# cheap propane conversion



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

well the discussion about propane snowblower definitely got me interested but the price tag i was seeing associated with some kits were stupid expensive until i looked around and noticed a lot cheaper cheaper kit. has anyone tried one? i ordered 1 last week and it showed up today which really surprised me since it came all the way from china. there seems like a few video of people running this style carb on generators and really not much of a difference between generators and snowblowers. i am hoping to try getting the carb on as soon as possible but the snowblower i want to put the carb on is currently glued to the ground with ice and buried under snow since i haven't used it this season since it is a pain to start since i broke the choke on it. the plug also likes to foul up or something ever since i changed the plug. i don't see how a different plug causes it to change how the engine runs but it did which is why i am hoping propane may help fix this issue. as far as carb quality goes looks like anything anything you would order from china for cheap. some scuffs and dings on mating surfaces but nothing that should stop it from working. since i will be running this one a small 20" machine i was thinking about probably just powering it with little tanks since a 20lb tank might be a bit much to toss on a small machine. i am open to any tips or advise people maybe have.


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

You may need a larger tank in order to generate sufficient gas at very low temps. Will be interesting to see the outcome!

Propane vapor pressure at 70F = 127 and at 0F is only 31. Also see the Propane Cold Weather BTU chart below...


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i was thinking i will probably need take the tanks in to keep them warm when not in use since they will be so small but really wanting to keep the blower light weight and a 20lb tank will not help its weight. i would really like to get this machine back up and running as my main machine to snow blow other peoples driveways since it was so lite and i never needed my ramps to load or unload it but i guess we will see what happens.


----------



## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

You may be able to find a 5# or 11# propane tank we have them around here. I have both a 5 and 11 they are common for hunters and ice fishing shacks, you just need to take them to have filled at a propane dealer.


----------



## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

Is that a dual fuel carb?


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

ya it it one of them dual fuel carbs. 


Lottstodo said:


> You may be able to find a 5# or 11# propane tank we have them around here. I have both a 5 and 11 they are common for hunters and ice fishing shacks, you just need to take them to have filled at a propane dealer.


i will take a look. if i could find a 5lb tank i think i could live with that but i don't think i have ever seen one.


----------



## tonylumps (Jul 31, 2018)

I have 4 generators that run on dual fuel.2 of them I converted to dual fuel I never converted my snowblower to propane because propane has a lower BTU rating than Gasoline.And Propane does not like cold weather.If your snowblower does not run well on gas than it will not run on Propane I have been dealing with propane powered equipment for about 8 years.My first generator was a single fuel Generac generator.They only sold them for about 2 years maybe 3.People did not do there homework on propane so they kept sending them back instead of doing some reading up on Propane.I would still have it .But the older I got I needed electric start and could not put one on it.In the winter time when the Temp goes below 40 I use 2 tanks to generate enough gas for power equipment.A 20 LB propane tank gets me about 25% less run time than 5 Gallons of Gas in warm weather.The only reason why I converted to propane was that i got tired of storing 20 gallons of gas and recycling it into my Vehicles.So now I have 8 cylinders that I store in my shed and never have to recycle.If you are going to convert.Make sure you read up on it.Things like a new plug,Changing the gap on the plug.Go to US carburation .They have a lot of info to get you going. Take youtube with a grain of salt.I don't know how some of them people did not blow themselves to **** with some of there contraptions.If you need any help let me know.Tony PsS Make sure that the kit has a Regulator that shuts off the propane when the engine dies.Propane gas works by Vacuum and unlike gas it will keep flowing.when engine shuts down.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

the snowblower use to run real good until i changed the spark plug. now it will run real good for a few minutes and then start running rougher till it stop running. pull plug clean it off toss it back in and it does the same things over. it ran perfect for 3 years previous. since i broke the choke and needed to replace the carb anyways figure minus well try the one with propane. there was someone else who converted their machine to propane and seemed pretty happy with it. i believe the regulator on the carb that is vacuum activated and you also need a regulator like on a BBQ to keep the pressure low enough so it doesn't force its way into the engine.


----------



## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Just curious, is it the factory suggested plug? There had been a mention of a plug fouling after it was replaced. If, perhaps, the new plug was a different (wrong) heat range, perhaps that could have an impact on fouling, or other misbehavior. Of course, also assuming the gap is correct.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

it is what the system said was the NTK version of the plug. the gap was the same on the the new plugs as the old. think it was .035. i think i even tried some of my old trucks spark plugs in it since i had lots and they were just fine when in my truck. it would still do the same thing. after digging it out today i know there is most likely going to be fuel system issues. looks like there is probably some rust starting to develop in the tank and it only ran for a short amount of time before not wanting to stay going on its own. i guess at least it ran which was the important thing. also looked at possibly swapping the 208cc on it. just need to get the pulley spaces cut right and i can drop the engine on.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

well i finally got around to playing with it. seems to run pretty decent until the tank starts freezing up. i have a feeling the freezing tank may have also contributed to it bogging a bit more while put under load but it still wouldn't stall while bogging. about the only thing issue i noticed was gas kept flowing into the carb even when it was shut off but i have a feeling that maybe be because i am using a old torch to connect the tank to the carb instead of a regulator which i could not find. i guess at least i got all summer to figure out which way to go. i think i can get a 11lb tank at one of the local stores but it almost seem more expensive then a 20lb tank which seems a bit strange. maybe they might go on sale this summer.


----------



## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

crazzywolfie said:


> i think i can get a 11lb tank at one of the local stores but it almost seem more expensive then a 20lb tank which seems a bit strange. maybe they might go on sale this summer.


Yes, the 5 lb and 11 lb tanks are typically MORE expensive than the 20 lb tanks.


----------



## contender (Jan 18, 2018)

crazz, you find a 5 lber, I think I have one, pm if you interested.....


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

thanks for the offer but i am not 100% sure if that would be big enough or not. Canadian tire has both 5lb and 11lb tanks. i should have gone to check them out to see the exact sizes when i was in there yesterday but didn't think about it. i am just wondering if a 5lb tank might be too small and freeze up pretty quick like the 1lb tanks. might keep an eye out for a 11lb tank or maybe just reconsider using a 20lb tank.


----------



## contender (Jan 18, 2018)

Ya , I guess you could tell a fair bit with out moving the blower. I have never worked with propane on a gas engine so am of no help. But in winter here in Ontario I can see the 1 lbr acting up, guess you need a tiny fire pot!!!! he he.
Offer still stands


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

hahaha thanks. even with the nice weather we had today the 1lb tanks was starting to freeze in about 5 minute. i am not super knowledgeable about propane but i do know it really doesn't take a ton to get them to start freezing but the larger the tank the less likely you are to have issues or the longer it will take. i know when i use to work in a warehouse we use to occasionally run propane heaters to warm us up and sometimes never took long for the tanks to start frosting over. the less gas was in the tank the quicker it frosted over and froze up.


----------



## tonylumps (Jul 31, 2018)

To keep a small combustable engine running in the dead of winter you will need the gas volume of at least a 30# or better 40# bottle to keep up with the intake of gas being converted from liquid and then only if you have some way of heating the propane cylinder while blowing snow.In temp.below 30 degrees I use a 30# or 2 20# tanks with the heat from my generator to keep it some what warmer.I have been dealing with Propane and Internal combustabl engines for about 8 years now.It will suck up a lot more gas than a heater or Barby Now in the summer when the temps go up your snowblower will work great.A lot more Lawn Maints. contractors are buying there big mowers already converted.They are using the same tanks that are on Forklifts.Your 5 or 11# tanks will not work either.I do not think a 20 will work .There is alot of info out there on propane .


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

the other person who did a propane conversion on his machine is only running a 20lb tank and he never mentioned having any issues with it or the 2 years he has been running it but i guess i may have to wait til next winter to find out. it will give me time to build a tank mount and get the governor linkage protected. i guess worst case scenario it goes back to gas and i will try figuring out what is up with it. i did find quite a bit of water in the gas i took out of the fuel tank


----------



## tonylumps (Jul 31, 2018)

crazzywolfie said:


> the other person who did a propane conversion on his machine is only running a 20lb tank and he never mentioned having any issues with it or the 2 years he has been running it but i guess i may have to wait til next winter to find out. it will give me time to build a tank mount and get the governor linkage protected. i guess worst case scenario it goes back to gas and i will try figuring out what is up with it. i did find quite a bit of water in the gas i took out of the fuel tank


I know playing with it ,maybe you will come up with something That I have missed.Every bodies snowblower will be running on propane.Propane is the way to go with a piece of equipment that sits for months .My generators run great now that I did my homework on propane. No more storing 20 -25 Gallons of Gas and than have to recycle if you do not use it for a while. Propane you store it and forget it and a lot safer.My shed is about 75' from the house I have 3 30# and 7 20# and if power goes out Everybody is lined up for Gas. But not for Propane.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

if it works i got nothing against it. i actually went and looked at his video's again and he is running a 10lb tank. i guess i will find out next winter what happens. so far i am into it less than $25.


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

crazzywolfie said:


> if it works i got nothing against it. i actually went and looked at his video's again and he is running a 10lb tank. i guess i will find out next winter what happens. so far i am into it less than $25.


Looks like that was pretty warm weather, though...


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

he has another video where it looks colder but snow moved looks a bit light. i would assume since he converted it and is still run
https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/1525729-post35.html
he also posted this season that it is still running good with the 11lb tank
https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/1644211-post37.html


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

crazzywolfie said:


> he has another video where it looks colder but snow moved looks a bit light. i would assume since he converted it and is still run
> ... he also posted this season that it is still running good with the 11lb tank ...


Well, hopefully that 11 pound tank will work for you. From the videos, it appears he has a bit too much weight (between the propane and the battery) on the rear to keep the augers down. Maybe a bracket to hold the tank above the engine would help with both weight distribution and provide some heat to keep the tank warmer?


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

my plan was to put the propane tank where the original tank was. i agree with where he has the tank it may be too much weight at the back but with his machine space is kind of limited. at least with the OHV engine i got a bit more space with the stock tank removed. i don't know if the heat from the engine will really help that much but it probably wouldn't hurt.


----------

