Rising fuel prices are forcing people to switch to cheaper alternatives for fuel. It might be possible that in the future, people may completely give up on conventional fuel and start depending on propane or other alternatives for their needs.
According to the mechanics, many people are converting their gas-powered vehicles to propane now. With drivers experiencing daily price increases at the petrol pump, a technician who can assist in the installation of gas tanks in vehicles says he is receiving rising requests to switch to the cheaper fuel.
The service manager at Downtown Auto Center in Kitchener, Ryan Reil, says that most of their conversations are about fuel savings. With propane being 50% cheaper than gasoline, it’s like getting the fuel money back into your pocket instantly.
For about 30 years, the company has specialized in the operation of installing propane tanks in vehicles. Ryan continues to explain the process by stating that they don’t have to remove the gasoline part of the engine from the vehicle. The entire process is less destructive compared to what one can imagine. Instead, they just install an additional propane tank and hitch the propane system off the gasoline system.
At the moment, Ryan’s shop switches more than 30 to 40 vehicles each year. However, he has new expectations and is getting more interest in light of the progressing situation of ridiculous pump prices.
The expert continues to explain by providing a hypothetical scenario where a taxi cab engine is started at 8 o’clock sharp, in the morning and shut off at 5. In this case, if two or three tanks are filled, Ryan is getting half saving on each tank. Ultimately, it is simply the money back in their pocket. The PA (Propane Association) of Canada further strengthens the statement by saying that statistically, these transactions save drivers 40 to 50% of their average fuel costs.
On the other hand, Ryan continues to promote propane by claiming that it is comparatively cheaper. At the moment, propane is 81 cents a litre. Certainly, the price has spiked, not at the same level as gas prices but has surely gone up. However, Ryan believes that regardless of the increase, propane will never be as expensive as gas and that adds more to the worth of the fuel.
In light of the recent events, gas prices are expected to be around 2.05 USD per litre in Toronto by Saturday of June 2022. The initial investment in installation is somewhat bloated. In other words, installing the system on a small vehicle such as a car can cost about anywhere between 6,000 to 6,500 USD and a truck would be an additional 1,000 USD.
Without a doubt, the price is high. Not denying the “insane” cost, Ryan insists that the front cost is high but people are always investing in different things and this should not come off as a surprise. On the contrary, he is rather astonished that why have more people not caught on to this yet. In addition to the numerous benefits of propane, emissions from vehicles outfitted to run on propane are largely known to be cleaner.
Even though the emission does not match the zero-emissions of battery electric or plug-in hybrid, it still makes a huge difference for those who have not opted for the “electric future” yet. Moreover, according to Ryan, propane offers drivers the option of escaping the surging gas prices and the upgrade just might help in reducing the demand for gas and ultimately impact the price for the better.
