Bulk tank for home heating AND autogas

[Gilbertd]

i wonder if the fact that SAAB used the Dolomite-derived engine in their B20 application (early 99s and 900s) caused the confusion? Perhaps it was assumed by the person that told me that as SAAB had the OHC slant four from Triumph, Volvo had bought the OHV from them also as the engine annotations (B20) were the same.
I can only apologise for giving out incorrect information but if it's taken 30 years to find out, it can't be terrifically common knowledge!

Seems like a bit more brain fade Dave. The Volvo engines are designated B18 and B20 to denote 1800 or 2 litre and can go on forever (see https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/ ... olvo-1800s) but the Saab engines are denoted B204 and B234 denoting 2 litre or 2.3 litre. There's also a B206 which doesn't have 6 cylinder as you might think, but is a slightly different design that doesn't have an internal balance shaft. I bet the Saab built ones are a lot better than the Triumph built ones knowing how bulletproof the Saab engines are.

How do I know? I've imported and been involved in the restoration of 6 assorted Volvo P1800, P1800S and P1800ES (which has a 2 litre engine just to keep the Scandinavian confusion going) and my first LPG powered car was a Saab 900 and I still have the Saab factory Workshop Information System software on my laptop. You never know when these things are going to come in useful.....

[LairdScooby]

Just to really confuse things Richard, Volvo also have a B234 - it's a 2.3 4 valve per cylinder as fitted to late 740 GLTs. Also from 1989 i think it was, the Volvos became B200, B230 etc and to really confuse things, they also had a B19 which was in fact a 2.0, a B17 that was an 1800 and all kinds of other weird things in the days of the early 240 series!

[rich r]

R5 GT Turbo was 1.4 litres, C1J788 engine. I was on the committee of the Owners Club for some years, and had more than one GT Turbo Renault never turbocharged the F2N, hence why using Volvo's version, which of course fits as there was a 1.7 litre Renault 5 model -the GTX and the leather seated version, the Monaco (I had one of those too!). In some ways I miss my Renault 5s for their simplicity, but in other ways I've quite got used to the comfort and ease of driving of newer cars.

Volvo's engine codes seem to have more to do with the capacity and number of valves than a design origin - hence various B18 engines of quite different types, but all running on petrol (B for benzine) and 1.8 litres (or approximately).

[LPGC]

Thanks for the offer Simon - it's a 1995 and it's definitely a wire pulled or broken between the steering column cowl and the wheel. Please don't ask how i know this!

The fabled Chrysler 'clock spring'? I just scrapped a '97 Chrysler Grand Voyager but robbed it of it's clock spring first. It may be compatible with your Jeep...

Were those methane breathing 18 cylinder 1000hp generator engines developed from dolomite engines too, mate?

Simon

[camaro]

I remember reading somewhere (after reading about Irv Gordon, who did 3 million miles in one) that the engine they used had a bigger main bearing area than a big block Chevy engine! That might go some way to explaining the mega mileage...

[LPGC]

I remember reading somewhere (after reading about Irv Gordon, who did 3 million miles in one) that the engine they used had a bigger main bearing area than a big block Chevy engine! That might go some way to explaining the mega mileage...

That's great going for an engine, unless it was a similar case to Rodney's, where his one brush had lasted many years but had needed several new brush ends and several new handles

Simon

[Brian_H]

I remember reading somewhere (after reading about Irv Gordon, who did 3 million miles in one) that the engine they used had a bigger main bearing area than a big block Chevy engine! That might go some way to explaining the mega mileage...

That's great going for an engine, unless it was a similar case to Rodney's, where his one brush had lasted many years but had needed several new brush ends and several new handles

Simon

I think you mean Trigger's Broom....

[LPGC]

I remember reading somewhere (after reading about Irv Gordon, who did 3 million miles in one) that the engine they used had a bigger main bearing area than a big block Chevy engine! That might go some way to explaining the mega mileage...

That's great going for an engine, unless it was a similar case to Rodney's, where his one brush had lasted many years but had needed several new brush ends and several new handles

Simon

I think you mean Trigger's Broom....

Oh! That was it!

[LairdScooby]

Thanks for the offer Simon - it's a 1995 and it's definitely a wire pulled or broken between the steering column cowl and the wheel. Please don't ask how i know this!

The fabled Chrysler 'clock spring'? I just scrapped a '97 Chrysler Grand Voyager but robbed it of it's clock spring first. It may be compatible with your Jeep...

Were those methane breathing 18 cylinder 1000hp generator engines developed from dolomite engines too, mate?

Simon

The clock spring might have got broken as well i suppose but i was actually replacing the heater fan switch at one point, for which i needed to remove the entire front of the dashboard - very bad design IMHO but as i replaced it (after forgetting to lower the steering wheel) the dash caught on the wiring between the column cowl and the steering wheel. Without realising it, i gave the dash a shove to get it back into place and lost the cruise control! Schoolboy error really!

Those methane breathing engines were Caterpillar 35C16s, originally diesel fuelled but converted for the purpose to spark ignition. These engines are commonly found in earth movers, locomotives and various other machines that are a little on the large side! This is similar but USA spec on the electric side :

https://youtu.be/UMemQe-k4NU

[LPGC]

Everything is relative! Might need to double up on injectors and reducers if converting this one to LPG or CNG: http://www.zmescience.com/science/bigge ... ine-world/

[camaro]

Someone is bound to sell a "front end" kit for it - imagine the size of the injectors...

[camaro]

Thanks for the offer Simon - it's a 1995 and it's definitely a wire pulled or broken between the steering column cowl and the wheel. Please don't ask how i know this!

The fabled Chrysler 'clock spring'? I just scrapped a '97 Chrysler Grand Voyager but robbed it of it's clock spring first. It may be compatible with your Jeep...

Were those methane breathing 18 cylinder 1000hp generator engines developed from dolomite engines too, mate?

Simon

I'm gradually breaking a 98 ZJ Grand Cherokee - happy to send you any parts you need, no charge except postage. Don't suppose you need a heavily reworked 130hp Evinrude outboard motor, for the REALLY wet stuff?
It's been on a 13ft Fletcher, and cracked the 100mph mark - new boxers required, it chine-walks like a mad thing, totally uncontrollable even on a flat calm lake. But hey, where is the fun in not being terrified, then pushing the throttle all the way?

[LPGC]

What's this Evinrude outboard? What's been heavily reworked? How much? Would be a bit over-powered for a 13ft boat I imagine!

[LairdScooby]

Thanks for the offer Simon - it's a 1995 and it's definitely a wire pulled or broken between the steering column cowl and the wheel. Please don't ask how i know this!

The fabled Chrysler 'clock spring'? I just scrapped a '97 Chrysler Grand Voyager but robbed it of it's clock spring first. It may be compatible with your Jeep...

Were those methane breathing 18 cylinder 1000hp generator engines developed from dolomite engines too, mate?

Simon

I'm gradually breaking a 98 ZJ Grand Cherokee - happy to send you any parts you need, no charge except postage. Don't suppose you need a heavily reworked 130hp Evinrude outboard motor, for the REALLY wet stuff?
It's been on a 13ft Fletcher, and cracked the 100mph mark - new boxers required, it chine-walks like a mad thing, totally uncontrollable even on a flat calm lake. But hey, where is the fun in not being terrified, then pushing the throttle all the way?

Thanks for the offer, if i need any bits i'll give you a shout. Not sure how many bits cross over from the pre-facelift XJ to the ZJ, i've tried getting a few bits from a ZJ in my local breakers and got halfway through and found major differences that aren't obvious from the start. For example, i need a new gear lever escutcheon for mine, started removing one from a ZJ only to find it had a lip on one side that mine didn't, despite looking the same from the drivers point of view - easily seen from the passenger side though!

Doubt i could ever use the Evinrude sadly, i live on one of the few high points of east Anglia and unless we get floods of biblical proportions the nearest i get to anything that floats these days is evicting a fly from my coffee!

Someone is bound to sell a "front end" kit for it - imagine the size of the injectors...

Here's one of the straws for it :

[camaro]

What's this Evinrude outboard? What's been heavily reworked? How much? Would be a bit over-powered for a 13ft boat I imagine!

Forgot all about this post, it's been ages since I remembered to log on - normally I just read, unless I need help!
It's now sold, but I bought the boat (and engine) for £600. EVERYTHING had been done to it, it was an old 130hp V4, apparently had been used for the "Round Ireland" races originally on a 15ft Fletcher. Transfer ports opened out, new imported reed kit, modified exhaust so it blew out through trumpets above the waterline - deafening.
It was then bought by a fella who put it on a 13ft Fletcher, terrified himself at about half throttle, and promptly sold it to another guy near the Solent, who was a boat builder. He scalloped the hull (for minimum contact with the water to get up on the plane faster), Doubled up the transom thickness, installed strengthening "knees" which support the transom, it looked totally bizarre.
Also put a "pad" on it - so at high speeds, the boat was essentially riding on a piece of hull the size of a piece of A3 paper, and nothing in the water except the leg and prop.
Then he got sensible and had to buy/build something else for the racing class he wanted to be in. So it went up on Ebay, and I bought it and brought it over here No other bids - it looked home-made, but was actually beautifully done.. All stripped out except for two racing seats - even the screen taken off and replaced with a little fibreglassed in deflector (you had to wear a helmet!).

It was so heavy at the rear you had to keep it on the trailer, start the engine, then get shoved off as hard as possible and give it some throttle or it would take in water over the back - and if you slowed down with no extra weight in the front, the bilge pump had to be on constantly until you got to a dock where you could hoist the rear up to keep it afloat.

I ran it for a while, on the same 13ft Fletcher, before getting told off by the warden on Loch Erne for disturbing the wildlife with the noise and wake.
Pulled in at the marina the day after I was warned, and a German sounding fella asked what speed it would do. I told him over 100 knots.
"Bullshit" he said, "If you can take me over 100 knots in that, I will buy it from you for £3000"

He was a fat fella, so I dumped out everything except the half-full fuel can, and met him the next day.

Took it easy at first up to about 65, and he was impressed "she handles nicely, very loud!"
I floored it (pedal throttle) and we wound up at 107 knots, me trying to control the chine walk (boat rocks from side to side, like the "speed wobbles" on a bike).

And as good as his word, once we got back to the marina (just - hardly any petrol left!) he said "Yes, we had an agreement - she is sold now, true?"

He vanished and came back with £3000 cash half an hour later, and that was that.
I heard him roaring up and down the lake about 3 times that weekend, then come Monday, they had moved on up the lake to a different marina - suspect the warden had been at him, as well.

And that is the story... the one hilarious bit was when he got into the boat for the trial ride, and looked round, then looked at me - "no seat belts?"

No, you don't want to flip a boat at 100mph and be stuck in your seat with no windscreen, wearing a helmet - your head would probably be ripped off! Eejit...

[DodgeRover]

Bringing this thread back from the dead! Just had an offer accepted on another place that's solid fuel only. Can anybody who is on FFRR message the guy with the tank to ask if he had to have crash barriers etc round his tank and a security fence like a commercial filling station due to having a vehicle fuelling point?
Many thanks

[Gilbertd]

I very much doubt it. There's a lot of places in my area that don't have mains gas so either use oil or LPG and I've never seen any barriers around an LPG tank. Most just sit in the corner of a garden. Guidelines for separation distance say 3m from any buildings for a 500-2500 litre tank.

[rich r]

Same here - there's no mains gas in most of the area where I live, and LPG tanks tend to just sit in the front garden on a slab of concrete. I've seen a few where people have put a trellis round it to make it look prettier, but never anything crash proof.

FWIW, my house is heated by a solid fuel boiler in the kitchen, which feeds 12 radiators (although the kitchen and the rooms adjoining it get most of their heat radiated from the boiler itself). It's no bother really - just load it up with coal in the morning and before going to bed, empty the ash once a day. It'll happily burn for 24 hours if you turn it down low. Yes it's messy and not as convenient as gas, but it has no moving parts (well, there is a thermostatic flap, and I guess you could count the door as a moving part), no electronics or valves to go wrong etc. We looked at getting LPG or oil but coal works out way cheaper.

[Gilbertd]

A house my parents lived in years ago had solid fuel but that had some sort of hopper to feed the coal in as it was needed. That way it filled itself and only needed the hopper filling a couple of times a week. Worked fine but my father was a gas engineer so changed it for an LPG boiler. Rather than having a bulk tank, and thinking about it, wouldn't have been able to achieve the 3m separation, he had a small cage at the side of the house with 3 of the big calor bottles in it. When it was down to the last bottle he just had two more full ones delivered.

I'm on oil and the only downside is the gauges are no more accurate that the average car LPG gas gauge. You know it's getting low but aren't sure just how low as the difference in reading between having 100 litres left and 10 litres left is pretty marginal.

[LPGC]

For people who would like to run a vehicle on LPG but don't have convenient LPG forecourts in their area, having a bulk LPG tank at home could be the answer regardless of whether home is heated by LPG (from the bulk tank)? I believe some suppliers are fussy about which tanks they will fill, some want to have installed the tank themselves and want you to rent the tank from them, other suppliers not fussy at all and will fill any tank. In the latter case could buy a second hand tank, pump and fill gun and away you go. Obviously declaring the proportion of (or all) LPG used as road fuel and paying the road fuel duty on it rather than paying the cheaper price for gas that is used for domestic heating... even if the supplier doesn't question the vehicle refuelling gear.