Is propane for barth engines a taboo subject?

One never hears of it being used instead of gas in the states only here in Canada...

any comments?

Propane conversions have been available for a long time. There was a flurry of interest during the first oil crisis in the 1970s, but I haven't heard much lately.

There was a price advantage then. I believe that advantage has disappeared, though an alternative fuels website claims it maintains a slight price advantage.

There is a hassle factor in converting to it, & in the U.S., at least, a hassle factor in using it as motor fuel. Propane is generally sold without the motor fuel tax. Failure to pay this tax can get both the seller & the user in trouble in most states.

Propane is cleaner for the environment, and leaves engines cleaner, but on balance the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

One of the worst issues is that propane, per gallon, has significantly less energy than gasoline or diesel.

Besides noise, that's one of the reasons I have a (water-cooled) gaso genset arriving Friday to replace the LPG Kohler Klunker in StaRV II. At half load the Kohler uses about .85 gph propane. The Honda EV-4010 which will replace it uses about .50 gph gaso at half load.

Canadian gas stations are generally more setup to handle automotive propane customers than the US. For some reason the stations in the states seem few and far between, therefore you have to plan ahead and sometimes stations that have propane aren't selling it late at night because they need to send someone out to pump it. I bought my Barth already converted, and I love it. There are three tanks in total, two on the left side and the original for the appliances on the right. All are siamesed together so I can draw from the appliance tank for engine fuel or vice versa. Yes, the BTUs per gallon is less than gasoline, but I'm paying 52 cents a liter versus from $.95 to $1.15 for gas. My range is about 250 miles. Propane setups are quite simple if you don't have a dual fuel, gas/propane setup. There is no fuel pump, there are no cold weather/choke warm up problems, because it is already gaseous therefore you don't need a warm engine for atomization like gasoline. One of the big reasons I love it on an RV is the fact that they are occaisonal use vehicles that inevitably tend to sit around more than most of us would like. Propane doesn't go stale like gas. You won't have carb gaskets drying out and leaking. You don't have float, fuel pump, and pressure issues. Because it is gaseous, you don't have mixture problems at different altitudes. I have put many vehicles on propane over the years from a '67 Cougar, early Bronco, IHC Travelall, and they all gave many trouble free miles - for the fuel system at least!
So, there are some benefits to it, but like everything in life, its always a trade-off.

My two main issues were the noise (the Kohler has to go - to watch TV I had to get noise cancelling earphones - and it's a racket outside). The other issue is fuel consumption and availability; I boondock three or four weeks a year, and the generator would last only three or four days running the A/C at 105°F. With gaso, I can at least refill with Jerry cans, without having to take the motorhome to a dealer.

In Valentine, NE, I paid $1.45/gal in Aug '06. In Cameron, MO, it was $2.00/gal last December.

In the Southeast, propane is currently $3.00-3.45/gal.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
MyIn Valentine, NE, I paid $1.45/gal in Aug '06. In Cameron, MO, it was $2.00/gal last December.

In the Southeast, propane is currently $3.00-3.45/gal.

$1.93 at Quartzsite yesterday.