Propane power pros vs cons

lately I've had chances to buy some propane powered utility tractors. good tractors,perform well.reasonable. What are pros/cons on owning one? i'm not concerned with getting fuel.

I like the lp tractors, clean fuel and longer engine life. The only thing with some is lp tractor have a few less hp than gas or diesel. But it is not that much different.

The biggest con is fueling. You either have to have a very accommodating propane supply company that will fill on request- quickly!, a wet line off a bulk tank or a rather expensive pump off a bulk tank. The only other option is a number of forklift type tanks you can run to the pumping station to fill. My Cockshutt 30 propane has sat for well over a year now simply because the propane co doesn't wat to be bothered running out here to fill it. Being that they're otherwise and excellent company, ie- I can pay the bill over time, I stick with them. But as soon as I get some ca$h I'm getting forklift tanks.

The other con is that propane doesn't make as much power as gas in the same engine. Otherwise they're great.

Years ago, I maintained a fleet of about 30 propane forklifts. To fill their fuel tanks, we had a mechanical pump fill them and it would probably take less than a minute. If you have your tank fitted with just a higher-pressure to lower-pressure fill-valve, it would take longer, perhaps just hook it up during your lunch hour.
Pros: Cleaner burning, usually better on your engine oil. Cons: In cold weather, the older systems can get a little finicky and want to freeze up before the engine coolant heats up. After the engine coolant heats up, they ran okay.

If fueling is not a problem then I'd be getting them if they are the right machine you can use.
Right now LP is at a really low price,tractors should sell cheaper too,no ethanol worries LOL (see previous threads)

Only con would be fueling,but you say that is no problem for you so I only see PRO's !

Propane has less energy per gallon as compared to diesel or gas. Propane engine is also less efficient. So - propane is more expensive to run unless you live somewhere that's it's abnormally cheap (as compared to the US average).

Where I live in central NY our school almost wasted a ton of money on new propane school buses that were going to cost near twice per mile that the diesels did. That was when propane was $3.20 per gallon and diesel was $4 per galllon.

Right now - in central NY:
$1 of propane buys 30,500 BTUs of energy
$1 of gasoline buys 31,754 BTUs of energy
$1 of diesel (at the pump) buys 32,500 BTUs
$1 of farm diesel buys 37,249 BTUs of energy

The new school buses our school district looked at came in diesel versions rated at 7-8 MPG and propane rated at 4-5 MPG. The math is pretty plain.

With farm tractors? Look at Nebraska tests. Propane tractors are the lowest efficiency. Rated by horsepower-hours-per-gallon. The lower the number the more of fuel-pig the tractor is.

#853 Deere 4020 LPG 90.4 horse, 8.95 HHGs
#1013 Deere 4020 gas 96.6 horse, 11.7 HHGs
#930 Deere 4020 diesel 94.8 horse, 15.8 HHGs

#780 Case 841C LPG 62.6 horse, 9.74 HHGs
#777 Case 841C gas 65.6 horse, 11.2 HHGs
#736 Case 831C diesel 61 horse, 14.46 HHGs

My FIL like having propane powered tractors and trucks - it made all his home heating a business expense.

I have run propane tractors for 45 yrs. Always refueled by bleeding off pressure on the tractor tank Never had a fire or no other issues. As for power. My LA with a propane head had more power than with Gas. My 930 LP had less power than diesel until they got the right venture in it than it dyo"ed out with as much power as Diesel. Total bill for the years was about the same as Diesel and cheaper than gas. I am at 4400 ft elev.

Current propane price in my area is 1.20 per gallon. Off road diesel has to 2.13 a gallon to be cheaper to use on the 4020 and gas has to be less than $1.58.

On the Case diesel has to be 1.79 or less and the gas has to be less than 1.38.

Some pictures. Group back in 1978. Rest now

Hello carl reitnauer,

If price and availability of fuel is not an issue, go for it. Best part about propane it is a very clean burning fuel. Your oil will be a lot cleaner for much longer then any other fuel,

Guido.

I like LP tractors for reasons already stated. Utility tractors,not so much. No pto on many and non-adjustable wheels on any. Utility is ok for pulling if the price is cheap.

With the computer controls modern LP systems can actually make more power than the same engine running on gasoline.

The ones I serviced used a GM 8.1L engine with factory 325 HP. After the conversion to liquid propane injection the same engine would dyno at 340 - 345 HP.

The computer controls make sure the correct ratio of fuel and air is burned and the injection of the propane in liquid form cools the intake system to near -40°F allowing more fuel/air mixture in the cylinders under full load.