propane

[konk]

Anyone run propane on the 230L? I would like to try it but not shure the motor will have good power with this setup. What cam would you run with this? HELP konk.

[Bruce]

One Of One

There is a M-37 in Greece with the conversion, don't remember the guys name?

[MasterYota]

A high lift, short duration cam works best with propane. Essentially you want to open the valve, stuff as much of the vapor in there as possible and then shut the valve again. As propane is already a gaseous combustable, not vaporized with small droplets like gasoline, it has a tendancy to flow out just as easilly as flow in. Cams with lots of valve overlap tend to run poorly at low rpm. The 230 being a low rpm engine would not benifit from this type of cam.

The stock cam will probably work just fine, but I'll admit that I do not know the specs of the stock cam. RV type cam grinds in V8's seem to work well, so if the specs are similar it should work.

You can also advance the timing a couple of degree's, as propane usually has an octane rating somewhere north of 100.

Hope this helps and good luck

[maineSS]

You'll get slightly less power out of a gas-fueled engine in the same state of tune compared to gasoline. Part is due to BTU content, and part due to the greater volume occupied by a gaseous fuel compared to an atomized fuel- less room for air.

You can work around this by raising compression- in the 230 I'd immediately go for 8:1 as a starter, higher if Propane was the only fuel, and the head gasket would take it. The highest compressions I've heard of was 9.5:1 on 93 octane for tractor-pulling.

You have to watch your fuel/air ratio vs engine heat- Propane won't absorb heat thru evaporation like gasoline does, so you can't solve a marginal overheating problem by richening the mixture slightly. Your cooling system should be in good condition.

The plus side of Propane is greatly increased oil/engine life. The Downside is availability- its usually a "fleet fuel" where vehicles don't go very far from the fuel tank.

[pieter]

The Downside is availability- its usually a "fleet fuel" where vehicles don't go very far from the fuel tank.

The way around this issue is to use propane taks from a forklift.

Pieter

[maineSS]

You'll still need to get your forklift tanks refilled from some bulk tank. Propane vehicle conversions have a reasonable size tank, but the problem lies in refuelling- you need a special hose hookup, and the facilities aren't anywhere near as common as gas/diesel.