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Homemade propane system

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Old 05-03-2007 | 08:51 PM
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From: Pikeville, KY
Homemade propane system

im not the one who came up with this and im not tryin to take credit. i found this on the diesel garage.com

would this work..........sounds simple enough

http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forum...ead.php?t=1169

Do It Yourself

Supplies:
1 20lb propane bottle
1 acetylene gas regulator (any wielding shop will have it, its a low flow regulator and fits perfectly to propane bottle)$60-$70
1 propane flow valve for a propane fueled car or truck (any propane gas company can order it, its a simple on off valve with a solenoid)$30
1 standard automotive toggle switch ($2)
1 roll of teflon tape or fitting sealant ($2)
1 pack of 12" zip ties ($2)
1 roll of red wire ($3)standard automotive wire
1 roll of black wire ($3)
12-28ft of hydraulic hose with 1/4" fittings on each end (you need to measure how many feet of hose you will need, from where tank will set to air box) Also get it in two different sections, both with male-male fittings (you will see why later)
2 washers, 1 lock washer, 1 nut to fit the end of hose where it is inserted into air box

Ok, now to to put it together.


Drill hole in airbox so the 1/4" fitting of one of the male-male hoses so it fits into the airbox. Put one flat washer on outside of fitting and on the inside put the other flat washer, then the lock washer and the nylon lock nut. (I will leave out stuff like, "tighten the nut" in the instructions)

Ok, now run the hose down the back of the motor and under the truck along the frame using zip ties to secure it. When you get to the other end of the male-male fitting put the propane valve on (its has female 1/4" fittings on each end) Put Teflon tape in the male end of hose and tighten "TAP" (tight as possible).

Ok, now take the red wire you bought and secure it to the screw on top of valve solenoid (only real place it can go) run the rest of the red wire into the cab of truck (we will come back to toggle switch)

Ok, now connect the male end of your other male-male to the valve with teflon tape and "TAP", then run it along the frame to the place where you put the tank. Put Teflon tape on that end and secure it into regulator using "TAP".

Now go into cab and wire up your toggle switch, I use the toggle switch that lights up when the circuit is open or on.

Now connect the regulator to tank and turn on gas (make sure the truck is "NOT" running) Turn the regulator until about 4psi is showing on gauge.

Make sure the toggle switch is off and start truck, THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH, flick the switch, you will notice the engine difference. If you don't notice a difference then the switch is not wired right.

Turn switch off, get on hwy and flick the switch, you will notice a slight difference. Pull over and turn up psi .5 and do it again. Do this until you find the right psi setting for your truck. Usually between 4-7psi, if engine makes a slight pinging noise then turn the psi DOWN .5
Old 05-03-2007 | 10:32 PM
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It might but id be way to scared to make a homemade propane system.
Old 05-03-2007 | 10:42 PM
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if a man could make it and not blow himself up i think it could be a pretty sweet setup. how much damage could a man do to a motor with 5psi of propane injected into the intake horn. it sounds doable
Old 05-03-2007 | 10:43 PM
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oldsmokey

i think im finally gonna color match my headlights this weekend.....any advice
Old 05-03-2007 | 10:48 PM
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If the propane is injected in the liquid form you would have big problems.

Get all the old glue off before you put it back together, and take your time painting it. Maybe try and scrach up the chrome piece that you paint. It took me quite a few coats before i was happy with how the paint covered. Hope that helps. If not pm me.
Old 05-03-2007 | 10:52 PM
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thanks

if you had the tap tank at the top how could you get a liquid.......i know propane is a liquid that "comes out" as a gas. but how full of liquid is a #20 tank.
Old 05-03-2007 | 10:56 PM
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Im not sure but i know that its hard to keep some propane systems working right when temps change. I think thats more of the problem than where the tap is placed. This is just what ive read, i dont have any experience with propane on my own truck.
Old 05-04-2007 | 05:21 PM
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anybody know much about propane
Old 05-04-2007 | 07:05 PM
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ok if your injecting 5psi of propane and you have 20psi of boost for some reason I dont see much propane being injected. Wouldnt the boost try to push back the propane?
Old 05-04-2007 | 07:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Mark1si
ok if your injecting 5psi of propane and you have 20psi of boost for some reason I dont see much propane being injected. Wouldnt the boost try to push back the propane?
Based on the instructions in the first post, it looks like they call for injecting the propane into the airbox (pre-turbo). So the premixed air/propane is being passed through the turbo and pressurized to the normal boost pressure. So you wouldn't have issues with boost trying to push back the propane.
Old 05-04-2007 | 08:46 PM
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Originally Posted by jggarrettllc
thanks

if you had the tap tank at the top how could you get a liquid.......i know propane is a liquid that "comes out" as a gas. but how full of liquid is a #20 tank.
I found this for a 20 gallon propane bottle:

Filled by weight - weighs about 40 pounds when full
Holds 20 pounds of propane - about 4.7 gallons of propane

which equals to 23.5% full of liquid 76.5% empty space to fill with gas.

I did not know about anyone else but I do not want to be the gennie pig first. I will watch you jump off the bridge first!!!
Old 05-04-2007 | 08:50 PM
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i think i might just be bored enough to try this.............the propane will have to be injected pre-turbo right. alsoi would get a boost switch so it only comes on at 5-7psi or over. any other input. am i fixin to blow anythin apart?
Old 05-04-2007 | 08:55 PM
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They left a few items off of the list of ingredients - like a new HG!

... and the electric solenoid valve is strictly a luxury; reaching down between your legs and turning the bottle valve on by hand worked just fine for the bad guys in Mad Max.
Old 05-04-2007 | 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted by jggarrettllc
i think i might just be bored enough to try this...... any other input. am i fixin to blow anythin apart?
Originally Posted by jggarrettllc
if a man could make it and not blow himself up it could be a pretty sweet setup. how much damage could a man do to a motor with 5psi of propane injected into the intake horn? it sounds doable
Originally Posted by jggarrettllc
don't know much about propane...
I already know what your gonna say when the install is finished -

"Hold my beer and watch THIS!"
Old 05-04-2007 | 09:04 PM
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I suppose the worst thing that could happen would be if it leaked and/or flowed too much propane, or flowed propane when the engine was off and filled the intake tract with propane...

Wouldn't that cause the engine to run away? IE it could float the valves until they get hit by the pistons and/or make a rod shaped window out the side of the block?

I remember a while back seeing a brand new truck on E-bay with blown motor and bad tranny. I asked what happened, and apparently it went to the body shop to have a factory paint problem corrected. Someone started it when there were paint fumes in the booth, and the motor ran away. The guy shut the key off (which of course didn't help) and shoved it into high and dropped the clutch while holding the brake in an effort to stop the motor, but that just resulted in it chucking the clutch out of the bellhousing...

Also, even if you are sucking propane out of the top of the bottle, if you hit a big bump could liquid propane be sent through the regulator?



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