Propane Powered
 

Yep. Power your BBQ and power boat at the same time!?!?

I was thinking about doing this to do something a little different. With the current gas prices being pretty high if you drive your boat a lot this might be a money saving option. The national gas average is around $4 bucks. The national propane average is about $2.5. Also I learned that we as a nation aren't dependent on other countries for natural gas... Not sure but they said it on motor week.

I know its better on your engine and its better for the environment, which is great but whats the real scoop on power differences?
One of the guys in the video says hes making 520hp...

I found these big blocks on youtube running on propane. They still sound wicked. One's even running a dual quad set up.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Fp-haUWOJZo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiCT7cT_RUE

very cool, back in high school a kid had a old dodge p/u that ran on propane , it lit the tires up no problem, i wonder what the procedure and costs are to convert an engine over ?

Its about $1200. Its really pretty simple from what they say. Heres two I found.

http://www.gotpropane.com/p4.html
http://www.nashfuel.com/conversionkits.asp

I would be just a bit concerned with a small gas leak on propane as it will fill the boat with fumes when sitting, under pressure too. Second thing that I am wondering, can you move the ammount of cfm in propane to meet the high fuel flow requirements in the marine world? Just a thought

While it is true that we are less dependent on other countries for nautral gas, natural gas and propane are not the same.

Propane is a product of the refining natural gas, but is also heavily dependent on components from the refining of crude oil. So, there is some dependence of propane on oil sources.

Lots of high HP engines running propane though - but, there are pretty stringent ABYC specs for propane use on boats that might make it tough to impliment. And your insurance carrier will not cover your loss if you do not meet them.

The pricipal one that I think will kill it from a practical standpoint- all liquid propane (storage, pipes and regulators) must be in a sealed locker that vents overboard only. The only pipes allowed out of that locker are vapor lines.
http://www.diy-boat.com/solution-cen...ropane-locker/

All of the popane powered engines I've seen (both HP and otherwise) used a direct feed of liquid to the 'carb' on the engine - necessary I think to get the volume of propane required. That would mean the entire system including the engine must be in the sealed locker, and separated from the bilge. Pretty much the only way to do that is redesign the inside of the hull & engine mounting. Could be done, but not easy.

Thats some interesting info. :drink:

We're in the forklift business, 99% of the i.c. powered
units we deal with are LPG.

The pro's: clean burning, low emissions, high octane.

The con's: less BTU's than gasoline, the size of a tank
that would be required for a performance boat would be
massive.

Remember guys that the Coast Guard has the ultimate decision on how and what boats are fueled and powered with. For Insurance and liability reasons you would not want to experiment with or use anything like this idea unless you check on the requirements and restrictions on using propane gas on a boat for fuel.

Best Regards,
Ray@Raylar