Propane estimation for mutV

[Gano]

We're building a mutant vehicle on a 28 foot propane bus.

I'm wondering if anyone can offer some advice or ideas on how we can go about planning for propane consumption as well as refueling.

- What is realistic for hours of use during the day? The MO is to drive the bus out to open playa and park for a while. Drive somewhere else and park. How long do others find they tend to run the engine during a 24 hour period?

- How would I get an estimate of fuel consumption? I'm at sea level. Let the bus idle for an hour and...?

- Should we really attempt to bring all of the fuel we'll need or is it better to arrange propane delivery? Anyone know of companies that do this? Any other propane users that want to coordinate a delivery(ies) together?

Cheers!
Gano

http://www.facebook.com/theartcar

[Rice]

We're building a mutant vehicle on a 28 foot propane bus.

I'm wondering if anyone can offer some advice or ideas on how we can go about planning for propane consumption as well as refueling.

- What is realistic for hours of use during the day? The MO is to drive the bus out to open playa and park for a while. Drive somewhere else and park. How long do others find they tend to run the engine during a 24 hour period?

- How would I get an estimate of fuel consumption? I'm at sea level. Let the bus idle for an hour and...?

- Should we really attempt to bring all of the fuel we'll need or is it better to arrange propane delivery? Anyone know of companies that do this? Any other propane users that want to coordinate a delivery(ies) together?

Cheers!
Gano

http://www.facebook.com/theartcar

You probably want to research your exact vehicle (make/model/year) and see what its fuel consumption is going to be. Every vehicle has different values. Does heat affect consumption, how about altitude?? There are resources online...

Getting services on-playa is not exactly as simple as making a phone call. You probably should contact Burning Man LLC to find out what you need to do if you want something delivered on-playa. I know that DWP gets propane delivered for their needs, but it is unlikely you would be able to tap into those deliveries. Maybe look up propane delivery companies in the area and give a few of them a phone call... ??

Sorry I cannot be more helpful.

[Captain Goddammit]

Trying to look up make/model/year fuel consumption for a bus isn't practical, especially since this is an unusual application.
I think testing it by idling it for some measured hours at home is a good idea, and if you can drive it around some - or a lot - that's even better.
Burning Man mutant vehicles generally have high electrical demands, for all the lighting and maybe sound... are you going to have a generator, or run the bus engine a lot?

Where I work we use forklifts that run on propane. I'll try to pay attention to how long they go on a tankful but it may be hard to track since I'm usually only there at the start and end of the day and several different people drive and fuel them.

[ygmir]

Trying to look up make/model/year fuel consumption for a bus isn't practical, especially since this is an unusual application.
I think testing it by idling it for some measured hours at home is a good idea, and if you can drive it around some - or a lot - that's even better.
Burning Man mutant vehicles generally have high electrical demands, for all the lighting and maybe sound... are you going to have a generator, or run the bus engine a lot?

Where I work we use forklifts that run on propane. I'll try to pay attention to how long they go on a tankful but it may be hard to track since I'm usually only there at the start and end of the day and several different people drive and fuel them.

I'm told a general rule of thumb is 20% lower fuel mileage with propane........so that'd go for time, too.
if you can figure MPG, you can figure GPH, which should be fairly accurate playa or highway.

[moltensteelman]

Trying to look up make/model/year fuel consumption for a bus isn't practical, especially since this is an unusual application.
I think testing it by idling it for some measured hours at home is a good idea, and if you can drive it around some - or a lot - that's even better.
Burning Man mutant vehicles generally have high electrical demands, for all the lighting and maybe sound... are you going to have a generator, or run the bus engine a lot?

Where I work we use forklifts that run on propane. I'll try to pay attention to how long they go on a tankful but it may be hard to track since I'm usually only there at the start and end of the day and several different people drive and fuel them.

Forklifts or lift trucks are designed to run 8 hours on a propane tank. An example would be an 8000 lbs capacity lift with an inline 6 cylinder chevy engine would have a 12 gallon tank and a 5000 lb capacity lift truck with a 4 cylinder would have an 8 gallon tank. This may very a little from one manufacturer to another but it's a starting point for rough estimating. May not be very accurate for estimating what the bus would use though.

I think you need to use 300 gallons or more a day for on playa fuel delivery. you can haul up to 1000 lbs of propane in an open vehicle without placarding it, but that includes the weight of the containers.
hope this helps.