Propane Conversion

[rebel003]

I am considering converting my 6.5 Honda dredge motor to use propane. Does anyone run propane powered equipment now? If so how does it perform? If you had it all to do again would you still use it?

Any input would be appreciated.

 

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[echidna gold]

I am considering converting my 6.5 Honda dredge motor to use propane. Does anyone run propane powered equipment now? If so how does it perform? If you had it all to do again would you still use it?

Any input would be appreciated.

I love propane - motors last forever on the stuff. Every oil change comes out golden looking new. Mates courier van, he pulled the head on a 4cyl 600k motor run from day one on propane - still had hone marks in the bore.

But - why would you want the extra complexity and refuelling headache on a little cheap to run / cheap to replace motor?

 

[Picker Pete]

Alan, I had a long talk with a guy from michigan I met over at Coker Creek GPAA claim that swore by propane. Said it was very big up there and propane was ALOT cheeper up there than down here. The obvious is you get alot more life out of your motor, oil wiill look brand new whenever you check it. Google the conversions and youll find one for the honda dredge motors but to be honest, propane isnt really that cheep in the south but I could see doing the conversion for motor life but whos ever heard of a briggs or honda motor actually die that wasnt properly used and maintained?

 

[Texas Kid]

Howdy Reb! Just wanted to input a little something that might help you. Propane is outstanding fuel as you might already know! One thing I did learn is, it will work in most engines for conversions or duel fuel. But it is best used in engines with a higher compression ratio ie. 8.5 to 1 or higher, Reason being it is a very volatile fuel,vaporizes at about -40 F and is a real strong 135 octane!! Your engine will also wear much better with hard seats and valves. Like the Vortec engines .
Lower compression engines run rough on propane. I think most factory gas engines are about 5.5 to 1. They are not that efficient to convert. I'm not familiar with your application ,but I would check your power curves on your engine before you spend the money for vaporizers and such! Good luck ! Hope it works well for you!!

 

[texasred777]

I'm not familiar with the engine you have; but I've run propane on several vehicles in the past. I delivered propane (and butane) for several years back in the 70s and 80s. We ran the trucks on the propane also. I had an old Chevy PU with a dual gasoline/propane setup. I drove this truck from 1979 until about 1998. One year I ran over 4k gallons of propane thru it as a service truck while doing service station equipment repair and installation. I never knew why, but the timing chain let go. The rest of the engine looked like new inside. It had 257k on it. When the timing chain let go, it bent the valves so a new engine was in order. The second engine had about 350k on it and was running great when I sold it. I'm really sold on propane as a motor fuel. BUT, if you don't have 'hard' seats, you're in for trouble. I pulled the head off of the 1968 Chevy 292 cu.in. straight 6-cylinder truck engine that was running on propane. It only had about 58k on it and started 'missing'. Three of the valves seats were so worn that the valves were about ready to drop thru the seats. Replaced the head with one with hard seats and had no more problems. Chevy started using hard seats in about 1973. I don't know if this helps or not; but just my 2 cents worth.

 

[kazcoro]

My two cents. Well, more like a half cent. We had a problem with the carberueter (sp) on the forklift at work. There was a coolant line that needed to run through the carb to keep it from icing up. The coolant line didn't work, the lift would die in ten minutes from icing. Don't know if this is relevant in your situation, hope it helps a little.

 

[jpdriver1]

I've looked into that also --- here is a link to a site I found

Generator Tri Fuel & Dual Fuel Propane Conversion & Natural Gas Conversion Kit

 

[russau]

I also have this engine on my dredge. ive run it for 11 years now with proper maintanance. i like the idea of running my home 10 KW home generator off of natural gas, but useing propane on my dredge isnt a goos idea for me! the Tank is to heavy! ive got limited room on my dredge for anything else!ive been modifying my dredge for sometime now to reduce weight, why add more now??everything else about the propane sounds like a good idea!

 

[Jimmydolittle]

Here in Indiana right now, propane is selling for $5.00 - $6.00 per gallon. They say we have a shortage.