Other Interesting Background Stories About Gas Conversions

Petrol or Propane from the practical motorist December 1970
1970 Propane		 Harold Bate: LPG conversion in 1963
1963 LPG Conversion		 Harold Bate: Designs from an Alternate Fuel Unsung Hero
Harold Bate Inventions		 The Use of Methane in Commercial Transportation
Methane Truck		 Harold Bate: Petrol or Methane, a source of fun or a practical fuel source?
Pig Powered Car

Petrol vs. Propane - A Not-So-Distant History

Petrol or Propane from the practical motorist December 1970

[cue the opening bars of Tomorrow's World...] The following article was published after petrol had hit the very high price of 6 shillings and 8d (Old pennies) per UK gallon = 33p per gallon or £0.0726p per Litre. The cost of LPG at this time was 2 shillings 10d (Old pennies) per UK Gallon = 0.15p or 0.033p per Lt. The cost of a LPG conversion in 1970 was £135.00. You can hopefully see that the return on investment in 1970 was similar to today. Why not try the figures for yourself in our savings calculator on our home page?

Why did it not catch on?

At that time there were very few filling stations 20 or so in the whole of the UK, the tank took up all the boot and engines were not designed to burn unleaded fuels (they lacked hardened valve seats like those in the cars of today. This meant that valve recession and pitting, damaged the engines. If flashlube had existed at that time the story would have been completely different.

The Fuel Crisis of 1973

The article preceded the fuel crisis of 1973 when petrol was almost rationed, in fact many motorists received ration books, as the UK prepared for the worst, but thankfully the rationing was never actually implemented. The article explains the early system very well, although these systems would not be accepted today under the current LPGA codes of practice.

Improvements In Standards

Please note the man filling his tank with the coupling in the boot. These days the couplings are always outside the vehicle so that any gas loss during as the supply hose is coupled will evaporate harmlessly. Another example of how standards are always improving in the LPG conversion industry.

Each page below can be enlarged by clicking on it or you can download all the pages in a single PDF by clicking the "Download as a PDF" link.


Courtesy of Practical Motorist

The Use of Methane in Commercial Transportation
Page 1		 The Use of Methane in Commercial Transportation
Page 2		 Harold Bate: An Alternate Fuel Unsung Hero
Page 3		 Petrol or Propane from the practical motorist December 1970
Download as a PDF

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