Propane conversion

[Hoser John]

The only dredge I needed 5 gallons on was a 6/8/10-12"-" so no problems with anything else. Lotza luck-John

[libertydave]

Other thoughts!!!!

Hey, might consider nitrous oxide! As a gas it is relatively clean burning and generates produces more power. We used it with 135 octane aviation gas on Rolls Royce V-12 Merlin engines when we raced unlimited hydroplanes back in the 1970s. We recently used bio-fuel made from camolina (desert weed) on a proof-of-concept experimental boat here at Boeing. When it burns it smells like french fries. Just a thought.

LD

[Bonaro]

Are you making a joke?
Nitrous Oxide is not a flammable gas, it is an oxidizer to be used with a separate fuel. Not useful at all on a dredge pump

[Hoser John]

gives ya a good buzz at the dentists office though. Still interested to hear if ya found out anything concrete about small engine use of propane,right,wrong or indifferent ,knowledge is great as only heard/seen on 12+ hp engines for generators-John

[libertydave]

Just kidding!!!
LD

[Bonaro]

Thanks for clearing that up, LD

Hoser...Im just waiting for payday and I will do my own R&D then report back

[vortxrex]

Pretty easy to run on both gas or LP. Most basic setup is (engine out of gas) adding propane inside the aircleaner. Engine uses gas carb as a throttle plate. Commercial kits have a vacuum switch/regulator to shut off flow if engine is not running (good idea right??)

Trick is to get the mixture right so you are not wasting fuel. Lean it till you just lose RPM, then back it up a little so you are slightly rich.

I put an LP set-up on my old Ford truck w/ the 300 straight six. IMPCO made the kit. Truck ran super smooth on LP. way smoother than it ever did on gas. No changes to the timing. It was always disappointing when I had to switch back to gas

[Hoser John]

Seen a zillion large engines applications but small engines is still the question? If it was easy or worked better/cheaper than gas ,then common sense would dictate that that setup would be a common sight but it's not?? All apps I've seen utilize a radiator and I've always run air cooled engines. John

[Bonaro]

Propane is a refrigerant. Engine size controls volume of lp used. Larger engines require a higher flow so icing is an issue hence the radiator and more modern ones use coolant from the motor to heat the regulator.

Small engines have much less flow so air temp warms the regulator. The benefits of LP are real but the reason it has not gained in popularity is mostly due to difficulty in refueling. An urban soccer mom is gonna be lost in trying to figure out how to have the bottle refilled or even finding a place to buy it. You can buy gasoline on every corner. For a small engine, particularly a dredge motor, I can bring enough fuel for a week in a 20# bottle or in a dozen or so disposable camp bottles.

I ordered a dedicated propane conversion kit from US Carbs, should be here Wednesday. I am going 100% lp and doing away with the gas tank altogether.
Stay tuned for the progress report

[russau]

Dan what will be the cost of this conversion for you?