I am having problems with my LPG conversion now 18 months down the line.
My agent tells me that there may be a problem with the gas melting the flexible
pipes, this seems to have raised its ugly head in Holland and I am told that we in the
UK export 3 million tons of gas.
The answer that I am looking for is there a problem with the pipes or is it the gas
that is causing the problems also has any one else heard of this or had problems.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/12/2007 at 13:38
|
So your "converter" is admitting that the materials that he used are not suitable for the purpose?
|
No, but what he is saying is that the Dutch are havind problems across the whole range
of conversions, so if the materials used are common to all the conversions and the LPG is the other common factor then if the material is melting ie becoming sticky then who is to blame.
Some years ago I had a caravan and was told that the flex rubber pipe should be
changed evey year, but I would have thought that the industry would have improved
bt now.
|
Sadly the whole LPG conversion field is full of get-rich-quick shysters that bodge-on utter rubbish for £thousands and then come up with incredible excuses as to why it doesn't work.
90% of the LPG add-ons that I see don't work any more. You only have to look at the amateur wiring to see how long it'll last.
Proper gas-proof hose is very expensive; cheap fuel hose makes them more profit.
|
There has been talk of the gas removing the plasticiser from hoses on caravan LPG systems, which then turns into an oil and block the regulator.
"These drops of gas and plasticiser sit on the hose inner surface until the user makes a sudden demand for gas and these gas/plasticiser droplets would then suddenly vaporise and create microdroplets of the plasticiser to occur in the gas stream. These could then be readily drawn into the regulator by gravity as the hose has always had a downward section. Droplets in the hose section running ?downhill ?back to the cylinder would travel in that direction. Of course, if these droplets on the inner hose wall become large enough then they may in fact trickle directly into the regulator unaided. This particular theory is feasible, but almost impossible to prove or disprove without lengthy testing."
|
|
|
Thats why LPG vehicles are banned in the channel tunnel because of such poor installation & cheap kits. caravans have their gas bottles turned off & are checked & labelled before x-ing. As marlot say's the caravan industry is having problems with gas & hoses at the moment & they aren't quite sure whether its the gas or the oil in the gas thats causing degredation of the hoses but it has been a wide spread problem on new caravans in the last year or 2.
|
|
I would not touch a vehicle that was not fitted with LPG by the manufacturer or at least with a manufacturer- approved kit.There are large numbers of converters and conversions and very few are any good.When you see some conversions using jubilee clips and Scotchlok connectors,these are UNSAFE.Manufacturer's ones are Government inspected and must undergo a crash-test.A large steel cylinder coming into the passenger compartment from the back of the car will kill the occupants,let alone the fire/explosion.
|
Interesting replies so far.
I might add that the conversion was done by an ex jag fitter and he has been doing them for a number of years and this is the first year that he has had any problems, even the local jag agents regonise him as being very good at his job. If he was a cowboy he would not be paying out over £6000 for the soft ware to enable him to set up and install the lpg systems and also to sort out teething problems.
|
|
It's not the kit, it's the installers who give LPG a bad reputation. A lot of them are the 'a bit dodgy' types aka 'entrepreneurs' in this country of poor motor industry regulation. But is it any different to the rest of the industry? My first auto re-build was done by a guy who I later found had no formal training and when I started getting serious about the re-builds failing every 2K or less, he packed up and opened a curry house in an old pub. Now he's hiding in Spain scamming ex-pats. BTW I found proper 'Jubilee' clips to be better and stronger than the permanent gas collars/tabs/eared fixings that were on the conversion by the LPGA(ha!) approved garage. There's still no substitute for the human brain and common sense (genius in it's everyday clothes) ... yet!
|
|
|
|
|
