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home made propane kit

33K views 34 replies 14 participants last post by  99dodgeruffrider 
#1 ·
hey all, i've been getting my parts together for awhile and finally got around to installing it in my little truck.



i will be getting a 20lb tank, this little one was one i just had sitting around.









ill just be putting it to a push button on the shifter for now, i really would like to get a limit switch and a pressure switch and run them in series with a master switch on the dash so it just comes on at full throttle at 9+ psi of boost.
 
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#3 ·
havent had it out on the road yet, im doing it more for power tho on this motor. for fuel savings you need some sort of boost sensing adjustable regulator to have a consant ratio in your engine, i only have an on off valve more like a nitrous system for full load power.
 
#4 ·
so if you want power, why not start with an FMIC and EGR block off plate.

you could run 3 solenoids, 1 master safety on/off, then T out from there and go to the other 2, in 1 of the lines put a restrictor jet and the other no jet, then connect them back together. so that would give you your power shot, and the other gives you a small amount all the time for fuel economy, it wont adjust for changing boost levels but for a cruse should do the job
 
#5 ·
lots more work for a IC and the egr is disconneted anyways, nothing going through there. my EGT's never hit over 900 yet so im still a ways from needing one.
 
#7 ·
i am going to add my two cents and then ask a question one why not just go to someone that has a fork lift shop and get the fuel system from a tow motor (fork lift) that runs on propane and get all then needed fitting for the system i e heater for the gas then run your switch or configuration that you want now the question why did you put the gas before the turbo arent you worried about the gas being heat to the flash point form the heat that the turbo creates or conducts? thus causing a little mess like exsplosion or am i being overly cauious?
 
#9 ·
I agree on this one, But have no experience with propane turbo diesels, just forklifts. Just out of curiosity, what are your supply gauges set at, how much pressure do you know how to supply. Id like to have a set up on my 12v, not for fuel supply just a power shot when i need it. could you post you before and after parameters, egt, boost pressure.
 
#12 · (Edited)
#22 ·
Its the ball that spans the middle of the chamber. The injector sprays onto it, when cold it atomizes via impact vaporization. When the engines hot that ball is glowing from frequent combustion around it and vaporizes the fuel with that heat.


Thats what makes it different from every other IDI diesel.
Mercedes' design is an actual precombustion chamber, "normal" prechambers are nothing more than swirl chambers; The injector does all the atomization and the prechamber aids in mixing the fuel with the air.


The only reason MB nozzles work in VW engines is the impact vaporization of the fuel against the chamber wall (similar to when the MB engine is cold).
 
#23 · (Edited)
If that ain't cool! I see how it works I think. The fuel charge entering the glowing ball partially burns because there is only so much oxygen there. Then because of the expansion of the gas it forces the rest of the charge out into the main combustion chamber giving it speed and a swirl or some kind of turbulence AND raising the heat, thus aiding combustion. The Common Rail does this in a much more complex way using the computer and multiple injections per stroke with the glow plugs turning on and off in milliseconds. Nice going Mercedes! I could see where a little propane might could help the process with careful tuning.
 
#30 ·
No. No engine runs well on WVO. The injection pump is merely more tolerant of garbage being run through it.

gotta have compression and heat to ignite the diesel. and every time I blow a cloud of black smoke out of my truck its unburned fuel. definately not a complete burn.
Wong again. Black smoke is due to excessive fuel injected into the engine when there is a lack of oxygen. No amount of propane injected into your engine under those conditions will increase the amount of diesel burned even in the slightest, in fact injecting propane in that situation would INCREASE smoke by reducing the air:fuel ratio even further!

Hi, jubel is referring to the "hot bulb" in the prechamber in the IDI heads on the OM617.
No. The bulb doesn't light the diesel, it atomizes it.
 
#31 · (Edited)
No, I meant the hot bulb helps with the WVO. That's why I said "IDI". You can have IDI with any style pump.

So the difference between diesel to the hot bulb and propane is the propane will light off instead of separating into atomic constituents?

That's true; it could have been said a long time ago.
 
#32 ·
Interesting reading.

i will be giving this a try on the 4-53n when it's installed being as my Vehicle is allready outfitted with all Lpg components for the gas engine.
Anyone have pressure to orfice sizes they have experimented with. i'm pretty sure my regulator/converter puts out around .37kpa. this is much less than 1psi.
i could run some sort of throttle blade within the lpg feed line from converter to orfice to meter the lpg.

if you don't like propane that is understandable but please personal opinion is not fact. anything without moderation is not good

thanks
Chris
Cb9wagon
 
#34 ·
Here in Australia we use LPG (liquid petrolium gas) proberly the sam as your propane, I nhave it on my 4.2lt idi Nissan Pootrol, It is a comercial type of set up but it works well. If your driving at a set pace and turn it on or off you can feel the differance in the power output. And their arnt any scary side effects to your engine. Even the government were actually giving rebates to those who had the units set up by a qulified dealer. Were i live some of the truking companys have had them installed on there big Rigs and they run tripple trailers, Ive actually heard that they run the gas through a Water air intercooler instead of the water to keep things a little cooler (though it ices up on the out side in winter aparently). S the main thing I see is trying not to put to much in and causing the engine to ping/ preignite but that wouldnt be to hard to stop. You would have to have a manual valve in the cab so when you want the gas you flick your switch and adjust the valve to the point you think is a good thing and listen for preignition (might be slightly harder if your donk is a bit noisy)
 
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