferry only I'm afraid.
Once registered you don't pay the London congestion charge although that is being reviewed at present. Because the Co2 is lower it some cases many vehicles drop down a road tax banding meaning cheaper road tax.
The Government have agreed not to raise the tax on LPG by more that just over 1p a year until 2011, although to be honest who would trust a bunch of worthless politicians to keep their word!
How easy is it to convert to LPG?
I deliberately kept this part until last, LPG is nothing new, many vehicles were converted in the 1970s to run on LPG but due to the fact that many engines would only run on high octane fuels in those days they suffered all sorts of engine problems.
Modern day cars don't have the same issues, in the 1990s the Government agreed to subsidise the conversion of LPG. The owner would pay anything between £1500 - £2000 for the conversion & the Government gave you a large proportion of it back.
Just like everything else, once it got popular the nasty Government & those nasty worthless politicians stopped paying out. They official line was that LPG wasn't making that much environmental difference; the truth was they wanted to save money.
Kits have to installed by professional registered installers, this is not a job for a Sunday morning in the drive way with a pair of pliers & an electric drill.
Another option is to purchase a new or used car that has already been converted thus saving you the installation charge. Go to Google & enter LPG & you'll see your options.
Used cars sell at a slightly higher premium with LPG but not as much as the true cost of the conversions. You will see the benefits of running n LPG if you clock up average or higher than average miles annually. However, one trip to the shops on Saturday afternoon isn't going to be cost effective giving the cost of the conversion in the first place.
Usually every 20.000 miles they need some minor work, there are two filters that need to cleaned/changed & a regular inspection for leaks. Little else.
Lastly, what about the spare wheel?
To be honest there is little room for them once the gas tank is installed. Commercial vehicles usually have them bolted in somewhere inside just in case they have a puncture. With cars carry a 'get you home kit' which will suffice. Punctures are not so common as they used to be & not carrying a spare wheel is less of an issue that it once was.
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