LPG in Northern Territory

aussietraveller · Guru

LPG in Northern Territory

ozjohn · Guru

Here ya go Mate, a simple cut and paste from Solo grey Nomads

"Why wasn't I told in the Northern Territory the LPG is different to all other states in Australia in that in NT they run cars on the same Gas as they do cooking appliances etc not Auto gas, this caused vehicles running on auto gas to backfire and not run smoothly and in my case has destroyed my Air Filter box and I think also my airflow sensor, potentially quite expensive.
I have been told by a lpg installer up here that they retune the settings of the lpg system to overcome this issue and you then have to have them retuned when travelling on gas outside the NT.
Needless to say I am not happy Jan and will be contacting somebody to to complain i think servos selling Gas in NT should have notice to this effect on browsers".

I'd be surprised if the Auto Gas purchased in Darwin didn't meet the Austalian Standard. It would be illegal to sell it.The difference ibetween Auto Gas and the Propane used for cooking. heating etc. is that while both are basically propane Auto gas hasn't been refined to the same high standard as Propane and has varying amounts of impurities in it, the main one being Butane.
Quite often in outlying areas only the cleaner better quality Propane is delivered to cut down delivery costs where two different types of gas are required.
And while it costs more Propane is by far the better of the two and can be used in both vehicles and households etc.Auto Gas on the other hand is unsuitable for use in the home as Butane can cause dangerous flareups.

I've been to Darwin and across the top in a V8 Statesman on LPG and never experience any problems.
When available at the same price I'd choose Propane over Auto Gas every time as it doesn't foul the system and thus reduces the LPG system servicing and cleaning costs.
Ozjohn.

-- Edited by ozjohn on Monday 30th of June 2014 04:13:17 PM

KeenTravellers · Veteran Member

I just sent Gas Energy Australia which is the national peak body for LPG an email to explain why.

Lets see what answers they give...but your right - any no national fuel - even though propane or auto lpg
which can cause any vehicle or person potential damage - which is a safety issue - should clear be marked.

The seller has a "Duty of Care" under Australian law - for any potential hazard or risk - to advise its customers
or he is clearly liable....

Cheers

Norm

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Energy Aust is an Asian company now..

SnowT · Guru

ozjohn wrote:
Here ya go Mate, a simple cut and paste from Solo grey Nomads
"Why wasn't I told in the Northern Territory the LPG is different to all other states in Australia in that in NT they run cars on the same Gas as they do cooking appliances etc not Auto gas, this caused vehicles running on auto gas to backfire and not run smoothly and in my case has destroyed my Air Filter box and I think also my airflow sensor, potentially quite expensive.
I have been told by a lpg installer up here that they retune the settings of the lpg system to overcome this issue and you then have to have them retuned when travelling on gas outside the NT.
Needless to say I am not happy Jan and will be contacting somebody to to complain i think servos selling Gas in NT should have notice to this effect on browsers".
I'd be surprised if the Auto Gas purchased in Darwin didn't meet the Austalian Standard. It would be illegal to sell it.The difference ibetween Auto Gas and the Propane used for cooking. heating etc. is that while both are basically propane Auto gas hasn't been refined to the same high standard as Propane and has varying amounts of impurities in it, the main one being Butane.
Quite often in outlying areas only the cleaner better quality Propane is delivered to cut down delivery costs where two different types of gas are required.
And while it costs more Propane is by far the better of the two and can be used in both vehicles and households etc.Auto Gas on the other hand is unsuitable for use in the home as Butane can cause dangerous flareups.
I've been to Darwin and across the top in a V8 Statesman on LPG and never experience any problems.
When available at the same price I'd choose Propane over Auto Gas every time as it doesn't foul the system and thus reduces the LPG system servicing and cleaning costs.
Ozjohn.

-- Edited by ozjohn on Monday 30th of June 2014 04:13:17 PM

Autogas is the common name for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) when it is used as a fuel in internal combustion engines in vehicles as well as in stationary applications such as generators. It is a mixture of propane and butane.

The ratio's in LPG are controlled...

Propane is just Propane.... and Burn's Hotter...

Juergen

ozjohn · Guru

Autogas that is sold at petrol stations can be either just Propane or a Propane/Butane mix.
Butane is cleaner than Propane and produces around 12% more energy, but it's freezing point is a lot higher than Propane so propane is better suited to below zero climates.Auto gas as well as containing primarily propane also has butane in a controlled amount to meet Australian auto gas standards and a number of impurities such as Butylene and Propylene. The last one is the one that gunks up the Vehicle LPG system which requires periodic cleaning.
Ozjohn.

aussietraveller · Guru

I have my car booked in for LPG service tomorrow morning and it was the chap at this centre that told me that the NT only has one type of LPG available and that it was the one used for domestic purposes I will discuss further with him tomorrow.

ozjohn · Guru

I'd be happy with that as it's cleaner than Autogas.
OJ

Technomad · Senior Member

Oz John is smack on and in Adelaide a major supplier was delivering to green and white stations LPG rather than auto gas, probably for logistic reasons. In tar melting equipment it was proven that autogas was inefficient when applied to the burner and eventually, clearly better flame and true value for money BTU wise.

aussietraveller · Guru

Have now found the real answer to my problem that I was told was an LPG problem.

Prior to leaving home on this trip I had new Platinum plugs and high tension leads fitted by local mechanic along with other work as part of this service I asked that the seals on the spark plug stems be replaced and they have either not been changed or one of them at least has failed as the problem I am now experiencing is due to oil causing a short and plug not receiving appropriate spark for LPG but enough for Petrol so we will have to travel home on Petrol only.

ozjohn · Guru

That's going to hurt the hip pocket, but at least you're mobile again.
Ozjohn.

hako · Guru

My bro-in-law who is travelling with us on this trip and has a dual fuel Falcon and runs on LPG whenever available. We've been up thru the guts of NT and then down thru the NW of WA to currently Coral Bay in the last month and he's had no problems at all on the LPG he has bought (dearest 134.5 at Karratha from memory). Many remote roadhouses always seem to have "out of service" on their LPG pumps, however he has done most of the trip on LPG.