Pros and cons of installing HBO on a car

Advantages of a gas car

The undoubted benefits of a gas car are as follows:

Environmental friendliness: hydrocarbon gases burn completely - only carbon dioxide and water are formed. No soot. The smell of unburned gas is only possible when there is a leak in the equipment.
Gas consumption is almost equal to gasoline consumption (in liters), especially for a butane-propane mixture.
Significantly less clogging - or its complete absence - of engine parts. This is observed only if the gas is properly purified before it is pumped into the cylinder.
Almost constant gas price. If gasoline and diesel fuel become more expensive every season (despite the significant depreciation of oil in the last few years), then gas, even if it rises in price once a year, then this increase is mere pennies. Natural gas is not extracted from oil (the only exception being special production conditions aimed specifically at the complete decomposition of thick and liquid petroleum components and finished petroleum products into much lighter gaseous components), but is immediately pumped out of the field. Approximately the same can be said about associated petroleum gases dissolved in the oil itself - they act as a by-product during oil cracking. The oil itself is due not so much to production costs, but to “draconian” taxation and excise taxation, which in total has gone up to 60% of its entire final price! - not only determines the final price of gasoline, but, worst of all, in Russian conditions the price of gasoline and diesel itself will rise in price more and more quickly.
The ability to make gas, in particular methane, a practically inexhaustible, renewable source - after all oil reserves are depleted. It can be obtained biologically and synthetically (for example, from rubber and plastic waste, as well as carbon-containing waste from a number of industries associated not so much with oil consumption, but with, for example, waste from the woodworking, food and coal mining industries, agriculture) - many technologies have been proven for a long time and reliably. The same methane, in essence, can be obtained from any carbon organic matter - historically it is the first and simplest organic compound, the production of which on Earth will last almost forever and for everyone.

Advantages of installing LPG on a vehicle

1. Saving money.

The most important advantage that realizes the main goal of re-equipping a car is saving money. This happens due to the fact that the cost of gas is several times less than the cost of other types of fuel, especially gasoline. The amount of money saved is especially noticeable for those drivers who actively use their car and drive significant distances throughout the year.

2. Possibility of using several types of fuel.

After installing HBO, your car becomes a hybrid, thanks to the ability to switch from gasoline to gas and back. This also allows you to increase the vehicle's range, which allows you to travel long distances and not be afraid of being left without fuel in sparsely populated areas.

Disadvantages of a gas car

The need to carry much heavier tanks with you - the gas requires high pressure, from units to hundreds of times higher than atmospheric pressure, which means that in order to liquefy it, the walls of the cylinders must be thick enough;
Increased fire hazard due to propane leak. Methane, however, is lighter than air and easily erodes; propane, on the other hand, can accumulate in the lower part of a confined space in a car.
Less common gas stations - especially methane gas stations - compared to gasoline and propane gas stations. But many are ready to switch to propane.
More complex electronics for adequate, safe control of a gas engine is mainly due to this, higher prices for installing gas equipment.
Difficulty in locating cylinders - unlike a gas tank, cylinders can take up valuable space in the trunk of a car or in the bed of a truck.
Sometimes poor-quality gas purification - especially propane. This is due to capitalist greed, the eternal money race inherent in everyone in our time. From time to time you come across unscrupulous refillers who untimely replace worn-out compressors, the inflation chamber of which gets lubricant from the rest of the drive mechanics, also worn out from many years of operation under sometimes peak load conditions. Or gas filling station equipment, which initially does not fully meet modern requirements for the purity of the fuel being purified and distributed to vehicles, also allows oil inclusions in the injected gas.
It is a big hassle when servicing LPG - it operates at a pressure 15-200 times higher than atmospheric pressure, and here a number of strict requirements and rules are imposed that are initially unusual for the owner of a car that previously runs on gasoline. Thus, refueling a cylinder “under the cap” in severe frost with subsequent idle time of the car in a heated garage will, at best, lead to serious damage to the gas equipment, at worst, to the destruction of property in a fire after an explosion, and even hospitalization of the owner with injuries no less serious than those that would happen if gasoline leaked and caught fire.

Disadvantages of HBO on cars

Unfortunately, there are very few things in our world that have virtually no flaws. And HBO systems are not one of them. Here is a list of problematic issues that arise during the operation of gas equipment:

installation of equipment on a car and its cost are quite high. This results in the fact that such systems do not bring benefits immediately and are installed for a long time;
Due to the fact that gas combustion occurs more slowly than gasoline, the car’s power drops noticeably. Some cars may lose up to 20% of their original value. This will be especially noticeable on highways where the driver has the opportunity to accelerate;
increase in vehicle weight and decrease in luggage capacity in your vehicle;
old HBO systems could cause some damage to the engine, resulting in a reduction in its working life. However, with new systems this problem has practically become obsolete;
problems with car parking. This happens due to the fact that some underground parking lots prohibit parking a car equipped with LPG;
It may be difficult to sell your car. Not every buyer will want to purchase a vehicle with LPG.

From all the information presented above, we can conclude that cars equipped with an LPG system have many significant advantages. However, the installation of this system must be approached wisely, having thought and carefully weighed all the pros and cons of HBO.

https://youtu.be/xQbZZNw1Iv4

Are gas-powered cars dangerous?

Despite the apparent, artificially high danger of gas, it is nevertheless used daily by at least a fifth of the world's population. Gasoline is even more dangerous than gas. In the event of a gas leak, most often the latter will burn in an even stream until all of it comes out - but leaked gasoline, if ignited, will engulf in fire the entire area where it spilled, and an explosion cannot be avoided, especially when its vapors have accumulated in sufficient concentration in the air of a closed room. space.

Gas equipment installed in cars - including by the manufacturer itself - goes through comprehensive control. A company that has been producing cars for a century, such as Ford, is unlikely to allow any omissions. She comprehensively controls the production line, assembly of gas equipment kits, and always conducts a comprehensive test drive of the installed systems. If a defect is detected, the machine is simply sent to replace the rejected components.

Arguments for"

Saving money . The main reason why car owners are thinking about switching to gas is money, or rather their savings when using gas. It is difficult to talk about prices per unit of fuel; they vary widely in each region, but most motorists claim 40% savings after switching from gasoline to gas. For people who rarely use their car, for a trip to the country or to the store for shopping, the cost of a gas cylinder installation will not pay off soon, while those who literally “live behind the wheel” will very soon see and appreciate the real savings.

Low exhaust toxicity . Bench tests, with conditions as close as possible to real ones, showed that gas has 2.8 times less toxic exhaust, which is very important in a metropolis, both for nature and for you and me.

Warranty and HBO: is it possible to install HBO on a car under warranty?

Recently, this question has been increasingly heard from our clients. Here are some main opinions on this matter:

When installing gas equipment, the car is removed from the warranty.
Installing gas equipment on a car affects the warranty of only some components and assemblies.
Installation of additional equipment, including gas equipment, does not affect the warranty.
It's a matter of chance and luck, it all depends on the specific dealer.
It all depends on the personal skills of the car user and his ability to defend his position.

Today it is difficult to imagine a car without any additional equipment. Every car owner strives to supply good equipment at an affordable price and at the same time not lose the warranty of the car dealership where the car was purchased. It's no secret that car dealers are reluctant to fulfill their obligations regarding warranty repairs and always first carefully look for the reason for the refusal to repair. And if the car has equipment installed in a “foreign” technical center, then there are plenty of arguments for refusal. Not fair? Not fair.

What to do? First of all, you need to know your rights and read the “Federal Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights.” The car dealership must justify the refusal of warranty service with documentary evidence. If the seller believes that the defects were the fault of the car owner, he must prove this. And if it is necessary to conduct an independent examination, the seller is obliged to pay all costs associated with its implementation. (Clause 5, Article 18, Federal Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”). The buyer also has the right to conduct his own independent examination, but in this case the costs are borne by the buyer himself.

According to the same Law of the Russian Federation, not a single car dealership has the right to refuse warranty obligations due to the installation of equipment certified in the Russian Federation. A refusal can only be evidence of failure of a standard component or unit, confirmed by an independent examination, due to poor-quality installation of additional equipment. If this is proven, then the client can safely make all claims against the organization that installed the equipment. But in reality, it rarely comes to an examination, since the salon, seeing a client who understands the law and knows his rights, makes concessions, saying “only for you” and “only today.”

As for gas equipment, there are only two main units that can be affected by poor-quality installation of gas equipment: the fuel system wiring and the engine. Note that malfunctions of the latter are very rare and they are usually associated with an attempt by customers to operate a car with obvious signs of a malfunction of the gas fuel system. And cases of engine malfunction due to gas fuel have nothing to do with gas equipment. Just as in the case of using low-quality gasoline, the car dealership has the right to deprive the owner of the warranty for the engine, unless, of course, it proves that a malfunction occurred due to the use of low-quality fuel.