Automotive propane conversion; what’s your experience?

currently not cost effective, but when gas gets over $10 a gallon, then it will be….

I like it! I bought a state service vehicle setup from factory(ford) live in a farm community,propane is easy to get. cleaner,cheaper,better for the motor.Local Ag co-op should have info

I haven’t performed a gas-to-propane conversion, but I do use propane extensively, so I can answer some of your questions. I have converted propane to gas, however. I’ve heard some people say 10% reductions in power and fuel economy can be expected, but I recall it being more like 20-25% in reality.

Propane is a liquid at room temperature only when it is properly pressurized. It’s been a long time, so I can’t remember if there were any issues with fueling and storage (it has been 20+ years).

Propane burns cleanly, but that’s just about the only positive thing I can say about it as a motor fuel. I had a propane-burning 4×4 when I was a kid, and it was underpowered and got poorer fuel economy that what it got after I rebuilt the engine to burn gasoline instead. I would NEVER convert a car to propane unless I had a cheap, indefinite supply.

Propane used to be cheap, but now is outrageously expensive. I expect between its high cost and the relatively poorer fuel economy you’d get that in all probability you’d be spending more money. Propane is better for the environment, but not the pocketbook. Propane prices are illogically tied to the price of crude oil, even though most propane is generated as a by-product of natural gas extraction. This means that even though your propane is likely derived from natural gas, you will still suffer the same volatility of price that is currently affecting the gasoline market.

I love propane for my barbecue, I love the job it does drying clothes in the dryer, cooking on the stove, in the fireplace and heating water. I don’t find it to be a suitable fuel for heating my small home ($600 worth every 2 months during the winter). As a motor fuel, I found it to be inferior to gasoline or diesel.

For me, living in a remote area, propane is a necessary evil, but it’s best suited to certain heating applications. Since it has all of the negatives of gasoline (with the exception of emissions) plus the additional headaches of price, supply, handling, etc., I don’t think a gasoline-to-propane conversion is worth the time, energy and money.

As a fossil fuel, it is ultimately no better than gasoline, although its energy yield to CO2 pollution ratio is better than gas. If it was cheap, you could make an argument for it, but given current market conditions, it’s pretty pointless.