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Date:         Sun, 21 Sep 2003 22:19:04 +0100
Reply-To:     Tony Polson <tp@WHSMITHNET.CO.UK>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tony Polson <tp@WHSMITHNET.CO.UK>
Subject:      Re: Propane Fueled Turbo Diesel Injection
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Dennis Haynes wrote: > > So where is propane cheap?

Hi Dennis,

It's cheap in Europe.

Unlike gasoline (petrol) and Diesel fuel, which are both heavily taxed in the UK, propane carries a very low rate of tax. Partly this is because there is a glut of the gas that is an unwanted by-product of oil extraction from the North Sea oil fields, partly because using this gas instead of gasoline or Diesel fuel results in lower CO2 emissions**.

The cost advantage is huge. Propane costs about half the price of unleaded 95 octane fuel. It has a slightly lower calorific value (an index of its ability to produce heat and therefore power) so you burn slightly more, say about 15%. Propane-fuelled vehicles are therefore in demand and several manufacturers now offer them in the car showrooms, They will also run on 95 octane gasoline so you needn't worry about running out of gas - only about a third of UK gas stations sell propane.

In a Vanagon a storage tank can be fitted under the vehicle, under the back bench seat or in place of the spare tire. What you do with the spare tire is a moot point!

To give an idea about prices, 95 octane unleaded costs about GBP 0.75 per litre or about GBP 3.00 per US gallon. That's US $4.80 per US gallon, which is the highest gasoline price in the Western world. So any saving is worthwhile.

Propane costs from GBP 0.35 to 0.38 per litre or about GBP 1.50 per US gallon (US $2.40). Add 15% for the extra fuel you need because of the lower calorific value, and that comes to about US $1.72 (US $2.75). So the saving is $4.80 minus $2.75 which is over two bucks a gallon.

In mainland Europe, Diesel fuel costs a lot less than gasoline so there is less incentive to use propane. It is used in some city buses (along with LNG) to reduce harmful exhaust emissions in densely populated areas.

Tony

================

** Lower CO2 emissions help the UK to fulfil its international obligations under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and climate change. Americans have no such obligations because your esteemed President Bush refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol despite the Clinton Administration having previously signed it. The USA has only 5% of the world's population but produces over 25% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.


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