Gas equipment installed on a car saves a lot of money on fuel. This is the main advantage of the equipment, because of which it has become widespread.
Gas equipment was first installed on a car in the middle of the last century. The first developments had little to do with what is put on machines today. The gas consumption was very high, the explosion hazard was at an unacceptable level. But progress did not stand still, today the fifth generation of HBO is already actively used, which is thousands of times superior to its prototype in quality.
Each next generation of LPG equipment significantly surpasses the previous one in terms of characteristics. For example, if you compare the third and fourth, then they have a lot of differences. The most important thing is the completely electronic control of the system in the fourth generation, in the third, all manipulations to switch the type of fuel are performed by the driver manually. One may ask questions whether it is worth switching the car to gas, is it reasonable, what the unpleasant consequences can be.
Benefits of HBO
The biggest advantage is the price. Gas costs half the price of gasoline, and its consumption is a couple of liters more. This results in significant savings in money. As for the payback of the installation itself, then for 30 thousand kilometers you will receive savings that will bring your waste to zero, and after that you will be in the black.
Ardent conservationists will also like gas-powered cars. In the exhaust gases, the content of harmful substances turns out to be less than when working on gasoline. The only thing that can be a little alarming is the smell of gas from the exhaust system. But it appears only when the fuel is incompletely burned. The equipment needs to be properly tuned so that the fuel burns out completely.
In the fourth and fifth generations, gas is supplied to the combustion chambers not in gaseous form, but in liquid form. In other words, there is no longer much difference between gasoline and gas. Liquid fuel in both cases, only gas has an octane number of 105, which turns out to be higher than that of gasoline.
Also in the latest generations, automatic fuel change is used. For this, a special control unit is installed that monitors the levels of gas and petrol, the temperature of the reducer and fuel, the position of the electric valves. And the driver does not need to switch fuel himself, it is enough to hammer the algorithm of work into the "brains" of the system.
Disadvantages of HBO
As for the shortcomings, here you can still argue. For example, a drop in engine power. Yes, in the first two generations of HBO, there was a noticeable decrease in efficiency and power. Moreover, the engine power could drop by 30%. Much depends on the condition of the piston group, in particular, the rings. But with the use of liquid gas injection, everything has changed, now a maximum of 3% of the power can be lost. For an engine with 100 horsepower, losing three is not a big loss.
The explosiveness of HBO is also cited as a disadvantage by many opponents. It is worth noting that correct operation is the key to safety. First, entrust the installation to qualified personnel. Secondly, change consumables in a timely manner. Each manufacturer gives recommendations on the frequency of replacement of certain units. Undoubtedly, in the fifth generation there is one significant drawback - instead of a reducer, an electric pump for gas is used. Its cost is very high, about two thousand dollars. And when refueling with low-quality fuel, it can simply burn out. But such a malfunction is typical only for the last, fifth, generation.
