CNG vs LPG fuel kits

By Team DNA Drive
Agency: DNA
With petrol prices at their highest ever, and chances of a diesel price hike lurking, should one convert to CNG or LPG fuel kits? If so, what are the pros and cons? Here’s what you always wanted to know.

Compressed natural gas (CNG)

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a cleaner burning gas – though it does release some Greenhouse gases --when compared with the mainline fuels such as diesel and petrol.
Natural gas is primarily methane, which comprises carbon and hydrogen. This fuel is safe and generally used at home for heating, lighting and cooking. On the performance front, the CNG is highly compressed, due to which its pressure is around 3600psi. For safety purposes, it is stored in highly pressurised, heavy tanks. That is the reason why an empty CNG tank itself weighs about 68-70 kg. A CNG tank usually has a storage capacity of 8-10 kg.
The present and the future

The government has been encouraging the use of CNG for vehicle transport and it is already available in most of the major cities across India.According to a Centre for Science and Environment India study in 2010, 150-200 Indian cities will have CNG filling stations by 2014 and about 58 lakh vehicles in India will be running on CNG by the end of 2020. Today, CNG is already the mandated fuel for public transport buses in New Delhi and Mumbai. All commercial vehicles that are older than eight years have to be converted to CNG, to get an entry ticket into the Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) cities. These conversions have had a maximum impact on reducing pollution in these cities.
The CNG advantage

One can recover his expenses in about two years with a mere daily commute of 15 km a day. If your travel is more, the recovery is faster. The other advantage of CNG is that your cost per km reduces to Rs2.65 per km from about Rs7.65 per km for petrol. The flip side is the performance of the engine may be compromised somewhat.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or ‘Auto Gas’ is one of the most widely used alternative fuels. It is also a green gas, and is the third-most widely used fuel across the globe, after diesel and petrol. LPG is also used for cooking purposes at home.

The biggest advantage of LPG is there isn’t much of a difference in the performance characteristics of the engine when compared with petrol. The other is that its empty tank weighs just about 20 kg, or a third of a CNG tank. The LPG tank is also more compact, leaving room for some luggage space in the boot. In a hatchback, this is a crucial difference.

The LPG advantage

The LPG advantage is that, despite being cheaper, the performance of your engine isn’t as much affected as in a CNG.

Different types of kits

CNG and LPG kits come in three different packages:

1. Open loop:These are cheapest kits on CNG and LPG both. These are simple and mechanical, without any electronics. As the name suggests, it is an open loop. As CNG and LPG are clean gases, it really doesn’t affect pollution in the case of an open loop.

2. Closed loop: In a closed loop, the exhaust gases are inspected by the sensors and the volume of intake gas is tweaked accordingly to minimise pollution.

3. Sequential injection: Sequential injection is the advanced version kit. The mechanism is exactly similar to the manner in which a normal fuel injection system works and the intakes are controlled by an engine control module or ECM. An ECM is a generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle. In short, the difference between a sequential kit and conventional one is same as that of multi-point fuel injection (MPFI) and carburretor, respectively.
Different manufacturers of these kits

Kits from various manufacturers are available. Some are Indian, some Italian while we also few from Argentina. The Italians ones are our pick. These are the kits manufacturers we prefer.
Verdict

LPG and CNG both help reduce your travel expenses by a great margin, but as you are investing and installing one of these kits, please ensure you get it done from an authorised dealer (for safety purposes). Remember you also have to keep the car for 2-3 years at least to recover the cost. Finally, prefer CNG over LPG as it will be cheaper of the two to run and there are more CNG pumps than LPG ones. Sure, you may compromise zippy performance, but that’s fine if your idea is cost-saving. But for those who still want performance like that of a petrol car, then the LPG kit is what we’d recommend. And those planning to buy a new car, go for a factory-fitted LPG/CNG to avoid warranty issues.

Hyundai launches LPG variant of i10 model

New Delhi: With high petrol prices and rising interest rates turning prospective buyers wary of making a car purchase, auto majors have decided to roll out cost effective options in a bid to bring down running costs.

One such attempt came from Hyundai Motor on Tuesday when it launched the LPG variant of its bestselling i10 model.

Priced between Rs 4,16,144 and Rs 4,30,659 (ex-showroom Delhi), the car is powered by a 1.1 litre iRDE2 engine, can run on both LPG and petrol, and has a factory-fitted LPG kit.

"The LPG kit in i10 blue drive is impact resistant and is approved by the department of explosives," an official statement from the company said.

According to Hyundai, the car's LPG tank offers larger boot space than other LPG-fitted cars.

Other features of the i10 LPG include an alternator management system that can control delivery of power to the battery. This results in extended battery life and better mileage.

"The LPG version of our next-gen i10 is a viable alternative for customers looking at low running cost," said H.W. Park, managing director and chief executive, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

"With separate petrol (35 litre) and LPG (34 litre) tanks, the customers have an option to choose from LPG and petrol modes," the company statement said.

HYUNDAI EON LPG VARIANT ON THE CARDS: HIGH TIME MARUTI LAUNCHES AN ALTO LPG?

Indian Cars Bikes

It is just a matter of time before Hyundai India unveils the LPG variant of the Hyundai Eon small car, whcih was launched earlier today. We’re quite certain about this as test mules of the Hyundai Eon LPG are already doing the rounds in and around Chennai. Petrol prices are at stratospheric levels even as the price of LPG is still significantly lower when compared to petrol. As such, many small car owners are going in for after market LPG kits for their cars even though doing so will void their warranty as LPG as a fuel is much more corrosive than petrol. A factory fitted LPG kit however is a lot more different.

Developed and tested by the automaker, factory fitted LPG kits ensure extra lubrication of critical engine parts and also use tougher engine material to withstand the corroding effects of LPG. So, many prospective small car buyers prefer to buy cars fitted with LPG kits at its manufacturing end itself, with LPG as a dual fuel option along with petrol. At the press conference after the launch, Arvind Saxena, Director of Sales and Marketing at Hyundai India, clearly mentioned that Hyundai India is targeting a sales volume of 1.4 to 1.5 Lakhs Hyundai Eons every month year.

At that projected number, the Hyundai Eon has all the potential to eat into some fraction of the Maruti Alto’s sales. An LPG variant of the Eon will only cause additional headache for Maruti. Taking into consideration all these factors, the time looks ripe for Maruti to launch an LPG dual fuel variant of the Alto, which has been one variant that India’s largest car maker does not have in its portfolio despite the Alto being the largest selling car in India. What it does have however is a CNG engined variant of the 796cc F8D Alto, although availability of CNG fuel remains quite limited in India.

Hence, the argument for an LPG powered Alto gets stronger. On whether Maruti Suzuki will respond quickly to maintain its leadership status in the Indian car market is something that only time will tell. For now, the competitively priced Hyundai Eon, with its exciting range of features, an attractive and contemporary form factor, superb interiors, a frugal petrol engine and last but not the least, Hyundai’s well established sales and after sales service, has all the trappings of giving the Maruti Alto’s top end variants a run for their money.

Citizens find answer to rising petrol prices in LPG run cars
Kapil Dixit, TNN Sep 6, 2011, 10.48am

ISTTags:PetrolLPG

ALLAHABAD: With LPG auto gas available at three filling stations in the Sangam city, showroom owners are receiving more and more queries for cars that can run on LPG and petrol.

"Sale of DUO (Petrol and LPG) mode cars is undoubtedly picking up in the market as compared to petrol run cars," said a sales executives. Analysts too feel that the car industry continues to face a challenging environment at this moment with high interest rates and fuel prices as big dampeners. Also the choppy markets and high inflammation are also acting as negative factors.

Currently, companies are backing on new models, including DUOs and the coming festive season, where demand usually peaks, to realise the growth.


Abhishek Kumar Srivastava, an executive at a showroom, says, "Buyers are more interested in DUO-fuel run mode cars. Rising fuel prices and interest rates have been instrumental in this sluggish market trend."

Though petrol-run cars are readily available at showrooms, if you want to go for a duo-petrol and LPG run car, the waiting period is around 15-20 days. Apart from petrol, people are also asking about diesel run cars but they are also apprehensive that prices of diesel could rise in future.

The demand in DUO segment has undoubtedly increased since petrol price rise has been disturbing the buyers. In past two months, over 150 cars of DUO mode were sold out in compared to 60 of petrol run cars, said a sales executive.

Increasing petrol prices have also diverted the attention of car owners towards government authorised dealers who deal in commercial LPG car kits. The RTO has been receiving over 5-10 applications on routine basis for the installation of approved LPG kit.

"Most people are approaching RTO seeking permission to install LPG kit-run and strength of such applications have increased in the last three months," said an RTO official adding that over 1,500 cars are currently running on LPG kits in the district alone he added. Running a car on LPG is much cheaper than petrol.

Since all the three LPG filling stations are working, a big section of car lovers have already switched over to duo models of cars (run either on petrol or LPG) or have got LPG kits installed. They are waiting for the day when they would be able to spend less on fuel.

"As there were no chances of petrol prices coming down, it was better for us to purchase DUO model car," said Arvind Singh who purchased a DUO mode car last month.

Mohd Aman, who also purchased a DUO model car, says, "There is a little hope of petrol prices coming down and this might go up in near future. So it was my family idea to purchase DUO mode car to bear the expenses easily. LPG auto stations are working successfully, we are easily affording our travel expenses."

The three LPG filling stations set up at Chintamani Road, Phaphamau and Jhunsi are witnessing adequate customers.

The frequent rise in fuel prices has led to an unprecedented rush in the demand for LPG auto gas admitted a senior IOC official.

Auto experts claim that car buyers prefer duo model of cars as running on LPG is costs less (Rs 1.75 to cover one km on LPG). Car owners find LPG-run cars cheaper and affordable and more and more owners are willing to install LPG kits, said an auto expert Devendra Dixit.

2011 All New Maruti Suzuki WagonR Duo

When Maruti launched the all new WagonR last year, a lot of people enquired whether the new WagonR also came with the LPG option. Now, it just has. Close on the heels of General Motors India, who made a big splash a week ago by equipping the Chevrolet Beat with an dual fuel, LPG-Petrol option, market leader Maruti seems to have quietly slipped in an ace of it’s own. The All New 2011 Maruti WagonR will now be available in Duo guise, which essentially is MarutiSpeak for a dual fuel Petrol-LPG option. The All New WagonR Duo comes with a host of new technologies to incorporate the dual fuel option.

On the Duo variant of the all new WagonR, you get a bunch of stuff like a safety module which cuts fuel supply in case of a leak or an accident. The 2011 Maruti WagonR Duo will also feature two ECUs, one each for each fuel option of petrol and LPG, that will work in tandem via a Controller Area Network(CAN) system to effortlessly toggle between the two fuels through a dashboard mounted switch. All this technical language simply translated means that the WagonR Duo can switch between two modes of fuel seamlessly.

http://www.marutiwagonr.com/duo/index.html

Introducing the Chevrolet Beat LPG, that is equipped with Next Generation LPG Kit. Unlike the regular Venturi-type kit that has been ruling the market till now, the new LPG Beat comes with Advanced Multipoint Sequential LPG Injection Technology type kit. This new version is aimed to overlap the limitations of the Venturi kit, some of which are:
• Less weight
• No power loss
• No jerks and backfires which means smoother hassle-free transition from petrol to LPG and back.
• Better routing control and no kinking.
• No chance of inside/outside corrosion for life.
• The LPG kit is intelligently placed in the engine compartment, hence consuming lesser space and giving enough room for the passengers.
• The cabin space is not affected due to LPG kit and hence passengers can enjoy the same space as Beat petrol.

In addition to all above Beat LPG is first LPG vehicle in India to use High Pressure LPG pipes made of High Strength Nylon.

New AUTO LPG DISPENSING STATION at Kottapadi Near Guruvayur

DC-Gas
Guruvayur - Kunnamkulam Road
Kottapadi Thrissur Kerala
Ph: 0487 2553000, 9497553000
Email:- dcgas@aol.com