Propane injection?

[Dezman125]

Have just purchased a 90 6.2 that had lost a block heater.Never had a diesel in a small truck befor.Has anyone tried propane injection on their chev 6.2 or 6.5? And any sujestions on a kit?Any success stories? Any disasters?

[cschneider]

Are you asking about a propane block heater? I think there was a DP article about one a while back. Try emailing Jim and see if my memory serves me well. If you're talking about propane injection for the engine I have it on my truck and like it but I don't think I'll ever turn it on again. I would get preignition in the cylinders because of the propane at WOT. If you are looking for a little extra power at low boost it is a good alternative but if you are looking for power at WOT I think the risks outweight the benefits.

[Dezman125]

Hi cschneider
Thanks for the reply.It's not the heater i'm looking for.
1st question i have is what is "WOT"?Did you install the propane,or was it on the truck.I'd like to get a turbo for mine but$$$ are the limiting factor,so i thought propane might be cheaper.

[Larry Andrews]

I don't think you can run propane if you don't already have a turbo. At least, that's what I've been told. :(

-la

[Peter J. Bierman]

WOT = Wide Open Throttle

Peter

[CleviteKid]

A Naturally Aspirated (NA) engine is limited by the amount of air it can breath in. You can easily squirt in too much #2 for the air, raise power a little and Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) a lot.

Propane would displace some of the precious air and make matters worse.

With a turbo, there can be an excess of air, and a little propane can add power, make the utilization of the oxygen a little more complete, and if used in moderation, not induce detonation or excessive EGT.

Dr. Lee :cool:

[cschneider]

The installation was done by me and includes the powershot 2000 system and an 8-gallon tank with a remote fill kit attached to the tow hitch. The tank fits just perfectly between the tranny/transfer case and frame rail. I was told that these can be mounted outside the frame rails and are designed to sustain an impact and rupture without exploding but I still didn't want to take the chance. I figure that if something hits me hard enough to bend the 3/4 frame rail enough to rupture the tank, I'm dead before it ever explodes (knock on wood). Anyway, besides that, without a turbo you are simply exacerbating the overly rich situation as Dr. Lee already stated. There are some members whom I believe are running propane on N/A engines but I think the benefits are more wishful thinking. Even with the turbo the results are nothing like a nitrous boost, just a little extra power and a little better mileage (offset by the extra cost of propane however). The whole system for me was about $900 with all the odds and ends including tank and remote fill kit. Honestly your money is much better spent or saved for a turbo. Good luck and feel free to ask any other questions.

[Camarrow]

We have been using propane in a dump style system (not progressive) on some 6000 ford tractors (N/A diesels) for about 20 years. We bought our first kit in the late 60s early 70s. We have also used it on turboed tractors. The power difference on the turboed was substantial. When lugging the engine flipping the switch for the electric soleinoid raised the rpms 200-300 rpm and pulled a lot better usually allowing higher gear or different T/A position. On the N/A tractors there was not as much of a gain but when pulling hard it often allows use of a higher gear. We picked the right orifice size by using it on a tractor with EGT on it copied on the rest. Turboed tractors use a little more. Error on the small side I guess since I only have familar with a dump system I don't know every thing but I think I am going to add this to our N/A 6.2 and our powerstroke after 100,000.

[TimA]

I wouldn't do it if I were you. It is just like Nos (nitro) for gas engiens. There is two many bad things that could happen. i.e. burning pistions, pistion rings, and so on. The only time you will have that power is when you are pumping the propane into the engien. If you build the power you will always have the power even if you dont need it. My modo is always build power never push a botton go get power.

[Camarrow]

Have you ever had Nitrous on any thing (hate calling it noss it sounds like some bling bling racer). My buddy has a 68 chevelle that runs 12.20s on the engine. It also runs 10.50s on the bottle. With all the bad things that could happen there is one good thing. It is cool to build something that runs awsome on the engine. But I bet it would run that much better on the bottle. I used to dislike it too, but it takes lots of money to run that fast without. Just what I think.
Later

[NH2112]

Propane is a low energy fuel compared to diesel, gasoline, etc. You'll be stressing the engine a lot less if you reach your target power level with propane and diesel than if you did it with diesel only. It also burns a lot cleaner so there's just that much less soot getting into your oil. Propane actually burns so clean that after 250 hours of operation (equivalent to 10,000 miles) a propane-powered forklift's engine oil will still look like new. I've seen many propane powered lifts with GM 181 or 2.2L Mazda engines go well over 10,000 hours and the engines were usually the best parts on the trucks.

If you meter the propane in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, and use it only when you need an extra boost, it won't hurt your engine.

[cschneider]

I will reiterate my comment made before: propane injection is NOTHING like Nitrous for a gasoline engine. The two don't even operate on the same principle: one is injecting a hydrocarbon fuel and the other is injecting an oxidizer. The point I was trying to make is that the gains are marginal even with a turbo. Your money is much better spent on a turbo or a high output injection pump. I like my system and think it's really cool but I also don't think it was really worth the money I paid for it.

[Dezman125]

Have just made a deal on a banks turbo system.Comes with a engin,so i'm hoping the heads are the same as mine.I'm still interested in adding a propane system,i'll be the only driver and i am a gauge watcher.

[Camarrow]

I understand the difference between nitrous and propane. Nitrous (oxidizer) is added with additional fuel to provide a chemical supercharger of sorts. Propane is added to provide a more compete combustion of the diesel fuel. We have have to 6000 Ford tractor (1962) that have had propane on continuious use since about 64 (so I am told not that old). The tractor have over 10,000 hours a piece. The propane was added to provide additional pulling power for some slightly oversized equipment. It allowed maintaining rpms in tough ground and pulling hills. The other tractor we added it to was a International Turbo 1466 that had over 8000 hours when added. It was worn out. The propane addition allowed it to be used for approx 1500 more hours before the head gasket blew. It is possible that this was induced by the propane but with that high amount of hours it may have just happened. The point I am trying to make is the amount we add is very small. One tractor has a 100lb tank and has run over 2 years with out a refill. The only thing I can find wrong with adding it is the argument that it displaces the air a wide open on a N/A. This may be very true. Most tractors are very rarely run at WOT. So I guess I would agree that at WOT that little power would be added on a N/A tractor. But on a forced induction diesel it adds a significant amount of power with a small amount of propane. Just like everything bigger isn't always better. I think for additional pulling power on long hills and to allow increased passing speed that propane is a low cost alternitive to some other power adders. The last thing is like nitrous it is a power on demaned type of power adder. It doesn't effect normal operation of the engine. It allows a more conservative build up with the same power output. Just what I think.