LPG Conversions

[Hanna]

Originally Posted by TimM

I agree that the economics of installing gas has changed. However, and from just from a technical point of view, I can tell you that the WG with the 4.7LTR V8 works extremely well on gas injection. I did 250K kilometres with gas (dual fuel) on my old 2004 Grand. No lift or major mods and I averaged 16-17 L/100Kms during that time (about 14.5 L/100KMS on petrol). I noticed no difference in power or torque when driving and that included towing a 2300KG van.

Out of interest I had an 86 Litre 'donut' tank in the wheel well and with the spare mounted vertically on left side - see pic. Some side benefits to gas include extended range and (claimed) extended engine life.

So you might want to do the maths yourself. I think you would need to be confident of getting a good few years out of the WG to make it a financial proposition.

I agree mate - mine has been great on LPG and has not missed a beat! I think the economy has probably got so bad on mine now due to the system being 9 years old and my WJ having now done 286,000kms.

My worst gripe has been the pathetic range of my 55L (usable) donut tank, particularly when towing I.e. roughly 200-220km towing a ~1200kg camper trailer on a flat highway. If mine had the 72L tank like yours I would probably be a lot happier. It did used to get about 14L/100 on LPG before the lift, tyres and when the odometer was only showing 210,000kms. Plus the LPG system was only 3-4 years old then too.

How was your fuel economy on LPG towing a 2,300kg van?

[anthonygubbin]

Is the rebate even available any more? I was lucky as I go mine done 5 years ago. I had the option of a tank in the boot but losing space was not something I wanted. On mine I did everything bar the LPG install which made it worth it at the time. Looking at the pic a WG has a decent size spare wheel spot. I wouldn't have guessed so big until I saw the pic. Because a WG does not require an aux tank you might get away with 4.5k for the install. Gas in Tas is 97cpl. I think most capitals on the mainland are over 75cpl now. These days IMO gotta wonder if it is at all worth it. I personally wouldn't do it now the rebate has pretty much been wiped out that's if it still exists.

Regards A

[anthonygubbin]

Originally Posted by Hanna

I agree mate - mine has been great on LPG and has not missed a beat! I think the economy has probably got so bad on mine now due to the system being 9 years old and my WJ having now done 286,000kms.

My worst gripe has been the pathetic range of my 55L (usable) donut tank, particularly when towing I.e. roughly 200-220km towing a ~1200kg camper trailer on a flat highway. If mine had the 72L tank like yours I would probably be a lot happier. It did used to get about 14L/100 on LPG before the lift, tyres and when the odometer was only showing 210,000kms. Plus the LPG system was only 3-4 years old then too.

How was your fuel economy on LPG towing a 2,300kg van?

Talking to a local installer and gas systems need to be serviced after 4-5 years. Apparently they can oil up inside the lines which causes a reduction in economy. Mine needs doing I think but its just another thing to spend on a bottomless black hole of a Jeep. Mine runs sweet on gas but hilly terrain and the economy goes out the window. I kinda wish I had injected gas when I had my install but 5k as apposed to 2.5k the costs outweighed the benefits.

Regards A

[anthonygubbin]

Originally Posted by Hanna

My worst gripe has been the pathetic range of my 55L (usable) donut tank.

I was offered the 55L donut tank or a 55L manifold tank in the boot of the XJ but like you the range would have been fairly poor Hence why I had little choice but to install an aux. I can only assume a GC has a pretty big boot if one can afford to lose the space.

Regards A

[TimM]

[QUOTE=Hanna;
How was your fuel economy on LPG towing a 2,300kg van?[/QUOTE]

Hanna, As you will know from your own experiences, fuel consumption varies considerably when towing. On average LPG consumption towing my van (full size) was about 22L/100 Kms, however, it didn't take too much of a head wind or hills to see this figure reach the mid-high 20s.

72 Litres of gas would easily return 450kms highway range without the van and about 300-325 with the van.

Five years ago LPG used to be about 40-45% of the cost per litre of petrol (East Coast) but now it looks to be about 55-60%. This makes the pay back period longer for new installs.

[WJBRUTE]

If it's any help I have been running Sequential Vapour Injection on my WJ 4.7 for approx 3 years. Veh has done 299,000 klms. I had mine fitted with the 85ltr donut tank, 72lts usable. Instead of lowering the tank I built a higher cover for the spare wheel cover. Originally I was getting an average of 390k from 72lts for a mixture of highway, suburb and mountain travel. My Grand has climate control and I was noticing that the Air Con compressor was continually running even if it was turn off by the controls. 12mths ago I put a cut off switch to the compressor which i control by a seperate switch from the dash. My average for 72lts is now 410klms. If I drive a long trip sitting on 100ks I can get anywhere from 480 - 500 ks from the tank, depending on the conditions. If I do 110kph this drops to 470 - 490. Nothing has been replaced or modified on my engine. Cheers