Just installed LPG system on my car

[Noble_Design]

Being someone who is hesitant to do any modifications to a car (save for cosmetic ones such as alloy wheels) I finally gave in and installed an LPG system into my car after seeing how much gasoline prices has risen since Covid restrictions has been lifted plus the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Cost me 31,500 baht and the car had to spend one whole day (from 8AM till almost 7PM) to get everything done but finally I am getting to drive more without worrying too much about the cost anymore.

With this latest addition, my household now has cars that can run on almost all fuels sold in Thailand (save for E85 & B20). My wife is driving a CNG/NGV equipped car (factory fitted from the car maker) and there's a pickup truck for weekend use that runs on diesel.

[kalyan]

does the investment upfront works really wise ?  do you have a Return of investment possibly under 4 years ?

the engine over heats up more while running in gas than an liquid fuel, the seals, more on oil consumption, warrenty out, possibly insurance cover reviewed are there.

[Noble_Design]

22 minutes ago, kalyan said:

does the investment upfront works really wise ?  do you have a Return of investment possibly under 4 years ?

the engine over heats up more while running in gas than an liquid fuel, the seals, more on oil consumption, warrenty out, possibly insurance cover reviewed are there.

In my case the ROI would be about 1 - 1.5 years. I spend on average 4,000 baht/mth on gas, now with LPG I am expecting around 1,500 - 2,000 baht. 

In the past LPG has a bad reputation but all this boils down to the user not properly taking care of the system. There are filters that need to be changed every 20,000km and gas lines that needs replacing every 100,000km. Majority of users neglect to do these basic and not expensive maintenance which leads to a whole lot of problem.

Read this article about why LPG is actually good:

https://www.elgas.com.au/blog/2242-does-lpg-autogas-conversion-damage-your-engine/

Consumption-wise, LPG on average will consume 20% more than gasoline but gasoline price is now 260% more expensive than LPG.

[Marc26]

12 minutes ago, Noble_Design said:

In my case the ROI would be about 1 - 1.5 years. I spend on average 4,000 baht/mth on gas, now with LPG I am expecting around 1,500 - 2,000 baht. 

In the past LPG has a bad reputation but all this boils down to the user not properly taking care of the system. There are filters that need to be changed every 20,000km and gas lines that needs replacing every 100,000km. Majority of users neglect to do these basic and not expensive maintenance which leads to a whole lot of problem.

Read this article about why LPG is actually good:

https://www.elgas.com.au/blog/2242-does-lpg-autogas-conversion-damage-your-engine/

Consumption-wise, LPG on average will consume 20% more than gasoline but gasoline price is now 260% more expensive than LPG.

And think of all the time you save at the LPG station, always drive by and no on there  :)

[Noble_Design]

23 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

And think of all the time you save at the LPG station, always drive by and no on there  :)

That's true and interestingly I have to wait much longer to fill up on CNG when driving my wife's car because I have to compete with all those taxis and public vans. CNG for public transport (taxis and vans) are subsidized by the government so there's more incentive for them to switch to NGV/CNG.

However for personal use, LPG is actually a bit cheaper than CNG. And LPG is much more widely available in the provinces.

[Noble_Design]

Some update on LPG consumption, I just filled up my tank yesterday although it wasn't completely empty yet.

When I first filled the tank fully I reset my odometer to 0km. For this fill I have travelled 326km and the price for filling up fully is 302 baht. That translates to less than 1 baht per 1 km.

For comparison purposes in order to travel those distance I used to have to spend about 1,000 baht on gasoline.

So my monthly fuel spending will now reduce from 4,000 baht to about 1,200 baht

[cockneyboy]

so a year to break even, is the car still under makers warranty

[Noble_Design]

3 hours ago, cockneyboy said:

so a year to break even, is the car still under makers warranty

No it's been out of warranty.

When I was installing the LPG I did see a very new car (with red plates) probably less than a year old and presumably still under warranty. Even saw hybrid cars installing it.

[Saltire]

Good job the conversion obviously works well for you. Worthwhile savings.

What I don't like about LPG is when I book a taxi for a long trip and it turnes out to be a conversion, I always used to groan about the lack of boot space left for luggage, especially in a small Toyota.

When I book with my taxi service I now ask for a car without half the boot space taken up with a big tank.

I remember running into this problem at Thai airports, but not an issue anymore as I never fly anywhere now!

 

[Noble_Design]

53 minutes ago, Saltire said:

Good job the conversion obviously works well for you. Worthwhile savings.

What I don't like about LPG is when I book a taxi for a long trip and it turnes out to be a conversion, I always used to groan about the lack of boot space left for luggage, especially in a small Toyota.

When I book with my taxi service I now ask for a car without half the boot space taken up with a big tank.

I remember running into this problem at Thai airports, but not an issue anymore as I never fly anywhere now!

I think most of those taxis that you encountered with a big tank at the boot are mostly NGV rather than LPG. NGV fueled cars have much larger tanks than LPG simply because natural gas although compressed are still stored in it's gaseous state so in order to store enough for a reasonable distance they need a big tank.

LPG on the other hand stores the fuel in liquid stage so the tank size is much smaller. Just for comparison my wife's Honda City NGV has a 65 liter tank and this gives her a range of about 180km on a full tank. Mine is a 51 liter which gives me 350km on a full tank.

Also the installation of the LPG tank on my car actually didn't eat up any boot space at all. I have what they call a toroidal tank (Thais call them donut tank) that fits into the space where the spare tire used to be:

Of course this means I have to place the spare tire in the boot but I also have the option of not carrying one around if I need to use the boot space. Usually I will forgo carrying the spare tire when driving in the city since road side assistance is much easier to come by in the event of a puncture. However I do lug around that spare when driving in the provinces.

 

[Boldfocker]

On 8/24/2022 at 8:37 AM, Noble_Design said:

Some update on LPG consumption, I just filled up my tank yesterday although it wasn't completely empty yet.

When I first filled the tank fully I reset my odometer to 0km. For this fill I have travelled 326km and the price for filling up fully is 302 baht. That translates to less than 1 baht per 1 km.

For comparison purposes in order to travel those distance I used to have to spend about 1,000 baht on gasoline.

So my monthly fuel spending will now reduce from 4,000 baht to about 1,200 baht

What is the cost of LPG now?

I remember it used to be about 11b per litre in 2010.

Does anyone know if you can get a pickup truck factory fitted with LPG and which truck is best suited so that cargo space is not infringed

[Noble_Design]

On 1/12/2023 at 5:20 AM, Boldfocker said:

What is the cost of LPG now?

I remember it used to be about 11b per litre in 2010.

Does anyone know if you can get a pickup truck factory fitted with LPG and which truck is best suited so that cargo space is not infringed

Depending on areas/stations the retail price of LPG is around 14-15 baht/liter.

There are no factory fitted LPG for pickup trucks, there are only factory fitted CNG/NGV. Even then you can hardly buy a new one anymore as most of them have stopped selling it. Plenty of used ones though - Hilux, Triton and Tata. However all of them share the same downside which is the huge tank taking up space at the cargo bay. And all of them uses gasoline engines as diesel engines does not work well with LPG & CNG. It can work but the savings aren't as much with a gasoline engine.

But the thing is gasoline engine lacks the torque that diesel engines has and kinda defeats the purpose when used in a pickup truck. 

So what's the best choice for a pickup truck to use LPG without taking up the cargo space AND has a lot of torque? Well one of the customers of the shop that I went to did this:

Body: Ford Ranger

Engine: Toyota 2UZ-FE 4.7L V8 producing 270+hp & 427Nm of torque.

LPG tank: Under the cargo at the space where the spare tire used to be stored

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Faz
Only 2 images per post permitted.

[Sparrows]

I wouldn”t go to the trouble.  LPG is on the way out. Will be gone in a few years.

[cockneyboy]

On 8/15/2022 at 8:15 PM, Noble_Design said:

Being someone who is hesitant to do any modifications to a car (save for cosmetic ones such as alloy wheels) I finally gave in and installed an LPG system into my car after seeing how much gasoline prices has risen since Covid restrictions has been lifted plus the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Cost me 31,500 baht and the car had to spend one whole day (from 8AM till almost 7PM) to get everything done but finally I am getting to drive more without worrying too much about the cost anymore.

With this latest addition, my household now has cars that can run on almost all fuels sold in Thailand (save for E85 & B20). My wife is driving a CNG/NGV equipped car (factory fitted from the car maker) and there's a pickup truck for weekend use that runs on diesel.

I know its an old thread, but I just bought a cng/gasoline triton, does the cng system need a yearly check for car tax and change of name, I have no paperwork, manual etc for the pickup, many thanks

Edited June 14 by cockneyboy