LPG oil, LPG / Dual fuel cars

[dirtydannyd]

Hey guys. I currently have a ford AU II Falcon (4.0 6 cylinder) on dual fuel (primarily run on LPG but use petrol every 2nd week) and I currently use Penrite GAS 10 (10W-40)

Now, penrite have made their oil one grade thicker (10W-50) which I think is too thick (Ford state 10W-30 for AU II Falcon) although penrite claim that 'a thicker oil is better'... I don't buy that so I'll be changing.

My question is whether it's beneficial over the long term to use LPG oils? Shell and Castrol (and maybe a few others) also have LPG oils.

Given that LPG burns hotter and drier and therefore I'm led to believe is harder on the piston rings and valves due to the lack of lubrication that petrol (and diesel) provides, what are the schools of thought on oils for LPG?

LPG specific - PCMO – HDEO ???

(BTW, I use Delo 400 in my motorbike - totally not related but just thought I'd chuck it in there!!!!!)

Cheers,

Daniel.

 

[SEBZX79]

I dont see much difference, we have converted all the jeeps to LPG and have been running normal oil in them with out issues. Even towing a 26 foot boat runing LPG. I think its just marketing.

 

[Shannow]

Advice used to be 15W-40 dual rated fleet oils.

Most of the oil company's LPG oils are also 15W-40, and bear striking resemblance to their fleet oils.

Delo 400 is probably better than your 10W-50 penrite in most respects.

 

[GMGuy]

Our old LPG work fleet got the same oil as gas motors. Up here they always touted alternate fuels as being easier on the oil.

Alex.

 

[Trex101]

Originally Posted By: dirtydannyd
Hey guys. I currently have a ford AU II Falcon (4.0 6 cylinder) on dual fuel (primarily run on LPG but use petrol every 2nd week) and I currently use Penrite GAS 10 (10W-40)

Now, penrite have made their oil one grade thicker (10W-50) which I think is too thick (Ford state 10W-30 for AU II Falcon) although penrite claim that 'a thicker oil is better'... I don't buy that so I'll be changing.

My question is whether it's beneficial over the long term to use LPG oils? Shell and Castrol (and maybe a few others) also have LPG oils.

Given that LPG burns hotter and drier and therefore I'm led to believe is harder on the piston rings and valves due to the lack of lubrication that petrol (and diesel) provides, what are the schools of thought on oils for LPG?

LPG specific - PCMO – HDEO ???

(BTW, I use Delo 400 in my motorbike - totally not related but just thought I'd chuck it in there!!!!!)

Cheers,

Daniel.


I'm running Amsoil ASL 5w30 for my LPG Territory at the moment, will probably switch it out for Amsoil AMO 10w40 CI-4+ in my next oil change for better heat resistant and better cleaning i hope.

 

[denver1]

I have a 2002 Au111 dedicated lpg Ford and i've been using Amsoil AMO 10w 40 for the last 2 years.
Trex101 where do you get your Amsoil from? Its starting to get very expensive.

 

[Trex101]

I got it from ebay, by the seller wyninweis. Prices are reasonable at A$16 per quart but i like his service, email reply fast, delivery is very prompt and hassle free.

 

[51Plymouth]

I have a 1989 Mitsubishi Galant 4-cyl. on dual-fuel propane(LPG) and gasoline. I use Castrol conventional 10W30 in it.

In Walmarts in Canada even their house brand of cheap automotive oils say they are okay for automotive propane and natural gas use.

I have an old propane conversion book from the late 1950s. There is a whole chapter on lubrication in it. They suggested that the oil in a gasoline engine will get thinner with use because of gasoline going down the cylinder walls past the rings. They also suggested that the oil in a propane only engine will get thicker with use, due to no gasoline dilution. Because of that they recommended one weight oil less than gasoline (Example gasoline 40 weight, propane 30 weight, but that was dependent on season with single weight oils). Of course the book is old but it is worth thinking about.

 

[Steve S]

Special LPG /Nat gas oils are for constant speed engines like generaters, pump engines etc. Vehicle engines use regular motor oil, HDEOs are a good choice.

 

[dirtydannyd]

Cheers, guys.

I think I might just go with the Delo or Delvac 1 for the ford from now on.

Bloody Penrite "you get an extra 10! That is, instead of 10W-40, we give you 10W-50 so you get an extra 10 for free!!!" What [censored]!

Bah

 

[J. A. Rizzo]

I would think since there are no fluids to wash down the cylinder walls and fewer particulates and overall combustion byproducts, any oil that would work with the gasoline engine would be overkill for LPG. Propane engines should be pretty easy on motor oil. HDEOs would seem to be way overkill unless you were shooting for extended OCIs, but I think over that long a period, I'd worry more about viscosity changes.

Regarding the propane conversion book, my suspicion is that modern engines dump less unburnt fuel and combustion byproducts into engine oil than 1950's-era engines did, and modern motor oils are far more advanced. Based on those ideas, a change in grade to compensate for thickening (or less thinning) would now be unnecessary.

Just my opinions here, no science involved. I'm interested to see where this goes because I have a 3600 RPM gas/LPG generator that I've been wondering about as well.