Towing Quest

LPG, or Liquefied Petroleum Gas is a fuel suitable for all types of petrol engines used for caravan towing. I have traveled around Australia using this fuel when towing my caravan. In fact I have had four of my previous cars converted to use LPG as well as petrol.

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) is the generic name for mixtures of hydrocarbons (mainly propane and butane). When these mixtures are lightly compressed (approx. 800 kPa or 120 psi), they change from a gaseous state to a liquid. LPG is colourless, odourless and heavier than air. A sulphur based chemical (ethyl mercaptan) is added to give it a smell like rotten cabbage, so that even a very small leak can be easily detected.

Because LPG has advantages that are outlined below, the Australian Federal Government now provides grants under its LPG Vehicle Scheme of up to $2,000 for converting privately used vehicles to run on LPG.

Changing over from petrol to auto gas (LPG) will bring with it the following advantages:

? Cost Savings ? auto gas sells for up to 50% less than other automotive fuels.
? Clean, efficient combustion from a Hi-Octane fuel.
? Amongst the lowest life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of all commercially available automotive fuels.
? Insignificant levels of sulphur dioxide emissions.
? Extremely low particulate emissions produced during combustion.
? Less damage to soil and water - in cases of spills.
? Minimal release of volatile emissions when refueling.
? It can substantially help to increase the life of your engine.

Australia produces currently about 3,300 kilo tons of LPG annually.
Of these volumes, 80% is naturally occurring (i.e. extracted from oil and gas production) and 20% is extracted from crude oil in the refining process. Australia’s production of LPG is projected to grow to 5,024 kilo tons by 2020.

Australia currently consumes about 1,907 kilo tons of LPG each year. We use around 47% of all production and export the remaining 53%.

All petrol driven vehicles can be converted to use LPG. Most popular conversions provide for switching to either LPG or petrol whilst underway (dual fuel conversion). For sedan cars the LPG tank is normally fitted in the boot.

Almost all Australian taxis have this method of installation. The fuel tank can only be filled to about 80%, the remaining volume being for expansion of the liquid fuel. In my Holden car used for the around Australia caravan trip, an 80 litre tank was fitted, giving a useable fuel of about 65 litres. Because about 15% more LPG is used each kilometer, this amount was equal to about 50 litres of petrol, giving a range of about 300 kms.

There are approximately 3,500 LPG filling stations in Australia, so one may assume that the round Australia caravan trip can be done on LPG, with perhaps the occasional switch to petrol when driving in mountainous terrain or against very strong headwinds.

Technorati Tags: towing, towing company, towing help