Propane conversion

GoldenMotor.com
charles.paskell

charles.paskell

New Member
Feb 25, 2010
200
0
0
40
NC
what happens if you wreck? those propane cylinders are thin you will have spark and leaking propane gas in the same aria.can anyone say BOOM? pieces of propane tank shrapnel everywhere
 
V

vooodooou

New Member
Jul 26, 2009
66
0
0
usa
what happens if you wreck you bike with 1/2 gal of gasoline straped to the top bar of your bike, between your legs with a cap that will come off . those tanks are thiner stamp steel made in china. by the way propane will not soak in your cloths as it burns unlike gasoline . enough said.

look at the time square bomber he set-off fire works next to propane cylinders an NO BOOM.

those propane tanks are stronger than you think. by law
 
J

jauguston

New Member
May 1, 2010
142
0
0
Bellingham, WA
You will find about a 20% reduction in horsepower when converting from gasoline to propane. You can confirm that by checking the rated power output of portable generators that are offered with either fuel option. The propane fueled model will have a lower electrical power output.

For a propane conversion for small four stroke motors check into the conversion kits available for Honda EU series portable generators.

It would seem to me that a four stroke propane fueled bike would lose the whole idea of a simple cheap light weight power conversion for a bicycle.

Jim
 
corgi1

corgi1

New Member
Aug 13, 2009
2,272
3
0
KCMO
The hype that propane and hydrogen tanks are potential bombs are false ,,,they are in the open on all sorts of equipment ,you see them while driving down the street,,,they are safer in the open so that the gas can disipate if they are punctured,,,gases need oxygen (air ) mixed w/them to explode thus carb's.,,,if you get a leak the gas can burn at the leak beacause of it mixing w/air,but pressure in the tank keeps out the oxygen needed to ignite whats in the tank(as in ,torch gets a loose connection and a small fire starts at the leak,pressure is higher that air pressure and fire is not able to go into the connection),,,,If your into science you know "always" and "never" are not words that can be trusted in any report,all things have the potential to do something else,,,,That said read all reports of tests and lean toward believing the guys that havent blown up ,but may have test scars and scares,
 
J

jauguston

New Member
May 1, 2010
142
0
0
Bellingham, WA
In the context of what this forum is all about discussion of the safety issues of propane is not really relevant. Propane fueled four stroke bicycles is a bit off the edge of what this place is all about.

Jim
 
corgi1

corgi1

New Member
Aug 13, 2009
2,272
3
0
KCMO
It is nice to know if you want to try playing with it though,Actually I like the Idea of hydrogen
 
J

jauguston

New Member
May 1, 2010
142
0
0
Bellingham, WA
I thing hydrogen might not seem like such a great idea if you calculated the equivelent cost per gallon.

Hydrogen takes quite a lot of energy to refine.

I laugh every time I here someone say electric cars are the answer. No gas burned. Wrong. All they do is relocate the place the hydrocarbon fuel is burned from the highway to the natural gas or coal burning generation plants.

Jim
 
corgi1

corgi1

New Member
Aug 13, 2009
2,272
3
0
KCMO
Actually hydrogen is produced many ways and it does not have to be used just for electric production ,it doesn't even have to have man made electric to be produced ,as many advancements ,it is not being advanced to the general population beacause it would not be controled as a source of moneys in the pockets of the oil companies group
 
2

2dawgs

New Member
Feb 15, 2010
209
0
0
Gilbert, AZ
Corgi1,

And that's why the disinformation about alternative fuel sources continues to proliferate;
energy companies can not exploit the consumer in the way they do with oil based products; Yet!

When they do, Viola the race will be on to corner these markets by energy concerns.
 
J

jauguston

New Member
May 1, 2010
142
0
0
Bellingham, WA
Its all a vast conspiracy against the common man -- right. The oil companies bought and hid a carburetor that would get 100 miles to the gallon back in the 40's.

Educated people laugh at all the conspiracy theorists. Get real.

I think this thread should be closed! It has wandered into the twilight zone.

Jim
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
7,194
21
0
Maine
I think this is a fine thread and a good topic given how often ppl tout fuel mileage as a reason to ride a motorized bicycle...

...except as others have mentioned propane conversions loose a LOT of power (even 20% is a lot if you've not much to begin with) & it stinks... literally (it's an additive, but it's still nasty). Hydrogen is simply still too complex to obtain.

I want a diesel.

Not even the hoity-toity bio diesel - jus' a good old fashioned thumper to put on me bike gdangit o.o There's just too much torque to ignore ;)
 
Last edited:
Dan

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
59
Moosylvania
That seems a lil harsh Jim. Was taken aback when you said this is not the place to discuss such things. I enjoy and learn some great things by listening to differing opinions. I personally believe that once electrical storage advances it will rival the ICE engine and enjoy hearing and reading what other folks think on the subject. The reason for my building a propane fired engine aside from the joy of tinkering and learning is the emissions and engine longevity. If you find this sort of thread annoying or offensive, why continue reading it? Can always report it as offensive to your sensibilitys. Just click on the lil triangle.

There are many more conventional threads and perhaps you would enjoy those more.
 
J

jauguston

New Member
May 1, 2010
142
0
0
Bellingham, WA
Diesel would be possible. The military has all fuel motorcycles that will run on diesel. The issue for our application is cost of developing a system for injection and how to keep the motor together with the extremely high cylinder pressure present in a diesel engine. There are diesel conversion heads for some model airplane engines but they often break crankshafts due to the high pressures present.

Anything is possible although in many cases possible and practical conflict.

Jim

Off to Yellowstone Nationlal Park in the motorhome in about 30 minutes. Online through my cell phone all the way.
 
J

jauguston

New Member
May 1, 2010
142
0
0
Bellingham, WA
Just a little bit of history to start your morning. During WW II Germany developed and used diesel engines in a lot of their bombers. Gas was short and they developed and made synthetic diesel. I don't remember what it was made from. I think it was natural gas.

Jim
 
happycheapskate

happycheapskate

New Member
Nov 26, 2009
1,989
3
0
Rockwall TX
WHO RUNS BARTER TOWN? :) laff

eDJ said:
Dan wrote:



There was a small company in Portland Oregon called Earth Move that made these carb kits off the patten held by Harold Bate.....a WW2 TAXI driver in London UK. Bate raised chickens and composted their droppngs in a "digester" which would distill Methane gas. (sewer gas...highly volitle) In Europe many of the commercial farms make their own fuels for farm equipment using this system.

It can run Propane and natural gas also.

These little kits used to be less than $40 dollars.

EARTH MOVE
Box 10121
Portland, Oregon 97201

I've worked with fork trucks which run Propane and they get much longer service lives than those running gasoline. If you have to pull one down you'll be amazed at how clean they are inside.

If you want to read about this thing of Harold Bate and or convert your bike or car to run on Propane or Natural Gas....or if you can get chicken or turkery dung to set up your own plant to make Methane with...........

Put a chicken in your tank

Happy New Years from ol' eDJ
Click to expand...
 
happycheapskate

happycheapskate

New Member
Nov 26, 2009
1,989
3
0
Rockwall TX
I think this is a good idea and you might find the hearty little happytime can run without a timing change, just the same way a common briggs lawn mower can. It might not be the most optimal setup, but probably will work fine.

The problem of oil injection could be solved by using the gasoline system to inject a mixture of oil. Someone asked if ashless two stroke oil exists. Yes, and its very common. It is sold commonly for marine 2 stroke engines that use oil-injection systems.
I would mix the oil with alcohol or window wash (methanol and water) so it could also help cool the cylinder by converting the water to steam. Surely, with a thin enough oil like the marine oil, you could just use the smallest jets available for HT carbs and just adjust the needle as necessary.

Since a happytime can get 80mpg or better, using a small jet or "lean" setting, it should run a long time on 1/2 gallon of oil mix and a tank of propane fuel.

I don't understand why one poster said it was "twilight zone" stuff or the thread should be closed. He should go buy a pre made bike and not worry about us tinkering types.

I don't see why anyone thinks the propane would "blow up" the crankcase. Gasoline does not blow up in there. The fuel is compressed and pushed through ports and then into the combustion chamber. It seems a small possibility that you could have a backfire in the carb.

a related thread here: http://motorbicycling.com/f37/propane-conversion-24975.html#post245006
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom