LPG Discussion Forum

Whilst I know very little about Mercedes, I'm guessing that yours isn't a particularly high volume vehicle and is in a part of the market where (at least the initial) buyers are less price sensitive about running costs.

So not a lot of them about, and a lot of installers would be wary of tackling something that may be well out of their comfort zone (and would be particularly expensive if they get it wrong).

SimonHobson wrote:Another consideration that's come to the fore more recently - economics.

Go back to 1990 and earlier vehicles, and apart from valve seat recession (rule of thumb: if it's OK for unleaded, it's OK for gas) and the engine management systems were mostly so basic that you could get away with almost anything. Ie a simple "cooker ring on the inlet", optionally a closed loop controller, and Robert's your mother's brother.

Since then, and especially since around 2000, the management systems have become so sensitive that you need really tight control and only an injection system will do. The extra cost of these puts the conversion price up.

Add in that in many places the cost differential between gas and petrol has eroded, and vehicles are generally getting more efficient, both factors leading to a lower rate of return on a higher investment. Unless (like a few of us here) you can do it (properly) yourself, then the upshot is that it's not financially attractive unless you drive something big and thirsty or you do a lot of miles.

Simon i completely understand what you are saying re economics but let me put my point of view across. Ok having been in the industry 15+ years the ratio of LPG to petrol has hardly changed its 2:1 and always has been. When i started converting cars it was 29p a litre when you could get it ! and petrol was 58p. Now petrol is £1.36 and lpg is 68p for arguments sake. Ok its had a bit of turbulence on the way but its hardly changed really. The really huge savings are with high milers, always was but i remeber the italians looking at me quizzically when i wanted mixers for v6's and v8's. All they ever converted was small economical cars until the english arrived. But nowadays they are right ! small 55+ mpg cars on gas are the way forward ! thats the holy grail mate 100+ mpg equivalently. Back in the day i used to charge 1200 for a mixer system and now i only charge 995 for a four cylinder car on gas injection. Yes the profit is less from my side of the fence. But you fit them and never really see them again as long as you install them correctly, once you put that obd or can bus wires they take care of themselves and they make damn sure they never upset anything. So its all good really. Just the hangover from the bad old days is the only problem as you say.
The only worrying thing is that the only problems i see these days are from polish systems (but saying that i have one on my wifes car thats been great) and old mixers. But the general public have no differentiation between gas injection systems.
Thats the problem we now have ! lol always something isnt there.

not bad, over a 13 months since the last "down"

This board is just too popular - ran out of bandwidth for the Month. Think its time for an increase.

admin wrote:This board is just too popular - ran out of bandwidth for the Month. Think its time for an increase.

yey! any contributions needed?

We have all been uploading lots of pics last month. Maybe we should have some kind of 'gentlemans agreement' about how many we put up ? If that contributes to it at all. It's got to be better than loosing the forum all together for a few days at the end of every month ?
I'm all up for some kind of donation if the bandwidth needs an increase.

admin wrote:I dont suppose you know anyone around Confolens ?

Damian

xpect you bought from Sonia at Sovimo if you have the old Maison Secondaire??

We have a couple of links to the area

Must read on, by the way what irks me is that as we do the c.01.00 run to the Charente you can never get LPG from the Somme station where the wife needs spend a penny, but the next Garage up the road is alsways switched on for it. Somme refuses to serve during dark hours as do some on return journey.

admin wrote:This board is just too popular - ran out of bandwidth for the Month. Think its time for an increase.

don't know if you can check my threads - earlier photo's were very large size owing to error on my camera settings. Mb's rather than Kb's

Sorry about that, you may want to delete them - not sure if it will give you back any bandwidth??

admin wrote:Shame that as it would have been really handy as we have just decided to buy around Confolens, in fact offer accepted today so now to sort out the upgrade to the Fosse :0( Carp job but someones got to do it....

Only just realised that this is an old thread revived, and may be late in the day, but you do know that if you are not using a property all year round it is possible to plead poverty and where you only use it six weeks or so of the year you may avoid updating. Frankly some of the original Fosses have served families for a lifetime and rarely been emptied and will go on indefinately. Its an unnecessary expense for many.

If of course the previous inhabo's have been using a bucket and chuck it (many do) then you'll have to invest.
The argument for the Earth Closet is still a strong one in these days of austere water measures.