Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 19:34:00 -0700
Reply-To: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
Subject: Re: re. natural gas, propane
In-Reply-To: <000b01bfd167$3a205f60$c5158e8b@default>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
When I bought my Syncro it was dual fuel - gasoline and natural gas. The
natural gas system was some sort of Italian company. To be very honest,
the natural gas system was junk - NO power (1/2 as much as it was with
gasoline), it would never idle correctly and a 300 km range with 10 minute
fill up times with a total lack of filling stations made it a royal PITA!
If anyone is interesed I still have the two tanks, one 30L and one 50L tank
that is rated for 3000 PSI. Free for the taking!
At 10:33 AM 08/06/2000 -0600, Gary wrote:
>I have been planning on converting my 87 syncro westy to duel fuel
>(propane/gas) for a few months now. I have all the parts and I know how to
>do it.
>The biggest problem is finding a tank of the correct size. 8 " diameter X
>50" long to fit under the van next to the driveshaft. I do have a couple of
>tanks that will fit under the rear seat. I don't want to do it that way,
>but on the other hand I don't want to spend $500 on a new custom tank.
>
>Safety is not a concern, people who are worried about that probably have
>never owned a propane vehicle. With the 9:1 MV engine I would expect a 10%
>reduction in power output. You also use about 15% more fuel per kilometer.
>In the end, cost per kilometer should be about 35 % less per kilometer in
>Canada, all across Canada. Similar economy to diesel but more power, no
>smoke, easy starting.
>
>Having a duel/fuel vehicle extends the range of the vehicle considerably and
>you have a second complete fuel system should the digifant fail.
>In western Canada it seems there are more places to buy propane than diesel.
>Propane also burns cleaner than the digifant. IMHO, natural gas is not
>practical for automotive use in Canada, to hard to get and the tanks are
>much heavier and almost impossible to find.
>
>I used to have diesel jettas, I now have a propane/gasoline jetta and find
>it superior in all ways to diesel. Cheaper to run also
>
>Gary Lee
>
>
-- David Marshall - Volkswagen Enthusiast - Quesnel, BC, Canada --
-- 78 VW Rabbit, 80 VW Iltis, 80 VW Caddy, 84 VW Westfalia --
-- 85 VW Cabriolet, 87 Audi 5000 Quattro, 88 VW Syncro Double Cab --
-- David's Volkswagen Home Page http://www.volkswagen.org --
-- Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning http://www.fastforward.ca --
-- david@volkswagen.org (pmail) or vanagon@volkswagen.org (list) --
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