buddy
Active Member
Here is my Propane Fumigation project, just for you Matt, so anxious.
It worked well until my pressure switches failed, dont put those on the intake, found warning on the box afterwards.
So when I get new pressure switches or figure out a better way to do it on the cheap I'll update this, but thought you might like the pics.
Here you see the 8.5 gallon bully dog tank which was a big cost driver, $450. I had to get this long cylinder to put in my tool box, because the box was already taking up so much bed space and my truck doesnt sit high off the ground and not enough room under truck. I bolted the tank support to the front of the box and set it down on carpeted plywood. I ran a 16' braided steel hose from tank up to regulator in the engine bay. I installed the 3/4" piping up to a new fill valve ($30) and had it purged and leak checked ($25). This way I can pop open the box and fill it up without expensive remote fill kit. Otherwise I couldnt access the fill valve obviously with it in the box. You can only fill up 80% of your tank, so take that into consideration. There are relief valves to stop it at 80% full. Inexperienced gas station attendants may not know that, but make sure you open the valve and stop filling when it starts coming out. You can see propane hose going out a hole I cut in the box and I ran it down between the cab and bed. Also there is my 5 gallon aluminum WMI tank and the WMI pump next to it. So I got the pane tank, water tank ($100) and the pump ($100) in the tool box. And still room for my random junk (worthless). Maybe some sealed batteries (too expensive) in the future.
Here I installed the regulator ($200) on the passenger fender where the airbox used to be. I just used a couple L brackets to suspend it there. I put plastic loom and aluminum tape around the propane supply line as it is routed by the exhaust. I also aluminum wrapped some of the hoses that go to the intake. The regulator has a solenoid ($30) on the supply that I triggered with a 4psi Hobbs switch ($18). Then I split the regulator output and put a propane solenoid ($30) on one of the lines activated by a Hobbs pressure switch adjusted to 9psi. I also piped the heater hose into the regulator, which ensures absolutely that the propane hitting the intake is all in its gaseous state. The heater hose isnt required unless using Liquid propane, but the location was so convenient to just cut the line and hook it up. The second solenoid is hiding on the fender behind the hoses.
So the sparge tubes ($40 each) are the real secret to my setup, or at least the point of importance. I have two, one for each stage of boost. The propane flow is adjusted at the sparge tube, based on how much I open the bolt on it. The sparge tubes were costly themselves, but well made. I got a 1/4" NPT coupler, cut it in half, and a 3" exhaust pipe and had a local guy weld it up to give me what you see ($30 total). I like how it turned out.
Having the two solenoids and flow adjusted at the sparge tube it allows me to let in just a little at 4psi. I have the stage 1 sparge tube almost half open. Then at 9psi when the other solenoid opens the stage 2 sparge tube is like 3/4 open and they both are going then.
I run the propane simultaneously with WMI. WMI will retard fuel ignition, which I thought would be nice when putting in a volatile gas in with it
Propane has a high autoignition temp, higher than diesel, but with the Precombustion chamber there could be preignition of the propane. So you got to hover around the percentage of propane that is not combustable in air, like 5% I think it was, or maybe the water helps with this. Im not sure, but I had no preignition issues on a 2200 mile one way trip I tested it with up the Rocky mountains. There were times when I hit some boost and the truck was taking off quick even with the cruise set at 75MPH it would go to 90MPH on its own. the propane was making my truck fly up these mts. Later I realized the pressure switch was shorted out so both stages were going whenever it activated. Oops, but no harm luckily. Then I quick rewired at a rest stop to just operate off of switch. I probably used up the 7 gallons of propane with about 80 gallons of fuel, thats one fillup for me. I was getting about 24MPG on that long haul with the pane and WMI going, all interstate for 2200 miles in two days going 75-80MPH.
Obviously propane costs so any MPG gains are a bust, but I had some considerable power spurts with the propane going. Ultimately an expensive proposition, and a real kit from Heath is going to end up being like $800 without a tank. I was talking to the guys that made the setup for Ian and they wanted $600 for a used bench test system. but that would be an awesome boost variable regulator, only one line and one sparge tube and well regulated flow through boost. I would only really recommend it for people hauling serious weight, 10K+ lbs. Unless you just like to go really fast
It worked well until my pressure switches failed, dont put those on the intake, found warning on the box afterwards.
So when I get new pressure switches or figure out a better way to do it on the cheap I'll update this, but thought you might like the pics.
Here you see the 8.5 gallon bully dog tank which was a big cost driver, $450. I had to get this long cylinder to put in my tool box, because the box was already taking up so much bed space and my truck doesnt sit high off the ground and not enough room under truck. I bolted the tank support to the front of the box and set it down on carpeted plywood. I ran a 16' braided steel hose from tank up to regulator in the engine bay. I installed the 3/4" piping up to a new fill valve ($30) and had it purged and leak checked ($25). This way I can pop open the box and fill it up without expensive remote fill kit. Otherwise I couldnt access the fill valve obviously with it in the box. You can only fill up 80% of your tank, so take that into consideration. There are relief valves to stop it at 80% full. Inexperienced gas station attendants may not know that, but make sure you open the valve and stop filling when it starts coming out. You can see propane hose going out a hole I cut in the box and I ran it down between the cab and bed. Also there is my 5 gallon aluminum WMI tank and the WMI pump next to it. So I got the pane tank, water tank ($100) and the pump ($100) in the tool box. And still room for my random junk (worthless). Maybe some sealed batteries (too expensive) in the future.
Here I installed the regulator ($200) on the passenger fender where the airbox used to be. I just used a couple L brackets to suspend it there. I put plastic loom and aluminum tape around the propane supply line as it is routed by the exhaust. I also aluminum wrapped some of the hoses that go to the intake. The regulator has a solenoid ($30) on the supply that I triggered with a 4psi Hobbs switch ($18). Then I split the regulator output and put a propane solenoid ($30) on one of the lines activated by a Hobbs pressure switch adjusted to 9psi. I also piped the heater hose into the regulator, which ensures absolutely that the propane hitting the intake is all in its gaseous state. The heater hose isnt required unless using Liquid propane, but the location was so convenient to just cut the line and hook it up. The second solenoid is hiding on the fender behind the hoses.
So the sparge tubes ($40 each) are the real secret to my setup, or at least the point of importance. I have two, one for each stage of boost. The propane flow is adjusted at the sparge tube, based on how much I open the bolt on it. The sparge tubes were costly themselves, but well made. I got a 1/4" NPT coupler, cut it in half, and a 3" exhaust pipe and had a local guy weld it up to give me what you see ($30 total). I like how it turned out.
Having the two solenoids and flow adjusted at the sparge tube it allows me to let in just a little at 4psi. I have the stage 1 sparge tube almost half open. Then at 9psi when the other solenoid opens the stage 2 sparge tube is like 3/4 open and they both are going then.
I run the propane simultaneously with WMI. WMI will retard fuel ignition, which I thought would be nice when putting in a volatile gas in with it
Propane has a high autoignition temp, higher than diesel, but with the Precombustion chamber there could be preignition of the propane. So you got to hover around the percentage of propane that is not combustable in air, like 5% I think it was, or maybe the water helps with this. Im not sure, but I had no preignition issues on a 2200 mile one way trip I tested it with up the Rocky mountains. There were times when I hit some boost and the truck was taking off quick even with the cruise set at 75MPH it would go to 90MPH on its own. the propane was making my truck fly up these mts. Later I realized the pressure switch was shorted out so both stages were going whenever it activated. Oops, but no harm luckily. Then I quick rewired at a rest stop to just operate off of switch. I probably used up the 7 gallons of propane with about 80 gallons of fuel, thats one fillup for me. I was getting about 24MPG on that long haul with the pane and WMI going, all interstate for 2200 miles in two days going 75-80MPH.Obviously propane costs so any MPG gains are a bust, but I had some considerable power spurts with the propane going. Ultimately an expensive proposition, and a real kit from Heath is going to end up being like $800 without a tank. I was talking to the guys that made the setup for Ian and they wanted $600 for a used bench test system. but that would be an awesome boost variable regulator, only one line and one sparge tube and well regulated flow through boost. I would only really recommend it for people hauling serious weight, 10K+ lbs. Unless you just like to go really fast
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