LPG fuel around the world...

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

US military tests concluded that as long as you run any engine below 3,000 rpm, valve wear will be insignificant compared to running it on petrol. It's only at higher rpm's that valve wear can become detrimental in engines without (hardened) valve seats.

Hanno,

This was also the conclusion when tests were done in the UK on the demise of leaded petrol and trials of lead replacement additives were conducted. I expected to be a slight rise in valve problems amongst customers vehicles, but nothing of significance has been noted over the years, and not everyone uses additives either. What should be noted, is that quite a number of wartime vehicles, both US and British, had hardened seats and specialist steels for exhaust valves, amongst them were Dodge (USA), Austin and Morris-Commercial (UK).

Back to LPG, about 28 years ago, I hired a haulier to move a vehicle and he had a Bedford TK with the 300 petrol engine, running on a normal propane cylinder as used on forklift trucks.