This is hopefully, a rejoinder and an avenue for constructive appraisals relating to a thread where a popular Kazeem on this forum advertised conversion of fuel generators to LPG/CNG for money savings.. And after I had read his savings mathematics as per that, whether it's worth it or not is a relatively grey area... At least for me.. Moreso that he did that LPG comparison with petrol, and left out diesel which considering the now narrowed price gap between the 3 fuels, is now back in the game.. Ehn, some of una go ask as op don do im own, why I no do the comparison of LPG/Diesel? .. In response to that, I am not the one marketing a fuel saver LPG generator add-on.. It's up to that marketer to explain how his add-on will also be more economical and safer (emphasis on safer) than a diesel gen of similar size... Abi diesel no be fuel too?

That being said, I read a lot of back and forth on that LPG Gen advert thread and most of its critics were shut down by an argument that if you could safely use gas cylinder/burner to cook in your house, then it's perfectly safe to use for Generators.. While at first sight, that retort seems a very logical explanation, it kinda crumbles on closer inspection... Then there was this other funny guy who said he keeps LPG in his house, but fears having a gallon of fuel in his house, thus LPG is safer than Petrol ...

Now to the Petrol/LPG safety debate...money savings aside.. Na who dey alive dey save moni

There is a reason why petrol stations are drive-in while gas plants aren't....as in you can drive you car into a petro station, but for gas plants, at least the ones I know, one has to park outside and walk in with the cylinder for a refill.. There are even self-service petrol stations in some countries, but I am yet to see a self-service LPG station..LPG hasn't gained that kind of operational trust yet.

Vehicles have been known to crash and not burn even with full tanks of fuel.. Heck even fuel tankers tumble, spilling their contents on the road, but sometimes don't catch fire until external factors accidentally ignite it....Black marketers, some with lit cigarettes in their mouth, sell fuel in jerrycans all across this country with little or no consequence..


Your gas cylinder is inside your house connected to a burner whose functions are regulated solely by members of that household, and overtime, a safe pattern of public usage of gas to cook has been developed and generally understood.. Now even the most illiterate persons can safely operate a gas burner.. Yet, even with that extended and generally understood pattern of use, gas accidents still happen.. And are usually very fatal when they do..Gas, coupled with the high pressure under which they are stored in steel cylinders are a potential bomb (iron shrapnel from the steel cylinder included as freebies) , if even slightly mishandled.. Leaking petrol generators will mostly leak out the fuel from the fuel tap area and go off when all the fuel has leaked out, very rarely starting a fire..

To take it further, forgetting to close the petrol tap in a generator will at worst lead to flooding of its carburetor or fouling of its plugs, causing a hard start.. No generator will catch fire because its fuel tap was left on after switching it off.. But with this whole gas/carburettor generator concoction, what exactly happens if pesin forget to off d gas tap after gen is switched off?.. At least we know what happens when people forget to switch off their gas taps after cooking...Take it further, what happens if pesin leaves the fuel tap on while the gen is running on LPG?.. Will efritin now mix together and explode danu?

Another trouble with these generator gas contraptions is that it hasn't been extensively used in Nigeria for people to be very familiar with its workings... So there might be operational errors which might be fatal.. I saw some persons on that thread seeking operational clarifications... Carburetor say, carburetor no say... This one say, that one no say.. If the operational guidelines are still a bit grey for such a potentially incendiary device, can we with all fear of God say this thing is ready for public use when we know a basic operational mistake by a user can raze down an entire neighborhood?

Secondly, no one has ascertained what kind of fumes these gas powered generators produce, if they do, and the effect of these fumes on people, short-term and longterm. Gas cookers are virtually "fumeless", as far as we can tell at least... Or they produce fire which comes with its own fumes... At least we know that the fact that we can't perceive a fume doesn't mean it isn't there.. Odorless carbon emissions from generators have been known to wipe out entire families.. . But how safe, if any, are the emmisions from these fuel combustion generators which are now converted to gas use, and who certified them safe?..

Saying dem don dey use am for India, Pakistan, etc is just being smart by half .. These countries are more of a shithole than Nigeria... . Giving us instances of where these LPG carburetor generator contraptions are approved for public usage in any 1st world country will build more confidence in the product, rather than pointing to Asian shitholes who have a reputation for not valuing their own lives.


Instead of all this roundabout, pending when other people have used their own lives and that of their families to test the safety of this contraption, simply get a small diesel generator and use.. Its price-energy ratio is better than that of petrol and may be on par with this LPG thing if not more than it.... And it's far less incendiary than both LPG and Petrol usage.. Yeah, I am sure that while frenzying over petrol, una forget there are small generators that run on diesel...and there is little to no risk of your diesel generator burning down your street..

Opinions, both aligning and misaligning, are very much welcome.. Most especially those with vast technical knowledge on this issue.. And by this I particularly mean those in the oil and gas industry who have a working knowledge of how flammable or otherwise these substances can be...

Sitting pretty here.



My own is that I was expecting emphasis to be more on the use of CNG which is cheaper if price is the major concern but

True

Please always ensure you put in all the safety measures o
E get why

doggedfighter:
Sitting pretty here.



My own is that I was expecting emphasis to be more inthe use of CNG which is cheaper if price is the major concern but

CNG is cheaper but burns more.. Besides, it isn't yet as available as Petrol, LPG and diesel.

Its a good thing that you put up this write-up OP. I very much like the last paragraph of your write-up where you welcomed both aligning and non aligning comments. Your post is seeking more clarification to the subject, so I wouldn't tag it a rejoinder par se.

1. Disclaimer: my opinions here are not from a marketing persperctive but rather an objective analysis of the subject. I don't have any commercial interest in this subject. I'm just a curious mind open to all types of knowledge.

2. LPG just like petrol is a chemical and a type of fuel which has its own safe handling and operational specifications regulations. Understanding these regulations makes LPG handling less risky. Have you seen a gas truck ever had and accident on the highway and the tank container LPG explode? It is very rare. Reason is because the tank is designed to hold its content in extreme conditions including high impact. Same thing apply to the cylinders we use at home. They hardly explode and spill there content. The main reason for fire accidents resulting from LPG is mostly due to leakages from the valves, hose, regulators and other accessories and the the cylinder itself. One a leaky dent is detected on a cylinder as a result of rust, such cylinder MUST be condemned totally. Once a petrol truck crash, the tanker is prone to content spillage and has a high chance of resulting in fire accident. This is not so for lpg tanks.

3. Regarding the petrol/LPG, on the cost side, all things being equal, LPG will give you more run time than petrol. As for diesel, I'm not too sure of that. Another thing to note is that LPG prices fluctuate and the current price of between 550 - 700 that it is being sold now could be the lowest. What then happens when price of LPG rises? The carburettor in question here is a dual or triple fuel carburettor, which can switch between CNG, LPG and petrol. So when price of LPG rises, you can easily switch to CNG or petrol without changing the carburettor. This is not possible with a diesel carburettor.

4. As for the working principle of the carburettor, the carburettor helps to create a spark combustion which is a result of the proper combination of a spark, air and appropriate fuel which could be petrol of gas in this case. The carburettor uses same chamber for the air and fuel mixture. Even if there is peradventure a mixture of the LPG and petrol in the chamber, it won't results in any "explosion". It can result to jerking of the generator which can make the generator go off eventually. If one forgets to switch of the gas supply to the carburettor, the gas will flow out of the carburettor since it is not air tight. Once this is discovered the gas regulator should be shut immediately and then allow ventilation to clear the gas in the surrounding atmosphere. Generators shouldn't be operated in poorly ventilated spaces.

5. Regarding the kind of fume generated, carbon monoxide is a major constituent of fumes generated by both fuel. However, that from LPG is cleaner.

6. Remember people use to dread the use of LPG for cooking then. The story is not the same again. The use of LPG and CNG to power generators and cars is not a new trend in Nigeria. Some commercial and private vehicles have been using it in Benin city for some time now the last time I was in that city.

7. Just ensure you use original accessories, get all you connections done properly, observe all the safety procedures and you are good to go.

Just my objective non professional submission on the subject matter.

doggedfighter:
Sitting pretty here.



My own is that I was expecting emphasis to be more on the use of CNG which is cheaper if price is the major concern but

I won't recommend CNG because it has a very high pressure

billionman:


I won't recommend CNG because it has a very high pressure

Compressed gas is an explosive. Far as I remember, the Party of God used compressed gas designed to function as a thermobaric weapon for their Beirut Barracks bombing.

My main issue with gas is its explosive nature. It can blow up and kill you before you can write your will. Or it can blow up and kill someone and you will be charged for murder. Petrol on the other hand loves to burn. But even if it blows up and burns me, I probably won't die right away and will have time to say my goodbyes and cough up my ATM and Skrill PIN.
So, there's no way I am ever gonna use CNG on gen. And in fact, I have resolved to go the solar route.

GabrielYulaw:


Compressed gas is an explosive. Far as I remember, the Party of God used compressed gas designed to function as a thermobaric weapon for their Beirut Barracks bombing.

My main issue with gas is its explosive nature. It can blow up and kill you before you can write your will. Or it can blow up and kill someone and you will be charged for murder. Petrol on the other hand loves to burn. But even if it blows up and burns me, I probably won't die right away and will have time to say my goodbyes and cough up my ATM and Skrill PIN.
So, there's no way I am ever gonna use CNG on gen. And in fact, I have resolved to go the solar route.

Gas explosion occurs when gas leaks and saturates the immediate environment and there's no proper ventilation to clear such saturation. If you operate your generator in a well ventilated environment, and there's a leakage of gas, the air around would clear the gas leak before it gets saturated. Mind you, the gas cylinder regulator and carburettor are designed to release very little amount of gas per time.

However, all safety protocols must be observed when handling highly flammable materials. Lock your cylinder regulator once you put off the generator (or lock the regulator before putting off the gen). Before putting on the generator, check that the regulator is locked before opening it for use. If it happens that you forget to lock it before and it has been opened for some time, lock the regulator and wait for like a minute before opening it again for operation.

Again, make sure it is LPG you're using and not CNG.

LPG/CNG CARBURETTOR AVAILABLE FOR SALE!

LFC017: Big Carburetor for Generators of 3.8KVA - 13KVA (Manual Choke)

Firm price: N22,000

Location: Lagos mainland.


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