14 replies to this topic

[pepper20]

soo far off topic on a mini forum i no, but its been bugging me for a while now. i drive a dual fuel astravan 1.6i and on lpg i get maximum of 230 miles from 47 litres of lpg. personally, i think this is really bad mpg and thinking maybe there is something wrong with it. i basically want to know if this is normal and what mpg this works out at (by my workings, 47 litres is 10.33g so 22mpg) also, what mpg do 1.7cdti astravans get as i am thinkin of selling it for better economy and goin back to diesel. tax is £106 for 6 month on mine as well so no cheaper than a diesel and as im 21 my insurance is £1500 tpft so i need to save money somehow. my annual mileage is approx 12000 at the moment so gotta take it all into account to see whats goin to be cheaper for me. all help is highly appreciated

[mini-geek]

I can't give first hand experiance with LPG but my dad has an LPG Berlingo and it's not great on fuel and it dosn't like the cold one bit, IMO the only benifit is the cheep fuel making up for the increesed consumption.

But my dad gets better econamy than that and his van is full of tools, I would start looking into taking it to a garage but don't take it to Vauxhall as they wont know what to do with it you need to got to a specialist try googling it. See if you can find a secialist in your area and give them a ring and se what they say.

have you given it a service? in particular the plugs, as I understand pugs take a hammering on gas. you may find that helps a lot (infact try servicing it befor you do anything)

[benb12]

We've had a few LPG cars, old BMW's though not Vauxhalls. Theoretically the MPG should be slightly worse, we found the difference was fractional. Cheap fuel though.

[pepper20]

cheers mate, it had an electrical fault a week back so atfer the diagnostics it got a new alternater and new ht leads but not spark plugs. it was serviced just before i bought it approx 4000 mile ago so it is coming up to service time. il get it booked in after i get paid and see if i can get better mpg.

oh, and before anyone brings my driving into it lol, i drove like a granny for a ful tank to get those figures, and i swore that il nevar drive like that again, i was late everywhere!!
also doin research on range rover v8s and they get 23mpg on lpg!

so far the bad points seem to be- rubbish mpg, low power, hates the cold, and the fuel is creeping up, now 60p a litre! was 49p 4 month back.

Edited by pepper20, 14 February 2010 - 01:08 PM.

[davidv]

Never had a dualfuel others that have did not like them.I would get a Diesel none turbo.

[Gaffer]

A little off topic but driving through pompey last week i saw a hydrogen duel fuel car. Does anybody know anymore on these conversions? I remember them doing trials in London with some buses a few years back.

[maggies_minder]

the potential of these dual fuel systems is massive but as companies are only half hearted investing in them compared to conventional systems they arent very advanced IMO.

you only have to look how far the combustion engine has come to see that if they really want to they could make super economical non petrol/diesel engines.

until conventional fuels become limited and therefore very expensive, the true potential of this system wont be reached.

[davidv]

The H. cars are great in some areas where you can fill up. More will buy them. How about a classic steam engine.

[Gaffer]

The H. cars are great in some areas where you can fill up. More will buy them. How about a classic steam engine.

Dont think i fancy a classic steam engine for the 200 mile drive to work, would be nice and warm though

[Gaffer]

Just googled up this, it claims to increase fuel economy by up to 40% on a Diesel/TD. For £300 i may give it a try in a couple of months (and my mini when i get another one)

[pepper20]

davidv Posted Today, 02:33 PM
Never had a dualfuel others that have did not like them.I would get a Diesel none turbo

thanks for the help, but i dont think they make a non turbod astra van. i definately want another astravan tho, itl b the 3rd astravan ive had lol. anybody got any more ideas on the mpg im gettin?

[Boycie]

The dualfuel Vauxhalls can be very economical...

I think it wants servicing and setting up with the right equipment and a laptop. IIRC, they use a Necam (sp) system, which should be fine if working properly.

I've done three lpg conversions and have a Prins injection system waiting to go onto my Passat. The secret with them is, they must be kept in tip-top condition, with regualr servicing and tweaks.
Too many people say LPG is rubbish etc, but that's because they don't understand them.

Don't go to Vaux, find a specialist near you that knows the system- ok, it may cost you now, but you'll save loads on gas costs.

[pepper20]

cheers boycie, i wouldnt bother taking it to vauxhal anyway because it would cost a fortune, but as its due a service i think il get it looked at as well at my local lpg centre

any idea of what kinda mileage i should be getting?

[stevede]

Can't help you on the dual fuel bit but some additional food for thought.

On your figures 230 miles, 47 litres and LPG at 60 p/l you're around 12.26 pence per mile

I run a 2 litre BMW 1 series diesel (not the stop start one) and get 50mpg plus all day long. Last tank, just over 600 miles on 49 litres but the refill was at £1.13 per litre. Works out at around 10.91ppm

I would guess that a loaded diesel astra van would do around the same, maybe a bit more on a run.

If this was the case, £162 saving over the year assuming fuel prices stay at the same differential. I suspect a diesel astra van is worth more than a dual fuel to buy?? Make sure you consider all the associated costs before you change.

Edited by stevede, 14 February 2010 - 06:27 PM.

[pepper20]

stevede- thats exactly what im tryin to do, add everything up first n then see if its worth buying a diesel, just seems damn hard to do at the min, dont no y tho because im usually pretty good with numbers

i emailed a few people on autotrader who are selling lpg astras to see what mileage they get and told them im not interested in buying, as some people will say more than what they get to make mpg sound better, im just hoping they will reply

as for other costs, tax is no difference whatsoever for me and its factory fitted, insurance will be going down anyways as i now have 2yr no claims, and it will be easier to refill as the cheapest lpg near me is 2 mile out of my way

Edited by pepper20, 14 February 2010 - 06:43 PM.