Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Propane, Butane, LPG, GPL, C3H8, C4H10
kuchen
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:38 pm
Location: Stuttgart/Germany

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by kuchen »

Keihin flow Rating of X means:
X cm³ of dry air per 24ms stroke at 24°C upstream temperature and 255kPa pressure discharged and measured at atmospheric pressure of 100kPa.
This roughly correlates to something like HP per Cylinder (Din, british OR SAE ?), hence the published charts. As flow varies with supply pressure, and engine efficiency, I do not personally use those charts. They are a good reference for NA engines, but useless for supercharged applications.

From this flow rating it is possible to calculate the nozzle diameter, and then mass flow for propane, methane or whatever at any given upstream supply pressure. Fluid dynamics behind this is called choked flow.

Dan350
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:26 pm

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by Dan350 »

Update: small problem today, the system alarm went off and the prins shut down. It immediately switched to petrol and i hauled all morning with the system off. After lunch i went to the installer's (it was on the way) and the diagnostic tab on his lap top program displayed an injector failure. He changed the injector pack on the driver side and problem fixed. He said it was the first time he saw that happen. Fixed under warranty

Dan350
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:26 pm

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by Dan350 »

Update after 6 weeks: I travelled 8000 km since the conversion and i am so far quite happy with the system. Using the l/100km indicator on my dash board which tells me how much petrol i would have normally used, i was able to compare that to the actual l/100km of propane my truck consumed. From this, i was able to fairly accurately calculate the costs of propane vs petrol. Long story short, i saved about 500$ and that includes the cost of changing a 46$ bottle of valve saver fluid. Interestingly, I changed my oil this weekend, expecting the oil to be cleaner than when i used petrol but it wasn't. Oil and filter are changed every 10,000 km with penzoil synthetic. I use the oil wear indicator in my dash. It ends at 0% after 10000kms no matter how i drive or the conditions i drive in.

storm
Posts: 796
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:10 pm
Location: NSW, Australia

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by storm »

Good information Dan.
Do you have the actual consumption figures compared to petrol?
Fuel flow requirements calculations
Engine air flow requirement calculation: CFM = Cubic Inches x RPM x Volumetric Efficiency (VE) ÷ 3456

Dan350
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:26 pm

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by Dan350 »

Yes, the gas consumption averages out to 29.5l/100km compared to petrol 24.5l/100 for 14 fill ups. Again, gas consumption is calculated and petrol consumption is the number indicated on my dash board.

Dan350
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:26 pm

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by Dan350 »

Close to 30l/100 may seem high but at 49 cents a liter it costs me less than 15$ to travel 100km pulling a 5000lb 26 foot trailer with loads averaging a couple thousand pounds. Sales tax not included. That is about what a duramax diesel might do if you are really easy with it. Plus with a 210l tank i can travel 700 km between fill ups which is better than any petrol or diesel hd truck i know of that come with more or less 120l fuel tanks.

storm
Posts: 796
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:10 pm
Location: NSW, Australia

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by storm »

Thanks for that.
Fuel flow requirements calculations
Engine air flow requirement calculation: CFM = Cubic Inches x RPM x Volumetric Efficiency (VE) ÷ 3456

fpvmustang
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 3:28 pm
Location: Quincy Ca. USA

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by fpvmustang »

a lot of people look at mpg not overall cost. :roll: so you save around a dollar every 6 miles sweet.
I'm wondering what rpm your engine is turning when your cruising down the high way?

storm
Posts: 796
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:10 pm
Location: NSW, Australia

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by storm »

I look at mpg because of alot of the advertising that says you can get just a much Tq and Hp while using close to the same amount of fuel. The problem is to actually get that they don't tell you you need to be able to run 2 different maps on the oem ECU. 1 for petrol and 1 for LPG where the map for LPG has the timing optimised for LPG.
Fuel flow requirements calculations
Engine air flow requirement calculation: CFM = Cubic Inches x RPM x Volumetric Efficiency (VE) ÷ 3456

fpvmustang
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 3:28 pm
Location: Quincy Ca. USA

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by fpvmustang »

That's a good point storm.
Where I live there are lots of diesels because the better mpg but they actually cost more.
They cost more to buy and maintain the fuel is also more expensive.
A popular car is the vw jetta diesel. If I was to buy one new vs the gas version.
I would have to drive it over 100,000 miles to break even. That does not include the higher maintenance cost.

Dan350
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:26 pm

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by Dan350 »

At a steady speed of 100kph, the engine rpm is at 2250 with a loaded trailer which is in fifth gear with the transmission in trailering mode. With my trailer empty it sometimes gets into sixth gear when going slightly downhill or on a very flat stretch of highway and the RPMs go down to 1750. With the reduced speeds caused by suicide-inducing / road-raging traffic we see here, an average of 2000rpm cruise is more realistic with a speed of 80kph. My truck is geared 4.10

Dan350
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:26 pm

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by Dan350 »

Update after 6 months: I travelled over 40000 KMs since i got my truck converted in may. I have had no problems with the system thus far. I am still averaging about 25l/100 pulling my 5000lb trailer (30 foot gooseneck). The maximum consumption i have seen was 40l/100 but that was an extreme load (12 feet tall and 10000lbs + trailer,it felt like i was pulling a parachute). I have transported a small load of 1 pallet 1000lbs from montreal to windsor ontario and managed to do it with one tank to go and one to come back which is a 2000km round trip. Thanks to Frank for providing me with a list of filling stations in that area! The valve saver system consumes a bottle of fluid every 6000km or so and a bottle is about 45$. At one point late in the summer i was paying .4153$ per pound or liter of propane. Because of supply and demand i now pay .4574$ before tax. Even at that price, it costs me about 13$/100km hauling my trailer with 5-6000lbs on it. Hope this helps and if any of you have questions, fire away

fpvmustang
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 3:28 pm
Location: Quincy Ca. USA

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by fpvmustang »

:D

Dan350
Posts: 50
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:26 pm

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by Dan350 »

I have had a cylinder go bad on my 6.0 chevy. At first I thought it was an ignition problem but after checking the cranking compression on all 8 cylinders, 7 were at 205-210 psi and cylinder # 3 was at 140-145 psi causing a misfire code p0303. Turns out I have a burnt valve and the cylinder head has to come off. I knew that the 6.0 liter ls engine that GM installed in pick-up trucks was not propane ready like the ones installed in their Isuzu flat nosed commercial trucks, that is why i had a valve saver system installed. Turns out that it is not fail safe. Since fixing that one cylinder does not garantee that this won't happen again, i'm having both cylinder heads upgraded with propane friendly valves and seats. The dealer is charging me for parts only (1000$). I have logged 55k km since the propane conversion. The truck has been at the dealer for 5 days now, i expect to get the truck back in about 2 days

storm
Posts: 796
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:10 pm
Location: NSW, Australia

Re: Prins conversion on a 2015 6.0 liter silverado

Post by storm »

I don't understand why they would manufacture these engines and use sub standard parts on the truck engines. Are you sure there isn't something else, like wrong timing or to rich, that has done this?
Fuel flow requirements calculations
Engine air flow requirement calculation: CFM = Cubic Inches x RPM x Volumetric Efficiency (VE) ÷ 3456

Post Reply