Run the bi-fuel technology in your vehicle
Many vehicle owners in Nigeria, especially automobiles imported from Europe (indeed, ditto many from North America), don't really know that their cars, SUVs and light trucks are designed to run on petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
And in view of the inevitable full (albeit now partial; due to recently quelled nationwide street protests) deregulation that the Federal Government has planned for the PMS pricing regime, it's incumbent on me to use this national platform to let you know that you can actually run that vehicle of yours on an economical and/or without being subjected to the exasperating phenomenon of queuing for hours at filling stations to fill one's vehicle's tank.
For many, like I mentioned in the introductory paragraph, their vehicles are already kitted for it. But should any motorist wish to get a proficient technician to so equip his/her vehicle, it shouldn't cost more than N150,000.
What, then, are the advantages of LPG: One, its high octane rating enables it to mix better with air and to burn more efficiently than does petrol, therefore generating less carbon. With less carbon build-up in the engine, spark plugs will last longer and oil changes are needed less frequently.
Instead of doing lube service, say, at intervals of 3,500km to 4,000km (which I recommend for traffic congestion-prone urban driving in Nigeria relative to the 5,000km interval usually stated in most manufacturers' manuals; my shorter service regime is because of incomplete combustion-precipitated carbon build-up that speedily wears the engine of a vehicle that's always in traffic), if you run the vehicle exclusively on petrol, however, if you go bi-fuel, you can extend your service intervals to between 5,500km and 6,000km. Because it burns in the engine in the gaseous phase, propane results in less corrosion and engine wear than petrol.
Two, power, acceleration, payload and cruise speed are the same with those of an equivalent vehicle fuelled by petrol. Propane has a high octane rating of 104, and regular unleaded gasoline is 87.
Three, refuelling an LPG vehicle is similar to filling a gas grill tank; the time it takes is comparable with that needed to fill a CNG, petrol or diesel fuel tank. It's just that few marketers (Oando in Lagos and Abuja, and NIPCO in Benin City) run filling stations that can dispense LPG in Nigeria. So, if you have any of the stations near you, it's worth thinking about.
Four, LPG doesn't use a fuel pump (the gas flows based on atmospheric pressure), so it requires little or no maintenance. And should your fuel pump or fuel system develop any major problem, you can switch to the LPG alternative to get the vehicle running perfectly.
Five, LPG quality does not vary like petrol (especially the check-engine-warning-light-triggering poor quality petrol that's generally distributed in Nigeria) that varies in octane rating. Therefore, you are assured of the best performance of your vehicle.
Six, because LPG vaporises when released from the tank (and is not water soluble) LPG does not pollute underground water sources. LPG is cleaner to burn because the CO emission is a little fraction of petrol's
The drawbacks of LPG include: LPG is generally higher priced (N155 to N97) than petrol. One gallon of LPG contains less energy than a gallon of pure petrol (which we seldom get in Nigeria anyway). The driving range of a propane vehicle is about 14 per cent lower than a comparable high octane rated gasoline-powered vehicle; but remember that I'd stated severally on this page that the octane rating of the petrol sold in Nigeria is one of the worst I've ever seen the world over.
Also, in cold conditions, below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, starting could be a problem because of the low vapour pressure of propane at low temperatures. I wonder which part of this beautiful sunny country could be that cold.
Let me end this piece with the real life testimony of Tunde Onakoya, one of my very methodical Ibadan-based mentees who runs his car "bi-fuelly": "I bought N2,000 gas at N155 per litre, and drove with it from Akure-Ondo-Modakeke-Ibadan. I also used it for intra-city commuting (in Ibadan) for two days before I ran out and switched to petrol."
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