Humanity, as you know, is divided into optimists and pessimists. Drivers are no exception. They are either confident that no rules and regulations will prevent them from converting their car the way they want, or they are afraid to even put different colored caps on the wheels. The first group of motorists does not notice obstacles, avoiding them even in violation of the law, the second group constantly expects a trick from the authorities.

The Technical Regulations of the Customs Union “On the Safety of Wheeled Vehicles”, which entered into force on January 1, 2015, clearly classify the installation of gas equipment as changes in the design of the vehicle. In development of this regulatory act, on November 20, 2015 there were “Methodological recommendations for organizing verification of compliance with requirements for vehicles in operation in the event of changes to their design” have been adopted.

Next in line is an order from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, establishing the procedure for providing state services for issuing permission to make changes to the design of a vehicle and issuing a certificate of compliance of a vehicle with changes made to its design with safety requirements.

The order cannot radically change the procedure for registering a vehicle with constructive changes made to it, but it can contain provisions that do not allow additional obstacles to be created for car owners and thereby push them to register their cars by circumventing the law or for an additional fee.

Time and money

However, making changes to the design in any case will require compliance with a red-tape and multi-stage procedure, including the preparation of a large number of documents, as well as two examinations. This will take at least a month and will not be cheap.

HBO can be installed only in certified centers. A service center declaration must be submitted during registration at the examination stage.

HBO can be installed on almost any car. At the same time, due to the low cost of fuel (about half the cost of gasoline), the price of the equipment pays off quite quickly. This is especially noticeable during everyday use of the vehicle in commercial activities.

But if changes are made to the design of the car without the permission of the traffic police, then the operation of such vehicles is prohibited, and violators face not only a fine of 500 rubles (Article 12.5, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), but also a parking fine. The basis is the List of faults and conditions under which the operation of vehicles is prohibited (appendix to the traffic rules), which provides for a ban if “changes are made to the design of the vehicle without the permission of the State Road Safety Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation or other bodies determined by the Government of the Russian Federation "(clause 7.18).

Only if all conditions are met, the vehicle owner will receive a Certificate of Conformity of the design of the vehicle with the changes made to safety requirements. After this, you will have to make amendments to the PTS, reissue the vehicle registration certificate, and then periodically test the gas equipment. A unified form of passport for a gas cylinder of a wheeled vehicle and the rules for its registration have already been approved.

What to do if you decide to install HBO?

Firstly, even before making changes to the design of the car, it is necessary to conduct a preliminary technical examination to determine the possibility of such upgrades. Then you need to fill out an application in the prescribed form at the traffic police department and provide the following documents to the State Traffic Inspectorate:

• conclusion of a preliminary technical examination of the design for the possibility of making changes (installation of gas equipment);
• statement;
• identification document (passport);
• power of attorney, agreement, or other document certifying the authority of the applicant to represent the interests of the owner;
• vehicle registration document;
• vehicle passport;
• the vehicle itself for inspection.

Having received a positive decision on the possibility of making changes, you can begin installing the gas equipment. The installer organization must issue a declaration to the owner of the car about the volume and quality of work performed to make changes to the design of the vehicle.

How to register a car with HBO?

After installing the gas equipment, you need to undergo a technical examination, based on the results of which a technical examination report is issued, and then a state technical inspection.

Only after this you can contact the traffic police, where you will have to provide a number of documents:

• conclusion of a preliminary technical examination of the design to determine the possibility of making changes;
• identification;
• registration certificate and vehicle registration certificate;
• a document that confirms your right to own this vehicle;
• an application requesting a certificate;
• certificates F No. 2a, and also 2b. They are issued after the installation of HBO;
• diagnostic card;
• certified copies of certificates of conformity of installed gas equipment;
• a certificate of conformity issued to the installer, which confirms his right to perform this type of work, issued by an accredited certification body;
• check for payment of state duty.

You must also present the vehicle itself for inspection.

If you do not comply with all these requirements, the traffic police will simply refuse to register the vehicle, citing paragraphs 3 and 51 of the “Rules for registration of motor vehicles...” (Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation of November 24, 2008 No. 1001), where among the grounds for refusal is the following : “vehicles are presented whose design or changes made to the design do not comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of road safety or the information specified in the submitted documents.”

And paragraph 51 directly states that “registration, changes in registration data, deregistration of vehicles and other registration actions are not carried out until the end of inspections carried out in the prescribed manner by internal affairs bodies, as well as in the event of failure to comply with the requirements of these Rules and Administrative Regulations or other cases provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.”

When is it not necessary to get tested?

Vehicles are not subject to inspection if they:

• the components specified by the vehicle manufacturer in the operational documentation have been installed;
• intended for this vehicle and have undergone conformity assessment as part of this vehicle, which is confirmed by the documentation of the component manufacturer;
• when serial changes are made to the design on the basis of design documentation developed and approved in the established manner, if on its basis an assessment of the conformity of the changes made was carried out.

The traffic police explain that the new regulation does not apply to the gas equipment previously established by law. Those who made a fuss in advance can be said to be very lucky.

Re-examination of gas equipment is carried out by organizations licensed to test according to the old rules. The same vehicles on which LPG was installed after January 27, 2015 will not be registered if there is no Certificate of Design Compliance with Safety Requirements provided for by the new technical regulations. Owners of these vehicles will have to go through the procedure for installing gas equipment in accordance with the new requirements.

Periodic checks

The driver of the vehicle must undergo periodic inspections of gas equipment and gas cylinders. The use of gas cylinders that have not passed periodic inspection is prohibited. Typically such inspections are carried out every two years.

The optimists we mentioned earlier believe that if the car is used frequently, then the additional registration costs (presumably 10-12 thousand rubles) will relatively quickly be offset by the savings from switching to gas. Pessimists believe that owners of cars with installed gas equipment will be constantly “pulled” by traffic police officers, finding fault with every piece of paper and extorting bribes that will offset all the savings from driving on gas.

I have always considered myself an optimist. And, perhaps, I would risk installing HBO if there was a need for it. But already in the process of writing this text, I stopped at the nearest hypermarket for groceries and discovered that at the entrance to the underground parking there was a sign “Cars with gas-cylinder equipment are prohibited from entering!” Here you will inevitably become a pessimist.

And common sense suggests that even if gas allows you to save on fuel costs, then such bans reduce all these savings to nothing. So each car owner must decide for himself whether he needs a gas cylinder in his car if its installation is associated with many problems, and an already installed gas cylinder can block the way to his favorite store, fitness center, cinema or even a cafe.

a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9373230/"Do you have HBO?/a

Gas equipment for a car (GBO) is an additional system in a vehicle, which makes it possible to supply the power plant not only with liquid bulk fuel, as provided by the manufacturer, but also to operate using gas. One of the motivations for installing gas equipment is the positive economic effect. Taking into account the fact that prices for gasoline and diesel fuel are rapidly increasing, drivers often decide to use gas in their cars.

By installing gas equipment on a car, you can reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%, if only high-quality equipment was chosen. In the auto market, we can find gas equipment from a wide variety of manufacturers, but the price does not always correspond to the quality of the product. Various types of liquefied gas act as gas fuel, such as: natural gas (methane) and oil (butane-propane mixture).

Depending on what type of fuel is used in the car and what type of engine the car has, cars are converted to use gas cylinder transport. It is divided into the following groups:

• single fuel;
• dual-fuel with independent supply of one of the fuels to the machine unit;
• dual-fuel gas-diesel engines, i.e., two types of fuel (gas and diesel) are injected simultaneously.

Each of these refueling technologies has its own specifics, but does not exclude common features. When analyzing gas equipment systems step by step, a factor such as “generation” is identified. There are five generations of HBO. 4th generation gas equipment is one of the most economical. It is also easy to operate and has good compatibility with Russian gas. While there is a fourth generation, the fifth is not entirely suitable for our country in some respects. The difference lies in the injection system: the “four” distributes gas into separate cylinders, the V generation sends gas in liquid form directly to the car’s engine.

All information on this system was installed for carburetor and injection cars with a fuel injection system. The basis of its operation is the vacuum control of the fuel intake, a mechanical dispenser.

Advantages of the first generation:

• affordable price;
• admissibility of use on types of transport with an injection power unit;
• low price of fuel.

Disadvantage of the first generation: in high frosts it requires switching to parallel gasoline fuel.

II generation of gas equipment

The operating principle is based on the operation of an electronic atomizer that interacts with an oxygen sensor.

Advantages of the II generation:

• simple structure in the mechanism of the system;
• less fuel consumption compared to the first generation;
• low price of fuel.

Disadvantages of the second generation:

• increased need for gas consumption, compared to gasoline;
• in high frosts requires switching to parallel gasoline fuel;
• There is no possibility of mechanical switching between gasoline and gas.

III generation of gas equipment

Advantages of the III generation:

• even less fuel is required when compared with the second generation;
• low cost of fuel.

Disadvantages of the III generation:

• quite high cost of equipment;
• in high frosts requires switching to parallel gasoline fuel;
• there is no possibility of mechanical switching between gasoline and gas;
• increased need for gas consumption compared to gasoline.

IV generation of gas equipment

This generation of gas equipment carries out its work by methodically injecting fuel using electric magnetic gas nozzles. The gas nozzles are located on the manifold, close to the intake valve, similar to the third generation.

Advantages of the IV generation:

• lower fuel consumption when compared with the third generation;
• it is possible to automatically switch between gasoline and gas;
• low cost of fuel.

Disadvantages of the IV generation:

• high cost of the kit;
• in case of significant frosts, a mandatory transition to liquid bulk fuel is required;
• compatibility with car engines that use fuel injection directly into the cylinder is excluded;
• increased need for gas consumption compared to gasoline.

Using electric magnetic gas atomizers, this system provides parallel and methodical gas injection. The operation of gas electromagnetic sprayers is determined using a gas control unit.

V generation of gas equipment

Gas enters each engine cylinder in a liquid state, which is the main difference between the fifth generation and the other four varieties. The kit for a conventional engine includes a gas pump that transfers liquid gas through the fuel system into the gas nozzle ramp, thereby creating the required regular pressure in front of the nozzles.

Advantages of the V generation:

• the ability to start the engine on gas fuel during high frosts;
• the ability to automatically switch between gasoline and gas;
• low cost of fuel.

Disadvantages of the V generation:

• high cost of equipment;
• practically beyond repair;
• high demands on gas quality.

To install HBO, you do not need to make any changes to the mechanism of your vehicle. Gas equipment for a car is an additional alternative to fuel, which you can always refuse and return to a mono-fuel type of engine.

The main change in the design with LPG is an electric magnetic valve, which is built into the fuel line, to be able to turn off the gasoline supply. By increasing the overall stroke of the machine, the valve independently selects the supply of fuel to the engine of the machine, which is its advantage.

Positive aspects of HBO:

1. High efficiency.
2. Emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere are significantly reduced, since it is environmentally friendly.
3. Engine performance improves. The engine runs quieter and has a longer service life.
4. The vehicle's power reserve increases. The transfer from one type of fuel to another occurs automatically, thus increasing the distance without refueling.
5. Possibility of using gas and gasoline.
6. Ease of use.

Negative points of gas equipment:

1. Fuel consumption increases by about 20%, but you need to take into account that gasoline is more expensive than gas.
2. Expensive cost of installation work. The one-time fee is quite large and cannot be divided into several payments.
3. Regular technical inspection is mandatory. This minus can be considered insignificant, since the driver controls his own car for his own safety.
4. The weight of the vehicle increases.
5. The spare wheel has to be carried in the trunk of the car.

Is it necessary to install HBO?

The system justifies itself in several cases. For example, if you have frequent trips, then a car that will be parked in the garage will not pay for itself so quickly. If you do not expect to purchase a new car in the near future, then the system is also needed. If the car's warranty period has come to an end, the system will be of use. And finally, the system justifies itself in cases where the engine consumption is about 10 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers, only after switching to a gas power system.

How to install gas equipment on a car yourself

Installing gas on a car yourself requires some experience and knowledge of disassembling and repairing a car. Before installing gas on a car, you need to weigh all the risks and carefully study the process of installing gas equipment.

Let's look at the main tasks of the procedure and try to identify all the difficult points that arise during the equipment assembly process:

1. Selecting the required installation kit. There are offers from many manufacturers on the sales market, but it is better to pay attention to well-known brands; with them, fewer questions arise during the installation process and subsequent operation.
2. We determine the installation location of the pressure transducer (reducer). If there is a need for holes for installing a pressure transducer, they must be treated with Movil. It must be secured in an accessible place for further ease of maintenance.
3. If the kit contains electronic equipment, it is necessary to determine its installation location. The electronic control unit contains special microcircuits, as well as built-in programs, thanks to which you can organize the operation of all gas equipment. Any damage to the electronic control unit affects the operation of the electrical supply, transmission and exhaust system.
4. Correctly secure the gas nozzles. Their task is to timely supply dispersed gas to the cylinder block.
5. Create holes in the ramp for the bushing (in cars with a carburetor engine, drilling is done in the carburetor body). Before drilling the ramp, it is better to remove it in order to avoid chips getting inside. The holes should be closer to the fuel nozzles.
6. Correctly distribute the wires from the electronic control unit to the sensors, gas nozzles and the button in the car interior. The work will be considered high quality if there are no electrical wires hanging down. All trolleys must be connected with brass terminals and insulated with corrugation. It is important to maintain the correct polarity.
7. Installation of the cylinder, shut-off valves and filling structure. As a rule, they are installed in the place where the spare tire is located, under the back of the rear seat and under the bottom of the trunk. The location for the refueling unit may be in the gas tank flap or in the rear fender of the vehicle. The choice is at the request of the car owner.
8. Laying a gas pipeline. To install gas equipment, both copper and thermoplastic lines are used. The latter are more resistant to corrosion. The gas pipeline is carried out along the bottom, where the brake and fuel system pipeline is located.

Gas equipment for the machine at this stage can be considered complete.

Setting up a gas installation

The first thing you need to do is fill the gas cylinder. Using a soapy solution, check all pipeline connections for leaks under pressure.

Manual adjustment is carried out only in the first generation of HBO. There is an electronic control unit, the system is regulated using software individually stitched onto the computer.

Maintenance of gas equipment on cars

What is included in the maintenance of gas equipment on a car:

1. Diagnosis of the equipment management system, as a result of which all its operating indices are identified.
2. Timely replacement of liquid and vapor phase filters.
3. Flushing gas nozzles - if the software identifies this need.
4. Examination of the system for impermeability.

Do not forget to indicate all the final results obtained regarding the fact of maintenance in the service book. This is an approximate maintenance procedure for generation IV gas equipment; for other, earlier generations, the process may vary.

How often do maintenance take place?

From the moment of installation of gas equipment, maintenance must be carried out regularly after every 10 thousand kilometers. Once a year, before frost sets in, the entire gas system should be inspected. The maintenance book will give you a complete list of recommendations.

Certification and inspection of gas cylinders must be carried out once every 24 months. Those who have installed methane equipment must undergo certification and inspection once every 60 months. Checks take place at certain authorized locations. Inspection for confirmation is carried out by:

• visual inspection;
• hydraulic test;
• pneumatic test;
• test result.

The cylinder is considered defective if: there are breaks in the welded joints, chips on the surface of the gas cylinder. The cylinder is also unfit for use if damage has been clearly identified through physical impact. And finally, the cylinder is defective if traces of corrosion damage are detected, the thickness of which is 10% of the total depth of the cylinder wall.

Increasing the service life allows you to control the consumption of used fuel, as well as ensure the safety of yourself and your passengers from gas leakage. If a butane-propane mixture is used, a specific engine oil must be used. Then you will really feel all the positive aspects of using a gas installation.

Gas is the most realistic alternative to gasoline and diesel. We are talking primarily about liquefied propane-butane. Alas, compressed natural gas, methane, is not very popular, primarily due to undeveloped infrastructure (ZR, 2013, No. 3). But there are enough refills with liquefied gas - you can fearlessly embark on long journeys.

The main reason for switching to gas is financial benefit. In the past, the scale of savings was breathtaking: sets of gas equipment for primitive carburetor engines were inexpensive, and propane-butane cost half as much as gasoline. Now the situation is different. To match a gas power system with modern engines, a completely different level of components and installer qualifications are required. Coupled with new requirements for the safety of cylinders, this has led to a significant increase in the cost of kits.

Each kilometer traveled on gas costs on average a third less than on gasoline.

You can still buy two liters of propane-butane for the price of a liter of gasoline, but for the A92 this limit has actually been crossed. Now the price of gas in Moscow is approximately 50% of the cost of a liter of 95. In addition, the engine's appetite for the new fuel will increase by about 15%. So there is no need to talk about winning money twice for every kilometer of run.

Armed with exact figures, I estimated the benefits of installing HBO on two editorial machines with an enviable appetite. It turned out that a high-quality kit with installation in the capital for Nissan-Almera will pay for itself in just 18 thousand kilometers, and for 12 thousand. This is less than the average annual mileage for most cars. Total: every kilometer traveled on gas will be on average one third more profitable than on gasoline.

Tired of excessive fuel costs for the Almera (it consumes an average of 10 l/100 km), we equipped it with an LPG system, which we reported on in the December 2014 issue of Za Rulem magazine. A study of specialized forums did not reveal a clearly best kit. Therefore, we chose the installer based on the recommendation of friends. A set from the Polish company LPGTech with a 42-liter toroidal cylinder cost 25,000 rubles.

Six months later, it’s time to check how Almera handles its new menu - propane-butane. During operation, material has also accumulated on the operation of the gas station network. We shared our observations, which can be found below, in the June 2015 issue of the magazine, calling the publication “Is there life on gas?” Let us add that the gas-powered Almera still serves in the Za Rulem vehicle fleet, without causing any particular inconvenience - no new revelations have emerged in the intervening time.

NISSAN ALMERA

• Manufacturer - AVTOVAZ, Russia
• Year of release - 2013
• In operation ZR - since April 2013
• Mileage at the time of report - 60,000 km
• ZR Publications:
• 2013, № , 8, 12;
• 2014, № 2, 3, 7, , 12

Let me start with the fact that during this run I stalled a dozen times - in a car with an automatic transmission. This is not difficult to do. You just have to try to move off exactly at the moment when the engine, after warming up, switches from gasoline to gas.

On the very first “gas” kilometers I noticed that the Almera trip computer continued to calculate the consumption in liters per kilometer. It was too early to rejoice: the sensor, designed for gasoline, began to shamelessly lie. The error, according to my observations, is 20–25% downward. The actual engine appetite (see table) increased by more than 20%. This is higher than the 10-15% promised, but I have reason to doubt the accuracy of my calculations based on receipts and mileage.

Judge for yourself. The gas level indicator installed in the cabin is not accurate. Over the course of 120–150 km from the moment of refueling, it shows the maximum level, and over the next 20 km it drops to the minimum level, at which it remains until the cylinder is completely empty. Therefore, I made it a rule to reset the odometer directly at the gas station. In urban mode, a 42-liter capacity is enough for 300–315 km.

Every visit to a gas station is also a kind of lottery. With gasoline, everything is clear: pour until the cutoff or until it flows from the neck. The supply of propane-butane is stopped by a signal from a pressure sensor, which can operate in different ways. I was filled with 41, 35, and 23 (!) liters into an almost empty cylinder at different dispensers. Let's add here the dubious type of equipment at many stations, which makes one suspect underfilling. So, in such conditions, calculate how much fuel actually remained in the tank and how much was actually poured into you.

Despite some inconveniences, I like driving on gas. There are no complaints about the equipment of the Polish company LPG TECH. The problem with a defective sensor in the main line was resolved in half an hour - under warranty. It did not hold pressure and cut off the fuel supply. As a result, about fifteen minutes after starting, the LPG was turned off, and the engine automatically switched to gasoline. Propane power was restored (for the same 15 minutes) only if the engine was started when it had completely cooled down. The only scheduled maintenance so far at a mileage of 10,000 km cost a modest thousand rubles and took 20 minutes.

There are savings, and they are noticeable: the cost per kilometer has decreased from 5.71 to 5.03 rubles (despite the fact that Almera drove less than a third of its total mileage, taken as the basis for the calculation, on cheaper fuel). For this I am ready to endure minor inconveniences.

If you also want to install LPG, I advise you to start by calculating the payback period, and then carefully consider where you will refuel. The rest is secondary.

They have gas...

Going on a New Year's trip to Germany, my wife and I were determined to save as much as possible on fuel. The Internet has become infected with optimism. The successfully found site mylpg.eu turned out to be a treasure: all gas stations in the European Union with addresses and coordinates for the navigator!

Out of 5000 km, Almera drove about one and a half hundred on gasoline. The lion's share of them came from Belarus, where the gas station I was hoping for turned out to be closed, and there was not enough gas left until the next one. In Belarus, gas water pumps on highways are located in a single complex with gasoline ones. True, they stand in the far corner, and their operators in half the cases turned out to be ardent advocates of safety: get out of the car, open the hood, move 20 meters away. Not the most pleasant procedure in the cold. What if I had a baby sleeping in my car?

In Poland, propane-butane is sold on almost every corner. Prices on local highways and on the Warsaw-Berlin toll highway vary: from 2.2 to 2.5 zlotys per liter in the first case and from 2.7 to 3 zlotys in the second (for the duration of the trip, 1 zloty = 16 rubles). But there is no discrimination: speakers labeled LPG or Autogas (European spelling) peacefully coexist with gasoline ones. There are no gas stations, no bright safety posters.

On German autobahns you can’t get hold of gas at all roadside complexes, but in general there are no problems. However, there is a nuance. If the Russian adapter (Dish type) is used by both Belarusians and Poles, then in Germany it is a different one (ACME type). The cashier usually has a set of adapters. It was not there at only one of about a dozen gas stations where we stopped. They don’t just give you the necessary piece of hardware; they require a deposit - a passport or documents for a car. Cash will do. I left between 25 and 70 euros as a deposit. If for some reason you are not satisfied with this option, wait for a car with Polish license plates. Such people often drive on propane, and the drivers, as I have seen for myself, amiably share the adapter without any capitalist conventions. By the way, in Europe they use four different types of adapters.

At home I calculated the costs. For 5,000 km, 556.5 liters of propane were consumed (average consumption 11.1 l/100 km) for a total amount of 23,195 rubles (according to the current exchange rate of 70 rubles per euro at that time). In Europe, gas is half the price of gasoline, but part of the savings is eaten up by the increased appetite of the engine. I assume that thanks to HBO, up to 20 thousand rubles were saved in the family budget. One trip to Europe almost completely offset the cost of installing the kit!

...and we have gas

There are about 55 gas filling stations throughout Moscow. A good third is located on the Moscow Ring Road, another part is undergoing reconstruction, after which the preservation of the gas profile is a big question. Deciding to scout out the situation in neighboring regions, I sketched out a route for the run, covering both federal highways and regional roads.

On paper, the idea seemed a little adventurous. The already mentioned website benzin-price.ru reported only 17 gas stations in the entire Ivanovo region (gasoline gas stations there, according to the same site, are 153), and in the Smolensk region - a dozen in total (gasoline gas stations - 257). For comparison: in the Moscow region there are almost 250 gas water pumps and 1365 petrol pumps, in the Nizhny Novgorod region - 70 and 532, in the Vladimir region - 48 and 310. The ratio is depressing.

But in reality everything turned out to be good. The longest stretch in which I did not encounter a single gas station stretched for 210 km - from Nelidov on the M-9 highway to the entrance to Smolensk. To be fair: in most of it, the 170-kilometer section of the P136 road, there was not a single decent gasoline gas station. Outside the city, one Almere cylinder is enough for 360–400 km. So if you start looking for the coveted word “propane” 200 km after the previous refueling, then most likely you won’t have to switch to gasoline.

Frequent stops take time, but leave more money in your pocket. In addition, on a long journey it is recommended to stop every two to three hours to warm up. So consider this as an additional contribution of HBO to your safety while driving.

Safety and other aspects of HBO will be discussed below.

A BUNCH OF MINUSES OF CONVERTING A CAR TO GAS

Of course, switching to propane-butane is not without its drawbacks. The first of these is related to the car warranty. Even if you present all the required documents from the installers (which in itself is a great success), the dealer will most likely refuse free repairs. The appearance of a second fuel system in a car, whatever one may say, is a rather serious interference in the design. Therefore, do not be surprised if, for example, an official service center offers to fix engine malfunctions at your own expense. And the trial is a long process with an unpredictable result. Therefore, owners of new cars for the most part are excluded from the list of potential visitors to gas stations.

An exception is cars equipped with gas equipment at the car plant itself or in a company authorized by the car manufacturer. We have few such companies, and, as a rule, they specialize in commercial equipment. For example, GAZ, which mass-produces “gazelles” with gas equipment for both liquefied and compressed gas fuel.

The second significant argument against is the bulky cylinder. It is impossible to place it without compromising practicality. The toroidal one will displace the spare tire from its rightful place: you will have to move it to the trunk or even leave it in the garage. A conventional cylindrical container will negate the transformation of the luggage compartment. Even owners of sedans are unlikely to like this, not to mention station wagons and crossovers. However, it all depends on the specific model. For example, owners of first-generation Logans with a non-folding rear seat have nothing to lose. In addition, installers offer owners of UAZ-Patriot and other full-size all-terrain vehicles many options for placing the cylinder: a large cylindrical one - not only along the rear seat, but also on the side wall, a smaller one - under the bottom, and if toroidal - two on the floor. In the latter case, a flat raised floor is laid over them. True, 250 mm higher than the standard level. Although with such a volume of trunk this is a small damage.

Another nuance is the availability of gas stations. In terms of network development, gas engines are significantly inferior to gasoline and diesel engines, however, there are no problems with propane-butane either in large cities or on highways. The all-knowing Internet will help you plan a long-distance route: several resources will tell you the coordinates and addresses of gas stations. True, to a car enthusiast accustomed to modern colorful signs and spoiled by the service of large chain gas stations, they will seem, to put it mildly, outdated and even unkempt. There are complaints about gas quality online. However, the situation is no worse than with gasoline and diesel.

…AND A COUPLE OF MYTHS

The greatest concern is related to the health of the engine converted to gas. One of the most common arguments is the likelihood of valve seats burning out due to increased temperature inside the cylinder. Qualified installers unanimously say: correct and careful adjustment of equipment reduces the risk to nothing. And we haven’t heard any massive complaints from users. Regular spark plugs work well with propane-butane, but you can replace them if desired

Most car owners dream of saving on the maintenance of their iron horse, without changing the nature of its operation. This is possible when installing gas equipment (LPG) on a car. What this gives, what are the advantages and disadvantages, and how to convert the fuel system with your own hands is outlined in the article.

What is LPG History of appearance and distribution Principles of operation Is it worth installing LPG Pros and cons Video: Gas for a car, pros and cons Price and payback Cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness Which LPG is better Gas consumption Do-it-yourself installation process on a car Installation of a cylinder, VSU and gas lines Video: Installing LPG with your own hands, installation of a cylinder, VSU and gas lines gas pipelinesUnder-hood workVideo: Do-it-yourself installation of gas equipment, under-hood workSafety measuresvar index=document.getElementsByClassName ("index-post");if (index.length>0) (var contents=index .getElementsByClassName ("contents");if (contents. length>0) (contents=contents ; if (localStorage.getItem ("hide-contents") === "1") (contents.className+=" hide-text")))

What is LPG? LPG, or car gas equipment, is additional equipment that makes it possible to store and supply gas fuel to an internal combustion engine (ICE). The type of car produced or converted depends on the type of gas fuel and engine. There are single-fuel, dual-fuel (the supply of one type of fuel is insignificant), dual-fuel (simultaneous supply of both types of fuel). The last ones are gas diesel engines.

Gaseous fuels are:

methane; propane-butane mixture.

The type of gas fuel used determines the classification of the LPG system. Systems are divided into generations, although this is not an official classification. There is simply no official one.

Did you know? In 1910, liquefied gas was produced, suitable for use in cars. The author of the development was the American V. Snelling.

History of appearance and distribution

Speaking about the history of gas equipment, perhaps we should first mention the appearance of the gas engine. It all started with the fact that in 1799 the Frenchman Philippe Lebon discovered illuminating gas (a mixture of H, CH4 and CO) and received a patent for its use. 60 years later, Etienne Lenoir developed and patented an engine that ran on such gas. Later, in 1883, the British were able to combine a gas generator unit and an engine in one unit. From that time on, the era of a new type of car began, which became very popular in the post-war years. But such a vehicle was not very effective. In the 30s of the 20th century, England and Germany, as countries poorly supplied with oil and having a sufficient number of cars, began to think about finding an alternative type of fuel.

The Germans accidentally discovered that when the residual gases resulting from the production of diesel fuel are compressed, liquefied gas is formed. It condensed on the walls, it was collected and sold in cylinders. When the need for alternative fuel arose, they tried to use it in cars. In 1935, at the international automobile exhibition, five car models running on alternative fuels were presented (3 diesel engines converted to run on methane, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol, and two thermal ones). By 1942, the resulting shortage of traditional fuel made cars running on alternative fuels quite popular.

The massive conversion of vehicles to gas fuel began about 50 years ago. After the Germans and British, the baton was picked up by Poles, Turks, Chinese, Lithuanians, Italians, Russians, Ukrainians, Americans and many others. This active transition is explained by the fact that although a gas engine operates on the same cycle as a gasoline engine (Otto cycle), the alternative fuel gives a higher compression ratio - about 17, while gasoline engines usually have 10–12, in rare cases - 16 (gasoline AI-109).

Work principles

A machine equipped with gas equipment runs on a mixture of propane-butane or methane. They are pumped into cylinders under a pressure of 16 atmospheres (mixture) and 200 atmospheres (butane). They are located in trunks if the vehicle is a passenger car, or under the floor in the bus interior or on its roof. The cylinders are equipped with a multi-valve through which they are refueled and supply fuel to the system. In addition, the valve ensures safe operation of the entire line.

Did you know? Gas cylinders are never fully refilled. In winter they contain 85% fuel, in summer - 75%.

Based on their operating principle, existing gas equipment systems can be divided into traditional and injection systems. The first option is usually used for carburetor cars. The air that enters the engine passes through a special mixer, capturing the required amount of gas. Here everything is directly proportional to the force of pressing the gas pedal (the harder, the more gas). In this system, gas enters the engine through injectors controlled by LPG electronics. The main principle of operation of the gas injection system is that it is invisible to the car’s factory electronics, that is, the control unit should not sense that the system is running on alternative fuel.

Is it worth installing HBO? Installing HBO on a car is a controversial issue. Some believe that this is pointless, others, on the contrary, are confident that it will pay for itself quickly and will save significant money on the purchase of fuel.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of the equipment include:

efficiency; the engine runs more smoothly; the resource of the internal combustion engine increases due to a decrease in the load on its main components; the range increases (if the gas runs out, you can drive on gasoline); emissions of harmful substances are reduced.

Video: Gas for a car, pros and cons

Among the disadvantages are:

the cost of gas equipment is rather large, not everyone can allocate such an amount from the budget; gas cylinders will reduce the volume of the trunk or displace the spare tire; you need to constantly carry out maintenance, since gas can leak, which can lead to an explosion; due to the fact that methane is compressed under high pressure , if it explodes, there will be nothing left of the car.

Price and payback

Installing equipment on a vehicle for a propane-butane mixture will cost about 20,000 rubles, for methane - 50,000 rubles. Of course, you can find it cheaper, but it’s not a guarantee that it will be of high quality.

Important! Installation costs vary by region. Where gasoline is cheaper, the cost of gas is lower.

An analysis of the installation's payback will allow us to understand how reasonable such costs will be. For example, on ordinary cars of recent years of production, the average gasoline consumption in the city is 8 l/100 km. Let's assume that in a month the driver travels 1500 km, for which he spends 120 liters of fuel. Let's take the average cost of fuel at 35 rubles. /l. Then you will spend 4,200 rubles per month on refueling. A propane-butane mixture costs 16 rubles. /l. The monthly consumption will be about 130 liters, i.e. 2080 rubles. With such data, the savings amount to 2120 rubles. per month. But you need to take into account that there was a contribution to the equipment - 20 thousand rubles. It will pay for itself in a year, taking into account maintenance costs as well. It turns out that the savings seem to be quite good, but only if you drive over 1000 km per month. This means that installing HBO is beneficial for those who have a car - a way to earn money.

Cost-effective and environmentally friendly

Many people believe that if you install an LPG system, there will immediately be a noticeable loss of power in the car. In fact, the speed of propagation of the combustion front for gasoline is 0.85 m/s, for methane - 0.8 m/s, and for propane - 0.81 m/s. As you can see, the difference is not significant, some hundredths, so it is impossible to feel it, especially for modern generations of cars. The calorific value of gasoline is also not very different from this characteristic for gas.

Losses amount to 5–7%, so if car owners install gas equipment, then the loss in power will be practically unnoticeable to them, but the savings will be significant, since although gas consumption is a couple of liters more than gasoline, its cost is lower. Autogas also has a high octane number, which is why its anti-knock resistance is higher, and it absorbs heat better due to cooling and parallel evaporation after injection. This all makes the motor more efficient.

Liquefied gas does not contain chemical components that can interact with motor oil, which protects the engine from rapid wear. Accordingly, an engine running on alternative fuel will last longer and you will have lower maintenance costs. Of course, no one has canceled regular technical checks, because if the gas supply is interrupted, burnout and intense oxidation of the engine oil can begin.

Blue fuel wins over gasoline and diesel in terms of environmental friendliness. When it is burned, practically nothing is released into the atmosphere, and those hydrocarbons that remain are less toxic to the environment. All this is due to the fact that additives and aromatic substances are not used in the production of liquefied gas.

Which HBO is better?

To understand which gas equipment is better, you must first study its existing varieties.

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The first generation is the very first gas systems for carburetor cars. They had a gearbox, a mixer and a simple fuel switch. A simple system effectively ensured the operation of a motor of this type. Despite the fact that carburetor vehicles have not been produced for a long time, the first generation system continues to be used. The second generation was a previous system adapted for injection machines. When installed, its task was to turn an injection gasoline car into a gas carburetor when alternative fuel is supplied to the engine. After some time, an electronic fuel dispenser was added to the system. Its role was played by a stepper electric motor, which corrects the state of the gas mixture (enriched or lean), relying on the readings of the oxygen sensor in the car. Such a system was not distinguished by the accuracy of fuel dosing, and the operation of the engine was accompanied by the sound of a pop. This forced equipment manufacturers to modify their creations. The third generation already had a rather complex design, the brain part of which was a computer that controlled the supply of fuel. The new gas equipment could also collect data from various vehicle sensors, analyze them and, based on the data received, form a gas mixture (open/close the injectors at the right moment and for a certain period of time). This system had an important advantage - it could be installed on those car models for which the later HBO-4 (Audi 80 and 100) was not suitable. There was also a significant drawback - the system could not always process signals from all the vehicle’s sensors. Such a limitation and a considerable price were the reason that this generation could not become popular. The fourth generation is a universal system suitable for most modern gasoline cars. After analyzing the errors, the manufacturers decided that the fuel supply should be regulated by a car gasoline controller. The control unit collects data from sensors and regulates the fuel supply (opening of gasoline injectors). When the car switches to an alternative fuel, the gas system computer turns off the gasoline supply, interrupting the signal going to the gasoline injectors. The intercepted output signal of the gasoline controller going to the injectors is converted taking into account the properties of the gas (temperature, pressure) and sent to the injectors, but now gas ones. Thus, the result was a universal system with good fuel supply accuracy. Over time, gas systems were able to exchange data with gasoline ones, which increased the accuracy of fuel supply. Fifth generation - designed for vehicles with direct gasoline injection. They differ from conventional ones in the location of the injectors (directly in the combustion chamber, and not in the intake manifold), so the gas system must constantly supply a little gasoline to cool the injectors. In the new generation, the gas part of the system is taken from its predecessor, but needs calibration. Each car requires its own system firmware, so if the LPG manufacturer does not provide it, then it is not possible to properly install the system on the secondary market (there will be no calibration to ensure safe operation of the equipment). The sixth generation is a liquid gas injection system. They do not have a reducer, so the liquefied gas directly enters the nozzles, gasoline or gas. If this part is absent, there is no need to connect the cooling system. It would seem that this makes the latest generation the most reliable and simplest. Unfortunately, the system reacts sensitively to the quality of the gas, i.e. this will mean that if there are many impurities in the fuel, it will quickly clog and fail.

The question of which gas-cylinder equipment is better, of course, is purely individual, since it depends on your car, but if we consider the existing options, then only the 4th and 5th generations are worthy of attention.

They are modern, equipped with good protection and are suitable for current vehicles. If we consider the 4th generation, then the systems of all manufacturers are identical in their ideology, only the mechanisms that put everything into action and some service functions differ. The fifth generation, of course, is inferior in efficiency to its predecessor, but since vehicle manufacturers are constantly modernizing them, the popularity of such a system is increasing.

Cars with liquid gas injection could be supplied to Russia by Holland, but after filling with Russian gas the systems quickly failed, so it is too early to consider the 6th generation. HBOs also differ in their manufacturers. The leaders are Polish and Italian systems, as they combine good quality and affordable price. Polish equipment is inferior in functionality.

Gas consumption

If a car is switched to gas, then drivers assume that its consumption will be greater. Indeed, since the calorific value of blue fuel is lower than that of gasoline or diesel, this will mean that its consumption is greater, but only slightly, due to the minuscule difference in performance. Of course, this will also be influenced by the generation of equipment. For HBO-2, where the feed is mechanically controlled, the difference can be a maximum of 20%. Optimized HBO-4 reduces the difference in consumption to 12–15%, and new Italian systems guarantee a reduction of up to 8–10%. In this situation, you can save about 2000 rubles. /100 km. The 5th generation equipment reduced the difference in fuel consumption to 5%.

Also find out how to install gas equipment on a carburetor engine.

DIY installation process on a car

The quality of installation determines how efficiently and safely the entire system will operate. If you are confident that you can install everything yourself, then here are some tips for you.

Installation of cylinder, VSU and gas lines

It is most convenient to install cylinders that have a toroidal shape. They fit in place of the spare wheel and do not take away any volume from the trunk. It is necessary to make a drainage hole in the bottom through which gas will evaporate in case of leakage and condensate will drain. You also need two holes for the gas supply and filling tubes. Some cylinders come with vent cups included, through which you can pass the tubes. Then you need a large hole for the glass and two small ones on the sides for attaching it. After installing the cylinder, a remote filling device (RFU) is installed. The hole for it is best made in the gas tank hatch. Before drilling a hole and installing the VZU, it is necessary to remove the wheel and wheel arch liner so that it is convenient to screw it on from the inside. Usually, the VSU kit includes the device itself with a sealing rubber band, an adapter for it, a lid with a rope, a nut with a cap and self-tapping screws. It is better to replace the latter with bolts so that they can be fixed more securely and can be unscrewed if necessary.

Video: Do-it-yourself installation of gas equipment, installation of a cylinder, VSU and gas lines

Then the backbone system is installed. It uses a thermoplastic tube with a fitting (8 mm) at the end. The filling line should come out of the cylinder under the bottom of the trunk and extend to the tank. The tube must be secured under the bottom so that it does not dangle. If possible, use as few screws as possible. Where possible, it is better to secure with ties. The required length of the tube is measured and fittings are attached to its ends. First, put on the nut, then the nut, and insert the fitting itself into the tube. It is fixed on it with a nut. You need to tighten it well to crush the bronze cap that seals the system. The wheel and fender liner are returned to their place, and then the fuel supply line is pulled. It runs under the bottom near the standard brake pipes. It also has fittings (6 mm) at the ends. Now the line is extended from the cylinder to the reducer.

The cylinder may have a multivalve equipped with an additional electric valve. It is connected using terminals. When the ignition is turned off, this valve shuts off the gas supply to the reducer and from the cylinder to the outlet. This allows you to avoid gas leaks during parking or an emergency.

Important! After drilling the holes, the ends of the metal must be coated with anticorrosive.

Engine compartment work

Stages of under-hood work when installing gas equipment:

choosing a location for the control unit; choosing a location for the gearbox; connecting the system to the gearbox; connecting the gearbox to the antifreeze line; drilling for injectors in the intake manifold; choosing a location for installing injectors; choosing a location for the fine filter; laying out the wiring in the corrugation and connection; installation gas-gasoline switch buttons.

The control unit must be firmly fixed to static parts of the body so that it does not come into contact with other elements of the engine compartment and does not interfere with their maintenance. The gearbox should be installed according to the same principle. To mount it you need a metal bracket. You need to think about the wiring from the control unit in advance. The gearbox is connected to the cooling system at the point where the antifreeze hoses exit to the stove. You need to cut them and connect the hoses from the gearbox with the antifreeze hoses going to the stove through the tees.

Video: Do-it-yourself HBO installation, engine compartment work

Holes need to be drilled and threaded in the exhaust manifold. Before screwing fittings into them, the threads must be coated with high-temperature sealant. The injectors should be located as close as possible to the manifold fittings. They need to be installed at an angle of 45° in the direction of movement of the fuel mixture and fixed firmly, preferably on a bracket. The hoses connecting the fittings to the nozzles should not be longer than 30 cm.

There is also a hole in the intake manifold for the vacuum reducer. It should also be threaded. The vacuum hose stretching from the manifold to the gearbox is designed to control the membrane in the gearbox. When the gas pedal is pressed in the exhaust manifold, a vacuum is created, pulling back the membrane in the gearbox. This provides more gas to the engine.

The filter with a sump should not interfere with the maintenance of parts in the engine compartment. It must be firmly fixed to the bracket. It is advisable that it have a temperature and gas pressure sensor. Route the gas line from the reducer to the injectors through the filter. Pack the wiring from the control unit into a corrugated box and lay it along the standard factory lines. Mark a place for the fuel switch button and pull the wire from the control unit to it through the hole between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment. Drill a hole and install the switch.

Important! All manipulations are completed by setting up the HBO system using special software, as well as checking it for leaks and, if necessary, adding antifreeze to the cooling system.

Security measures

Safety in equipment installation is paramount. Any vehicle fuel system is a fire hazard, especially a gas one, so the cylinder must have a multi-valve with an additional electric valve, which will guarantee that in any unforeseen situation, and even when stopping the car, the gas supply will be automatically shut off if the ignition is turned off.

When installing a gas system yourself, you should avoid using cylinders that have already been used. Their service life is limited to 12 years, since then corrosion processes begin in them, thinning the walls of the vessel. Accordingly, the risk of depressurization increases. This can be dangerous because the balloon will suddenly burst when the pressure in it increases.

In general, modern gas systems are made reliable and protected from fuel leaks, so if you are hesitating whether to install gas equipment in your car due to the unsafety of the system, then you can rest assured. The main thing: install HBO according to all the rules.

Replacing gasoline with gas fuel helps increase the efficiency of a car, since gas (in most cases propane) is almost half the price.

But the changes that were made to the rules for operating vehicles with gas equipment affected not only the procedure and rules for installing gas equipment on a car.

Registration of gas equipment in a car with the traffic police in 2020 now goes through several stages. And this leads to an increase in the cost of re-equipment.

Let's look at how to register gas equipment for a car at the traffic police. Do I need permission to install?

Installation of gas equipment is a serious intervention in the design of the car.

But some car owners still install LPG and are not afraid of losing their warranties, since every kilometer traveled on gas is much cheaper than a kilometer traveled on gasoline.

Professional installation and high quality equipment will reduce fuel costs and also maintain the technical characteristics of the car.

If the driver installs gas equipment immediately upon purchasing a car, the cleanliness of the engine is maintained for 5 years or more.

To install gas equipment, you must choose a trusted center that must:

• be certified;
• have all the documentation for the equipment that would confirm its quality;
• carry out individual configuration of the vehicle;
• issue copies of certificates for installed equipment after installation;
• regularly check the safety of gas equipment;
• employees who install equipment must have appropriate certificates;
• prepare documentation for further registration of gas equipment with the traffic police;
• have many years of experience, a wide selection of equipment manufacturers, so that customers have the opportunity to choose the most suitable equipment for their machine.

Some companies also offer a month of testing the installed equipment so that customers can refuse to continue using it if something does not suit them.

Do I need to register gas equipment with the traffic police? Yes, every fact of installation of gas equipment, which involves the use of gas as fuel for a gasoline engine, is necessarily recorded in the traffic police.

Let's find out what the procedure for registering gas equipment is, as well as how to legalize gas equipment on a car in 2020?

According to the new registration rules, registration of gas equipment with the traffic police is not necessary in the following cases:

• the car was originally released with gas equipment;
• the technical passport of the vehicle provides for re-equipment (replacement of gas equipment components that are intended for this vehicle model);
• if the equipment was installed earlier, it complies with all points of legislation in force during the installation period: the re-equipment was carried out before amendments were made to the current legislation (does not apply to independently supplied gas equipment that was not properly registered).

In other cases, installing a gas cylinder as a fuel source requires going through all the stages that are provided for by current legislation.

The requirements for installation and registration of gas equipment are regulated by the law on gas equipment for cars, i.e. Section 4 of Chapter V of the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union On the safety of wheeled vehicles.

Paragraph 75 states that it is necessary to undergo verification. A preliminary check is carried out before installing the gas equipment, i.e. The car owner must obtain permission for installation from the traffic police.

After installing and receiving a copy of the certificates for the equipment at the appropriate center, as well as receiving a diagnostic card when passing a technical inspection, you must go to the traffic police. There, changes will be made to the registration documentation of the car.

A preliminary check is carried out to determine the “compatibility” of the car with HBO. Those. it is determined that gas equipment can be installed on this vehicle, and that the machine complies with safety requirements.

1. It is necessary to pass a preliminary technical examination.
2. Obtain permission to install gas equipment from the traffic police.
3. Install the equipment in a certified center, obtain a conclusion, copies of certificates for the equipment.
4. Pass a technical inspection and receive a diagnostic card.
5. Collect documents, go to the traffic police, receive a “certificate of compliance of the vehicle with changes made to its design.” Register changes.

Registration of HBO is impossible without certificates, a diagnostic card, or a certificate of conformity.

List of documents for obtaining a certificate for gas equipment for a car:

• conclusion of preliminary technical inspection;
• declaration statement from the installer;
• technical inspection protocol on the safety of equipment after installing gas equipment;
• receipt of payment of state duty;
• vehicle passport, STS, copies of certificates of compliance of gas equipment;
• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.

Registration costs and state fees:

• registration of a certificate of conformity of design - 800 rubles;
• obtaining a car registration certificate - 500 rubles;
• making changes to the vehicle passport - 350 rubles.

If you apply for registration through the State Services Portal, you can pay state fees with a 30% discount.

But how to register for HBO at the traffic police in 2020, if it is already available?

Many drivers begin to have difficulties registering a car that was purchased with gas equipment already installed, but did not go through the necessary registration procedure.

How then to legalize the equipment, since usually traffic police officers require that car owners follow the established procedure?

If the order is violated, employees require the dismantling of the fuel system and its subsequent reinstallation. Some car owners dismantle visible elements before the preliminary examination and try to negotiate with certified centers to issue a conclusion for blind registration.

The main problem: the car owner may not have documents from the company that once installed gas equipment. Therefore, before purchasing a car with gas equipment, you should require the necessary documents from the seller.

If a purchased car with gas equipment has gas equipment included in the registration documents, the vehicle can be safely registered with the traffic police.

If a driver drives a vehicle with damaged installed gas equipment or an expired mandatory inspection period, or with equipment that has not passed the inspection or was not properly registered, the motorist will receive a fine of 500 rubles.

The registration certificate must contain notes indicating that gas supply is installed in the car, as well as a note about the service inspection of the gas equipment and permission for installation.

The motorist should bring his vehicle in for a system check on a regular basis. The frequency of examinations is indicated in the documents for the cylinder. Typically the frequency of inspections is every two years.

The inspection is carried out at a center authorized by the traffic police, then a certificate of the result is issued indicating the date of the next inspection. If the driver does not pass this test on time, the use of the cylinder is prohibited.

Also not allowed for use if:

• the period for periodic inspection of gas cylinders has expired;
• fastenings of components of gas cylinder equipment are broken;
• There was a gas leak from the gas equipment elements.

Equipment must be registered within 10 days after its installation.

If a car owner decides to re-equip his vehicle, it is necessary to obtain permission for installation, and then be sure to register changes in the design of the car.

The life of the driver and other road users depends on conscientious and patient completion of all stages of the process. Amendments were made to the legislation to protect drivers from tragedies that can happen after improper installation and operation of gas equipment.

The re-equipment process involves two examinations. One establishes the possibility of equipping a particular vehicle with a gas cylinder, the second confirms the correctness and safety of the work performed.