pcous

Hi Lukas, The transverse tank is 30L, (270mm dia.) placed behind the petrol tank - seen in the photos from the rear of the Alphard, prior to underseal. The main doughnut tank is 70L I believe, located to the rear in place of the spare wheel. So 100L combined, which gives 80L LPG capacity (allowing for the safety cut-off at 80%). They're plumbed in parallel. Hope this is helpful.

Hi all, By way of update, we had the throttle body cleaned to deal with the problem of our Alphard stuttering on acceleration and also on minimal deceleration (eg. when you lift your foot slightly to reduce speed during motorway driving). This only happened when using LPG, not petrol. Our LPG guy suspected the problem was carbon deposits which built up around the rim of the butterfly valve in the throttle body (which opens/closes to control air intake and hence change the fuel-air mix to the cylinders). So, this affected LPG ignition but not petrol because the LPG system is more sensitive to any ignition issues. Has now been cleaned and there's a significant improvement - let's hope it's a job that won't need repeating... Meanwhile, no update yet from Mike Chapman at liquidgasuk.org about poor-quality LPG in some parts of the country, or the HSE investigation.

'String distance'? Sorry, meant striking distance...

Hi Mark, You could try GasTech in Warrington - not quite Merseyside, but probably within string distance..... They specialise in Alphards and also in LPG conversion

Hi Brian, We have a Wellhouse conversion with fresh and waste tanks slung under the chassis, one each behind the front wheels. Our fill is via an inlet under the front passenger seat, there's no fill gauge so we use a cube-type 15 litre collapsible camping water carrier and funnel with a bent outlet. Experience has shown that a full one doesn't overflow the tank, which I'd struggle to gauge if using a hose. Campsites seem to vary, some have long filler hoses, others assume you'll fill from taps. One thing I've found useful is to carry our own screw-on garden hose connector - helpful when campsite taps have no connector and water just sprays in a huge sideways fan!

HI all, I've been looking for a steering column gaiter for our Gen 1 facelift model to replace the shabby example we have which lets a lot of noise through from the floor where the steering column meets it. I've had one on order from Japan for several months now, but delivery seems no nearer! So, if you have a spare or you're breaking, then please let me know.... Thanks

Hi Kizzi, LPG pumps vary quite a lot. In the UK filling stations use a bayonet fitting, but the method of locking the filler hose onto your fitting can differ a lot. In general, once you've put the filler hose onto the Alphard's fitting (making sure the bayonet slots on the hose match the pins on the fitting) the principle then is to turn a part of the filler nozzle through 45 or 90 degrees (i.e. up to a quarter of a turn) to secure it, then pull the lever back to lock on. Sometimes the filler nozzle needs to be pushed forward a tad to turn it, sometimes there's a gun trigger to lock on..... However, it's always a 2-stage process, even though the actual ways of turning and locking on can differ depending on the filling station. Forecourts often have failsafe devices, so if it takes too long to lock the filler on then the LPG gas will turn off at the pump. This happened to me a few times in the early days -usual trick is to return the filler fully to its holder and start again. Once gas starts to be delivered you'll need to hold a flow button on the LPG forecourt pump to keep it filling - it can often take a while! We don't have a switch in the Alphard for filling and because filler valves are non-return valves, i.e. won't let LPG leak out, it seems there would be no point in having a switch to allow LPG in. The forecourt pump effectively addresses this by delivering the LPG under pressure - which is what keeps it as a liquid in the tank. But that's not to say you won't have a switch - I guess you'll need to contact whoever did the LPG conversion to make sure. Incidentally, you will need LPG adapters if driving in Europe or beyond: ACME Adapter for Holland, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, USA EURO Connector Adaptor for Spain, Portugal Dish adaptor for France, Italy, Poland, Eastern Europe, Greece and the Balkans You screw the appropriate adapter into your filler fitting, before attempting to fill from the pump, which allows the filler hose to make a connection. Once you've filled up, you can unscrew your adaptor. The three different types are often sold as a complete kit - see, for example, https://lpgshop.co.uk Good luck!

Hi ThuMentaliss, You could look at this thread - https://uk.alphardclub.com/forums/topic/619-overweight-vehicle/ There's not a lot of leeway between unladen and fully laden weight limits, so it's not only the potential problem of the Alphard becoming overweight as a result of conversion, but also the need to consider whether tyres / tyre pressures need to be changed or whether to upgrade coil springs.

Hi Jan, Not related to your head unit problem, but if you have a leisure battery and split charge relay as part of your campervan conversion there's a modification which might help address your battery discharging between trips out. Our campervan conversion included a split-charge relay (SCR - far right in photo), which is fairly standard, to split the charge from the alternator so the leisure battery is charged alongside the starter battery when driving. Our van is kept outside, so over periods when not in use, we use a short mains-EHU cable (from waterproof outside mains socket, of course...) to top up the leisure battery. So, to split this charge to also top-up the starter battery, we installed a second relay (a CBE CS2 - left in photo) in parallel with the existing SCR, which tops up both batteries when EHU is connected (i.e. over 13.6v), but switches off when the leisure battery voltage drops (to avoid the leisure battery discharging totally in the event of a faulty starter battery). It uses the existing cabling between the two batteries, so the only new cabling required was under the bonnet next to the existing SCR. Works a treat when at home, just plug the EHU in for a day once a week or so....

Hi Iain, Gremlins in the last post - try again... We had ours treated in 2022 and then checked last year to see if it needed 'topping up' (no need...).The treatment was upol with added waxoyl, our sprayer said the underside was clean enough to avoid prior steam cleaning, so it wasn't too pricey. Roads aren't salted in Japan, so I gather this is the reason that vehicles aren't undersealed. In the UK, on the other hand....

Hi Iain, We had ours treated in 2022 and then checked last year to see if it needed 'topping up' (no need...).The treatment was upol with added waxoyl, our sprayer said the underside was clean enough to avoid prior steam cleaning, so it wasn't too pricey. Roads aren't salted in Japan, so I gather this is the reason that vehicles aren't undersealed. In the UK, on the other hand....

Hi all, I contacted Mike Chapman at liquidgasuk.org, as Scott said his garage had suggested. Mike sent a summary (see attached) and gave permission for it to be published on this forum. He highlighted that the issue of poor quality LPG affects only the Midlands and North of England. The summary indicates that the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) are still trying to identify what caused the contamination and it doesn't say whether they identified the source, so our local LPG guy's deduction that it was a shipment into Immingham can't be confirmed, and remains a 'rumour' or educated guess.... For our Alphard, the problem of acceleration and deceleration 'stutter' hasn't been resolved since having the gas regulator cleaned out, so the next step is to clean out the throttle body, to see if deposits are affecting the gas-air mix. Hopefully we'll end up with a clean(er) system before starting to travel further afield once again in the Spring. Mike Chapman said he'd put me on the mailing list, so I'll post any updates that I receive. Incidentally, do any of our Alphard afficiandos know whether there's a single or two throttle bodies for the 3.0L V6 engine? Propane Quality Issues - LGUK.pdf

Hi Alan, By way of follow-up, you can check if your Alphard is on the UKLPG register at http://register.uklpg.org/publicsearch.htm

Hi Alan, I assume you mean conversion to LPG fuel rather than gas for cooking. If your LPG conversion was done by an approved converter (which it should have been in order to be legal) then the vehicle should be on the UKLPG register and it's likely that your logbook (V5C) will show the Alphard as dual-fuel. You can have an extra tank fitted, but of course it is a specialist job and again you should use an approved installer - see www.drivelpg.co.uk/ for a list. Our installer fitted two external tanks, piped up in parallel, to get 80L capacity - one in place of the spare wheel (often known as a doughnut tank) and the other smaller one slung centrally across the vehicle behind the petrol tank. Because it's a campervan, we also have gas cooking from a Gaslow bottle, which is permanently plumbed in. This is tee'd from the LPG filler, so we fill both the auto tank and the Gaslow at the pump. Many forecourts won't allow you to fill portable gas bottles, because of safety risks. LPG in the fuel tank is held under pressure, as Rojie says, and it is the pressure that keeps LPG as a liquid until it reaches the regulator (in the engine compartment), where the pressure is reduced in a controlled way and then converts to gas. So any home transfer of LPG would be high risk and really could be highly dangerous.

Hi Scott, Interesting to hear that the West Midlands are also affected by poor quality LPG, although it will be frustrating for you of course. Cleaning out the gas regulator improved the general running, but it still stuttered on acceleration and, curiously, on minimal deceleration (eg. when you lift your foot slightly to maintain speed during motorway driving). I assume the gas regulator will slowly gunge up again until the problem's resolved. In the meantime, I'll contact Mike Chapman...