Petrol to LPG

[ken.p]

Are there any companies that convert petrol driven vehicle to LPG in Hua Hin.

Ken.

[Pagey]

Yes, under the flyover/u turn near Kao Takiab turn off

[Spitfire]

It's a conundrum this one is, as in whether to do it or not, as it may give you cheap gas but totally destroys the value of the vehicle and I'd say there might be some safety issues as it is a completely unregulated business carried out by Somchai the unregulated mechanic that just passed his local Techno College course.

[Big Boy]

I didn't realise that it de-valued the car Spitfire. I assumed that the cheaper fuel would have made the vehicle more sought after. I've learnt something tonight.

[Spitfire]

Yeah BB, even here they like the vehicles to be as original as possible and left as the manufacturer intended them to be. When you sell something here, original is good, even down to the screws, nuts and wing mirrors without those blingy and flashy indicators.

My general rule is that a bit of bling is fine as it's just stick-on and will come off easily enough, but I won't actually take anything original off the vehicle....second hand buyers don't like it, including the stereo.

[JD]

Not many places to fill up LPG in Hua Hin. A friend has an LPG Chevrolet and sometimes the queue is over an hour long.

[Nereus]

It's a conundrum this one is, as in whether to do it or not, as it may give you cheap gas but totally destroys the value of the vehicle and I'd say there might be some safety issues as it is a completely unregulated business carried out by Somchai the unregulated mechanic that just passed his local Techno College course.

Maybe you would be better sticking to something that you do know about, Spitfire.
How can it totally destroy the value of the vehicle? The safety issue is not something that is restricted to vehicle gas conversions, and if any owner does not look into the qualifications of the installer, then he only has himself to blame if something is not right. The conversion is also regulated and has to be approved by the Land Transport Dept.

If the number of new LPG gas stations being built between Bangkok and just Hua Hin is any indication, then there must be a vast number of people that also regards it as a good thing.

[Spitfire]

We'll have to disagree on that one Nereus.

How can it totally destroy the value of the vehicle?

Because it's been screwed with.

[Nereus]

We'll have to disagree on that one Nereus.

No problem to disagree, but I would like to see some facts to back up your statement.

[Spitfire]

Sorry, I edited my post to point out the obvious dude.

[Nereus]

Sorry, I edited my post to point out the obvious dude.

Please enlighten me: what is obvious??????

[Spitfire]

You are actually a clever poster Nereus but sometimes your arrogance gets the better of you.....we are done on this one and sorry to step on your toes in a subject you claim as your own.

[heartofmidlothian]

I changed my car to LPG exactly 1 year ago. No regrets at all. Car feels exactly the same and saves plenty on gas bills. Using gasohol 91, it works out about 3 baht per kilo. Using LPG it works out at 1.3 baht per kilo. Having done 25 000 kms in the last year, I have saved 42 500 baht and I think I paid about 33 000 baht to change.
There are 3 LPG stations that I use locally and I have never had to wait more than a couple of minutes. NGV is where you tend to wait.
I can't believe that this kind of saving would make a 2nd hand car worth less. It would certainly interest me. The only down side is that you would lose your warranty, but mine had expired already.
LPG also pollutes less, I believe, but the main question to ask yourself is how much mileage you do a year. It is a great way to reduce your living costs and once you have done 20 000 kms, then it has paid for itself.

[brianks]

The only concern I have with LPG is that the government is subsidizing the price massively. There purchasing it for well over twice as much as its being sold (subsidized) for now and they (the government) keeps talking about letting the price of LPG increase to market rate which would well more than double the price at the pump and take away the price advantage it has. Been seeing this talk go on for over a year now but with the massive subsidy involved, can't help but think something could change in the future.

Now CNG is another completely different case. More expensive conversion, cheaper fuel, more powerful and safer too. Problem is the waiting for refills as there is only one supplier PTT. Subsidies on CNG are very small compared to LPG so if it rises won't hurt much.

Now don't get me started on Gasahol. Using food for fuel does not make any economic sense. Just look at what the U.S. has done with corn. Here in Thailand its many different crops including sugar cane (which has increased in price due to shortages). I'll quit my rant now.

[VincentD]

Apart from the fuel subsidy and the cost to convert, the tank takes up valuable cargo space. Get a space-saver tank and you need to find a place to put your spare tyre. Plus the fact that you get only half the range of a normal tank.

(Note that the subsidy was for cooking gas, not for vehicular use. LPG started getting popular after prices for benzine and diesel passed the 30-baht barrier. Five years ago you would find it very difficult to find any LPG station upcountry. Now they sprout like mushrooms. Note that diesel is also heavily subsidised, which is why everybody can afford to run large-engined turbo'd pickups )

Gas burns a lot hotter and has no cooling effect so your cylinder head is basically fried after about 100,000 km. Petrol engines are not designed to accomodate LPG (or any other gaseous fuel) so frequent trips are required to the installer to fix no-starts or abnormal running.
Many people sell second-hand once the problems get frequent; some even remove the LPG system to re-install on the next vehicle they buy. I, for one, will not touch any car that has had one of these installed with a barge pole (personal opinion).
Many multi-storey carparks in Bangkok do not allow cars with LPG installations to park on certain floors.

Some of my friends /relatives experiences:
- system installed on 2ndhand car at 50,000 baht. Used one year before re-selling, so did not get full payback. Too many problems with installation. But...
- after six months with newer car, got another system installed. Still many running/ no-start problems.
- another friend had system installed on 2-year old car. Had a fright when told how much it would cost to re-do engine at seven years old so sold car. Bought a new one, and...
- has LPG system installed on new car.
- relative bought Camry with 2.4 liter engine. Installed gas, which is used almost exclusively. Knows the problems but can't be bothered, will sell when problems get too much, easy to sell. I scratch my head thinking, why didn't he buy the 2000 cc one instead?
- friend at work has the hood up all the time when parked. Why? Engine runs really hot. Will switch over to petrol running if stuck in traffic.

Brianks, don't get me started on gasohol either (It is actually more expensive to produce than petrol, but is subsidised(!) by an additional levy on petrol to offset this.) Some places still do sell 95 octane benzine (@ almost 50 baht a liter!).