wear in a gas engine vs propane fueled
 

is there a reule of thumb? do propane fueled engines wear better or the same or worse than the same engine fueled by gasoline?

Tom W

My guess would be better, since propane burns quite a bit cleaner, reducing the amount of pollutants in the engine oil. I would imagine that propane also has fewer additives/modifiers than gasoline, also aiding in reducing the amount of pollutants in the intake and combustion chamber.

Propane, although having fewer Btu's than gasoline, does have a higher octane rating - so pre-ignition (and its adverse effects) ought to be greatly reduced/eliminated as well.

Having had some experience with propane fueled Mitsubishi engines in standby generator service,i would have to say that wear is probably somewhat less than the same engine running on gasoline. I have never seen one with enough hours on it to have much wear,but i base my opinion on the fact that when they reach 100 hours for the recomended oil change the oil is barely different in color than the new oil being put in. This is certainly not proof or even scientific but its what i base my opinion on,but its just MY opinion,yours mat vary. My $.02 Don

most fork-trucks are simple GM 4cyl. engines.



at my last job, it was a 1980 model - ran like new (the hour counter had stopped working, along with no odo.) Ignition system went out before anything - it's the GM's crap ecu.


Pulled the dipstick, oil looked new (nice amber color) I wasn't changed in the 2 years i worked there. replaced plugs wires and it was fine. It's probably still running right now...