Propane

[schmism]

So in browsing craigslist i ran across an old Minneapolis Moline that was propane and it got me thinking.....

At half the cost per gallon (i just bought propane last week at 2.29, but last fall i paid 1.73...who would like to pay a 1.73 instead of 4.50?), why arnt farmers going back to propane?

Then i remembered diesel guys talking about adding propane to there trucks, and thought could it be added to a smaller CUT to offset fuel costs and or more power?

 

[tinkertoys]

To set up for propane on a gas tractor would cost in excess of 1500.00 then you have to have a way to get propane to the field.. A diesel tractor can have propane added as a power booster. The cost of this is very high. All I can say is it is very costly, and a lot of trouble for what you gain.. These are my thoughts, as a former propane delivery driver. Anyone else want to comment?????????????????

 

[schmism]

A diesel tractor can have propane added as a power booster. The cost of this is very high.

Now i dont clame to know how it works but it was my (basic and oversimplified verson) it was as simple as holding an unlit propane torch next to the air inlet.

a propane addon to the old toyota trucks was about a $500 kit. could pick it up at your local forklift place as 22re was the same in the forklift as the pickup.


Expensive is also relitive when talking about buring $4.50 diesel vs $2 propane.

let see if i can ball park some number correctly.

150hp tractor burns 4gal/hr? call that a savings of $10/hr to keep the math easy. $5000 conversion kit pay back is ... 500 hrs

in the (big) farming world that doesn't sound like an expensive change.

 

[Baby Grand]

I think you'd need to factor this into your power/dollar equation:
Liquid propane: 91,500 Btu's per gallon
No. 2 diesel: 140,000 Btu's per gallon
I'm not a combustion engineer, so I don't know if there are any other considerations to the power/dollar equation, but I suspect that there are.

 

[schmism]

I think you'd need to factor this into your power/dollar equation:
Liquid propane: 91,500 Btu's per gallon
No. 2 diesel: 140,000 Btu's per gallon
I'm not a combustion engineer, so I don't know if there are any other considerations to the power/dollar equation, but I suspect that there are.

This is true, i thought they were closer together in there energy/gallon content.

there is a 34% diffrence in those numbers vs a 100% diffrence in cost.

im curious to hear more. (but for now its lunch time)

 

[Egon]

Arrgh - another power pull tractor!

 

[Wayne County Hose]

I can convert a gasoline engine to propane for under $500. All that's needed is a lockoff valve, a regulator, and a carburetor. I used to repair forklifts for a living so I know where to look and what parts are needed. A gasoline engine converted to propane has roughly 15% less power. I don't know how propane compares to diesel.

That old Minneapolis-Moline on propane may be worth a good buck. A buddy of mine found an old JD propane tractor from the factory. Turns out it's worth almost double it's gasoline cousins.

 

[sandman2234]

Friend of mine does a lot of auctions, and he had a propane tractor and I don't think he ever got any bidders on it. Maybe I need to see if he still has it and get some pictures for you guys.
David from jax

 

[djw250]

We had 2 propane tractors on the farm when I was growing up. One was an Allis Chalmers WC that was converted to propane from "tractor fuel" and the other was a Farmall 560 that as far as I know was propane from the factory. My brother still has the WC and has converted it to gasoline, I think using the same carburetor with some jetting changes, not sure though. Never had any problem with the propane as fuel, but you didn't want to run out.

 

[skipmarcy]

I got my first experience at working on gas to propane converted engines back in 1983 - a local glass co. had 9, 1980 F150's with 300 ci 6 cyl. engines. The only changes were the carburetors - a modified Autolite (Carter). It appeared that the only change in it was the throttle body - the fuel hose attached to it and it obviously had the regulator in it too. One engine had dropped a valve at about 115k miles and we found that the exhaust valve seats had been beaten into the head. That engine was as clean inside as the day it was assembled at Ford - I couldn't believe it. Absolutely no carbon residue at all in the ring lands or anywhere. The crankcase side of everything was just as clean - no sludge, no discoloration of anything. I had the local performance machine shop replace the valve seats with heavy duty stellite seats and put it all back together. The owners of the glass co. had the smarts to have me go ahead and do valve jobs on the other 8 trucks and they carried on until who knows when !!