Thinking about an LPG conversion?! Pros & Cons Explained | (Nissan Elgrand Stealth Camper)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2021
- Converting my Nissan Elgrand to run on LPG in order to save money and reduce CO2 emissions was something I'd been considering for a while myself. So, in this video I explain exactly what my decision making process was when deciding whether or not to make the jump!
As I take on the build of my mpv stealth camper, I will continue sharing updates like this one along the way, with any thoughts of mine that have gone into the build.
Please let me know in the comments f there are any questions I haven't yet answered regarding the vehicle. I'd love to hear your own experiences with running LPG long-term.
Please consider subscribing to my new channel for weekly content just like this with updates on my builds, Aircooled VW projects and stealth camper travels.
Connect with me on Instagram: / _ctbuilds
Model of the van is a 2006 Nissan Elgrand 3.5L Highway Star Model, imported from Japan in 2020. If you have any questions about the van, feel free to drop a comment below or message me on Instagram!
#Vanlife #Stealthcamper #LPG - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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I converted my '53 Elgrand to LPG four years ago and it runs fine and clean on it BUT be very aware that both BP and Shell have stopped supplying LPG so there are far fewer LPG stations around, look very carefully where you'll be able to buy your LPG also, as of My 2022 LPG is standing at just below £1/L. FYI I get about 22mpg on petrol and 18 on LPG.18 to 25MPG doesn't mean it's 'inefficient', it's just having to drag around a heavy vehicle. If you're looking for fuel economy don't buy a vehicle weighing between 2 and 2.5tons and the aerodynamics of a rounded brick. Power output is 240HP, which is only 68HP/L so not highly tuned. Where did you hear they 'run hot' and need '99 octane fuel' I wonder? Japan has 85 and 96octane fuel. Myself and other owners of Elgrands run quite happily on regular. petrol. Hope that helps someone.
Helpful thanks
This is probably more important than the payback calculation - I wouldn't go for LPG myself as whilst there was a garage (Shell) 2 miles from me that stocked it, that pump was removed and the nearest garage is now 20 miles away. It does seem to be drying up.
LPG is unfortunately being phased out by Shell BP Morrisons by 2024 so six months from now it’ll be harder to find locally. 😡 I was seriously considering the conversion on my 3.5l v6 el grand too. 🤷♂️ The everyday Joe is being squeezed to death in favour of electric vehicles which are in my humble opinion another attempt to get everyone to switch from petrol and Diesel engines and then in two years time they’ll admit that it is far more damaging to the environment to own an electric vehicle. We’ve been here before ain’t we? “Buy diesel cars instead of petrol” only to be told later on that diesels are more polluting than petrol! There’s a reason why NISSAN will not commit to ev’s save for one token model only. Their decision makes perfect sense when you consider the oil and plastics needed for one ev battery bank and the coal fired electric generator stations used in the manufacturing process is crazily worse than driving a petrol engine! No one has come up with a solution for disposal of end of life ev battery banks either? When you consider all the compound elements required for the production of an ev battery eventually it will be announced that ev’s are worse on the environment? We live in crazy times for sure! 🤷♂️
excellent video was wondering about converting my tt mk1 to lpg and after watching this ill be doing it now
Great video bud...very informative. I'm about to buy one of these vans in the coming months and i'm seriously considering the LPG option. Coincidentally I'm in Bristol too so will check out the garage you mentioned. Thanks
Thank you . I'm thinking of getting one for van life
yes had my elgrand lpg been on 4 years no problem its well got back the price of having it fitted no difference in power well recommended
A big thank you for posting your Elgrand updates. I'm considering importing one perhaps over the coming year and will be keen to see what this is like as a daily driver. As a fellow Bristolian, I will also be interested in the garages you recommend! Keep up the good work.
Thanks Matt! I’m loving it so far. Hit me up if you ever need to take a look at one, you’d be welcome to come by and see mine any time 😁
@@ctbuilds That's very kind of you, Connor. I might drop you a DM when/if I need to convince the other half about buying one!
Matt Durant for sure man! Dm me on Insta any time 😁
Great videos. You've an excellent presentation style and pace.
Only just saw this comment, but thank you! Appreciate that a tonne :)
Great review, thank you.
CT Builds excellent video. Living in a rural village we don`t have gas so we cook with LPG also many my age will remember the "Calor Gas Heaters" it proves everything you said regarding ultra low carbon emissions, if I tried heating or cooking indoors with petrol it would quickly poison the atmosphere and me. I`ve just purchased an elgrand, I `m getting LPG as soon as I`ve saved enough to have it fitted - and absolutely recommend it because running a car on petrol is insane! and the more people wake up to the savings the less likely garages will remove it from their forecourts. Well done. PS. The lower octane just means running cooler but less acceleration bit less wear on the engine.
Great video. Just had my Elgrand done this week too - same place Avon Autogas. Now charging £1,700 plus a bit more for the plugs and a full 75 litre tank of gas.
Ahh fair enough! Sounds about right. Enjoy the vehicle ! 😁
I enjoyed your video, all 3 videos in fact. I've had my Elgrand Ryder for nearly a year now, am absolutely loving it. LPG is next on the cards I think and thankfully there's several places near us up the road from you, near Stroud. Over the next couple of years I'm going to buy a 2010 top spec Elgrand and it'll be for camper-vanning. The one we've got now is being used for work and it's great to drive around in luxury and style in a van that everyone gives great comments of. I've subscribed as I thought you'd done a good job imparting info ;-)
Glad to hear you’ve been entertained so far mate! Yeah that sounds like a good plan on the new elgrand, these are awesome vans 😁
@@ctbuilds Yes, awesome vans hey. Over here we're getting such a good deal. Looking forward any videos you do. :-)
Tony Nash we definitely do ! Such a great spec for the price. Thanks mate - I’ll
Keep them coming 🙌
Excellent video, as always. Some good food for thought. Bought my Elgrand 2wks ago & it guzzles petrol at an alarming rate. This could be the future 👍
Haha nice one ! Yeah it does drink it doesn’t it 🤣 lpg was a great choice 👌
@@ctbuilds Thirsty sums it up. I was going to call my van "Oliver" (after Reed). Might hang back with the naming until I decide on the conversion. Still recovering from my mini heart attack after filling up cost me more than £100!
Keep the videos coming 🙂
Johnny Parsons haha yep that’s right !! To be fair at least they have a big fuel tank - allowing all that fuel in there 🤣 but yeah you get used to it 😂🙌
Excellent video just subscribed very thankful as looking at purchase in new year but like to do home work so 👏👏👍🏻
Having a LPG converted 56 plate Citron Picasso 1600 for many years the only disadvantage i have found is the availability of stations . it can be a little slower in acceleration when engine is cold but i cannot notice any difference once warmed up, on a privet track I managed to accelerate to 129mph running on petrol and 127 using just LPG. there was a two second difference with petrol being the quicker. I have also noticed that the oil stays cleaner and I have never had to change the plugs or injectors in the six years i have had the car. I have only had one problem in the time i have owned my car regarding the LPG system and that caused the car to get very sluggish when going up hill, this was owing to a T piece pipe joiner breaking that affected the advance cycle so easy to replace. I must admit during the recent supply problem (when i was offered silly monies for my car I would not sell it) and the high cost of fuel I can only recommend the conversion. I can travel a long distance with out refuelling using both tanks from Kent to Scotland and quite a way returning. the disadvantage with LPG is they may not allow them on ferries and some tunnels may have restrictions. Always get it fitted by professionals.
Thanks for the video , still thinking about converting but there are so few places to get lpg around Chippenham and the UK in general. Love my Ellie and use her every day so fuel costs are high but you don t buy one of these for its fuel economy :)
Thanks for posting this video. We have put a deposit down on a newly converted Elgrand campervan and I'm thinking of getting it LPG converted. I have heard that because LPG burns hotter than petrol it can cause issues with the Elgrand's ceramic pre-catalytic converters, which sounds like an expensive problem if it happens.
Big rabbit hole to get into.. I’ve only de-cored my rear CATs but I hear you. Check out the fb forum to go further into that debate 😂 mines been fine for a few thousand miles so far and performing great!
hi not noticed elgrand running hotter big engines cope with heat much better than small one as for catalytic converter back one can block up throw it replace with a pipe done mine 4 years ago no probs
I have had a Nissan El Grand for 7 years. I now have 2. I have LPG both. I have driven all around UK. No problems with filling up. When I need to. I live in Cambridge and drive to Bristol and Newcastle for work. Mostly 90% lpg. I also drive to Korcula, Croatia every summer ☀️ and Europe is full if Lpg. Buy the correct adapters for filling and 80p per litre is all you pay. I'm off to korcula, next week, 1400 miles, reducing my price per litre from petrol £2 to log 80p. Happy days. About half price per mile 😁
I've had a few vehicles on lpg., from a Saab 9-5 to a Jeep Grand Cherokee. All ran perfectly except the Saab, which blew a head gasket. This was due to "top-end dry out", the golden rule with lpg seems to be.... Always have the "flash-lube" option fitted. This prevents oil starvation around the valves and cylinder head area; avoiding the massive cost of a replacement head_gasket. Of course, the cost equation has to be the decider. You'll get roughly the same mpg on liquid gas, but at half the cost. Thus, if your vehicle gets around 25mpg on petrol; with lpg, it's like getting 50mpg!
I’ve got a 2.5 Elgrand . It’s still juicy but I get about 28 to gallon on a run. I kinda new the story before I bought it.
Thanks for this. Did you ever do an update video on how this was working out?
Be really interested to hear a long term review
Thanks for your videos and shared knowledge about your Elgrand mate. Do you know whether Avongas get you PRINS or BRC system installed on your van? There is a couple of hundred quid difference when it comes to the price, but from what I've gathered Prins have more pros, as the advanced direct injection system engineered by Dutch and Japanese engineers.
I got some questions
What is the Stoichiometry ratio if you run LPG and is your engine more prone to detonation or knock?
Thinking of getting an LPG conversion on my behemoth GMC Suburban which has a 7.4 litre engine and gets 14 mpg. Will probably be worth it.
Lol. I'm also thinking of conversion on my Cadillac seville sts 4.6 v8 2001. It drinks fuel Like a camel drinking water.
Thanks I’m going to get mine done where was yours done thanks
Hi we've just bought a nissan elgrand 3.5 . Is worth converting the gas considering the price of gas. How much is the cost of gas per litre at the moment where you are. Please give me feedback. I'm confused which route to go. Love the car but fuel consumption is too much. Will I sell or convert?
I recently had LPG installed, a great saving in the long run. I can not see much performance difference.
Definitely a great saving ! Nice to hear your views. Do you have an Elgrand too?
Petrolhead for life!
Hahaaa fair enough ! I gotta say there’s nothing better than the feeling of letting rip in a big engined car / bike 🤘
Hi i have just traded in my Honda Stepwagon for a Elgrand I have the 2.5L it is a big thirsty however it’s worth it for the luxury ride, I’m looking for a newer sat nav and cd player do you have any recommendations ? Let me know please and thanks for the review 👍
Please share some of your cost analysis of running LPG vs petrol
How about the 2.5 l v6 2008 models, how much better is the fuel economy in those?
What did you do with the spare tyre? Thanks for the vid also, highly informative.
I either didn’t keep it in the van, or I kept it in the van sometimes on longer trips, usually just on the floor under the bed ! Hope that helps :) and thank you!
I am driving Estima hybrid. Can it be make such conversion to LPG?
Hi,
Thanks for sharing with us your personal experiences with the Elgrand.
My wife and I are in process of looking for own Elgrand.
Can I ask you, regarding your particular van, do your rear seats fold down flat as apposed to folding to the sides of the van?
If so, what model do you have if you don’t mind me asking?
Hey mate, you're welcome!
The rears both fold up and also completely flat and down. It's a highway star 2006 van :) all the models of that age should do the same.
would love to see how much difference removing a couple of hundred kgs would make
Haha probably a lot! These are super heavy vans.. but that’s the price you pay for luxury I guess 😂
Hi , where did U get it gas tank from ? It looks good
Will this be safe if the car crash it wont be explode the lpg tank?
Hi great video,I have been quoted 2 and a half grand for my conversion in Scotland,do you think its cheaper dwn south?meant to add it's a Toyota alphard 3litre
?
Thinking of getting one fitted on my accord 2.4. Usually cost me around 80£ fuel for getting out of 340 miles. It’s gonna cost me around £1000 to get one fitted BRC.
If you do enough miles, it’s definitely worth it ! Since this video I’ve done over 10k miles and it’s worked out cheaper already.
@@ctbuilds London LPG prices seems around 70-90p a litre. How many miles do u think u have to do to breakeven? I think I will go with BRC over Stag AC 1000£ vs 850£
Hi, love your visa very educational. Could you tell me how many miles per gallon do you get with the LPG conversion please, I'm looking at an Elgrand 3.5 tomorrow and it's an option I'm looking at. Thanks. Ian.
Cheers mate ! Yeah so lpg is much the same MPG as standard fuel, main difference is the price.. so at £1.55 per L of fuel, a full tank doesn’t last long and is expensive. At £0.55-70p per L of fuel, a full tank doesn’t last long but is very cheap. Makes sense? 😆 definitely worth it in my opinion :)
(I’d estimate 20/25 mpg. Not ideal! But like I say, lpg is extremely cheap wherever you can get it! )
@@ctbuilds If you were to monitor it closely you would see that mpg is not about the same. You get about 20% less mpg on lpg. Of course the cheaper fuel still gives you great savings.
So for instance, my pajero does 24mpg on petrol on a gentle motorway run, it will only get 18mpg on lpg. It's because of the calorific value of the fuels. I've been running my pajero on lpg for seventeen years. Best regards. PS. So if you pay half the price of petrol you can buy twice the amount of lpg for the same money....... So your 18mpg on lpg equates to 36mpg ..... Makes sense when you get your head around it.😎
I have a Range Rover 4.4 v8 which is on lpg I can’t see why it’s not a viable option these days it’s so much better to run it’s cheaper cleaner and I don’t think there’s a performance issue
I know right ! I feel that this runs better on LPG than petrol honestly.
had mine done today then read that they are stopping lpg by 2024
Thanks for the video, I am wondering if the conversion effected your road tax cost if so, how much did it drop by?
It doesnt make any difference at all to road tax. However, you will not be able to take any vehicle fitted with LPG through the Channel Tunnel. Ive no idea why this is as a Gas tank is a lot thicker and sturdyer than a petrol tank and has roughly the same spark point, but thats how it is.
@@MW6PNW thanks for the heads up, I’m really keen on getting an Elgrand, but have never owned an import car so doing as much research as I can. Thanks again
Very helpful! I have now purchased my van, but went with the other make and model in the end. I've been debating doing the LPG conversion, mostly for cleaner fuel that doesn't lose quality if the vehicle isn't driven for a while, but a distinct lack of LPG stations near me is a bit of an issue. I've got 2 within reasonable distance and they frequently run out within a few days of getting refills. They are thirsty beasts though for sure, so might be something I look at over winter.
Yeah definitely, it’s a hard one to weigh up. For me, I found a few places nearby that always seem to have it.. but definitely just took the plunge and will see how it goes ! They use a lottt of fuel. My other car is a PHEV hybrid lol so trying to be conscious of fuel where I can with this van 😂 Nice to hear you’ve got your new van though !
@@ctbuilds Thank you, picked it up tonight, yay! Is your Elgrand keyless entry by any chance?
Cheska it is keyless, yes ! I have an aftermarket thatcham approved Cat 1 alarm on mine as well with a fob - but the stock system is keyless and it’s awesome
@@ctbuilds So is mine and this may be a really dumb question, but I am really struggling to get my head around this, so I'm just going to ask it! If I'm sat inside, with the keys of course, anyone can open the doors from outside because the keyless fob is present and in range. If you're using it as a camper, this isn't really a good thing and I'm so confused! How do you keep yourself safe in this scenario? What am I missing here? I feel so dumb!
Cheska I either press the button inside the front door to lock the doors from inside.. or you can place the key in a faraday pouch to protect from the van being started ! :)
Interesting video.
I hear that mpg is less with lpg is that correct? Have you worked a comparative cost per mile?
Considering that the price per L of lpg is around 52-70p as opposed to £1.50 per L of supreme unleaded, I save more than 50% of my fuel costs now since switching to lpg :) definitely a huge difference in savings!
Yes, you are correct. Due to the calorific value of lpg being less than petrol. You loose about 20% mpg. So if your vehicle does 24mpg on petrol you would get about 19 mpg on lpg on a similar journey.
Did you require new Spark plugs ? If so what are they
Hey mate I asked the LPG garage to do this for me when they did the conversion.
Why do you like to smell the exhaust
We did LPG for two years, gave up due to the fact LPG sourced fuel stations are scarce LPG doesn't deliver better performance and in some cases the economy of the fuel doesn't always deliver because you end up using more fuel travelling miles out of the way to get it in the first place!
Fair enough !! I’ve just done an 800 mile road trip to Scotland and it was surprisingly easy for me 😁 But it’ll be different for everyone I’m sure.
@@ctbuilds how much did that 800 miles costed you? For gas i mean
Marcin Bystron hey mate it costs me about £30 per 200 miles on LPG.
Where did you convert you convert your van? How much did it cost?
It was around £1500, including getting the spark plugs changed at the same time - and it was at Avon Autogas just outside bristol.
This is over a year old now. Prices are pretty much through the roof now so super unleaded is around £1.99 ltr. I am picking up 2.4 ltr Alphard mid Oct and just found out it is best on the Super. Lpg conversiin may help. Whats the general consensus here??
Crazy isn’t it !! Prices have gone mad. LPG is still a great shout I think :)
Is availability drying up? I read shell won't be stocking it in future.
It’s really not too bad. Try the LPG finder app. It’s everywhere really :)
I got confused though right here 4:33, when you said 'injectors' (diesel) then 'sparkplugs' (petrol).
Thanks for the vid. I'm definitely getting auto-lpg.
Lol my bad 😆 I meant plugs both times.. 💥 😉
My e50 runs on petrol and lpg.65l..
Remap ?
What’s your typical range for the LPG tank?
This is a small tank, around 55 litres - so I just get around 200-230 miles 👍🏼
What's the manufacturer of the lpg kit? Has there been any issues?
Avon Autogas was the fitter who supplied it. No issues 12k miles later !
How much was your conversion mate ? I'm just considering whether get my elgrand done
It was around 1500 i believe ! From Avon autogas. Definitely worth it man
Is your van exempt from the London Ultra Low Emission Zone ULEZ ???
Yes it is now as it is registered as lpg alternative fuel !
Imported Elgrands are exempt anyway
I am finding your video very informative...however one thing I didn't get was that the consumption of gas is not the same as the lpg ...so might be cheaper per litre...however will get you less miles per gallon so your math is not that good from that point....anyway good luck!
As I drive a 2012 golf GTi I'm guessing I wouldn't really notice the elgrand's thirst for fuel. I always use high octane too.
Haha yeah maybe not ! This gets about 18-25mpg so if that’s okay for you maybe you can do without 😁
@@ctbuilds I joined the elgrand forum, researching has led me to realise LPG would be the better decision. A guy on there does the conversion and he fits a 90ltr tank. Any issues and he comes to you anywhere in the country.
slabby rider yeah that’s right ! I agree
slabby rider that sounds like a good deal! I’d go for it. Especially if you do enough miles & want to keep it long term.
10,000 miles a year, £1.80 on fuel £0.75 on gas saves you £1500 a year and 1 ton less of Co2
Hell yeah ! Even more of a saving now eh.