LW Propane Question...

[Mopower]

Howdy. Do you purchase a higher grade LP? Didn't know if there was a "premium" LP and at what octane equivalent. Thanks.

 

[ken in texas]

I have never heard of a higher octane propane.It should all be the same,except years ago they mixed it with another type gas in cold weather so it woulgn't freeze up.Now I can't think of the correct name of that fuel. Anyone remember????

 

[guido]

Hello Mopower.
I have never seen a choice of propane grades.
The stuff is equivalent to gasoline of 108 octane, and burns a lot cleaner the pump gas.

Guido.

 

[Howard H.]

LP supposedly stands for liquified propane. Propane is just a plain compound by itself, so there are no "grades" of propane, strictly speaking.

But, we always grew up calling the LP fuel "butane". Which is also a compound by itself.

I'm not sure how strictly they are mixed, or if anyone in the commercial distribution channels even care. There are a lot of "anes". Octane, hexane, nonane, methane, ethane, etc...

That's all I know about it...

Howard

 

[shinnery]

Pure butane as a fuel is not very efficient because it quits vaporizing at about 31 deg F. This is why old home "butane tanks" were buried, to keep them warmer. Propane vaporizes down to about -43 deg F and the tanks do not need to be kept as warm. Most LPG is a mixture of both gases. I have also heard that butane has more uses in the plastics industries than propane.
If you spill any butane when the air temperature is below freezing it will just roll around on the ground and being heavier than air it will go to the lowest place around.
Bryce

 

[LW]

There is " propane" ie: gas grills, heating fuel. THat is all I run because its all that's available here. There is LP gas HD5, that is what they called "motor quality fuel", It is supposed to be a premium higher refined gas. Have talked to some LP dealers in upper MN that say they can get it, I have had tanks of LP that ran better that others (no $hit)... LW

 

[skycarp]

LP supposedly stands for liquified propane.

To correct Howard, LPG stands for Liquified Petroleum Gas. LPG is usually a mixture of more than one petroleum gas.

Methane - CH4, Ethane - C2H6, Propane - C3H8, Butane C4H10, etc. The more carbons in the compound, the heavier the gas will be, and the more likely it will be a liquid at atmospheric pressure and temperature.

A combination of methane and ethane is usually referred to as natural gas. A combination of propane and butane is usually called LPG.

End of chemistry class.

 

[Molineone]

I had one tank of "propane" on my gas grill a couple of years ago, and the hose frosted up and the grill would not act like normal. (flame control was difficult, etc...) It was about 84 degrees and not too humid. I know that happens on some of my uncles LP tractors also, but not often. It sounds like some of the guys here know quite a bit about these gases - so my question is: what was in that tank? Thanks.

 

[Ole Shovel]

Yes there is a different blend. Hexane? Pentane? Ask some of the tractor pullers about it that use it. You may not be able to get it in your area though or might not be legal to have it because no odorant in it or other state laws. Ask your local LPG fuel dealer to be safe and legal. LPG fuel blends are different somewhat in every area because of altitude and climate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexane

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-pentane
LPG fuels

 

[Howard H.]

Hey Skycarp -

Thanks for the correction. I wasn"t really thinking when I said that...

My main point was just the different chemical compounds in the family and that I haven"t been able to tell if anyone cares how they are blended... That was an interesting wikipedia article on LPG.

I know running irrigation engines - there is a wide variety of natural gas depending on the source!

From one place to another, we"d get super high-btu really "hot" burning gas, to other low energy gas that burned very reddish/orange... It also will change - it is very common to have to adjust the fuel mixture from time to time as the suppliers pull from different fields/wells/sources... I guess that would be partly related to all the "anes" and the mixtures.

One of my buddies had trouble with his 454 Chevy engine corroding over the plugs... In just a few days, they"d get a thick coating of very bright bluish/white crusting on them and it would start running terrible... Not sure what was in the gas that was causing that, but it lasted for several months...

Howard