MAJOR SWING TO L.P.G. UNLIKELY

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33774, 21 February 1975, Page 4

MAJOR SWING TO L.P.G. UNLIKELY

It is unlikely there will be a widespread swing to liquid petroleum gas as a fuel for cars, although firms which run a large fleet of vehicles from a central point may find the use of the fuel attractive, the technical services manager of a leading fuel company has said.

Discussing the use of L.P.G., and local experiments with it, Mr W. G. Dyer said that although New Zealand obtained L.P.G. from the Maui field, the demand for automotive fuel was much greater than the amount of L.P.G. available.

There were also problems carrying and distributing the fuel, and high costs involved in extracting it.

Mr Dyer said that although New Zealanders were not big “spenders” of energy when compared with some other countries, they were users of large amounts'of petrol.

Just the same, the country’s total petrol consumption was small, he said: if all the motoritists in the United States stopped driving for one day, enough fuel would be saved to keep New Zealand motorists driving for nearly six months.

Electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, alcohol and various gases were being studied as alternatives to petrol, but in most cases they had serious drawbacks, Mr Dyer said. However, L.P.G, had few drawbacks, and was available locallv.

For many years, L.P.G.

had been used as a car fuel in several countries. Mr Dyer said. It was used in about 100.000 vehicles in Europe, 250.000 taxis in Japan, and 250.000 assorted vehicles in the United States.

Cars fitted with conversion kits had been tested locally and had given good results, Mr Dyer said. Conversion brought a drop in power of about 10 per cent, but this could be overcome with special manifolds. The absence of lead, whic' acts as a valve seat lubricant, could cause dramatic rates of valve seat wear, but this- could be overcome with the use of hardened valve seats and valve rotators.

L.P.G. required a higher plug voltage to fire it than did petrol, so a car’s ignition system must be in excellent condition, Mr Dyer said.

His company’s trials

with five vehicles had shown no difficult s. Apart from advancing the ignition timing and tuning the carburettor, the cars’ engines were not modified in any way beyond the fitting of rhe kit to allow the use of gas or petrol at the turn of a switch.

There was generally a 10 per cent power drop on L.P.G., but drivers did not comment on it — although they commented on the cars’ easy starting, and smooth and quiet running. All the evidence suggested that the use of L.P.G. would increase engine life considerably, Mr Dyer said. Oil changes would also be required much less frequently. Mr Dyer said that although L.P.G. could be produced locally, large costs were involved in extracting and transporting it, although bulk deliveries could be similar in cost to bulk petrol deliveries. This could help make the fuel attractive to users — such as fleet depots — who required large bulk deliveries, he said.