1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Propane powered Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by David Beale, Aug 3, 2007.

  1. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2006
    5,963
    1,981
    0
    Location:
    Edmonton Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Hey, I was getting my Amateur radio plate registered last week and when the nice lady returned my registration form I noticed in the "Fuel type" space it said "propane". I questioned that, and told her it was gasoline. She tells me the VIN indicates the fuel type as propane. I had her correct it. Now I want to fill my tank with propane. It's about a third the cost of gasoline right now. ;)

    VA6DAB
     
  2. hycamguy07

    hycamguy07 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    2,707
    2
    0
    Location:
    Central Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Man can you imagine? you really get some good mpgs..
     
  3. FireEngineer

    FireEngineer Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2004
    1,247
    124
    0
    Location:
    SW-Side of Chicago, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    There is a company in England who does Prius LPG conversions.

    Wayne
     
  4. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    4,319
    1,527
    0
    Location:
    Tampa Bay
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Be mighty glad it did not say "Plutonium".

    P.S. Do not use the left over gas for your grill. It will not work out well for you or the grill.
     
  5. Tadashi

    Tadashi Member

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2005
    796
    4
    0
    Location:
    Fort Hood, TX
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I thought you do not get as much MPG with LPG since it does not contain as much energy as gasoline. I think in the long run you end up paying more per mile, but not sure.
     
  6. diamondlarry

    diamondlarry EPA MPG #'s killer

    Joined:
    May 20, 2007
    559
    12
    0
    Location:
    Elkhart, IN
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Aug 3 2007, 06:48 PM) [snapback]490194[/snapback]</div>
    That is correct. Propane has much less energy content than gasoline but it burns a whole lot cleaner.
     
  7. AussieOwner

    AussieOwner Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2007
    1,091
    67
    0
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Aug 4 2007, 08:48 AM) [snapback]490194[/snapback]</div>
    I would doubt that. All the taxis in Sydney run on LPG because it is cheaper than gasoline. The MPG for the average taxi is about the same as an equivalent non-modified car, but here in Aust, LPG is about half the price of gas, so significant cost savings for the taxi operators. Of course, our gas is way higher in price compared to the US. :)
     
  8. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2006
    5,963
    1,981
    0
    Location:
    Edmonton Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Yes, Propane gives a bit less energy than gasoline, perhaps as much as 20% less. It burns cleaner, and Propane is much less expensive. So it would still be much cheaper to use it than gasoline. Hey, no bladder in a propane tank. ;) But my car is really gasoline powered, just that either Toyota or our DMV messed up with the VIN coding. Probably our DMV.
     
  9. Tadashi

    Tadashi Member

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2005
    796
    4
    0
    Location:
    Fort Hood, TX
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    hhmm So could we replace the bladder tank with a propane tank? Possibly the spare tire location also?
     
  10. Prius 07

    Prius 07 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2007
    715
    21
    0
    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Aug 3 2007, 12:33 PM) [snapback]489979[/snapback]</div>
    Better let Toyota know to include a propane BBQ as option 7 for the 2008 model. Think of all the time saved by cooking your dinner in the car on the way home. :lol:
     
  11. eagsc7

    eagsc7 Geocacher

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2008
    50
    3
    0
    Location:
    Prescott, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    I'll head down to the conversion place downtown tomorrow... See what they say :p

    So then as a LONG Term goal, it'd have Plug-in Conversion Solar Roof Converson, Unleaded(Smaller Tank though), and LPG... Would that be a If its Energy.. I will use?


    The Steaks
     
  12. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2007
    4,374
    313
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    For conversion you need to have some addetif put into the propane tank to keep the cylinder head from damaging!
     
  13. phoskins

    phoskins New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2008
    33
    0
    0
    Location:
    Waterford, CT
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    When I was growing up, the last big gas crisis was going on in the 1970's. My dad worked for a company that converted cars and trucks to run on propane. Our family car was a Ford Torino (with a 289 V8) that ran on propane. We also had a big Ford econline van on propane. Here are some pros and cons that I remember:

    - The propane tank is heavy and large and it has to be mounted somewhere that the Prius designers probably would not agree with. In the Ford Torino it was far forward in the trunk and that of course reduced the trunk space. In the Ford Econoline van it had two large tanks mounted underneath each side. Where would you put one in a Prius? Not practical.

    - The range was amazing. In our van we once drove from Raleigh, NC, to Miami, then to Illinios, then back to NC and still had fuel remaining. The car also had a huge range. It also burns near 100% clean.

    - Fill up. Most places that will fill your grill tank will not fill your car. Wheneever we went on a long trip we had to carefully plan where to fill up propane. AAA can not bring you propane if you run out along side the road.

    - As one poster stated above, propane does not have the same power as gasoline. The MPG's were always slightly less than a normal gas powered car.

    - It will probably void every Toyota warranty you can imagine.

    I like my Prius as it is and would not do this. IF someonee does, good luck and I will be interested to see how it works.
     
  14. mandrei83

    mandrei83 Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2009
    139
    32
    0
    Location:
    Stockholm, Sweden
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    ccdisce likes this.
  15. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    You can fill your Prius tank with propane. Be my guest.

    Tom
     
  16. mandrei83

    mandrei83 Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2009
    139
    32
    0
    Location:
    Stockholm, Sweden
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi Tom,

    I'm not sure which is the difference between the propane and LPG, but from what I've read on [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane]Propane - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame], they are almost same thing:

    "Propane is a three-[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon"]carbon[/ame] [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkane"]alkane[/ame], normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. It is derived from other [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum"]petroleum[/ame] products during oil or [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas"]natural gas[/ame] processing. It is commonly used as a fuel for [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engines"]engines[/ame], oxy-gas torches, [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue"]barbecues[/ame], [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_stove"]portable stoves[/ame] and residential [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_heating"]central heating[/ame]. When used as vehicle fuel, it is commonly known as [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquefied_petroleum_gas"]liquefied petroleum gas[/ame] (LPG or LP gas), which can be a mixture of propane along with small amounts of [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene"]propylene[/ame], [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane"]butane[/ame], and [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butylene"]butylene[/ame]. An [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroma_compound"]odorant[/ame] such as [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanethiol"]ethanethiol[/ame] or [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiophene"]thiophene[/ame] is added so that people can easily smell the gas in case of a leak."


    Source: Wikipedia
     
  17. cdltpx

    cdltpx Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2012
    43
    19
    0
    Location:
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    IDK what your use is but my prius basically stays in the Baton Rouge area it would make sense to drop the 12 gallon fuel tank and install a simple 6 gallon gas and a 5 gallon propane tank this way locally we use propane cutting our fuel cost in half prolonging the life of the engine too. Basically the range would be about 450miles using both fuels 225+ gas. IDK about you but 225 miles 70 mph is over 3.25 hours driving ever since back surgery I stop every 2 hours for fuel and stretch. On the Interstate I would hate to search for propane the refueling process is too time consuming to warrant interstate travel as of yet maybe later this can change but so far I would wish to go with gas on the big road propane locally. I would say this because the incredible range prius owners enjoy the 12 gallon tank is really overkill for a mostly local driver.
     
  18. reddogpatch

    reddogpatch Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2017
    37
    17
    0
    Location:
    Savannah, Mo
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Three Touring
    Based on what technical evidences to support this claim, please..?
     
  19. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2016
    2,577
    1,600
    0
    Location:
    Somewhere in Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2013 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    N/A
    Because 2012
    Necro to the max